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CORNELL 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 

BOUGHT  WITH   THE   INCOME 
OF    THE    SAGE    ENDOWMENT 
FUND     GIVEN     IN     1891     BY 

HENRY  WILLIAMS  SAGE 

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Cornell  University  Library 
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History  of  Blue  Earth  County  and  biograp 


3  1924  028  912  925 

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HISTORY 


OF 


Blue  Earth  County 


Bv    THOMAS     HUGHES 

LIFE    MEMBER    OF    MINNESOTA    HISTORICAL    SOCIETY 


AND 


BIOGRAPHIES 


OF    ITS 


LEADING  CITIZENS 


Chicago 

Middle  West  Publishing  Company 

Publishers 


h  o 


-i/S 


0  i>    'i"  T'i  A  f^  '? 


The  development  of  the  historical  drama  of  ilinnesota  discloses  Blue  Earth 
county  rising  with  distinct  individuality  from  its  legendary  past  to  splendid  con- 
formity with  the  ideals  and  institutions  of  the  Twentieth  century.  The  unfold- 
ing of  the  potentialities  of  this  rarely  favored  region  has  been  marked  by  as  ter- 
rible and  vivid  experiences  as  ever  accompanied  the  substitution  of  a  superior  for 
an  undeveloped  race^  and  few  communities  grown  from  the  travail  of  the  border 
have  more  dearly  purchased  the  right  to  prosperity  and  peace. 

"Whatever  concerns  mankind  is  of  interest  to  me/'  is  a  slogan  by  no  means 
I'cstricted  to  the  editorial  sanctum,  but  largely  is  it  the  impelling  impulse  to 
historical  composition.  Facts  alone  do  not  comprise  history,  any  more,  than 
bricks  represent  the  fulfilled  dream  of  the  master  arcliitect.  Thus  the  ruling 
motives  have  been,  first,  the  hope  of  attaining  a  high  standard  of  historical  ac- 
curacy, and  secondly,  the  desire  to  retain,  as  far  as  possible,  vital  human  interest. 
It  is  realized  that  impartiality  and  catholicity  of  spirit  are  of  paramount  im- 
portance, and  that  freedom  from  prejudice  is  the  best  preventative  against  a 
reversal  by  posterity  of  the  Judgment  of  our  time.  These  precautions,  rigidly  ob- 
served, assured  the  utterances  of  Diodorus,  the  first  Eoman  historian,  permanent 
authority  and  remembrance. 

Men  of  action,  character,  and  profound  purpose  have  carved  the  contour  of 
this  narrative.  What  our  eyes  behold  is  a  dramatization  of  their  characters,  their 
souls  flung  forth  in  form  and  color.  Of  those  whose  courage  and  sacrifice  awoke 
tlie  dormant  wilderness,  whose  crude  interests  comprise  the  cabin  age,  whose 
plows  broke  the  primeval  soil,  whose  firearms  disturbed  the  awful  silences, — 
we  speak  with  reverance  and  gratitude.  If  we  have  aught  of  prejudice  or  favor, 
it  reaches  to  the  rugged  sons  of  toil  whose  unerring,  prophetic  vision  led  them  to 
the  unhindered  distances  of  Blue  Earth  county. 

Interestedly,  and  with  due  appreciation  of  the  suffering,  which  he  both  en- 
dured and  inflicted,  of  the  inevitable  appeal  to  all  that  was  baneful  and  venge- 


PREFACE 

ful  in  his  nature  when  driven  from  lands  occupied  for  centuries  by  his  dusky 
sires,  we  toucli  in  memory  the  blanket  garb  of  the  fast  disappe.uing  Eedman,  we 
vizualize  his  wig"wam,  his  dances,  his  trails  and  traditions,  and  share  with  you 
the  whimsically  pathetic  legends  of  a  picturesque  and  nature  worshipping  people, 
dethroned  from  supremacy  by  the  sweep  of  progress,  and  left  in  out  of  the  way 
]")laces  to  moralize  upon  the  mournful  fate  of  nomadic,  non-agricultural  and 
non-productive  peoples. 

The  story  of  tlie  rise  and  fall  of  nations  as  ol  localities  teaches  that  human 
nature  everywhere  at  foundation  is  much  the  same;  that  no  race,  no  nation,  no 
individual  even  is  ideally  good  or  totally  bad;  that  the  Past  always  has  been  a 
Golden  Age  to  the  pessimist,  the  Future  always  Utopian  for  the  dreamer,  and 
that  broad  optimism  regarding  the  Present — a  belief  that  on  the  whole  conditions 
are  about  as  good  as  the  time  pennits — is  unquestionably  tl.e  safest  philosophy. 
i\ssurance  seems  justified  that  the  lessons  of  this  history  will  be  felt  by  its  readers, 
and  we  greatly  mistake  tlie  purpose  of  our  story  if  it  does  not  make  for  broader 
views,  greater  tolerance,  truer  humanitarianisiti,  higher  ethics, — personal  and 
communal, — and  for  better  citizenship  in  the  broadest  meaning  of  that  term. 
Said  Scliiller.  the  great  Teuton,  out  of  the  fulnesse  of  profounder  knowledge 
and  larger  experience  than  falls  to  the  lot  of  average  human  kind — "Had  I  be- 
gun earlier  and  spent  thirty  3'ears  in  studying  history,  I  should  be  a  far  different 
find  much  better  man  than  I  now  am." 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTEE  I. 

Blue  Earth   County — Aboriginal   Days 1 

CHAPTEE  II. 

Indian  Lenfends  of  Blue  Earth   County ^ 

CMAPTEE    III. 

French  Exploi-cis — !.<>  Siiciir  and  His  Copper  Di=coverv — Indian  War>        .  .  .    l"i 

CHAPTEE   lY. 

Explorations   ot    Carver,    Long,    Featliei-stnnhaugh    and    (itliers — First    Stinni- 
bcat   Excursions   on   tlic    Minnesota '^'j 

(  HAPTEE  Y. 

First  Settlement  in  Blue  Earth  County .>•! 

CHAPTEE    YI. 

Events  in  Mankato  in  the  Suuiiin'r  of  18.")'2 39 

CHAPTEE    YII. 

Blue  Earth  County   Created— Its   Prior   Political   History 43 

CHAPTEE  YIII. 

Loss  of  Territory — \\'innrliago  Eesorvatinn — Events  of  IS-").") 50 

CHAPTEE   IX. 

Tlie  Jfapleton  and  Welsh   Cnlnnii's — and   Other   .Seltlements  of   l.S-")r; (i!i 

CHAPTEE  X. 

The  Inkpadutah   ]\Iassacre  of  1857 81 

CHAPTEE    XL 

Events  of  1858 — Tlio  Five  Million  Loan  Bill — Division  of  County  into  Town- 
ships         95 

CHAPTEE   XII. 
Events  of  18G0  and  1861— Beginning  of  the  Civil  War  and  First  Enlistments.  103 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The    Great   Sioux   Massacre   of   1802 — The   Mankato   and    South   Bend    Com- 
panies at  New  Ulm Ill 

CHAPTBE  XIV. 

"Mankato  Home  Guards" — Surrender  and  Trial  of  the  Indians — The  Hang- 
ing   at    Mankato 125 

CHAPTEE  XV. 
Legislative  Aid  for  Settlers— Events  of  18G3  and  1864 137 

CHAPTEE  XVI. 
Closing  Events  of  1864 — Murder  of  the  Jewett  Family 147 

CHAPTEE  XVII. 

Events  in  Blue  Earth  C'nunty  After   186-')   Peace  Eeigns,  Wheels  of  Progress 
put   in    Motion — First    Eailway 159 

CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

Events  of  Early  Seventies — "Winona  and  Wells  Eailways  Eeach  Mankato    ....  1C9 

CHAPTEE  XIX. 

TJie   Grasshoppers— Events   of    1876-7— The   Winter    of    1881-2    and   the    Big 
Flood     183 

CHAPTEE  XX. 

History    of    Minnesota    A^alley — Events    of    1884-G — Building    of    the    Court 
House    ; 193 

CHAPTEE  XXL 

Cannon    Valley    Eailway — The    Alliance    Movement — Government    Building 
at   Mankato    205 

CHAPTBE  XXII. 
Events  of  1893  to  1898— Chinch  Bugs  and  Drouth— The  Spanish  War 211 

CHAPTBE  XXIII. 
Mankato's    Golden    Jubilee — Eecent   Events — The    Conclusion 219 

CHAPTEE  XXIV. 
TOWNSHIP  HISTOEIES— 

Beauf brd   Township    234 

Butternut   Valley    Township 226 

Cambria    Township     328 

Cereeco  Township    233 

Danville   Township    235 


CONTENTS 

Decoria    Township    240 

Garden    City    Township 347 

Jamestown  Township    -43 

Judson  Township    353 

Le   Eay    Township 355 

Lime    Township    359 

Lincoln  Township   260 

Lyra   Township    201 

Mankato  Township    265 

Mapleton   Township    371 

McPherson    Township    374 

Medo    Township    '. .  . .  :277 

Pleasant   Mound  Township 279 

Rapidan  Township    281 

Shelby   Township    284 

South    Bend    Township 291 

Sterling  Township    294 

Vernon    Center   Township 398 

Legislative    Members    302 

District  Judges    303 

County    Oaicers    303 

Population  of  Blue  Earth  C'nunty  for  Ten  Census  Years 306 

Public    Charity    306 

Bridges    of   Blue    Earth    County 307 

School    Statistics     308 

Biographies     311 


IN  DEX 


ALLIANCE    (Farmers)— 190,    191,    106,    207. 

AMBER   CANE— 98,   148,    187. 

AMBOY— Founding  of,  187,  287— First  Newspaper,  195,  289— School  House,  19.5,  212,  290— 
Farmers  Co-operative  \^'areliouse,  190 — rre>byterian  Church,  212,  2SS — ifethodist 
Church,  216,  288 — German  ."\Iethodist  and  Evangelical  Churches,  289 — Depot  and  Mill 
Burned,  212— New  Mill  of  Peterson  &  Fuller,  212,  290— Hail  Insurance  Co.,  213— 
Banks,  216,  290— Amboy  Herald,  217,  289— Water  Works,  218,  290— Other  Events,  193, 
196,  206. 

APPLES— 98,   108,  215. 

ATTORNEYS,  County— 48,  99,   100.     List  of  305. 

AUDITORS,   COUNTY— List   of   304. 

BABCOCK   MILL   PRECINCT— 48. 

BANDS— 186,    196,    205,    208. 

BANTfS- 165,   174,   196,  220,  222. 

BEAUFORD— Called  "Winneshiek"  97,  224— Organized  and  Named,  160,  224— Postoflfices  in, 
165,   193,   224,   225— History  of,   224,   226. 

BEEKEEPERS    ASSOCIATION— 174. 

BELLEVIEW    POSTOFFICE— 178. 

BENCH  AND  BAR— 95,  102,   105,   171. 

BENNETT   AND  BURGESS   FAMILIES— 78. 

BOARD  OF   TRADE— 165. 

BONDS— 97. 

BOOKS— By  Blue   Earth   County   Authors— 212,  217,   221. 

BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY— Created  and  Prior  History  and  Limits,  4.3— Organization  and 
First  Officers,  48 — Boundaries  Curtailed,  ."in  —First  County  Offices,  60 — Various  Settle- 
ments of  in  ],S55  05 — Receivers  Lime  and  Jamestown,  77 — I'irst  County  Building,  95 — 
Liquor  Licenses  First  Granted,  O."!-  Divided  into  Towns,  96 — First  Issue  of  Bonds,  97 — 
First  Board  of  County  Supervisors,  98 — Early  Assessed  Valuation,  99 — Villages  of  in 
1859,  101 — County  Commissioners  Af;ain,  10.3 — Question  of  Removing  County  Scat, 
100— Productions,  142,  1(14,  167,  178,  ISO— As  Seen  in  1867,  162— Court  House  and 
Jail,  1C3— Poor  Farm  Bought,  164— Bridge  over  Blue  Eartli  at  Mankato,  169— First 
Becomes  Solvent.  172 — ^The  Nationalities  of,  170— Eiirthquake,  186 — Map  of,  188 — 
Briek  House  on  Poor  Farm,  193 — New  Court  House,  197 — New  Jail,  212 — Territorial 
Society,    214 — Drj'    Years,    217. 

BLUE   EARTH   CLAIM  ASSOCIATION— 36. 

BLUE   EARTH  RIVER— Location   and   Name,  2. 

BRIDGES— 66,  90,   169,  220.  307. 

BUILDINGS,  COI'NTY— 77,  163,  197. 

BUILDING    ASSOCIATION— 190, 

BURNS    CLUC-Orpnnized— Meetings    of,    173,   185,   206.   211,   212. 

BUTTERNUT  VALLEY— Precinct  of,  79.  230— Organized  and  Named,  96,  162,  230— 
Cambria    severed   from,    163— Postoffice,    212,    231— History    of,   226-228. 

CAMBRIA   (Creek)— 3. 

CAMBRIA  (Town)— First  Settlers,  62— Horeb  Church,  74— Mill,  92— Indian  Raids  into, 
119— Organized  and  Named,  163— Station,  216— History  of,  228,  233. 


INDEX 

CANDY  FACTORY— :>11,  213,  215,  210. 

CARVER,   JUXATHAX— 2o. 

LATEURILLAES— 185,  200. 

CEMENT,  STANDARD— 104,  217,  221,  203. 

CEXSUS— 104,  213,  306. 

CERESCO— Precinct   of,  91— Organized  and  Named,  Olj,   104,  233— Storm  in,   189— Postoffice,- 

205,    234— Cliee-e    Factory,    218— History    of,   233,    235. 
CHARITY.   PUBLIC— 30(i. 
(HINfH    BCi;'^— 200,    212,    215. 
CI-HJRCITES,    (Mankato)— 52.  62,  63,   161,   164,   173,   190,   105,  214,  217,   220-2— Danville,   196— 

(Smith's    Mill),    212— (Aniboy),    210— (Lake    Crystal),    212,    21(i— (Mapleton),    219— See, 

aKi),    Town    Histories. 
Cn'IL  UAR— Ft.  Ridgely  Troops,  100— First  Enlistments,  106,   107,  108— Aid  Society,   100— 

Recruits    of    '02,    109— Ordered    Sonlh,     142— Last    Recruits,     145,     148— Quota    of    Each 

Town,    15!) — Rosters   of   Soldiers    (see   Township   Histories). 
CLIFTdN    HO.USJi:- 104. 
COBB,   BIG— 3. 
COBB,   LITTLE— 3. 
COLORADO   BEETLE— 105. 
COJL\IERCIAi>    SCHOOLS— 200,    208,    221. 

COilJJlSSlONEltS,   COVNTY- First,   48,   51,    103— List   of,   303. 
CORONERS— List  of,  305. 

COCRT— 48,    !I5,    102,    107,    180,    206,    208,    214. 
COURT,  DISTRICT— List  of  Judges,  303— List  of  Clerks,  304. 
COURT   HOUSE    (County)— 107— (U.   S.),   209. 
CRYSTAL  LAKi:- 50,  98. 
CRYSTAL  LAKE   CITV— 91,   138. 

DAIRY— 174.    1,00.    1114,    195— Creameries,    193,   207,    208,    215,    216. 
DANVILLE— First    Settlers,   75— Called    Jackson,   96— Changed   to   Danville,   98— Churches   in, 

106— Cieamery   and   Store,   214— History   of,   235-240— Haunted   Wind   Mill,  230. 
DECORIA— Named,   07.  2-!0— Organized,   164— Postoffice,    105— Hall,   211— History   of,  240-243. 
DIPHTHERIA   AND   SMALL   POX— 186. 
UOTY,   GOV.   JAMES    D.— 30. 
DRAIN  TILE— 104. 
EAGLE  LAICE    (Village)— 172,    173,   178,    181,    180. 

EAGLE   LAKE    (Lake)^ 207,   208,   214,   217,   250,   257-25S. 

EARTHQUAKE— 186. 

ELECTION- 48,  58,  67,  76,  92,   102,   141. 

ELECTRIC  LIGHT— 205,  100,  100,  174,  180,  212. 

EUR]':KA— 50. 

EVANS,  D.  C.  AND  LYMAN  MATTHEWS— 40,  50. 

lA'ICTION,    FLRST— 41, 

FAIR,    COUNTY— 101,    105,    160— Blue    Earth    Valley,    189,    195— Southern    Minnesota,    206, 

221— Street   Fairs,  216— Other,    196. 
FARMERS  INSniANCE  COMPANIES— 190,  200,  214. 
FARilERa  INSTITUTES— 195,   107,  207. 
FARM   ilACHINERY— 178. 
FEATHERSTONHAUGH'S    EXPEDITION— 28. 
FIVE  JIILLION  LOAN  BILL— 95,   186. 
FIRE  COMPANA'— 104,  210. 
FIRE,   PRAIRIE— 66,    188— Incendiary— 214,   215. 


INDEX 

FLOODS— 108,    160,    178,    183,    190. 

FORT  KIDGELY— 45. 

FOURTH  OF  JULY  CELEBRATIONS— 100,  104,  109,  141,  171,  180,  185,  195,  205,  208. 

FREMONT   TOWNSITE— 75. 

FREMONT,  GENERAL  J.  C— Explores  Coujity,  30, 

FRENCH   TRADERS— 27. 

FURS— 103,   107. 

(lAliDEN   CITY    (Town)— First    Settlers,   55,   65,   247— Called   Watonwan,   60,   m',    143,   246— 

History  of,  246-250. 
GARDEN  CITY   (Village)— St.irted  and  Called  Fremont,  75,  247— lirowth  of,  76,  91,  99,   101, 

101,  162,  180,  190,  214,  215,  217— Incorporated,  218— Sec  History  Garden   City,  247-249. 
GERMANS- Accident    to   First    Comers,   37— Colony    From    :\Io..    .'>()— Early    Settlers,    40,    62, 

78,   179,  225,  233,  238,   242,   259,  280,  283. 
(iERilAN   CATHOLIC   BENEFIT    SOCIETY— 190. 
GERMAN   CATHOLIC    CHI'UCII- History   of,   217. 
(aXSENG- 107. 

GOOD  THUNDER- 172,    ISO,  208,   211,  212,   2lS,  221.   203-26.J. 
GRAHAM  AND  LAIDLOWS   EXPEDITION— 20. 
GRANGE— (See   Patrons   of   Husbandry.) 
GRASSHOPPERS— 92,   148,    160,   178,   180. 
HARMONIA— 175. 
HAUNTED  VALLEY— 7. 
HAINTED  \VINDMnj:.— 239. 
BILTON— 162,    196,   275. 

HISTORY   OF   MINTSTESOTA   VALLEY— 193. 
HOG    CHOLERA-187. 
HONK  HONKA— Stoi-y    of,   274. 
HOP  CULTURE— 163,  172. 
HOSPITALS— 206,  214,  210,  221. 

INDIANS — Habits   and    Customs,    5,    104 — Legends    of,    7 — Skeletons    of,    17 — Sioux    Reserva- 
tion,   45— First    Troubles    \\"ith,    35,    36,   41,    51,    55— A\'innebagoe>,    .19,    63,    04,    69,    142, 

241,    244 — (See    "Inkpadutah    Massacre"    and    "Sioux    iNIas^acre") — Rcdigious    Awakening 

of,    135 — Ordination   of   Joseph   Renville,   154. 
INKPADUTAH  JIASSACRE— Causes,  81— ilurders  at  Okoboji  and  Spirit  Lak.',  82— Jackson, 

83— Mankato   Company,   84^0ther  Incidents,  85-89,   101,    104. 
INSURANCE   COMPANY,   FARMERS— 190. 
IRISH— 179,    245. 
JACKSON,  HENRY— 33. 
JACKSON    (LAIiE)— 217,    294. 
JAMES    AND    YOUNGER    BROTHERS— 185. 
JAJIESTOWN- Loss     of,     59— Regained,     70— First     Settlers,     79,     244— Howes     Mill,     92— 

Created   and  Named,   96,   243— Volkville,    188— Indian    Murder,   244^History    of,   243-24C, 
JE\"\'ETT,  A.  J.— Murder  of,  by  Indians,   149. 
JOHNSON,   P.  K.— 33. 
JUDSON— First   Settlers   of,   56,   61,  253— First   Church   in   68— Old   Village   of,   77,    91,   98, 

162,    253— Organized,     96— Fort     at,     140— Station     of,    216,     255— Bridge,     220— History 

of,   253-255. 
KASOTA— 45. 
LABOR  UNIONS— 196. 
LAKE    CRYSTAL— Founded,    169,    250— Newspapers    of,    193,    206— School    House,    193,    205, 

219-MilIs,   194,  206,  212,  218— Fire  at,   20.5— Other  Events,   194,  206,   212,   216,  218,  219, 


INDEX 

220,  221— History  of,  250-252. 

1.ANDS— Preemption,  53— Survey  of,  57— Payment  Forced,  105— Homestead  Act,  109,  169— 
Winnebago  Lands,  140,  159,  163. 

I.EECH,  SAMUEL— 37. 

LEGENDS— Haunted  Valley,   7— Devoted   Father,   9— Dirge   of   Maiden,    11— No   Soul,   11. 

LEGISLATURE— List  of  Members,  302. 

LE  HTLLIER— Fort  of,   16— Townsite   of,  90,   101,  293. 

LE  RAY — First  Settlers,  78,  250 — Organized  and  Named,  103,  255 — South  Tier  of  Sections 
Added,   143— History   of,   255-258. 

LE  SUEUR,  PIERRE  OtlAS.- Discovers  Copper  on  Blue  Earth,  15— Ft.  LeHuillier,  16— 
Journal  of,   20. 

LE   SUEUR    (River)— 3— Gold  Found   on,  208. 

LlBRAl^r,  PUBLIC— 212,  217. 

LIME— Loss  of,  59— Regained,  70— Named,  96— Organized,  97— History  of,  223,  259. 

LINCOLN— First  Settlers,  65,  260— Part  of  Cereseo,  91— Named,  96,  97,  260— Made  a  Sep- 
arate Town   and  Renamed,   160— Iceland,    164— History   of,   260-261. 

LITERARY  AND  MUSICAL  SOCIETY— 58,  68,  178,  181,  186,  195,  247,  287. 

LITTLE   COTTONWOOD   RIVER— 3. 

LIQUOR  AND  INDIANS— 41,  68. 

LIQUOR  LICENSE— 95,  213. 

LONG,  STEPHEN  H.— Expedition  of,  27. 

LOON   (Lake)— 147— P.  0.,  164. 

LOWELL,  NEW— 160. 

LURA   (Lake)— 294. 

LYNCHING— Of  John  Campbell,  151— Of  Campbell  and  Liscom,  161. 

LYRA— First  Settlers,  57,  161,  261,  262— Called  Tecumseh,  97,  262— Organized  and  Re- 
named, 160,  262— Other  Events  in,  162,  217,  221— History  of,  261-265. 

MACK,  C.  C— Murder  of  by  Indians,  144. 

MePHERSON— First  Settlers,  57,  274^CaUed  Rice  Lake,  67,  97,  274,  Organized  and 
Called  McClellan,  141,  275— Name  Changed,  148— History  of,  274-277  (See  "Winnebago 
Agency"  and  "St.  Clair.") 

MADISON,   (Lake)— 243,  193. 

MADISON  LAICE   (Village)— 195,  196,  207,  208,  211,  212,  213,  214,  218,  245,  246. 

MAIL— (Routes),  51,  57,  70,  79,  80,  90,  99,  105,  109,  160,  170— Free  Delivery  in  Mankato,205 
—Rural  Free  Delivery,  217,  218,  220,  221. 

MANKATO  (City)— Founding  of,  33— Name,  36,  2— Early  Events  of,  37,  38,  39,  44,  45,  46, 
47,  51,  49,  54,  58,  62,  63,  67,  68,  69,  77,  90— First  Newspaper  in,  90— First  Attempt 
at  Village  Incorporation,  95,  97 — Early  Lawyers  of,  95 — Village  Charter,  265 — City 
Charter,  164,  265— Other  Early  Events,  96,  99,  111,  143,  161,  159,  160,  162,  .  165,  166, 
171,  127,  173,  174,  178,  179,  180,  186- City  Hall  and  Hubbard  Mill,  186— Bridge,  188— 
Municipal  Court,  191 — Cement  Works,  194 — Wholesale  Grocery,  195 — Street  Railway, 
196,  213— Daily  Paper,  205,  211— Free  Delivery,  205— Saulpaugh,  206— Public  Library,  212, 
217— Other  Events  of  the  Eighties  and.  Nineties,  190,  191,  J94,  195,  196,  205,  206,  207, 
208,  209,  211,  212,  213,  214,  215,  216,  217,  218,  219— Golden  Jubilee,  219— Later  Events, 
220,  221,  222— Lists  of  Mayors,  Postmasters,  School  Buildings,  School  Superintend- 
ents   and   Normal    School    Presidents,    265— History    of,    265-271. 

MANIiATO  CITY— 44,  45.   . 

jMANKATO    (Township)— Election   Precinct,   48— Organized,   90,    143. 

MANKATO  HOUSE— 41,  03,  190,  207. 

MAP    OF    COUNTY— 188. 

MAPLETON    (Township)— 73,   75,    103— History   of,   271-274. 


INDEX 

MAPLETON    (Old  Townsite)— 73,   92,    138,   lie',   223,   271. 

jUAPLETON    (JJLONY— 70,    71. 

JIAPLETON  (Village)— Founded,  172,  272— Incorporated,  180— The  Enterprise,  195,  206— 
Waterworks,  200— Fire,  213— Hill,  219— Other  Events,  181,  188,  193,  194,  197,  214, 
220— History  of,  272  and  273. 

MARRIAGES,  FHIST   IN   COUNTY— 40. 

MEDICAL   SOCIETY— Organized,   148. 

ilEDO— Named,  97,  141,  277— First  Settlers  and  Organization,  141,  277— Little  Cobb  P. 
0.,  181— iiedo  P.  0.,  278— Murder  of  Mrs.  Gilbert,  185,  278— Hanson's  Store,  190— 
Pemberton,   223,   279— History   of,   277-279. 

MENDOTA  AND   BIG   SIOUX  JIILITARY   ROAD— 47,   62,  "66. 

MIDDLETOWN— 295,  224. 

MILITIA — Mankato  and  Garden  City  Companies,  99,  174 — At  Winnebago  Agency,  101 — 
(See,  also,  "Sioux  Massacre"),  137— Co.  F.,  193,  212— B.md,  196,  205— Co.  H,  215,  218, 
220 — Ro'-ters  of  Citizen  Soldiers  in  Sioux  ilassarre.   113,   123,  123,   137. 

MILLS — Van  Brunt,  54 — Lyons,  54,  291 — Evans  and  Price,  68— Hoxie  &  Conklin,  70 — 
Garden  City,  70— Lay  and  Seward  &  Co.,  90— Butterfield,  91— A'ernon,  92,  159— Shel- 
byville,  92— Howes,  92,  244— D.  P.  Da\is,  92— Middlebiook  Bi-os.,  142 -Bierbauer  & 
Eockey,  142— Eapidan,  147,  211,  210— Hilton,  147— Capwell  &  Co..  l.iO- On  Cobb,  159— 
Burgess,  169— Red  Jacket,  100,  190— llegele  &  Henline,  160— Woolen,  164— Folsoni, 
164 — Woodham  &  Burgess,  173 — Spickernian,  295— Doty,  295 — Champion,  286 — Wool- 
land  jMill,  280— Linseed  Oil,  17-1,  208— S;iw  .Mills  in  the  Seventies,  181— Boegen,  185— 
White  Star,  185- Roller  Process,  189— Jlapleton,  ISO -Cable,  189,  217,  219- Lake 
Crystal,    194,    206,    212— Amboy,    212. 

BULLING   INDUSTRY— 189. 

MINNEOPA— Name,  4— First  Settlers  on  Creek,  03— Townsite,  172— Well,  206,  293— Park, 
221,    293. 

.MINNESOTA  RIVER— Name  and  Origin,  1— First  Steamboats,  31,  37— Name  Changed, 
39— Bridges    on,    188,   220. 

:\IODERN   \\'OODMEN— 213,   216. 

ilONTEVIDEO— 92,   299. 

MORELAND'S  CLAIM— 69. 

MORSE  illNERAL  SPRING- 206,   258. 

NEWSPAPERS- Independent,  90,  100,  104,  134,  141— Union,  141,  l-'iO,  180,  ISO,  188— Free 
Press,  188,  190,  142,  193— Dail>-  Free  Press,  205,  218— Record,  100,  104,  106,  188— Re- 
view, 170— Daily  Review,  211,  217— Garden  City  Ilerahl,  164— People's  Journal,  170— 
Beobachter,  178 — Golden  Prize,  181 — Eagle  Lake  Independent,  186 — ^lapleton  Mes- 
senger, 188 — Censor,  189 — Winnebago  Agency  ^Tcssenger,  190— flarden  City  Messenger, 
190— lake  Crystal  Union,  19.3— Public  Spirit,  ISS,  194-Ainboy  Ne^-s,  195— Enterprise, 
195— Third  District  Messenger,  195— Register,  195,  196— Post,  190,  210,  221— :\nvror, 
200— Mankato  Herald,  206— ilinnesota  Horseman,  207— Good  Thunder  Herald,  208— 
Amboy  Herakl,  208,  217— Journal,  208— Breeze,  208,  213— Morning  News.  213~:iIirror, 
213— Star,  214— Vernon  Center  News,  214— Eagle  Lake  News,  214,  217— Progress,  217— 
Bulletin,   217— Madison  Lake   Tribune,  220,  446. 

NEW   ULM— 67. 

NICOLLET,   JEAN   N.— Explorations   of,   28— Description   of   Blue   Earth,    29. 

NORMAL   SCHOOL— 101,   165,   178,   211,   212,   216,  222. 

NORWEGIANS— 179,   186,   227,   242,   261,  278,  283,  297. 

OLD    SETTLER    SOCIETIES— 165,    171.    205,    212,    214,    216,    218. 

OWEN,   DR.   D.   D.— Survey   of  30. 

PACKING  HOUSE— 209. 


INDEX 

PARKS— 205,   221. 

PAROCHIAL  SCHOOLS~142,   181,  195,  218,  220. 

PATRONS   OF  HUSBANDRY— 177,   180,   185. 

PEilBERTON— 222. 

PENICAUT'S   NARRATIVE— 18. 

PERCH  CREEK— 3. 

PIONEERS— Trials   of,   64. 

PLEASANT  MOUNIJ— Name,  279— Attached  to  Shelby,  79— Fiist  Settlers,  279— Called 
Otsego  and  Willow  Creek,  90,  279— Organized,  100,  280— Storm,  ISS— Fair,  188— P.  0. 
in,   279,   281— Other   Events,    20(1— History    of,    279-281. 

POINT  PLEASANT— 193. 

1-OLITICAL  CA?ilPAIGNS— IS,  70,  92,  99,  102,  lOi;.  105,  148,  160,  104,  169,  174,  188,  195, 
190,  197,  207,  211,  212,  213. 

POOR  FARM— 1(>4,   193— Ovei-ecrs  of,  305. 

POPULIST  PARTY— 213. 

POST  OFFICES— 50,   1C5,   1G9,   172.  178,   ISl,   185,   193,   196— List  of,   164,  205. 

POWELL,  B-EX.  J.  W.— 70. 

PROBATE  JUDGES— List  of,  304. 

RAILROADS— St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City.  91,  143,  LV),  105,  106,  l(i9,  213— Winona  and  St. 
Peter,  109,  172— Mankato  &  Wells,  169,  177,  180,  189— Blue  Earth  Branch,  177,  187, 
287— Mankato,  Austin  &  St.  Cloud,  193— Cannon  Valley,  193,  195,  205,  216,  218— ilil- 
wankee   Extension,   220 — Alphabet,    221. 

RAPIDAN— First  Settlers,  57,  00,  281— Moreland's  Water  Power.  09— Named  De  Soto,  97— 
Townsite  and  Name,  147- Name  Changed,  148,  282— Postoffice,  169,  183,  208— Olson 
Store,  190— Mill,  195,  207,  208,  211,  216— Other  Events,  102,  212,  215,  217,  218— 
History   of,    281-284. 

REGISTER  OF  DEEDS— List  of,  304. 

REFEREE  IN  BANKRUPTCY— 216. 

RICE  LAKE— Precinct   of,   60,  57,   60,   274. 

ROADS— To  the   East,   39,  40— Reno's,   47,   02,   60,    101— Improvements,    101. 

ROOT,  NOBLE  G.— Murder  of  by  Indians,   143. 

liURAL   FREE  DELIVERY- 217,   218.   220,  221. 

SAULPAUGH  HOTEL— 200. 

S(;H001.S,  PUBLIC— 47,  49,  53,  00,  07,  08,  77,  90,  99,  103,  104,  147,  149,  161,  16.3,  106, 
173,    175.    180,    190,   2flS,    209,   212,   215,   308. 

SER:\I(  )N.   FIRST— 40. 

SHELBY— First  Settlers.  01,  70.  28-1 — Precinct,  74— Organized  and  Named  Liberty,  96, 
97— Named    Shelby,  98,   283— Other    Events,    188,   189— History    of,    284    to   291. 

SHELBY   CENTER— 280. 

SHELBYVILLE— 70,    92,    102,    285. 

SHERIFFS— List   of,  304. 

SINTOMNIDUTAH- 51,  81,  87,  88. 

SIOUX  MASSACRE  1862— Beginning  of,  111— Relief  of  New  Ulm,  112,  113— Battle  of 
New  Ulm,  114 — Situation  in  Blue  Earth  County,  114,  115,  116 — New  Ulm  Refugees, 
117,  118 — ;\Irs,  Hanington  and  Lake  Shclec  Refugees,  118 — Soldiers,  118 — Raids  into 
Cambria,  119 — "Butternut  Valley  Guards,"  123 — "Frontier  Rangers"  and  "Mankato 
Home  Guards,"  12.5 — Wood  Lake,  Camp  Release,  Conviction  of  Indians,  126 — Execution, 
127  to  130 — Religious  Revival.  13.5 — Departure  of  Sioux,  Legislative  Relief,  Militia 
Act,  Roster  of  Companies,  137 — "Knights  of  the  Forest"  and  Removal  of  Winnebagoes, 
138 — Military  Expeditions  and  Indian  Raids,  140 — Damage  Claims,  141 — Murder  of 
Mack   and   Root,    143 — ^linute   Men,    145 — Murder    of   Jewett,    149 — Lynching   of    Camp- 


INDEX 

bell,  151 — rursuit  of  Other  Murderers  and  Their  FaCe,  ).34,  158 — Sialp  Bounty  and 
Bloodhounds,  157,  SOU — Military  Defense,  158 — Sentences  of  Condemned  Indians  Re- 
mitted,   161. 

SLEEPY   EYE— 35. 

SMITH'S   iflLL— 160,  104,  212,  258. 

SOLDIERS  AID   SOCIETY— 100. 

SOUTHERN'    .MINNESOTA  UNTIVEKSIT'i"— 90. 

SOUTH  BEND  (Village)— Founding  of,  40— Event,  in,  54,  01,  03,  07,  08,  80,  00,  91,  O.i,  101. 
104,    214,    215,    217,    201. 

SOUTH  BiCND  (Township)— Precinct,  57— First  Settlers,  60— Fir..^t  Events  in,  58,  201,  202— 
Zion  Church,  91— ilade  a  Town  and  Boundary,  0(>,  143— Other  Events,  100-  Hi-^tory  of, 
291    to    20-1    (See,    also,    "Minneopa.") 

SPANISH  WAR— 215, 

STAGE   LINES— 57,    90,    105,    109,    100,    170, 

STEAMBOATS— 31,  37,  38,  39,  40,  45,  47,  49,  53,  54,  79,  90,  97,  100,  103,  108,  109,  141, 
143,    148,   101,   103,    170,   172,    173,   190,   214. 

STERLINTI— First  Settlers,  66,  294— Prairie  Fire,  66— Called  Mapleton,  90— Called  Sterl- 
ing, 103 — Anniversary  Xorwegian  Church,  208,  219,  207 — Congi-egational  Church,  193, 
296— History  of,  294  to  298,  also   195,  223,  224, 

STERLING  CENTER— 211,  223,  224,   295. 

ST.    CI.AIR— Named,    196— Paper,   2)4— Bank,    221— Incorporated,    222, 

STORMS— Wind   and  Hail,   173,    188,   214,  279    -Shoh    and   Blizzard,   50,    174,    KiO,    180, 

STREET   RAILWAY— 196,   213. 

SUMNER,   CAPTAIN    E.   B.— 30. 

SUNDAY    SCHOOLS— 46,    147,    180,    187,    215. 

SUPERINTENDENT  OF  SCHOOLS— List  of,  305. 

SliRVEY,   GOVERNMENT— 57. 

SURVEYORS,   COUNTY— List   of,   305, 

SWEDISH   SETTLERS— 56,    179,   201, 

TCTI ANK  ASK  A    ( Creek ) — 4  5 , 

TEACTIERS,    INSTITUTE— 147,    149, 

TELEGRAPH— 166, 

TELEPHONE— 189,   194,  213,  214,  215,  21(j,  218,  220,  221, 

TEMPERANCE— 186,    189,    190, 

THOJISON,  REV,  JAS.— 52,  53. 

TIVOLI— 78,   97. 

TOWNS— Created  and  Named,  90,  98, 

TREASITRKRS,  COUNTY— 304, 

TREATY    OF   TRAVERSE    DES   SIOUX— 32,    43, 

TURNER   ASSOCIATION— 96,   171. 

UNDINE  REGION— 1,  29,  36. 

VALUATION,   ASSESSED— 68,   77,   99,    142,   178,    180, 

VAN  BRITNT'S   ADDITION  TO  5IANKAT0— 40, 

VERNON— 00,    91,   92,    162,    195,   299, 

VERNON  CENTER- Named,  96,  98,  300— First  Settlers,  00,  298— :\lynia  P,  0,,  178— Edge- 
wood,   187,   195— Newspaper,  214— Other   Events,   216— History   of,   298   to   302. 

\\'ARR1';N'S  addition  to  :MANKAT0— 46,   104. 

^VASHINGTON    (Lake)— 243,   211. 

WAT0N\^'AN    (River  and  Town)— 3,  05.  00,   70,  91,   138,   143,   162,  246,  249. 

\\'ELLS— 180,   206,   207,  293. 

WELSH— 61,  63,  65,  73,  74,   181,  211,  212,  214,  221,  227,  229,  254. 


INDEX 

WHEAT  RAISING— 167. 

WILLOW  CREEK—S,  98. 

WINDMILLS— South  Bend,    160,   291— Shostag,  239. 

WLNNEBAGO    (Indians)— 59,   60,  97,   99,   100,   105,    106,   116,   138,   139,   142,   241. 

WINNEBAGO   AGENCY— 60,   62,    101,    162,    190,    196,   274,   276. 

WINNEBAGO   RESERVATION- 59,   105,   140. 

WINTER- Cold,   68,   70,    105,   108,    160,    163,    170,    174,    183,    190,   214^MiId,   34,    50,   95,    99, 

103,   141,    143,   148,    172,   186,   215. 
WISE,  JOHN  C— 100,  217. 
WITA    (Lake)— 259. 
WOOD  INDUSTRY— 179,  207. 
WOODLAND  SEMENARY— 147. 
Y.   il.   C.  A.— 221. 


E RETT A 


The  letter  "n"  after  the  page  numbers  below  is   used  to  designate  the  first  column  and 
the  letter  "b"  the  second  column  of  each  page.     We  have  noted  quite  a  number  of  minor 
errors,  but  where  the  error  does  not  interfere  with  the  meaning  we  shall  not  attempt  here 
to   make   corrections. 
Piige     25         For    first    head    line    read    "Explorations    of    Carverj    Featherstonhaugh    and 

Others" and    in     second    head    line    instead    of     "Mississippi"    read 

"Minnesota." 
Instead  of  "Mrs.  J.  LuUsdorf,"  read  "Jlr,-,.  G.  Lulsdorff." 
Instead   of   "Western"   read   "Westerner." 
Instead  of  "was  left"  read  "was  let." 
Instead  of  "1885"  in  head  line  of  Chap.  VIII  read  "1855." 
Instead   of  "Blossbury"   read   "Blossburg." 

(Third  line  from  bottom)    add   after  "Shelby,"  "Vernon,   Ceresco." 
Instead   of   "Berlin   house"   read   "Berlin   home." 
Instead   of  "hospital"  read   "hospitable." 

Instead  of  "Watonwan  County"  read  "Watonwan  CDUutry." 
Taj'lor's  store  started  about   18(10  and  Middlebrook  mill  in   1857 
Third   line   from   bottom,  instead   of   "out"   read   "our." 
Head   "The  Indians   on   the   bluff  watching." 
Read  "or  political  preferments"  instead   of   "of." 
(16  lines  from  bottom)   instead  of  "best"  read  "last." 
Add  to  roster  of  soldiers  "William  Morgan,  Co.  F,  Heavy  Art." 
Insert  in  list  of  postmasters  name   of  "Ray  J.   Straw,"  who   served   about  a, 

year — ending  June,   1905. 
Add  to   roster   of   soldiers :      Henry .  Borgmeier,   Co.   B,   Mt.   Rgs.   and   Nathan 
Howland,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf.;   transfer  names  of  Henry  Robertson  to  the 
Jamestown  roster  and  James  Gilfillan  to  Le  Ray. 
Instead    of   "Winneshiek"   read    "Tecumseh." 
Instead  of  "Geo.  Doty"  read  "Hiram  B.  Doty." 
Instead   of  "1886"  read  "1866." 

Instead   of  "Vincent  ^Vessels"  read  "Albert  A.  Wessells." 
Instead   of  ".school  house  in  section  7,"  read   "school  house  in   section   18." 
and  295  b.    Instead   of   "Independence"   read   "Providence"   or   "Jackson   Lake" 
Creek. 


Rage 

41  lu 

rage 

44  b. 

Rage 

51  a. 

rage 

.59. 

Piige 

61  a. 

Rage 

74  b. 

Rage 

75  b. 

Rage 

84  a. 

Page 

S7  a. 

Page 

9-2    a. 

Page 

108  b. 

Page 

121  a. 

Page 

141  b. 

Pa  ge 

158  b. 

Page 

232  b. 

Page 

254  a. 

Page 

259  b. 

Page 

202  a. 

Page 

2(i;j  a. 

Page 

271  b. 

Page 

271  b. 

Page 

271  b. 

Pages 

1  204  b, 

BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY  COURTHOUSE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


BLUE    EAETH    COUNTY— ABORIGHSFAL 
DAYS. 


Conspicuous  upon  the  map  of  the  Northwest 
is  the  great  bend  of  the  ilinnesota,  and  the  fact 
that  the  Blue  Earth  river  here  empties  its  waters 
gives  further  prominence  to  the  spot.  Indeed, 
a  map  of  this  territory  fifty  years  ago  had  but 
little  delineated  upon  it,  save  rivers  and  lakes, 
and,  as  water  then  afforded  the  principal  means 
of  transportation  and  furnished  the  chief  mo- 
tive power  for  manufacture,  it  is  no  wonder  the 
homeseeker  of  the  period  should  have  been  at- 
tracted to  so  favorable  a  locality. 

At  this  remarkable  bend,  in  the  very  heart  of 
Southern  Minnesota  lies  the  County  of  Blue 
Earth.  Its  name  is  derived  from  the  noble 
stream  which  flows  through  its  center,  and 
which,  with  its  many  tributaries  spreads  like  a 
branching  tree  covering  the  whole  county  with 
a  net  work  of  rivers  and  creeks,  so  that  Nicollet, 
the  French  scholar  and  explorer,  designated  it 
the  "Undine  Eegion." 

No  county  in  the  State  has  as  many  rivers  as 
Blue  Earth.  With  two  exceptions  only,  each  of 
its  twenty-three  townships  has  one  or  more  rivers 
or  good  sized  creeks  within  its  borders.  These 
streams  comprise  the  Minnesota,  Blue  Earth, 
Watonwan,  Le  Sueur,  Maple,  Big  C()bb,  Little 
Cobb  and  Little  Cottonwood,  together  with  Min- 
neopa,  Cambria,  Perch  and  Willow  Creeks,  and 
a  great  number  of  smaller  brooks.  Each  of  these 
water  courses,  as  it  meanders  in  its  deep  cut 
valley  far  out  across  the  prairies,  bears  along  its 
bluffs  long  strips  of  fine  timber,  which  afforded 
the  settlers  in  the  early  days  abundant  building 
material,  fencing  and  fuel.  On  the  edges  of 
these  timber  belts  the  log  cabins  of  the  pioneers 
found  shelter  from  the  wintry  blasts. 

All  these  rivers,  especially  the  Blue  Bartli, 
Watonwan  and  the  Le  Sueur,  were  also  well 
adapted  for  the  development  of  water  powers, 
and  their  banks  were  lined  during  the  first  two 
or  three  decades  after  the  advent  of  the  white 
man  with  sawmills  and  grist  mills.     These  num- 


erous water  channels,  also,  drain  the  land,  di- 
versify the  soil,  and  give  the  country  a  most  pic- 
turesque appearance,  thus  ministering  to  both 
the  physical  and  esthetic  needs  of  man. 

The  Minnesota  is  the  largest  stream  in  the 
county  and  for  over  eighteen  miles  forms  its 
northern  boundary  and  for  five  miles  further 
its  western  boundary  after  the  river's  abrupt 
northern  bend  at  Mankato.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  rivers  of  the  state  and  traces  of 
it?  primeval  bed,  cut  deep  in  the  stratified  rocks 
of  "The  ages  before  man"  are  pointed  out  by 
geolog-ists  at  Mankato  and  elsewhere.  Then 
ctime  the  glacier  period  and  buried  this  portion 
of  our  state — river  and  all — under  from  one- 
hundred  to  one-hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  silt. 
When  the  lofty  mouutains  of  ice  had  retreated 
cur  river  began  excavating  through  the  debris  in 
quest  of  its  ancient  bed.  A  great  inland  sea 
covering  the  Eed  Eiver  Valley  and  extending  far 
into  Canada,  known  to  geologists  as  "Lake  Ag- 
aisiz"  became  its  source.  A  majestic  stream  it 
must  have  been  in  those  days  of  old,  as  it  swept 
on  its  course  half  a  mile  or  more  in  width. 
Y^^^at  we  now  call  the  "second  iench"  was  then 
its  ordinary  bed.  The  bluffs  of  the  Minnesota 
and  the  Mississippi  at  their  union  near  St.  Paul 
match,  forming  one  continuous  valley  of  like 
dimensions,  while  the  channel  of  the  Mississippi 
above,  is  wholly  dissimilar  and  insignificant  by 
comparison,  showing  that  the  main  river  once 
flowed  by  way  of  the  Minnesota.  In  time  Lake 
Agassiz  broke  through  its  northern  barrier  and 
was  drained  into  Hudson  ha}',  and  the  new  river 
then  formed,  we  call  today,  "The  Eed  Eiver  of 
the  North."  Thus  deprived  of  its  main  source, 
the  Minnesota,  as  well  as  that  portion  of  the 
Mississippi,  which  formed  its  continuation  as 
one  great  river,  soon  shrank  to  a  fraction  of  its 
former  size  and  grandeur,  and  we  have  our  mod- 
ern riparian  system. 

"Minnesota,"    is    the    Sioux    or    Dakota    name 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAKTPI  COUNTY. 


of  the  river,  given  it  centuries  ago  by  the 
warlike  aborigines,  who  lived,  hunted  and  fought 
along  its  banks.  It  is  a  compound  word — 
"Minne"  meaning  "water"  and  "sota,"  gen- 
erally translated  "sky  tinted.''  Scholars  dif- 
fer as  to  the  real  meaning  of  "sota."  Eev.  S.  E. 
Eiggs,  the  great  Sioux  missionary  and  author  of 
the  "Dakota  Dictionary"  and  the  explorer  Peath- 
crstonhaugh  say  the  w^ord  means  "clear"  and  cite 
the  word  "Kasota"  as  proof,  which  they  say 
means  "Clearing-"  or  "to  clear  off"  as  where  land 
is  cleared  of  timber  or  brush. 

The  French  explorer  J.  W.  jSTicollet,  a  very 
careful  scholar  gives  'loleared"  as  a  more  literal 
moaning  and  as  his  authority  states  that  the 
I'rench  voyagers,  who  were  as  familiar  with  the 
Dakota  tongue  as  the  Indians  themselves,  so 
rendered  it,  and  that  the  Sioux  word  for  'T)leared 
eye"  was  "Ishta-sota."  Schoolcraft  claims  that 
the  word  means  '"bluish  gray;"  others  declare  it 
to  mean  "whitish,  cloudy  or  turbid."  Eev.  G. 
H.  Pond,  a  noted  Sioux  missionary  and  an  ex- 
cellent authority  on  the  Sioux  language,  main- 
tains that  the  word  is  best  rendered,  "sky  tinted" 
and  that  it  refers  to  that  peculiar  whitish  tint 
of  our  Minnesota  sky.  Dr.  J.  P.  Williamson, 
who  was  the  first  white  boy  born  in  our  Min- 
nesota valley  and  who  has  spent  all  his  life  as  a 
missionary  among  our  Sioux  Indians  and  re- 
cently has  published  an  English  Dakota  Dic- 
tionary in  a  recent  letter  says,  "The  Minnesota 
river  they  (The  Sioux)  called  Wah-Kpa  Minne- 
sota "The  River  of  Sky  tinted  water,"  and  in 
his  dictionary  he  renders  the  word  "clear  sky"  as 
"Kasota."  Evidently  the  name  was  given  to 
the  river  by  the  Indians  because  of  the  minute 
particles  of  whitish  clay  found  suspended  in  its 
waters,  which  therefore  are  not  transparently 
pure  nor  yet  muddy,  but  tinted  like  our  clear 
skies. 

The  Chippeways  who  dwelt  among  the  somber 
pines  of  the  north  called  it  "Askiibogi-sibi" 
(green  leaf  river). 

The  French,  who  were  the  first  white  people 
to  discover  the  river  and  for  nearly  two  centuries 
used  it  in  their  commerce  with  the  natives, 
named  it  the  St.  Pierre,  some  think  after  Le 
Gardour  De  St.  Pierre,  one  of  their  military 
officers   and   explorers,  but  others   claim  it  was 


after  Le  Sueur,  whose  christian  name  was 
"Pierre."  This  name  Anglicized  as,  "8t.  Peters," 
was  continued  by  us  until  1854.  In  1853  the 
Legislature  of  Minnesota  at  the  instigation  of 
Martin  McLeod,  then  a  member,  sent  a  mem- 
orial to  Congress  praying  that  the  ancient  name 
of  the  river  be  restored  to  it.  Moved  by  this 
ipquest  and  the  personal  solicitation  of  General 
Siljley,  then  our  delegate  in  Congress,  the  Com- 
mittee on  Territories  through  its  chairman, 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  recommended  the  change, 
and  on  May,  1854,  the  river  was  rechristened, 
the  "Minnesota."  As  to  the  important  part  this 
ancient  river  played  in  the  discovery  and  devel- 
opment of  our  county  will  appear  elsewhere  in 
this   history. 

The  river  next  in  importance  as  to  size  and 
value  in  the  history  of  the  County  is  the  Blue 
Earth.  Since  steam  has  usurped  the  place  for-' 
merly  held  by  water  in  the  transportation  and 
manufacturing  industries  of  our  land,  both  rivers 
have  lost  much  of  their  former  prestige  in  the 
commercial  world.  Perhaps  the  historian  of  the 
future,  when  electricity  has  supplanted  steam, 
will  have  to  assign  to  this  stream,  with  its 
magnificent  water  powers,  the  economic  superior- 
ity. It  is  distinctively  the  river  of  our  county, 
flowing  through  its  very  center,  and  fittingly 
bestows  upon  it  its  name.  This  appelation  is 
a  translation  of  the  Indian  name  of  the  river, 
"Mahkato."  "Mahka"  is  the  Sioux  for  "earth", 
and  "to"  for  "l^lue"  or  "green."  Samuel  J. 
Brown,  the  son  of  Major  Joseph  Brown,  by  a 
Sioux  mother,  who  has  been  born  and  brought 
up  among  Sisseton  Sioux  of  this  locality, 
stoutly  maintains  that  there  is  a  nasal  in  the 
\vord  and  that  the  true  pronunciation  and  spell- 
ing of  the  word  is  "Manka"  and  not  "Mahka" 
and  he  is  corroborated  by  three  other  educated 
Sioux  half  breeds:  William  M.  Eobertson,  Smi- 
ley Sheperd,  and  Thomas  A.  Robertson.  Cer- 
tainly no  better  authority  on  the  Dakota  than 
these  four  men.  This  difference  may  be  due  to 
dialectic  peculiarities  of  the  various  tribes.  The 
name  was  given  to  the  river  by  the  Indians 
because  of  a  very  peculiar  bed  of  greenish  clay, 
found  in  a  limited  quantity  upon  its  banks, 
about  four  miles  from  its  mouth.  This  clay 
was    very   highly    p'rized   by    the    Indians    as    a 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


pigment  with  which  to  paint  themselves.  They 
imagined  that  it  possessed  a  peculiar  virtue  to 
protect  them  from  the  missels  of  their  foes. 
The  French  called  the  stream  the  '^'"erde"  or 
"green"  river.  In  view  of  the  color  of  the  clay 
this  is  a  more  accurate  rendering  of  "To"  than 
the  English  word  "Blue,"  though  both  are  tech- 
rically  correct,  as  the  Sioux  language  makes  no 
distinction  between  the  two  colors. 

The  Blue  Earth  is  a  very  crooked  stream,  al- 
most doubling  upon  itself  ever  and  anon.  It 
also  abounds  in  rapids  and  often  has  abrupt 
banks — "cut  banks"  the  Indians  called  them. 

Its  main  western  tributary,  the  Watonwan, 
empties  into  it  not  far  from  the  center  of  the 
county.  This  river  has  preserved  its  ancient 
Dakota  name,  the  meaning  of  which  now  is  some- 
what uncertain.  Some  derive  it  from  "Wata" 
(a  canoe)  "wan"  (See),  others  say  it  comes 
from  "Ton wan"  (to  see  into  or  through)  and 
may  refer  to  the  clearness  of  its  water  or  to 
tlie  outlook  afforded  by  the  great  prairies  which 
border  it.  Still  others  claim  "Waton"  (bait) 
"Wan"   (where  we  get)   is  the  true  meaning. 

Perch  creek  is  a  tributary  of  the  Watonwan 
and  flows  into  it  from  the  south,  after  traversing 
about  fifteen  miles  through  the  Townships  of 
Pleasant  Mound  and  Ceresco,  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  Blue  Earth  County.  It  is  the  outlet 
of  Perch  Lake,  which  lies  just  beyond  the  county 
boundary.  The  origin  of  the  name  is  unknown, 
possibly  a  translation  of  the  Indian  name.  The 
lake  and  creek  -appear  with  their  present  name 
on   Nicollet's  map,  published  in  1843. 

Willow  Creek  is  another  stream,  which  drains 
the  southwest  part  of  the  county.  It  flows  a 
little  east  of  north  through  the  towns  of  Pleas- 
ant Mound  and  Shelby  and  empties  into  the 
BJue  Earth.  Its  name  was  given  it  by  one  of 
the  first  settlers  mainly  because  'of  the  number 
of  willows  growing  upon  its  bank,  and  probably 
in  part,  in  memory  of  one  of  the  many  streams 
of  the  same  name  found  in  the  Eastern  States. 

The  main  tributary  of  the  Blue  Earth  from 
the  east  is  the  Le  Sueur  river,  rising  beyond  the 
cast  line  of  the  County,  it  crosses  that  line  near 
itf,  center  and  flows  westerly  until  it  empties 
into  the  Blue  Earth  about  two  miles  and  a 
lialf   above    its    mouth.      Its  "present   name    was 


given  it  by  Nicollet  and  other  early  map  makers 
in  honor  of  the  French  explorer,  Jean  Le  Sueur, 
who  in  irOO  built  a  fort  at  its  mouth.  On  the 
earliest  French  maps  it  is  designated  as  the  "St. 
Remy  "  and  the  "St.  Henry."  Its  Indian  name 
is  unknown,  except  that  its  upper  half  is  called 
the  "Chankasna"  (shaking  wood)  on  Nicollet's 
map. 

The  jMaple  river  flows  northward  through  the 
center  of  the  county  and  empties  into  the  Le 
Sueur  about  four  miles  above  its  mouth.  The 
Sioux  called  it  the  "Tewapa-Tankiyan"  (Big 
Water-lillyroot)  river.  It  was  first  called  "The 
JEaple"  Ijy  the  United  States  surveyors  in  1854. 

The  Big  Cobb  rises  some  distance  beyond  the 
southeast  corner  of  the  county  and  flowing  north- 
westerly, mingles  its  waters  with  the  Le  Sueur 
about  a  mile  above  tlie  mouth  of  the  Maple.  The 
Indians  knew  it  as  "Tewapadan"  (Little  Lilly 
root  river).  The  earliest  designation  of  the 
stream  as  "Big  Cob,"  is  on  the  plats  made  by 
the  government  surveyors  in  1854.  A  branch  of 
the  Big  Cobb,  which  unites  with  it  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  Beauford  Township,  was  chris- 
tened on  the  same  government  plats,  'TJittle 
Cob."  Later  the  spelling  in  case  of  both  rivers 
was  changed  to  "Cobb." 

In  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  county 
two  streams  empty  into  the  Minnesota  within 
about  eighty  rods  of  each  other,  known  as 
"Cambria  Creek"  and  the  'Tjittle  Cottonwood." 
The  latter  has  its  source  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  Cottonwood  County,  and  flows  easterly  clear 
across  Brown  County  and  a  small  corner  of 
Blue  Earth.  Its  name  is  a  translation  of  the 
old  Indian  name  "Waraju"  as  is  also  the  Big 
Cottonwood.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Cotton- 
wood tliere  used  to  be  a  very  fine  grove  of 
large  cottonwood  trees  and  it  is  from  this 
grove  the  Indian  name  was  derived. 

The  Little  Cottonwood,  also,  has  groves  of  the 
same  species  of  trees,  but  whether  it  was  from 
this  fact,  or  because  the  two  rivers  ran  parallel, 
in  near  proximity,  and  were  quite  similar  in 
many  characteristics,  that  the  Dakotas  called 
tliem  by  the  same  name,  cannot  now  be  deter- 
mined. Cambria  Creek  was  so  named  by  Henry 
Hughes  in  the  latter  part  of  the  sixties  after 
the    town    through   which   it   flows.      Its   Indian 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


name    is    unknown.      It    is    about    six    miles    in 
length. 

Minneopa  Creek  is  the  outlet  of  Lilly  and 
Crystal  lakes,  and  flows  into  the  Minnesota  a 
rriile  or  two  above  the  Blue  Earth.  It  is  about 
six  miles  in  length  and  has  on  it  the  famous 
waterfalls  which  are  responsible  for  its  name. 
It  is  the  only  body  of  water  in  the  County  be- 
sides the  Minnesota  and  the  Watonwan,  which 
still  retains  its  Indian  name  though  a  little  ab- 
breviated. The  full  Dakota  name  was  Minne 
(water)  inne  (falls)  nopa  (two).  As  the  name 
indicates  there  are  two  falls.  The  first  or  upper 
one  is  from  six  to  eight  feet  in  -height,  and  about 
six  rods  below  this  comes  the  main  falls,  about 
fifty  feet  high.  These  picturesque  falls  with  the 
wild,  romantic  scenery  about  them,  have  each 
year  for  the  past  half  century,  attracted  hund- 
reds of  sightseers,  and,  since  the  establishment 
here  of  a  state  park  in  1905,  the  place  has  be- 
come a  great  resort  for  picnics  and  pleasure 
parties. 

'  The  county  also  has  a  number  of  very  fine 
lakes.  None  of  them  are  large  and  yet  the  mean- 
dered lakes  of  the  county  occupy  about  14,000 
acres  of  its  territory.  Lake  Madison  is  the  lar- 
gest and  most  important  with  an  area  of  nearly 
two  thousand  acres.  Lura  and  Jackson  lakes  in 
the  south  part  of  the  county  are  next  in  size, 
comprising  ten  to  twelve  thousand  acres  apiece. 
Then  comes  Loon  and  Crystal  lakes  in  the  north- 
west part  of  the  County. 

The  County  is  exceptionally  well  timbered. 
The  bulk  of  its  northeast  portion  was  embraced 
in  that  great  forest  area  of  the  State  known  as 
the  Big  Woods.  As  already  stated,  each  of  the 
many  rivers  and  creeks  extend  along  belts  of  fine 
timber  through  all  the  prairie  regions,  while  the 
lakes  are  enclosed  in  beautiful  groves.  When 
the  white  man  first  came  to  this  undine  region 
the  great  forests  were  unbroken.  Cottonwoods, 
alms,  black  walnuts,  butternuts,  grew  abundantly 
in  the  valleys — many  of  giant  size.  While  the 
hillsides  and  uplands  of  the  forest  region  were 
thickly  covered  with  basswood,  elm,  oak,  hickory, 
hackberry  and  soft  and  hard  maple,  often  of 
lordly  dimensions.  Along  the  outskirts  of  the 
forest  grew  large  groves  of  graceful  poplars. 
In  the  openings  along  the  valleys  and  here  and 


there  along  the  edges  of  the  upland  woods,  were 
found  the  plum  tree  groves  filling  the  air  with 
sweet  perfume  in  the  spring  and  laden  with 
luscious  fruit,  red,  white,  yellow  and  speckled, 
in  the  autumn.  Two  or  three  varieties  of  the 
wild  gooseberry,  raspberry,  elderberry,  currants, 
grapes  and  many  other  wild  fruits  were  abund- 
ant. So  rich  was  the  native  flora  of  the  county 
that  several  chapters  might  be  devoted  to  it. 
The  natural  fauna  of  the  county,  too,  is  too 
lui'ge  a  subject  for  me  to  more  than  barely 
mention. 

Until  little  over  a  hundred  years  ago  the 
bufi'alo  for  centuries  unknown  used  to  roam  in 
vast  herds  over  the  county,  and  their  bones 
even  now  are  frequently  found,  buried  in  river 
sands  or  boggy  swamps.  Some  ten  or  twelve 
years  ago,  when  a  period  of  unusual  drought 
revealed  the  bottom  of  a  part  of  Swan  Lake, 
a  few  miles  north  of  this  county,  the  skulls 
and  bones  of  several  hundred  of  these  animals 
■\rere  discovered,  victims  doubtless  of  some  great 
animal  tragedy  in  the  long  ago.  Perhaps  the 
ice  broke  under  their  combined  weight,  or  maybe 
they  were  crowded  into  the  boggy  lake  in  a 
great  stampede  from  some  prairie  fire.  When 
Le  Sueur  in  1700  established  his  fort  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  which  now  bears  his  name, 
his  men  were  able  to  kill  four  hundred  buffaloes 
in  a  short  time  and  they  constituted  the  main 
sustenance  of  the  garrison.  Before  the  advent 
of  the  white  settlers  these  ancient  herds  of  the 
western  prairies  had  been  driven  by  hunters  far 
toward  the  setting  sun.  Only  once  or  twice  was 
a  stray  straggler  seen  in  the  county  by  the 
pioneer.  The  moose  and  the  elk  in  the  bygone 
centuries  were  common  in  the  woods  and  valleys 
of  the  county,  but  they  also  had  disappeared 
before  the  coming  of  the  white  man.  Beavers, 
also,  were  numerous  in  all  the  lakes  and  streams 
and  their  dams  may  still  be  traced  in  many 
places.  When  Le  Sueur  was  here  building  his 
frrt  in  the  winter  of  1700-1,  he  purchased  of  the 
Indians,  of  this  locality  three  hundred  beaver 
robes  of  nine  skins  each.  Long  before  the  ar- 
rival of  the  first  immigi-ants  these  animals  were 
also  extinct.  Deer,  however,  were  quite  plenti- 
ful long  after  the  settlements  of  the  whites  had 
began,  so  also  were  the  wolves  and  foxes.     An 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


occasional  black  bear  was,  also,  found.  The 
red  and  white  squirrels,  the  raccoon,  the  mink, 
the  muskrat  and  many  other  small  animals  were 
found  here  by  the  whites  in  great  numbers. 
Jjucks,  geese,  prairie  chickens,  pheasants,  pig- 
eons and  birds  without  number  filled  the  forests, 
kkes  and  prairies,  and  remnants  of  the  wild 
game  of  the  country  can  still  be  found.  No 
county  in  the  state  excelled  Blue  Earth  in  its 
abundance  of  animal  or  vegetable  life. 

The  soil,  with  ^■ery  limited  exceptions,  is  a 
ht,avy  bla-ck  loam  with  clay  subsoil.  There  is 
very  little  sandy  ground  in  the  county  and  but 
small  areas  are  flat  and  boggy.  As  a  rule  the 
land  gently  undulates  affording  excellent  drain- 
age. Inexhaustible  quarries  of  stone,  adapted 
for  building  and  for  lime  and  cement,  are  found 
ill  the  vicinity  of  Mankato,  and  beds  of  clay 
suitable  for  brick  and  pottery  are  abundant  in 
the  same  locality.  A  ledge  of  brown  magnesia 
stone  is  capable  of  a  very  high  and  beautiful 
polish  and  it  was  recently  used  in  wainscoting 
the  interior  of  the  new  magnificant  State  Capi- 
tol with  charming  effect. 

The  earliest  inhabitants  of  the  county  known 
to  the  whites  were  the  Sioux  or  Dakota  In- 
dians. These  aborigines  had  a  tradition  that  a 
few  centuries  ago  the  lowas  and  Omahas  occu- 
pied all  of  the  Minnesota  Valley.  They  were 
constantly  at  war  with  them  and  bloody  raids 
were  common  from  time  immemorial.  The 
Sioux  then  lived  around  Mille  Lac  and  Lake 
Superior.  With  the  aid  of  firearms,  which  they 
obtained  from  the  French  traders,  the  Sioux 
finally  succeeded,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  in 
driving  both  lowas  and  Omahas  out  of  the 
Minnesota  and  Blue  Earth  Valleys  and  occupied 
tliis  wealthy  region  for  their  hunting  grounds. 
The  date  of  this  occupation  of  the  county  by 
the  Sioux  was,  as  near  as  it  can  be  fixed  by 
tlieir  traditions,  about  the  first  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  When  Le  Sueur  visited  the  county  in 
1700  he  seems  to  have  found  the  Sioux  then  in 
occupation. 

The  Sioux  or  Dakotas,  who  were  the  only 
aborigines  known  to  the  whites,  were  divided 
into  roving  bands  of  hunters.  Most  of  those, 
who  claimed  Blue  Earth  County  as  their  usual 
hunting  ground,  belonged  to  the  Sisseton  branch 


of  the  nation.  When  the  white  settlers  first 
came  to  the  County  the  Indians  claimed  Sleepy 
Lye,  whose  principal  village  was  usually  located 
on  Swan  Lake  in  Nicollet  County,  as  their 
head  chief. 

An  Indian  chief,  however,  has  very  little  au- 
thority. Government  and  law  with  them  are 
in  the  most  rudementary  state.  For  the  most 
part  in  our  Sioux  communities  each  person  was 
a  law  unto  himself.  They  seldom  congregated 
in  large  villages,  but  usually  went  in  small 
groups  of  four  or  five  families,  associated  to- 
gether for  mutual  protection,  each  group  having 
some  person,  who  seemed  better  adapted  than 
the  rest  to  take  the  lead  and  was  therefore  made 
a  sort  of  sub-chief.  The  real  power,  however, 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  warriors,  and  no 
important  move  could  be  taken  without  a  coun- 
cil of  all  the  braves. 

They  had  no  fixed  habitation,  but  lived  in 
conical  tents  or  teepees,  which  during  the  sum- 
mer, they  constantly  moved  from  place  to  place 
as  they  wandered  far  and  near  in  quest  of  game. 
The  winters  were  spent  in  some  wooded  valley, 
\i'here  there  was  shelter  and  fuel.  The  bottom 
of  the  teepee  would  be  banked  about  a  foot  to 
keep  out  the  wind  and  frost.  A  fire  was  kept 
burning  in  tlie  center  and  a  hole  was  left  open 
at  the  apex,  where  some  of  the  smoke  escaped. 
C'ccasionally  a  bark  hut  would  be  erected.  Ow- 
ing to  their  utter  improvidence  in  making  pro- 
vision for  the  morrow,  the  Indians  often  suf- 
ficed from  hunger  during  the  long  cold  months 
of  winter.  Sometimes  a  few  bushels  of  wild 
rice  and  roots  would  be  laid  aside  against  such 
evil  days.  During  the  summer  months,  how- 
ever, when  berries,  roots  and  game  were  abund- 
ant, they  led  a  free  and  happy  life. 

They  were  not  at  all  particular  as  to  their 
food.  They  ate  all  kinds  of  animals  and  every 
part  of  them.  Muskrats,  wolves,  a  dead  horse 
or  cow,  and  no  matter  how  putrid  the  flesh 
might  be,  they  ate  all  with  a  relish.  A  fat  dog 
was  considered  a  great  delicacy  and  formed  the 
principal  dish  at  their  great  feasts.  The  buf- 
faloes were  the  principal  game  of  the  prairie 
Indians,  and  it  was  the  custom  of  the  Blue 
Earth  County  tribes  to  go  on  one  or  more  buf- 
falo hunts  each  year.     In  the  spring  they  flocked 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


into  the  great  hard  maple  groves  of  Maakato 
and  vicinity  and  gorged  themselves  sick  on 
maple  sugar,  of  which  they  were  very  fond. 
They  were  not  over  cleanly  in  its  manufacture 
and  frequently  tossed  their  muskrats,  and  turtles, 
and  ducks  just  as  they  were  killed  into  the 
boiling  sap  to  cook. 

The  Dakotas,  however,  were  not  devoid  of 
many  virtues.  As  a  rule  they  did  but  little  in- 
jury to  the  settler  or  his  property.  Wholly 
unaccustomed,  as  they  were,  to  any  restraint 
of  law,  and  feeling  aggrieved  by  the  aggressions 
of  the  white  men  upon  their  ancient  domain,  it 
is  to  their  credit  that  they  were  seldom  guilty 
of  any  special  crimes.  They  were  hospitable 
but  expected  everybody  else  to  be  the  same. 
I'hey  had  very  little  conception  of  the  right  of 
personal  property.  If  anyone  had  anything 
more  than  he  needed  to  satisfy  his  present  wants, 
it  was  considered  the  proper  thing  to  divide  it 
with  any  who  lacked. 

In  their  religious  views,  like  all  ignorant 
and  heathen  people,  they  were  quite  supersti- 
tious. Every  tree  and  stone  and  grassy  knoll, 
and  river  and  lake  they  imagined  to  be  the 
abode  of  some  spirit. 

An  Indian  would  come  across  a  stone  or 
tree  in  his  path,  and  would  decorate  it  with  a 
fillet  of  grass,  and  would  offer  a  little  tobacco 
or  perhaps  a  bird  or  dog  to  the  spirit,  which 
lie  supposed  lived  there.  The  mounds  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  they  regarded  as  the 
habitations  of  some  gods,  and  they  were  called 
"Wauk-en-teepee,"  "The  houses  of  the  gods." 

Their  method  of  burial  was  to  wrap  the 
body  in  a  robe  or  blanket  and  lay  it  on  the 
lower  branches  of  some  spreading  tree,  or  on  a 
scaffold    constructed    by    laying    a   few   poles    on 


some  forked  posts.  After  the  flesh  had  decayed, 
tJie  bones  would  be  gathered,  and  a  mound 
would  be  erected  by  the  squaws  carrying  earth 
in  baskets  and  piling  it  over  them.  These 
m.ounds  often  attained  to  the  height  of  eight 
or  ten  feet,  and  were  usually  put  in  prominent 
places,  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  or  on  the  crest  of 
some  high  bluff.  This  was  done  that  the  friends 
of  the  departed  might  have  his  grave  in  sight, 
as  it  was  supposed  every  deceased  person  had 
two  souls,  one  of  which  tarried  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  grave,  while  the  other  departed  to  the 
happy  hunting  ground. 

Although  the  Indians  made  their  homes  in 
this  county  for  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  of 
years,  yet  within  a  year  after  their  departure 
no  trace  of  their  long  occupation  could  be 
found,  save  an  occasional  burial  mound,  a  flint 
arrow  head  or  stone  hammer  head  picked  up 
at  rare  intervals  from  the  soil.  Their  wigwam 
architecture  they  carried  away  with  them,  their 
agriculture  never  exceeded  a  few  hills  of  com 
planted  by  the  squaws  in  some  river  bottom. 
Their  transportation  facilities  consisted  simply 
of  a  dug  out  canoe  on  water,  and,  on  land,  two 
slender  poles,  the  front  ends  of  which  were 
fastened  one  on  each  side  of  a  wolflsh  looking 
dog  or  shaggy  pony,  while  the  rear  ends  drag- 
ged upon  the  ground,  carrying  bundles  of  house- 
hold goods  and  the  smaller  papooses.  Their 
literature  was  confined  wholly  to  oral  traditions 
and  wigwam  stories,  but  without  the  written 
page,  these  all  perished  with  the  telling,  save 
an  occasional  fragment  picked  up  by  some  white 
trader  or  missionary.  Some  of  these  bits  of 
Indian  lore,  which  have  specially  to  do  with 
Blue  Earth  County,  we  shall  consider  in  our 
next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  II 

INDIAN    LEGENDS    OE    THE    BLUE 
EAETH. 


The  art  of  the  story  teller  was  well  developed 
and  much  in  vogue  among  our  Sioux  Indians. 
The  frequent  feasts  and  the  long  winters, 
when  the  people  were  confined  to  their  wigwams, 
stimulated  greatly  the  growth  of  this  kind  of 
entertainment.  A  good  story  teller  was  ever  in 
gj'eat  demand  and  in  high  honor  and  this  en- 
couraged the  cultivation  of  his  talent.  Very 
few  of  these  Indian  tales  have  been  saved,  but 
the  few  we  have  show  how  rich  the  treasure 
must  have  been.  The  country  of  the  Blue 
Earth  was  ever  a  favorite  haunt  of  the  red 
man.  Its  abundant  fruits  and  game,  its  va- 
ried and  charming  scenery  and,  because  of 
these,  its  many  memories  of  a  happy  and  hoary 
past,  all  tended  to  make  it  rich  in  legendary 
lore.  Only  a  few  of  these  wild  tales  from  the 
wigwam  have  I  been  able  to  glean.  The  shades 
of  oblivion  had  long  buried  the  great  bulk  of 
them  in  the  ashes  of  the  Sisseton  camp  fires, 
cold  now  on  the  banks  of  the  Mahkato  for  many 
a  year.  The  first  story  I  shall  give  was  orig- 
inally translated  into  a  civilized  tongue  by  an 
old  French  voyager  and  is  entitled: 

THE    HAUNTED    A'ALLEY. 

A  few  miles  south  of  Mankato  there  is  a 
beautiful  valley  located  in  the  angular  piece 
01  land  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Waton- 
wan and  Blue  Earth  rivers.  Its  romantic  posi- 
tion and  beautiful  scenery  impart  to  it  an  in- 
describable loveliness.  It  nestles  mid  lofty  hills 
covered  with  sturdy  oaks,  "'Monarchs  of  the  For- 
est," which  shade  it  from  the  summer's  heat,  and 
shelter  it  from  the  wintry  blasts.  In  its  center 
a  transparent  lake  mirrors  the  beauty  of  its 
wooded  banks,  almost  everywhere  heavily  fes- 
tooned with  vines  of  the  Wahoo  and  wild  grape. 
A  small  sparkling  stream,  the  outlet  of  the  lake. 


gently  meanders  through  lovely  groves,  until  it 
reaches  and  is  lost  ia  the  turbid  waters  of  the 
Watonwan.  Springs  of  the  purest  water  gush 
licre  and  there  from  the  hillsides. 

The  Indians  told  of  dark  deeds  done  in  this 
valley  and  dared  not  go  near  it,  as  tradition 
said  no  one  had  ever  returned  ahve  who  had 
dared  to  enter  its  enchanted  bounds.  Spirits 
of  warriors  clothed  in  bodies  of  mangled  flesh 
and  covered  with  ghastly,  gaping  wounds  were 
seen  by  those  belated  in  the  chase,  who  happened 
inadvertently  to  pass  by  its  dreaded  boundaries, 
and  many  a  warrior  told  of  hearing  awful  and 
unearthly  moans  and  shrieks  from  those,  who 
had  entered  it  against  the  will  of  the  great 
spirit,  while  huge  specters  of  smoke  and  lurid 
flame  were  seen  to  issue  from  it. 

War  Eagle  was  a  young  and  mighty  chief  of 
the  Sissetons,  who  dwelt  ia  the  rich  country 
at  the  great  bend  of  the  Minnesota,  by  the 
mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth.  In  the  chase  and  on 
many  a  battle  field  he  had  disting-uished  himself 
far  above  all  the  mighty  men  of  his  tribe,  for 
he  was  powerful  of  body  and  stout  of  heart.  In 
the  great  councils  of  his  nation,  his  manly  form 
towered  a  head  taller  than  all  the  great  war- 
riors and  his  advice  never  went  unheeded.  He 
was  indeed,  the  idol  of  his  tribe.  All  sang  his 
jiraises  and  many  a  maiden  had  cast  longing 
eyes  at  him  and  many  a  dusky  mamma  had 
schemed  and  planned  ia  vain  to  catch  him  for 
her  daughter.  He,  however,  was  of  a  melan- 
clioly  disposition  and  would  not  wed.  He  was 
fond  of  wandering  alone  in  meditation,  and  the 
solitude  of  the  forest  was  his  favorite  haunt. 
Here  his  keen  eye  and  quick  brain  had  ac- 
quainted him  with  all  the  secrets  of  nature.  He 
reveled  in  her  beauty  and  rejoiced  in  her 
mysteries. 

One  day  in  the  heat  of  the  chase  he  pursued 
a  deer  into  this  enchanted  valley  without  realiz- 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


ing  where  he  was  until  in  its  midst.  Capti- 
vated by  its  beauty,  he  dismissed  every  super- 
stitious fear,  and  concluded  to  make  this  vale 
his  place  of  refuge  from  those  who  were  trying 
to  force  him  to  wed  a  girl  he  did  not  love. 
Many  a  day  he  spent  in  this  delightful  spot, 
musing  alone  in  its  peaceful  solitude. 

One  day  a  young  brave  came  breathless  into 
the  village  which  lay  near  the  confines  of  this 
valley  with  the  startling  intelligence  that  a 
war  party  of  their  dreaded  foes  the  Chippeways 
were  camped  on  the  plateau  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Blue  Earth.  The  village  which  but  a  few 
moments  before,  was  the  very  picture  of  tran- 
quility was  suddenly  transformed  to  the  wildest 
commotion.  The  women  and  children  ran  hither 
and  thither  in  a  panic  of  fear.  The  men  has- 
tily decked  themselves  for  war,  and  hurried  to 
the  council  lodge.  Soon  a  band  of  chosen 
warriors  issued  forth  led  by  War  Eagle,  their 
trusted  chief,  who  was  anxious  to  avenge  the 
death  of  a  very  dear  friend,  who  but  a  fort- 
night before  had  been  waylaid  and  killed  by 
some  prowling  Chippeways,  while  hunting  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Little  Waraju,  or  Cottonwood 
river. 

The  warlike  expedition  was  not  long  in  reach- 
ing the  neighborhood  of  their  deadly  enemies. 
Crawling  stealthily  up  through  the  bushes  which 
skirted  the  sides  of  the  table  land  on  which 
their  foes  were  encamped  they  got  within  a  few 
rods  of  their  tepees.  They  soon  discovered  that 
they  outnumbered  the  Chippeways  more  than 
four  to  one.  In  view  of  this  fact,  and  of  the 
further  reason,  that  it  was  hardly  yet  past  the 
hour  of  noon,  it  was  determined  to  attack  at 
once  and  not  wait  for  a  daybreak  surprise,  after 
the  usual  mode  of  Indian  warfare.  It  was  a 
dtsperate  fight.  The  Chippeways  were  all  tried 
warriors,  and  dearly  did  each  brave  sell  his  life 
on  that  bloody  field. 

One  Chippeway  chief  at  last  only  remained, 
but  though  all  his  friends  had  fallen,  he  still 
stood  lilfe  a  rock  in  front  of  his  wigwam,  hold- 
ing alone  the  whole  Sioux  tribe  at  bay.  The 
slain  lay  about  him  in  heaps,  but  his  great 
strength  and  courage  seemed  yet  unabated.  At 
last  a  crowd  of  Sioux  warriors  made  a  rush 
upon   him   and   although   half   of   them   fell   be- 


neath his  mighty  blows,  still,  by  their  over- 
v/helming  numbers,  they  were  on  the  point  of 
wrenching  his  scalp  from  his  head,  when  War 
Eagle  who  had  watched  with  admiration  the  • 
chief's  splendid  valor  and  had  been  won  by  it, 
rushed  in  between  him  and  his  foes  and  com- 
pelled his  brother  Sioux  to  desist. 

As  the  Chippeway  chief  arose  it  was  to  wit- 
ness some  of  the  Sioux  dragging  from  his  wig- 
wam his  only  daughter,  a  beautiful  maiden  of 
tender  years,  for  whose  life  and  honor  he  had 
fought  so  desperately  that  day.  Turning,  how- 
ever, to  his  noble  benefactor  he  committed  his 
daughter  to  his  care,  and  with  stately  tread 
walked  into  the  neighboring  woods  and  disap- 
peared. 

The  Sioux  warriors  glared  like  wolves  at  his 
retreating  form  and  were  greatly  chagrined  and 
displeased  to  have  their  foe  thus  escape,  but 
none  dared  openly  to  oppose  the  will  of  War 
Eagle.  But  their  hearts  were  ugly  toward  him, 
and  as  they  mourned  in  the  scalp  dance  their 
many  friends  and  relatives  slain,  it  made  them 
foel  still  uglier. 

War  Eagle  took  the  captured  Chippeway  mai- 
den in  accordance  with  her  father's  request  as  his 
portion  of  the  booty,  and  the  famous  young  chief, 
who  had  rejected  all  the  fair  daughters  of  his 
own  tribe,  was  at  once  smitten  by  the  great 
beauty  and  charming  ways  of  this  alien  girl. 
He  brought  to  her  the  choicest  game  of  the 
forest,  and  waited  upon  her  as  upon  a  princess. 
His  affections  met  with  a  hearty  response  on  the 
part  of  the  maiden  and  they  were  very  happy 
together. 

The  treatment  War  Eagle  gave  the  maid,  so 
different  from  that  due  a  slave,  still  further 
aroused  the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  his  tribe, 
and  in  a  secret  council  it  was  determined  that 
the  beautiful  young  Chippeway  must  die.  The 
plot  was  to  assassinate  her  while  her  lover  was 
away  on  a  hunt,  but  War  Eagle  returned  much 
sooner  than  was  expected,  and  just  in  time  to 
save  his  fair  bride  from  the  cruel  hands  of  the 
savage  executioners.  Quickly  burying  his  toma- 
hawk in  the  skulls  of  four  of  them,  he  seized 
his  beautiful  wife  and  fled  with  her  to  the  en- 
chanted valley,  near  whose  dread  border  no  pur- 
si.er  or  avenger  of  blood  dared  venture.     Here 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


for  many  moons  they  lived  most  happily  to- 
gether. The  forest  game  had  here,  also,  found 
an  asylum  and  was  much  more  abundant  than 
elsewhere.  So  the  young  brave  and  his  fair 
bride  did  not  lack  for  food. 

One  day,  however,  War  Eagle  pursued  a  deer 
some  distance  into  the  forest  beyond  the  confines 
of  his  valley,  and  being  discovered  by  his  foes, 
an  ambush  was  quickly  made  for  him,  and  he 
v.'as  smitten  by  a  shower  of  arrows,  two  of  which 
pierced  his  heart.  He  fell  with  a  shriek,  which 
reached  the  ears  of  his  young  bride,  and  in  a 
few  moments  she  was  by  his  side,  but  it  was 
too  late  to  bid  his  manly  soul  adieu,  he  had  gone 
to  the  happy  hunting  grounds.  Bending  over 
liis  majestic  form — majestic  even  in  death — she 
drew  from  its  sheath  his  sharp  hunting  knife 
and,  plunging  it  into  her  own  fair  bosom,  she 
fell  dead  upon  the  body  of  her  noble  lover. 

After  this  the  enchanted  valley  became 
more  "Waul-iin"  than  ever  to  the  Sisseton  Da- 
kotas. 

The  next  story  I  shall  give  is  partly  at  least 
historical — the  scene  being  laid  since  the  found- 
ing of  Fort  Snelling,  and  the  principal  charac- 
ters were  well  known  personages,  some  four 
score  years  ago.  Indeed  the  entire  tale  may  be 
the  romance  of  a  real  life,  for  the  true  story 
of  many  a  life  is  stranger  than  fiction.  The 
tale  may  be  entitled : 

THE   DEVOTED   FATHER. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  there 
lived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  a  noted 
Indian  chief,  named  Ahkitchetah-dutah.  His 
village  was  among  the  principal  ones  belonging 
to  the  powerful  Sisseton  tribes,  who  called 
themselves  the  Miakechakesa  and  who  inhabited 
the  country  at  the  great  bend  of  the  Minnesota, 
and  the   valleys   of  the   Blue  Earth. 

Ahkitchetah-dutah  was  possessed  of  very 
strong  affections,  and  these  were  bestowed  upon 
a  maiden  of  his  tribe,  who  was  distinguished 
hy  her  comeliness  of  person  and  sweetness  of 
mind.  His  young  wife,  however,  died  when  their 
only  child  was  an  infant.  This  great  sorrow 
ever  after  clouded  the  life  of  the  chief  and 
he  never   remarried.     His   whole   soul   was   now 


wrapped  up  in  his  only  son,  Mahzah  Kootay. 
The  child  grew  into  young  manhood,  and  be- 
came a  leader  among  the  young  braves  of  his 
\illage.  In  the  summer  of  1819  Mazah  Kootay, 
accompanied  by  a  number  of  other  young  braves, 
went  out  upon  the  plains  to  hunt  buffalo.  Wlien 
in  the  vicinity  of  where  Council  Bluffs  now 
stands,  they  fell  in  with  some  designing  traders, 
who  sold  them  liquor.  In  some  drunken  brawl 
our  young  brave  and  another  young  Indian  shot 
and  killed  one  of  the  United  States  soldiers, 
and  then  fled  home  to  the  valley  of  the  ]\Iinne- 
sota. 

The  government  at  once  demanded  the  sur- 
render of  the  murderers  from  the  Indians  and 
withheld  the  payment  of  all  annuities  to  them 
until  the  demand  was  complied  with.  At  last 
upon  the  ad\ice  of  Colin  Campbell  the  trader, 
the  Sissetons  decided  in  a  council  held  at  Big 
Stone  Lake,  that  the  two  }oung  men,  who  ad- 
mitted th(5ir  guilt,  should  surrender  themselves 
to  the  government  for  trial.  Accordingly  Mah- 
za  Kootay  and  his  companion,  attended  by  a 
number  of  their  friends  and  relations,  repaired 
to  Fort  Snelling  to  comply  with  the  decision  of 
the   council. 

Ahkitchetah-dutah,  the  aged  father,  was  over- 
whelmed with  grief  and  went  with  the  party 
determined  to  offer  himself  as  a  substitute  for 
his  son.  ^\'hen  within  a  mile  of  the  fort  the 
party  halted,  and  the  old  chief  and  the  two 
young  brakes  painted  themselves  black,  stuck 
splinters  of  wood  through  their  arms  at  the 
elbows  to  show  their  contempt  of  pain,  had 
their  hands  fastened  with  thongs  of  buffalo 
hide,  sang  their  death  dirge,  and,  bidding  their 
companions  farewell,  marched  into  the .  fort  on 
November  12th,  1820,  flying  a  British  flag, 
which  was  given  them  in  the  late  war.  Col. 
Snelling,  who  was  in  command  of  the  fort,  had 
a  fire  built  ui  the  middle  of  the  parade  grounds, 
and  the  British  flag  publicly  burned  with  due 
ceremony.  The  earnest  appeal  of  the  old  chief 
to  be  substituted  in  place  of  his  son,  however, 
was  rejected  by  the  officer,  but  he  was  held  for 
some  time  as  a  hostage,  while  the  two  young 
men  were  sent  under  military  escort  to  St. 
Louis  for  trial.  Here  they  were  detained  in 
prison   for   some   months,   but   no   witness   being 


10 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


found  against  them,  they  were  finally  released 
by  the  officials,  their  case  being  dismissed  for 
want  of  prosecution. 

While  on  his  way  home,  however,  he  hap- 
pened  to  run  across  the  path  of  the  deadliest 
enemy  a  Sioux  Indian  could  meet,  in  the  per- 
son of  the  old  Indian  fighter,  John  Moredock. 
Many  years  before,  when  Moredock  was  a  young 
man,  all  his  folks  had  been  butchered  with  all 
the  horrors  of  Indian  cruelty  by  a  party  of 
Sioux  Indians,  as  they  were  coming  up  the 
Mississippi  river  in  a  flat  boat.  Crazed  to  des- 
peration by  this  awful  deed,  John  Moredock 
sv?ore  a  terrible  vengeance  upon  the  whole  Sioux 
nation.  Not  satisfied  with  killing  all  the  mur- 
derers, he  made  it  the  business  of  his  life  to 
kill  every  Sioux  he  could  find.  An  unerring 
n^arksman,  and  the  most  desperate  fighter  in  all 
the  west,  he  was  for  years  the  terror  of  all  the 
Sioux  tribes. 

Mazah-Kootay  was  coming  through  a  piece 
of  timber  when  he  met  the  old  hunter.  In  a 
raoment  each  man  was  behind  a  tree  and  watch- 
ing his  opportunity.  Moredock  put  his  hat  on 
tJie  end  of  his  ramrod  and  reached  it  out  just 
a  little,  when  instantly  Mazah  Kootay  put  a 
ball  through  it,  and  Moredock  fell  with  it  as 
though  killed.  The  Indian  rushed  up  immed- 
iately to  scalp  his  victim,  when  he  suddenly 
arose  and  shot  him  dead,  and  Moredock  added 
one  more  scalp  to  the  scores  he  already  carried. 
Ignorant  of  his  true  fate,  Ahkitchetah-dutah 
looked  in  vain  for  the  return  of  his  son.  The 
whites  assured  him  that  his  son  had  been,  re- 
leased by  them,  but  the  old  chief  would  not  be- 
lieve them;  he  was  firmly  persuaded  the  pale 
faces  had  killed  him  and  his  grief  was  pitiable. 
"When  Major  Long  explored  the  Minnesota  river 
in  1820  he  did  not  dare  visit  the  mouth  of  the 
Blue  Earth,  because  of  the  disaffection  of  the 
Indians  there,  due  to  the  sorrow  of  their  chief. 
The  chief  finding  his  grief  unbearable  devoted 
himself  to  death,  after  the  Indian  fashion,  and 
lived  alone,  away  from  his  tribe,  in  the  hope 
someone  would  kill  him,  but  the  wild  beasts 
avoided  him,  and  the  scalp  hunting  Chippeways 
fled  from  him. 

One  day  a  band  of  twenty  young  braves  of 
his  tribe  was  formed  to  go  to  the  famous  pipe- 


stone  quarry.  The  country  was  known  to  be 
infested  by  prowling  bands  of  the  Saques  and 
Foxes,  who  had  long  been  at  enmity  with  the 
Sioux.  Ahkitchetah-dutah  went  with  this  band 
and  on  the  journey  hung  behind  in  the  hope  he 
might  be  killed,  but  to  no  avail,  for  no  enemy 
appeared.  Having  reached  on  their  homeward 
journey  a  valley  of  the  Watonwan,  about  four 
miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Blue  Earth, 
they  camped  for  the  night.  As  they  were  so 
near  home  their  usual  vigilence  was  relaxed. 
At  day  break  next  morning  they  were  awakened 
Ijy  a  volley  of  bullets,  and  five  of  the  Sioux 
fell  dead.  This  was  Ahkitchetah-dutah's  .oppor- 
tunity and,  seizing  his  arms,  he  rushed  forth 
to  meet  the  charge  of  the  enemy  alone  and  slew 
four  of  them  before  he  himself  fell,  riddled  with 
bullets.  This  sudden  and  desperate  act  of  the 
old  chief  disconcerted  the  Saques  and  Poxes  in 
their  charge,  and  gave  the  _  Sioux  a  chance  to 
rally  and  to  drive  their  enemy  back.  The 
Sioux  then  dug  rifle  pits  with  their  tomahawks 
and  knives  and  thus  entrenched  fought  heroic- 
ally, and  finally  beat  off  the  Saques  and  Foxes, 
vvho  outnumbered  them  three  to  one,  but  who 
had  been  disheartened  by  the  desperate  valor  of 
Ahkitchetah-dutah. 

We  are  apt  to  thinlc  of  the  Indian  as  only  a 
blood  thirsty  savage  delighting  in  the  torture 
of  his  enemy,  or  girdled  with  gorey  human  scalps, 
indulging  in  the  horrid  rites  of  the  war  dance. 
He  hardly  ever  appears  on  the  stage  of  our 
national  history,  save  in  the  role  of  some  ter- 
rible massacre.  Then  the  last  and  most  im- 
pressive view  the  early  pioneers  usually  have  of 
the  Indian  is  with  scalping  knife  and  toma- 
hawk, killing  the  women  and  children  along  the 
frontier. 

There  is  no  question,  but  that  the  Indian, 
like  all  savages,  was  prone  to  follow  the  war- 
path and  that  his  methods  of  warfare  were 
sliockingly  bloody  and  cruel.  Our  red  man  was, 
however,  possessed  of  many  noble  virtues  and 
some  high  ideals,  and  it  is  partly  because  they 
reveal  this  better  side  of  his  character,  that  I 
insert  these  glimpses  of  his  home  life.  It  will 
be  noted  that  like  most  tales  of  the  wild,  each 
has   a  tragic  note. 


mSTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


11 


THE   DEATH   DIRGE   OF    A   DAKOTA 
MAIDEN. 

Hapan  was  a  beautiful  Dakota  maiden,  the 
belle  of  lier  tribe  who  lived  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mahkato  river.  Many  had  been  the  suitors 
for  her  hand,  but  she  disdained  to  notice  any 
of  them,  except  young  Chaskay,  a  valiant  young 
brave.  He  was  a  splendid  specimen  of  physi- 
cal manhood,  tall,  straight  as  an  arrow,  and  a 
perfect  athlete.  His  quick  piercing  eye,  high 
forehead  and  classic  face  betokened  the  highest 
intelligence  and,  though  he  was  but  a  youth, 
liis  fame  already  as  an  orator  and  wise  advisor 
was  great  in  the  councils  of  his  tribe.  None 
swifter  than  he  in  the  chase,  none  more  skillful 
than  he  in  the  great  ball  games,  none  stronger 
or  braver  than  he  on  the  warpath.  Chaskay  and 
Hapan  had  been  lovers  from  their  childhood 
and  were  never  happy  save  when  together.  But 
a  great  war  party  had  left  the  village  two  weeks 
before  to  go  against  the  Chippeways,  to  avenge 
the  blood  of  a  number  of  relatives  and  friends, 
^(■ho  had  been  waylaid  and  murdered  while 
hunting  beyond  Swan  Lake  by  a  skulking  band 
of  this  ancient  foe.  With  this  party  had  gone 
young  Chaskay  as  its  head  war  chief.  Tender 
had  been  tlie  parting  between  him  and  Hapan, 
and  it  was  with  a  mingled  feeling  of  dread 
apprehension  and  loving  pride  the  maiden  had 
watched  her  lover's  departure  on  that  fateful 
morning.  At  the  head  of  the  long  column  of 
noble  warriors  he  had  marched  with  stately 
mien  down  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Minne- 
sota. But  the  week  before,  the  remnant  of  this 
strong  band  of  warriors  had  returned,  most  of 
them  covered  with  ghastly  wounds.  Our  war- 
riors approach  having  been  discovered  by  some 
of  the  enemy's  scouts,  an  ambush  had  been  made 
for  them  by  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  Chip- 
peways. 

Terrible  had  been  the  struggle  and  awful  the 
carnage.  With  desperate  valor  Chaskay  had 
fought  and  it  was  not  before  he  had  laid  low 
many  of  his  enemies,  that  he  was  finally  over- 
powered and  slain.  The  awful  news  pierced 
Hapan's  heart  like  an  arrow  and  for  several 
clays  she  brooded  over  the  melancholy  event  in 
sullen  silent  agony.     But  one  morning  the  slum- 


bering village,  which  nestled  in  the  low  land 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Mahkato  was  startled  by 
the  sad,  plaintive  notes  of  her  death  song. 
Upon  the  top  of  a  tall  oak,  which  topped  a  rockj- 
pi-ecipice  just  back  of  the  village,  she  sat 
decked  in  all  her  bridal  garments.  The  words 
of  her  death  dirge  were  these: 

"Wicanripi  rota  hiyeye 
Koda,  he  opa  hiyaye 
Mix  owapa. 

Which  translated  read  as  follows: 

My   friend  has  gone 

His  road  is  the  Milky  A^'ay, 

The   same   road   I   will   travel. 

As  slie  finished  her  song  she  east  herself  down 
from  the  dizzy  height  upon  the  stones  below, 
and  her  soul  sped  to  join  her  lover  in  the 
happy  spirit  land. 

The  last  of  tliese  Indian  tales  which  were  in 
any  way  connected  with  our  county  is  a  folk 
lore  story.  It  was  translated  into  English  at 
the  instance  of  the  Sioux  Missionary,  Dr.  Wil- 
hamson,  by  one  of  his  converted  Indians  and 
preserves    many    of    the    Dakota    idioms. 

THE   LEGEND   OF   NO   SOUL. 
(A  Dakota  Folklore  story.) 

Once  on  a  time  there  lived  in  the  valley  of 
the  Minnesota  a  father  who  had  twelve  sons.  In 
front  of  the  lodge  grew  a  number  of  fine  oak 
trees,  while  just  beside  it  there  gushed  from  the 
foot  of  the  bluff  a  beautiful  spring  of  water, 
which  the  cold  of  winter  or  the  summer's 
drouth  never  efiected.  It  was  a  charming  spot, 
slieltered  from  every  storm,  and  the  luxuriant 
verdure  of  summer  v:as  always  fresh  and  decked 
with  such  a  profusion  of  flowers  that  the  eye 
of  the  beholder  was  fascinated.  But  Wishwee, 
the  oldest  son,  wa.?,  not  satisfied  with  the  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  his  fathers'  and  concluded  to  go 
out  into  the  world  to  seek  his  fortune.  So  he 
came  to  his  father  and  said :  '"Father,  I  am 
tired  of  viewing  always  the  same  scenes  and 
wish  to  go  out  into  the  world  and  se-e  other 
nations  and  other  lands,  that  I  might  know 
how    they    prosper.      Wilt    thou    give    me    the 


12 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


beautiful  black  horse  that  thou  didst  receive 
from  the  great  chief  of  the  West  for  my  jour- 
ney i*"  To  this  the  father  answered,  "My  son, 
tJiou  hast  ever  been  very  dear  to  me  and  since 
thou  hast  decided  to  travel  into  distant  lands 
thou  mayest  take  the  beautiful  black  horse,  but 
remember  this  if  thou  desirest  him  to  go  very 
fast  or  carry,  thee  over  any  obstacle  in  the  road 
never  strike  him  more  than  once  and  he  will 
never  fail  thee."  To  which  the  son  replied, 
■'Your  words,  dear  father,  make  me  glad,  and  1 
shall  heed  thy  advice.  As  long  as  yonder  spring 
is  clear  thou  wilt  know  that  I  am  alive,  but  if 
its  limpid  waters  shall  become  troubled  and 
muddy  then  thou  wilt  mourn  me  as  dead." 

It  was  a  glorious  morning  in  the  moon  of 
the  corn  planting,  when  Wishwee  started  on  his 
journey  mounted  on  the  beautiful  black  horse. 
As  he  was  leaving  the  wigwam  door  his  father 
handed  him  two  bottles  of  wine,  which  his  old 
grandmother  had  made  from  the  juice  of  the 
wild  grapes  she  had  picked  in  the  far  off 
haunted  valley.  After  he  had  traveled  a  long 
way,  beyond  the  farthest  point  ever  reached  by 
the  buffalo  hunters  of  his  tribe,  he  came  to  a 
large  path  called  the  "Difficult  Way,"  and  at 
once  determined  to  see  what  was  at  the  ottier 
end  of  it.  As  he  journeyed  along  this  road  he 
came  suddenly  to  a  rocky  precipice,  which  lay 
straight  across  his  path.  Remembering  what 
his  father  had  said,  he  gave  his  horse  only  one 
cut  with  the  whip,  and  he  scaled  the  perpendi- 
cular height  with  a  bound  and  stood  on  the 
other  side.  Here  he  espied  an  old  woman,  who 
just  then  was  cleaning  some  deer  skins  beside 
Ler  lodge.  As  he  was  passing,  she  called  to  him 
and  said,  "My  grand  child,  though  thou  be  on 
a  journey  and  in  haste,  come  into  my  wigwam 
and  partake  of  a  little  food  and  then  pass  on." 
"Yes,  grandmother,"  answered  Wishwee,  "I  am 
very  glad  of  thy  invitation,  for  I  am  very 
hungry."  So  he  alighted  from  his  horse  and 
supped  with  her.  When  he  was  about  to  de- 
part, the  old  woman  asked  him  "Whither  art 
thou  going,  my  grandchild?"  Wishwee  an- 
swered, "Grandmother  I  have  grown  up  without 
seeing  other  lands,  and  other  people,  and  now 
I  go  out  into  the  world  to  seek  my  fortune." 
Whereupon  she  replied,   "Well  hast  thou   done. 


my  gTandchild,  but  this  road  thou  hast  taken 
ii3  well  named  the  'Difficult  Way,'  so  be  wise, 
my  son,  and  heed  the  advice  thou  shalt  receive 
on  thy  journey."  So  Wishwee  proceeded  on  his 
way.  After  he  had  gone  some  distance  he  came 
suddenly  to  a  great  slough,  so  vast,  he  could 
not  see  across  it,  and  so  miry,  a  waterfowl 
could  not  wade  in  it.  Along  the  edge  of  this 
slough  were  strewn  thick  the  bones  of  horses 
and  their  riders,  who  had  attempted  to  pass 
through  it.  It  was  called  the  We  We  Tanka, 
The  Bad  Swamp.  Wishwee  paused  for  a  time 
perplexed,  but  finding  no  way  to  pass  around 
this  terrible  slough,  he  headed  his  horse  straight 
for  its  midst,  and  gave  him  one  blow  with  his 
whip.  Swift  as  the  wind,  with  mighty  bounds 
that  scarce  touched  the  surface  once,  the  noble 
animal  carried  his  rider  safely  over  the  im- 
passable swamp.  On  the  farther  side  our  trav- 
eler found  an  old  man,  who  called  to  him  to 
pause  a  few  minutes  and  sup  at  his  lodge.  After 
they  had  eaten  together  the  young  man  said  to 
his  host,  "Grandfather,  thou  hast  made  me  very 
happy  by  inviting  me  to  dine  with  thee.  Wilt 
thou  not  partake  of  a  drop  of  this  wine  I  have?" 
and  he  handed  him  one  of  the  bottles  his  father 
had  given  him.  After  the  old  man  had  drank 
tv/ice  of  the  wine,  he  became  very  talkative,  and 
he  told  the  young  man  all  his  secrets.  "My 
fron,"  said  he,  "When  thou  goest  hence  thou 
wilt  soon  come  to  the  Hill  Beautiful.  From 
the  moment  that  comest  in  sight  hasten  thy 
horse  with  all  speed  and  beware  that  thou  dost 
not  stop  or  look  behind  thee  until  thou  hast 
reached  the  summit  for  if  thou  tarriest  or 
lookest  behind  thee  a  single  instant  before  ar- 
riving on  the  summit,  then  thou  will  surely  die, 
but  after  the  highest  point  is  attained,  thou 
mayest  check  thy  speed   and  look  behind." 

Thus  spake  the  old  man  and  the  young  man 
again  proceeded  on  his  way.  After  some  time 
the  top  of  the  Hill  Beautiful  loomed  up  in  the 
distance.  The  moment  Wishwee  saw  it  he  gave 
his  horse  one  cut  with  his  whip  and  sped  along 
the  road  like  the-  wind.  Soon  he  heard  some- 
one coming  behind  and  tempting  him  to  look 
back,  but  he  remembered  the  old  man's  advice 
and  hurried  on  faster  than  ever.  Then  the 
tempter  began   to   taunt   and  tease   him   saying, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


13 


"See  this  young  man  is  blind  in  one  eye. 
Look,  one  of  his  legs  is  shorter  than  the  other. 
His  mouth,  too,  is  twisted."  Though  greatly 
exasperated  by  these  words  the  young  man 
checked  himself  and  pressed  on  with  the  ut- 
most speed  with  his  eye  fixed  on  the  top  of 
the  hill  straight  before  him.  Gaining  tire  sum- 
mit at  last  he  reined  in  his  horse  and  looked 
behind.  There  in  the  road  panting  for  breath 
stood  the  largest  and  most  fierce  mountain  lion 
he  had  ever  seen.  Almost  dead  with  running 
the  lion  came  and  lay  down  near  Wishwee  and 
said:  "Young  man,  thou  art  very  wise  and 
brave,  and  hast  arrived  at  the  top  of  Hill 
Beautiful  without  looking  back,  and  thereby  thou 
hast  overcome  me,  and  henceforth  I  am  at  thy 
service.  On  the  road  thou  are  traveling  there 
is  another  hill  called  the  High  Hill. 

"AATien  it  comes  in  sight  beware  that  thou 
dost  not  look  behind  before  reaching  its  summit, 
for  the  moment  thou  dost,  thou  shall  surely  die, 
but  when  thou  hast  come  to  the  top  thou  may- 
est  look  behind.'' 

The  young  man  had  not  gone  very  far  when 
in  the  distance  he  perceived  the  top  of  the  High 
Hill.  Immediately  he  gave  liis  horse  one  cut 
M'ith  his  whip  and  he  darted  forward  like  an 
arrow,  but  soon  again  from  behind  came  the 
shouts  of  someone  following  making  all  manner 
of  noise,  and  calling  him  all  manner  of  names  to 
induce  him  to  look  back,  but  he  had  a  firm  pur- 
pose and  heeded  not  the  voice  of  his  pursuer. 
When  the  top  of  the  mountain  was  reached  a 
monster  white  wolf,  the  fiercest  Wisliwce  had 
ever  seen,  came  panting  and  lay  down  by  his 
side  saying:  "Thou  hast  conquered  me,  and 
henceforth  my  powers  are  thy  powers."  IFore- 
over  the  Big  Wolf  said:  "Before  thou  reachest 
the  place  which  thou  art  going  to  another  moun- 
tain must  be  passed  called  the  "Last  Moun- 
tain," when  it  comes  in  sight  then  hurry  on  as 
fast  as  thy  horse  can  carry  thee,  but  beware  on 
the  penalty  of  thy  life  that  thou  doest  not  look 
behind,  until  the  summit  is  reached."  So  the 
young  man  pressed  forward  on  his  journey.  He 
had  not  gone  far  before  the  top  of  Last  Moun- 
tain came  into  sight  and  quickly  he  struck  his 
liorse  one  blow  with  his  whip  and  off  he  flew 
lilce  a  fla-sh  of  lightning.     Soon  he  heard  some 


one  following  close  behind  him  again,  calling  to 
him  to  stop  and  look  at  the  wonderful  things 
in  his  rear.  Becoming  desperate,  his  pursuer 
taunted  him  as  being  a  coward,  but  Wishwee 
was  fixed  in  his  purpose,  and  no  blandishment, 
curiosity  or  fear  could  turn  him  aside  until  the 
top  of  the  mountain  's\'as  reached,  when  a  great 
eagle  fell  at  his  feet  exhausted  crying,  "Thou 
hast  gained  tlie  victory  over  me,  henceforth  my 
powers  are  thy  powers."  Furthermore  the  great 
eagle  said,  "^Mien  thou  hast  gone  hence  on  thy 
A\-ay  thou  \\-ilt  come  to  a  large  town  called  the 
'A'illage  of  Weeping.'  In  that  town  somethings 
Avill  befall  thee.  At  tlie  entrance  of  the  village 
lives  an  old  woman  and  thou  must  go  to  her 
teepee  and  it  will  be  told  thee  what  has  be- 
fallen the  town." 

After  journeying  some  distance  the  young 
man  arrived  at  the  Big  Village.  The  inhabi- 
tants of  which  neither  laugh  or  make  merry, 
and  the  faces  of  all  are  painted  black.  For  a 
time  Wishwee  paused  at  the  entrance  of  the  vil- 
lage gazing  in  amazement  at  its  sad  appear- 
ance, then  noticing  an  old  woman  standing  by 
the  door  of  lier  wigwam  nearby  he  approached 
her  and  inquired,  "Grandmother,  why  is  it  that 
in  til  is  great  village  everybody  looks  so  sorrow- 
ful?"' "My  son,"  answered  the  old  woman,  "Art 
tliou  a  mere  stranger  and  has  not  heard  of 
the  terrible  thing  which  has  happened  here? 
1'he  chief  of  this  village  has  four  fair  daugh- 
ters, but  yesterday  about  noon  one  who  is  called 
'Xo  Soul'  made  a  sudden  raid  upon  this  place 
and  carried  away  two  of  the  maidens.  It  is  on 
this   account  that  the  people   are   all   so  sad." 

"Grandmother,"  asked  the  young  man,  "did'st 
til  on  see  this  No  Soul?"  "Yes,  my  son,"  re- 
plied the  old  woman,  "he  has  the  form  of  a  very 
gi-eat  grizzley  bear.  From  the  time  the  world 
was  made  no  one  has  been  able  to  kill  this  bear, 
and  indeed  he  can  not  be  killed,  and  hence  he 
is  called  No  Soul."  "Where  doth  he  live?" 
cp.eried  the  young  man.  "He  lives."  said  the 
old  woman,  "a  long,  ways  from  here  in  a-  big 
ii:ountain.  He  said  moreover,  that  in  six  days 
he  would  return  and  carry  off  the  chiefs  other 
two  daughters.  Wherefore  the  chief  is  very 
much  alarmed  and  has  said  to  his  people,  who- 
ever kills  No  Soul,  shall  have  both  my  remain- 


14 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


iug  daughters  for  wives,  and  many  a  brave  vrar- 
rior  has  placed  himselJ;  in  readiness  to  fight  the 
monster   when   he   returns." 

When  the  young  man  heard  this  his  heart 
was  stirred  within  him,  and  he  asked  the  old 
woman  to  take  good  care  of  his  horse  as  he 
must  go  and  see  the  chief.  He  found  the  old 
chief  stretched  upon  the  floor  of  his  teepee, 
sorely  lamenting  the  fate  of  his  daughters. 
Wishwee  told  him  not  to  weep  and  that  he 
would  see  him  again  in  twelve  days.  The  young 
man  then  immediately  departed  in  quest  of  the 
mountain  where  No  Soul  lived.  Arriving  there 
he  found  a  v^ry  large  cave,  standing  at  its 
mouth  he  called :  "No  Soul,  have  mercy  upon 
me,  I  have  come  to  see  your  house  which  I 
hear  is  finely  constructed."  Whereupon  a  very 
large  and  fierce  looking  bear  came  rushing  out 
and  with  a  growl  like  the  rumble  of  distant 
thunder  he  said :  "Wonderful  this ;  no  one  dared 
ever  before  to  come  near  my  house  and  such  an 
example  will  I  make  of  thee  that  no  one  will 
ever  venture  here  again.'' 

"Stay  a  moment  No  Soul,"  said  Wishwee, 
"I  understand  you  are  fond  of  wine.  I  have 
some  very  choice  vintage  with  me.  Ere  we 
engage  in  combat  let  us  drink  a  little  to  make 
our  hearts  strong,"  and  he  offered  to  No  Soul 
hif;  second  bottle  of  wine.  The  monster  swal- 
lowed it  all  at  one  gulp,  but  no  sooner  had  he 
done  so  than  he  began  to  be  very  communica- 
tive and  he  revealed  the  secret  of  his  life  and 
said :  "If  I  should  be  killed  and  ripped  open 
a  fox  would  leap  out,  and  if  the  fox  should 
be  killed  and  ripped  open  a  bird  would  fly  out, 
and  if  the  bird  be  killed  and  ripped  open,  a 
very  fine  white  egg  would  be  foiind,  and  if  that 
should  be  taken  up  yonder  to  the  brow  of  that 
high  precipice,  a  door  will  be  found  entering 
into  a  vast  golden  chamber,  where  my  real  self 
dwells,  and  should  I  there  be  smitten  on  the 
bi-east  with  the   eg?,  then  would  I  die." 

Then  Wishwee  challenged  No  Soul  to  a  com- 
bat and  he  became  very  furious,  but  the  young 
man  called  to  the  great  mountain  lion,  whom 
he  had  met  on  the  Hill  Beautiful,  and  im- 
mediately he  was  transformed  into  the  great  lion 


and  fought  with  No  Soul  and  overcame  him 
and  with  his  powerful  claws  he  ripped  him  open. 
Immediately  a  fox  leaped  out  and  disappeared 
in  the  brush,  but  Wishwee  called  upon  the  big 
white  wolf  of  the  High  Hill,  and  he  was  at 
once  changed  to  his  form  and  pursued  the  fox 
and  overtaking  him  slew  him.  When  he  had 
ripped  open  the  fox,  a  bird  suddenly  flew  out 
and  disappeared  quickly  among  the  trees.  Wish- 
wee then  called  to  his  aid  the  great  eagle  of  the 
Last  Hill  and  immediately  v/as  transformed  into 
his  shape.  Sweeping  down  on  his  strong  pin- 
ions be  soon  captured  the  bird,  and  ripping  it 
open  found  the  smooth  white  egg. 

Taking  the  egg  he  mounted  to  the  brow  of 
the  high  clifE  and  found  the  entrance  to  the 
home  of  No  Soul.  Inside  he  found  the  monster 
stretched  upon  the  floor  of  his  golden  chamber 
in  much  distress  and  smote  him  at  once  upon  the 
breast  with  the  white  egg.  No  Soul  imme- 
diately rolled  over  dead.  Hearing  a  moaning 
noise  in  a  distant  recess  of  the  cave,  he  fol- 
lowed it,  and  there  bound  and  shut  into  a  dark 
hole  he  found  the  chief's  two  daughters  still 
alive,  reserved  for  a  great  feast  No  Soul  ex- 
pected to  hold  that  very  night.  The  joy  of  the 
maidens  at  their  unexpected  deliverance  was 
Fiost  affecting.  Bearing  them  one  at  a  time 
on  his  eagle  wings,  our  hero  descended  to  the 
foot  of  the  high  cliff  and  thereupon  assumed  his 
own  form. 

Boundless  was  the  rejoicing  at  the  old  chief's 
-pillage  when  Wishwee  arrived  with  the  rescued 
maidens.  In  accordance  with  his  jKomise  the 
chief  offered  the  young  man  his  four  daugh- 
ters for  his  wives,  and  they  were  all  yery  beau- 
tiful, but  Wishwee  said  he  only  wanted  the 
youngest,  Wehakay,  for  she  far  excelled  the  other 
tliree,  and  the  hearts  of  the  two  young  people 
had  been  united  from  the  first.  When  the  mar- 
riage festivities,  which  were  most  joyous  and 
elaborate  were  over,  Wishwee  returned  home 
with  his  beautiful  bride  to  the  lovely  valley  of 
the  Minnesota,  to  the  pleasant  hunting  gfound 
cf  his  fathers,  where  among  their  many  descen- 
dants the  memory  of  Wishwee's  bravery  and 
Wehakay's    charms   will   never   be   forgotten. 


MANKATO   IN   1866. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FRElSrCH    EXPLOREES— LE    SUEUE    AXD 

HIS    COPPEE    DISCOVEEY— 

INDIAX  WAES. 


The  French  were  probably  the  first  white  men 
tci  set  foot  on  Blue  Earth  Countj^  soil.  Which 
one  of  them  had  the  first  honor  is  unknown, 
some  think  that  the  French  hunters  and  traders, 
Groseilliers  and  Eadisson,  visited  this  locality  in 
I'iGO.  The  French  fur  trade  of  that  early 
period  had  many  daring  spirits,  whose  wonder- 
ful stories  of  adventure  and  disco^'ery  were 
never  written,  and  it  may  be  one  of  these  un- 
known heroes  was  the  first  to  view  the  country 
of  the  ]\rahkato. 

The  first  known  to  ha^•e  come  to  the  region 
now'  embraced  in  Blue  Earth  County  were  Le 
Sueur  and  Ins  followers,  who  arrived  here  in 
September,  1700.  Pierre  Charles  Le  Sueur  had 
come  into  the  present  boundaries  of  ^Minnesota 
r.s  early  as  1683  at  least,  and  had  spent  seven 
j-ears  at  various  times  hunting  and  trading 
among  the  Sioux.  We  know  that  he  then  spent 
part  of  the  time  with  Perrot  in  the  vicinity  of 
Lake  Pepin.  We  also  know  that  during  this 
visit  among  the  Sioux,  he  discovered  the  bed  of 
gTcen  clay,  found  upon  the  Blue  Earth'  river, 
about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the  Le  Sueur, 
and  that  he  took  a  sample  of  it  with  him  to 
France,  where  it  was  assayed  in  1696  bv  Le 
Huillier,  one  of  the  king's  officers,  and  evi- 
dently pronounced  to  be  copper.  Whether  Le 
Sueur  had  personally  inspected  this  bed  of  clay, 
and  selected  the  sample  himself  before  he  took 
it  to  France  is  not  certain.  The  probability, 
however,  is  that  he  had,  but  it  may  be,  as  stated 
by  some  that  he  obtained  his  sample  and  in- 
formation as  to  the  extent  and  location  of  the 
bed  or  mine  from  which  it  had  been  taken,  from 
an  Indian,  who  carried  lumps  of  the  green  sub- 
stance in  his  medicine  bag. 

In  the  summer  of  160,5   Le   Sueur  had  taken 


a  Sioux  chief,  named  Tioscate  with  him  from 
]i!innesota  to  Canada,  who  was  the  first  of  that 
nation  to  see  a  civilized  country.  There  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  Tioseate's  home  was  at  the 
moutli  of  the  Blue  Earth,  as  his  relatives  were 
found  there  in  large  numbers  five  or  six  years 
later.  This  indicates  that  Le  Sueur  was  then 
personally  Jamiliar  with  the  Blue  Earth  coun- 
t]-v  and  the  people  who  dwelt  there.  Perhaps 
his  object  in  taking  the  chief  with  him  to  Can- 
ada was  to  cultivate  his  friendship,  with  a  view 
to  the  advantage  such  a  friendly  relation  would 
mean,  when  he  came  to  open  his  mine.  The  un- 
fortunate young  chief,  however,  sickened  and 
died  after  a  few  days  at  Montreal. 

Confirmed  by  Le  Huilliers  tests  in  his  be- 
lief that  he  had  discovered  a  very  valuable  cop- 
])vr  mine,  Le  Sneur  became  enthusiastically  in- 
sistant  to  develop  his  rich  find.  Through  the 
aid  of  relatives,  who  had  much  influence  at 
cf  urt,  he  finally  secured  a  commission  to  work 
the  mines  in  1696,  While  crossing  the  ocean, 
the  vessel  in  Avhich  he  sailed  was  captured  by 
the  English  and  he  with  the  rest  of  the  crew 
were  carried  prisoners  to  England.  On  his  re- 
lease and  return  to  France  he  secured  in  1696 
a  second  commission  to  work  the  Blue  Earth 
mines,  but  was  deterred  by  various  obstacles 
from  carrying  out  his  project  until  1700.  Prom 
a  letter  written  August  30th,  1703,  by  La  Motte 
Cadillac,  in  command  of  the  French  post  at 
Detroit,  we  learn  that  not  the  ,  least  of  these 
obstacles  was  due  to  the  disturbed  relations,  then 
existing  between  the  Sioux  and  their  old  ene- 
mies the  Sacs  and  Foxes  of  Wisconsin.  The 
latter  had  been  in  alliance  with  the  French  for 
many  years  and  furnished  them  with  a  very 
lucrative    trade.      With    the    fire    arms    obtained 


15 


16 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


from  the  traders,  the  Foxes  and  their  allies  had 
guined  a  great  advantage  over  their  foe,  which 
advantage   they   were   anxious  to    retain. 

Some  of  the  French  traders  were  beginning 
to  discover  how  rich  the  Sioux  country  was, 
especially  in  beaver  and  bufEalo,  and  were  anx- 
ious to  open  trade  with  them.  The  Foxes  and 
their  allies,  however,  were  much  opposed  to  such 
a  project  as  it  would  furnish  their  enemies 
with  firearms,  and  all  the  other  superior  weapons 
and  goods  of  the  white  men.  The  French  now 
tried  another  tactic,  and  got  these  ancient  foes 
to  make  a  compact  of  peace.  The  Foxes  and 
their  allies  acted  in  good  faith  in  the  transac- 
tion, but  the  Sioux  made  it  an  opportunity  for 
treachery.  Under  pretense  of  ratifying  the 
treaty  a  large  number  of  the  latter  paid  the 
Foxes  and  Miamis  a  visit  and  were  right  roj^- 
ally  feasted  and  entertained  by  them,  and  it 
seemed  as  though  the  tomahawk  had  really  been 
buried.  The  Sioux  then  left  for  home  appar- 
ently well  satisfied  with  the  good  treatment 
they  -had  received.  Thinking  now  that  there 
were  no  foes  to  dread,  and  supposing  that  their 
visitors  were  well  towards  home,  the  principal 
village  of  the  Miamis  was  resting  heedless  of 
any  danger,  when  the  perfidious  Sioux,  having 
str'althily  returned  at  night,  fell  upon  them  sud- 
denly at  day  break  and  killed  three  thousand  of 
them.  This  great  slaughter  and  outrageous 
treachery  made  the  Poxes  and  all  their  allies 
furious  in  their  rage,  and  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  the  whole  Sioux  nation  was  inau- 
gurated. The  French  authorities  could  not  af- 
ford the  ill  will  of  the  Wisconsin  Indians, 
among  whom  most  of  their  trading  posts  were 
located,  nor  the  loss  of  prestige,  which  the 
ccuntenancing  of  such  perfidy  would  invite,  and 
hence  they  were  obliged  to  forbid  any  trade  with 
the  Sioux  under  heavy  penalties.  But  the  trad- 
ers, who  roamed  through  these  remote  regions, 
paid  but  indifferent  attention  to  any  official 
order,  and  continued  to  traffic  with  the  Dakota 
tribes  along  the  Mississippi  and  Minnesota. 
This  involved  them  in  trouble  with  the  Foxes, 
Miamis  and  other  enemies  of  the  Sioux,  and 
robberies  and  hostilities  were  frequent.  These 
events  occurred  just  about  the  time  Le  Sueur 
first   obtained  his   commission  to  work  his  Blue 


Earth  copper  mine,  and  helps  to  explain  some 
of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  he  met.  Le 
Sueur  finally  reached  Biloxi  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi  with  thirty  miners  in  De- 
cember, 1699,  and  started  up  the  Father  of 
Waters  about  April,  1700.  By  June  of  that 
year  the  expedition  had  reached  Tamarois,  a 
trading  post  a  short  distance  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Missouri.  He  left  this  point  July  12th,. 
in  a  felucca  and  two  canoes  with  nineteen  men, 
mostly  miners.  On  the  way  they  fell  in  with 
various  Canadian  hunters  and  traders,  who 
joined  them  until  by  the  time  they  reached  the 
mouth  of  the  Minnesota,  on  September  19th, 
ihe  expedition  numbered  twenty-eight  persons. 
On  September  30th,  1700,  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  and  ascended  it  t» 
the  mouth  of  the  Le  Sueur,  which  they  named 
the  "St.  Eemi"  or  "St.  Henry."  Here,  on 
the  mound  just  below  the  Jimction  of  the  two 
rivers  they  erected  two  or  three  log  cabins  and 
enclosed  them  with  a  palisade  of  poles.  The 
place  was  called  Port  Le  Huillier  in  honor  of 
the  French  officer,  who  had  assayed  the  sample 
of  green  clay  for  Le  Sueur.  While  the  French 
miners  and  carpenters  were  building  the  fort, 
the  Canadian  hunters,  who  had  joined  the  ex- 
pedition by  the  way,  hunted  the  buffalo  on  the 
adjacent  prairies  and  soon  had  enough  meat 
cured  to   supply  the  garrison   over  winter. 

Penicaut,  a  ship  carpenter,  whom  Le  Sueur 
had  taken  with  him  to  mend  the  boats  and  do 
other  carpenter  work,  states  that  they  killed 
four  hundred  buffaloes,  which  statement  seems 
rather  strong.  Prom  the  same  authority  we 
learn  that  the  winter  was  rather  severe.  To 
persons  who  were  accustomed  to  the  balmy  air 
of  France  and  New  Orleans,  a  Minnesota  winter 
^vould  very  naturally  seem  a  little  bracing.  Then 
we  must  concede  to  Penicaut  the  poetic  license 
due  to  an  old  seaman  recounting  twenty  years 
Inter,  the  marvelous  adventures  he  had  met  in 
a  new  and  far  distant  world.  The  next  spring 
Le  Sueur  took  twelve  of  the  miners  and  four 
hunters  with  him  about  a  mile  and  a  half  up 
the  Blue  Earth  from  the  fort,  to  open  up  what 
he  then  supposed  was  a  copper  mine.  This 
mine  was'  evidently  the  bed  of  green  clay  from 
four    to    ten    inches    thick    still    found    in    the 


HISl'ORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


17 


bluffs  of  the  Blue  Earth  near  the  north  line  of 
section  twenty-eight  of  South  Bend  township. 
The  clay  has  no  copper  in  it,  but  its  peculiar 
bluish  green  color  is  due  to  a  tincture  of  iron. 
In  twenty-two  days  Le  Sueur  had  over  20,000 
pounds  of  it  dug  out,  and  selecting  4,000  pounds 
of  the  best,  he  loaded  this  into  his  shallop  and 
carried  it  to  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi. What  became  of  it  afterwards  is  not 
known.  He  also  carried  with  him  a  very  valu- 
able cargo  of  beaver  and  other  furs,  which  he 
liad  obtained  from  the   Indians. 

Le  Sueur  left  twelve  men  at  Fort  Le  Huillier 
in  charge  of  D'Eraque,  one  of  the  Canadians 
who  had  Joined  his  party.  These  remained  at 
the  fort  until  the  spring  of  1703,  when  a  war 
party  of  the  Foxes  and  Maskontens,  then  at  bit- 
ter enmity  with  the  Sioux  and  therefore  opposed 
to  the  establishment  of  this  fort,  as  we  have 
seen,  made  some  hostile  demonstration  in  its 
vicinity,  and  caused  its  rather  sudden  evacua- 
tion. Penicaut,  who  had  left  the  spring  be- 
fore with  Le  Sueur  and  hence  was  not  personally 
present  and  probably  did  not  know  the  partic- 
ulars connected  with  the  abandonment  of  the 
fort  simply  states  that  in  the  spring  of  1703, 
"D'Eraque  and  his  twelve  comrades  had  re- 
turned to  Mobile  and  reported  that  they  had 
been  attacked  by  a  band  of  Foxes  and  Mas- 
kontens, who  had  killed  three  Frenchmen,  who 
were  working  in  the  woods  about  two  gun  shots 
beyond  the  fort,  and  that  being  out  of  ammuni- 
tion he  had  cached  the  goods  and  abandoned 
the  post."  In  July,  1907,  a  rather  interesting 
discovery  of  seventeen  headless  skeletons  was 
made  on  the  farm  of  one  A.  Mitchell,  in  the 
northeast  quarter  of  the  southeast  quarter  of 
section  thirty-three  of  South  Bend  township. 
The  bodies  had  all  been  laid  out,  white  man's 
fashion  and  buried  two  or  three  feet  deep  in 
dug  graves  on  the  top  of  a  small  natural  mound 
or  knoll.  The  soil  -consisted  of  loam,  gravel 
and  clay.  At  the  northwest  base  of  the  knoll 
lay  a  grassy  swale  of  several  acres.  Originally 
the  knoll  had  been  covered  with  timber  and 
thick  brush,  and  the  forest  continuing  eastward 
from  it  to  the  Le  Sueur.  The  mound  is  sit- 
uated about  a  mile  and  a  half  southwest  of  the 
site  of  old   Ft,  Le  Huillier  and  on  a  very   an- 


cient Indian  trail,  which  led  from  the  Big 
Woods  and  the  ilinnesota  valley,  through  Man- 
kato,  along  the  foot  of  the  Walker  hill,  down 
til  rough  the  Eed  Jacket  valley  and  by  the  site 
of  the  old  fort,  crossing  the  Le  Sueur  just  above 
its  mouth,  and  passing  up  the  opposite  bluff 
followed  in  a  southwesterly  course  the  dryest 
land  by  the  knoll  in  question  and  emerging 
from  the  timber  a  short  distance  beyond.  Thence 
it  continued  in  southwesterly  course  over  the 
Blue  Earth,  Watonwan,  and  the  boundless  prai- 
ries to  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  river.  The 
burial  must  have  occurred  long  before  the  ad- 
vent of  the  white  settlers  in  1853,  as  all  traces 
of  the  graves  had  been  obliterated.  The  In- 
dians of  the  locality,  also,  must  have  forgotten 
their  existence,  as  they  made  no  mention  of 
them  to  anyone.  All  of  which  indicates  that 
the  tragedy  connected  with  those  bones  was  very 
ancient. 

The  headless  conditions  of  the  skeletons  and 
the  two  flint  arrow  heads  with  broken  tips 
found  with  the  bones,  point  quite  conclusively 
to  Indians  as  the  authors  of  the  bloody  deed. 
The  laying  out  of  the  bodies  and  their  burial 
in  dug  gro/ves  is  fully  as  conclusive  evidence, 
tliat  the  interment  was  the  work  of  white  men. 
The  Indians  never  buried  in  this  manner  and 
had  no  implements  for  the  purpose.  Prior  to 
the  advent  of  the  white  settlers  there  were  no 
white  persons  in  this  locality,  except  the  French 
occupants  of  Ft.  Le  Hviillier.  History  states 
that  during  the  occupation  of  this  fort  a  most 
hitter  warfare  was  in  progress  between  the  Foxes 
and  their  allies  and  the  Sioux  and  that  in  the 
spring  of  1703  the  former  made  a  hostile  raid 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  Fort  and  that  they  killed 
three  French  men,  but  how  many  of  their 
Sioux  foes,   if   any,  they  killed   is  not  stated. 

From  these  and  other  known  data,  it  is 
quite  probable  that  the  tragedy  connected  with 
the  skeletons  found  on  the  Mitchell  farm  dates 
b;ick  to  the  spring  of  1703.  The  only  conclu- 
sion, which  fits  all  the  facts  is  that  at  that  time 
a  large  war  party  of  the  Foxes  and  their  allies 
crossed  the  Mississippi  and  following  the  us- 
ually deserted  prairies  south  of  the  Big  Woods, 
stole  up  unobserved  to  the  neighborhood  of  Ft. 
Le   Huillier,  with  intent  to  wreak  vengeance  on 


18 


PIISTOKY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


their  old  enemies,  tlie  Sioux,  and  at  the  same 
time  brealc  up  tlie  fort,-  which  was  affording 
their  foe  the  benefits  of  trade  with  the  whites. 

Taking  advantage  of  the  mound  now  on  the 
Jlitcliell  farm  with  its  thick  In-usli  and  timber 
and  the  grassy  swale  beside  it,  they  made  here 
an  ambush  on  the  old  well  beaten  trail,  which 
led  from  the  fort  and  the  Minnesota  valley  to 
the  great  j^outhwcs^t.  In  due  time  a  long,  lino 
of  Dakota  braves  accompanied  by  some  of  the 
voyao-ers  attached  to  the  traders  at  the  fort, 
came  winding  their  way  along  the  path.  As 
they  were  passing  over  the  mound  the  silence 
was  suddenly  broken  by  blood  curdling  war 
whoops,  liursting  from  a  liundred  savage  throats, 
and  a  deadly  shower  of  arrows,  mingled  with 
a  few  bullets,  smote  them  from  every  side  and 
seventeen,  jDerhaps  more,  fell  in  the  trail.  The 
rest  fled  through  the  woods  in  dismay  back  to 
the  fort.  It  took  the  Foxes  but  a  few  moments 
to  rush  upon  the  fallen  victims  and  with  their 
sharp  knives  cut  off  their  heads  to  carry  back 
to  their  Wisconsin  villages  as  gorey  and  ghastly 
ti'ophies  for  the  scalp  dance.  The  news  of 
the  terrible  tragedy  soon  reached  the  fort  and 
caused  the  wildest  excitement.  Armed  with 
their  guns  a  portion  of  the  garrison  went  out 
to  view  the  scene  of  the  carnage.  Prompted  by 
dictates  of  humanity  and  of  their  religion,  the 
miners,  who  had  but  recently  come  from  civil- 
heA  Prance,  procured  their  picks  and  shovels 
a  ad  buried  the  bodies.  The  Indians  were  hu- 
man beings  and  the  French  doubtless  had  known 
most  of  the  dead  intimately  for  nearly  two  years 
and  it  behooved  them  to  give  their  red  friends 
the  rite  of  a  christian  burial  at  least.  Then 
if  among  the  slain  were  three  French  voyagers, 
it  gave  an  added-  reason  for  the  burial.  Terrified 
by  this  bloody  massacre  and  having  but  little 
ammunition,  the  garrison  at  once  cached  what 
goods  they  could  not  carry  and  evacuated  the 
fort,  passing  hastily  down  the  river  to  Mobile. 

The  adventures  of  these  first  white  settlers  in 
Blue  Earth  County  over  two  hundred  years  ago 
are  full  of  interest.  Our  information  is  derived 
fj'om  two  main  sources.  One  being  the  extracts 
copied  from  the  Journal  of  Le  Sueur,  the  leader 
of  the  expedition,  by  Bernard  de  le  Harpe  in  his 
"History  of  Louisiana."    Le  Harpe  was  a  French 


oifieer,  who  about  two  hundred  )ears  ago  wrote 
a  liistory  of  the  old  French  province  of  Louisana 
in  which  Blue  Earth  County  was  then  situated. 
It  was  \\ritten  in  French  and  remained  unpub- 
lished for  over  a  hundred  years.  Unfortunately 
the  Journal  of  Le  Sueur,  from  which  these  ex- 
tracts were  taken,  has  been  lost.  Our  other 
source  of  information  is  a  little  French  book 
entitled  "The  Eelation  of  Penicaut.''  As  we 
stated  before  Penicaut  was  a  shipwright,  who 
accompanied  Le  Sueur  on  his  expedition  to  the 
Blue  Earth.  He  remained  at  Ft.  Le  Huillier 
only  one  winter  and  then  returned  to  the  Lower 
ilississippi.  Twenty  years  later  he  visited  France 
tn  receive  medical  treatment  for  his  eyes.  While 
these  stories  of  his  adventures  in  the  new  world 
excited  so  much  interest,  that  they  were  re- 
duced to  writing  at  Ms  dictation,  the  manu- 
script remained  at  Paris  unpublished  for  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years,  but  in  1869  it  was 
bought  by  ilr.  SpofEord,  librarian  of  Congress, 
and  printed  in  a  small  volume.  The  portion  of 
Penicaut's  book  relating  to  Le  Sueur's  expedition 
to  the  Blue  Earth  we  will  give  entire. 

PENICAUT   NAEEATIA^E. 

Having  ascended  the  St.  Peter  (Minnesota) 
river  forty  leagaies  and  finding  another  river 
on  the  left  falling  into  it  he  continues,  "We  call- 
ed this  Green  River,  because  it  is  of  that  color 
by  reason  of  a  green  earth,  which  loosening  itself 
fiom  the  copper  mines,  becomes  dissolved  in  it 
and  makes  it  green.  A  league  up  this  river  we 
found  a  point  of  land  a  quarter  of  a  league  dis- 
tant from  the  woods,  and  it  was  upon  this  point 
that  M.  Le  Sueur  resolved  to  build  his  fort, 
because  we  could  not  go  any  higher  on  account 
of  the  ice,  it  being  the  last  day  of  September, 
when  winter,  -which  is  very  severe  in  that  counti-y, 
has  already  begun.  Half  of  our  people  went 
hunting,  whilst  the  others  Morked  on  the  fort.  Wc 
killed  four  hundred  bufEaloes,  which  were  our  pro- 
\isions  for  the  ^vinter,  and  which  we  placed  upon 
scaft'olds  in  our  fort,  after  having  skinned  and 
cleaned  and  then  quartered  them.  We  also  made 
cabins  in  the  fort,  and  a  magazine  to  keep  our 
goods.  After  having  drawn  up  ottr  shallop  with- 
in the  inclosure  of  the  fort,  we  spent  the  winter 
in   our   cabins, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUATTY. 


19 


When  we  were  working  on  our  fort,  in  the 
beginning,  seven  Fi-eneh  traders  of  Canada  took 
refuge  there.  They  had  been  pillaged  and  strip- 
ped naked  by  the  Sioux,  a  wandering  nation 
living  only  by  hunting  and  rapine.  Amongst 
these  seven  persons  there  was  a  Canadian  gen- 
tlemen of  M.  Le  Sueur's  acquaintance,  whom 
he  recognized  at  once  and  gave  him  some 
clothes,  as  he  did  also  to  all  the  rest,  and 
whate%'er  else  was  necessary  for  them.  They  re- 
iriained  with  us  during  the  entire  winter  at 
our  fort,  where  we  had  not  food  enough 
for  all,  except  the  flesh  of  our  buffaloes,  which 
we  had  not  even  salt  to  eat  with.  We  had  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  the  first  two  A\'eeks  in  getting 
used  to  it,  having  diarrhoea  and  fever,  and  being 
so  tired  of  it  that  we  hated  the  very  smell.  But 
little  by  little  our  bodies  got  adapted  to  it, 
so  well  that  at  the  end  of  six  weeks  there  was 
not  one  of  us  that  could  not  eat  six  pounds  of 
meat  a  day  and  drink  four  bowls  of  the  broth. 
As  soon  as  we  were  accustomed  to  this  kind  of 
living  it  made  us  very  fat,  and  there  was  then 
no  more  sickness  amongst  us. 

When  spring  arrived  we  went  to  work  on 
the  copper  mine.  This  was  in  the  beginning  of 
April  of  this  year,  (1701).  We  took  with  us 
twelve  laborers  and  four  hunters.  This  mine 
was  situated  about  three  quarters  of  a  league 
from  our  post.  We  took  from  the  mine  in  twen- 
ty-two days  more  than  thirty  thousand  pounds 
weight  of  ore,  of  which  we  only  selected  four 
thousand  pounds,  of  the  finest,  which  M.  Le 
Sueur,  who  was  a  very  good  judge  of  it,  had 
carried  to  the  fort  and  which  has  since  been 
sent  to  France,  though  I  have  not  learned  the 
result. 

This  mine  is  situated  at  the  beginning  of  a 
very  long  mountain  ■\\'hich  is  upon  the  bank  of 
the  river,  so  that  boats  can  go  right  to  the 
mouth  of  the  mine  itself.  At  this  place  is  the 
green  earth,  which  is  a  foot  and  a  half  in  thick- 
ness, and  above  it  is  a  layer  of  earth  as  firm  and 
hard  as  stone,  and  black  and  burnt  like  coal 
by  the  exhalation  from  the  mine.  The  copper 
is  scratched  out  with  a  knife.  There  are  no  trees 
upon  this  mountain.  If  this  mine  is  good  it  will 
make  a  great  trade,  because  the  mountain  con- 
tains more  than  ten  leagues  running  of  the  same 


ground.  It  appears,  according  to  our  observa- 
tions, that  in  the  very  finest  weather  there  is 
continually  a  fog  upon  this  mountain. 

After  twenty-two  days'  work  we  returned  to 
our  fort,  where  the  Sioux,  who  belong  to  the 
nation  of  savages  who  pillaged  the  Canadians 
that  come  there,  brought  us  merchandises  of 
furs.  They  had  more  than  four  hundred  beaver 
robes,  each  robe  being  of  nine  skins  sewed  togeth- 
er. ]\I.  Le  Sueur  purchased  these  and  many 
other  skins  which  he  bargained  for  in  the  week 
he  traded  with  the  savages.  He  made  them 
all  come  and  camp  near  the  fort,  which  they 
consented  to  very  unwillingly;  for  this  nation, 
which  is  very  numerous,  is  always  wandering, 
living  only  by  hunting,  and  when  they  have 
stayed  a  few  days  in  one  place  they  have  to  go 
off  more  than  ten  leagues  from  it  for  game  for 
tlicir  support.  They  have,  however,  a  dwell- 
ing place,  where  they  gather  together  the  natural 
fruits  of  the  country,  which  are  very  different 
from  those  of  the  lower  IMississippi,  as  for  in- 
stance cherries  which  are  in  clusters  like  our 
grapes  of  France,  cranberries  which  are  similar 
to  our  strawberries  but  larger  and  somewhat 
sfjuare  in  shape,  nuts,  cliokeberries,  roots  which 
resemble  our  truffles,  et  cetera.  There  are  also 
more  kinds  of  trees  than  on  the  lower  part  of 
the  river,  as  the  birch,  maple,  plane,  and  cotton- 
wood,  which  last  is  a  tree  that  grows  so  thick 
that  there  are  some  that  are  fifteen  feet  round. 
As  to  the  trees  called  maple  and  plane  it  is 
usual  at  the  beginning  of  ^Farch  to  make  notclies 
in  them,  and  then  placing  tubes  in  the  notches 
cause  the  liquid  to  run  off  into  a  vessel  placed 
below  to  receive  it.^  These  trees  will  flow  in 
abundance  during  three  months,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  IMarch  to  the  end  of  "May.  The  juice  they 
yield  is  very  sweeet.  it  is  boiled  till  it  turns  to 
syrup,  and  if  it  is  boiled  still  more  it  becomes 
brown  sugar. 

The  cold  is  still  severer  in  these  countries 
than  it  is  in  Canada.  During  the  winter  we 
passed  in  our  fort  we  heard  the  trees  exploding 
like  nui^ket  shots,  being  cracked  by  the  rigor  of 
the  cold.  The  ice  is  as  thick  as  there  is  water  in 
the  river,  and  the  snow  is  condensed  in  it.  Bv 
the  month  of  April  all  this  snow  and  ice  lies 
on   the  ground   to  the   depth   of   five   feet,  which 


20 


HISTOlJy   OP  BLUB  EAllTH  COUNTY. 


causes  the  overflowing  of  the  Mississippi  in  the 
spring. 

About  the  beginning  of  winter  in  this  country, 
that  is  to  say  in  the  month  of  September,  the 
bears  climb  trees  that  are  hollow  and  hide  them- 
selves inside,  where  they  remain  from  six  to 
seven  months  without  ever  leaving,  getting  no 
other  nourishment  during  the  winter  than  by 
licking  their  paws.  "When  they  enter  they  are 
extremely  lean,  and  when  they  go  out  they  are 
so  plump  that  they  have  half  a  foot  of  fat  on 
tbem.  It  is  almost  always  in  the  cottonwood 
or  cypress  that  the  bear  hides  himself,  because 
these  trees  are  generally  hollow.  In  hunting 
them  a  tree  is  placed  leaning  against  the  tree 
where  the  bear  is  and  reaching  up  to  the  hole 
by  which  he  entered.  The  hunter  climbs  by  this 
leaning  tree  to  the  other  one,  and  throws  into 
the  hollow  some  pieces  of  dry  wood  all  on  fire, 
which  obliges  the  animal  to  come  out  to  save 
himself  from  being  burned.  Wlien  the  bear 
leaves  the  hole  of  the  tree  he  comes  down 
backwards,  as  a  man  would  do,  and  then  they 
shoot  him.  This  hunting  is  very  dangerous,  for 
though  the  animal  may  be  wounded  sometimes 
by  three  or  four  gun  shots,  he  will  still  fall 
upon  the  first  person  he  meets,  and  with  a 
single  blow  of  his  teeth  and  claws  will  tear 
you  up  in  a  moment.  There  are  some  as  large 
as  carriage  horses,  so  strong  that  they  can 
easily  break  a  tree  as  thick  as  one's  thigh.  The 
nation  of  the  Sioux  hunt  them  very  much, 
using  them  for  food  and  trading  their  skins 
with  the  French  Canadians.  We  sell  in  return 
wares  which  come  very  dear  to  the  buyers,  es- 
pecially tobacco  from  Brazil  in  the  proportion 
of  a  hundred  crowns  to  the  pound,  two  little 
horn  handled  knives  or  four  leaden  bullets  are 
equal  to  ten  crowns  in  exchange  for  their  mer- 
chandises of  skins  and  so  with  the  rest. 

In  the  beginning  of  May  we  launched  our  shal- 
lop in  the  water  and  loaded  it  with  this  green 
earth  that  had  been  taken  out  of  the  mines 
and  with  the  furs  we  had  traded  for,  of  which 
we  brought  away  three  canoes  full.  M.  Le 
Sueur,  before  going,  held  council  with  Mr. 
D'Eraque  the  Canadian  gentleman,  and  the  three 
great  chiefs  of  the  Sioux,  three  brothers,  and 
told  them  that  as  he  had  to  return  to  the  sea  he 


desired  them  to  live  in  peac«  with  M.  D'Eraque, 
whom  he  left  in  command  of  Fort  L'Huillier, 
with  twelve  Frenchmen.  M.  Le  Sueur  made  a 
considerable  present  to  the  three  brothers,  chiefs 
of  the  savages,  desiring  them  never  to  abandon 
the  French.  After  this  we,  the  twelve  men  whom 
he  had  chosen  to  go  down  to  the  sea  with  'him 
embarked.  In  setting  out  M.  Le  Sueur  promised 
to  M.  D'Eraque  and  the  twelve  Frenchmen,  who 
remained  with  him  to  guard  the  fort,  to  send  up 
munitions  of  war  from  the  Illinois  county  as 
soon  as  he  should  arrive  there;  and  which  he  did, 
for  on  getting  there  he  sent  off  to  him  a  canoe 
loaded  with  two  thousand  pounds  of  lead  and 
powder,  with  three  of  our  people  in  charge  of  it. 

In  this  same  time  il.  D'Iberville  had  sent  a 
boat  laden  with  munitions  of  war  and  provisions, 
to  M.  de  St.  Denie,  commanding  the  fort  on  the 
bank  of  the  Mississippi.  They  found  there 
i\I.  D'Eraque,  who  had  arrived  with  the  twelve 
Frenchmen,  who  remained  with  him  at  fort 
L'Huillier.  He  came  shortly  after  in  the  same 
boat  to  Mobile,  where  M.  D'Iberville,  was,  whom 
he  saluted,  and  reported  to  him  that  M.  Le 
Sueur  having  left  him  at  the  fort  L'Huillier,  had 
promised  him,  in  parting,  to  send  him  from  the 
Illinois  country,  ammunition  and  provisions, 
and  that  having  looked  for  them  a  long  time 
without  hearing  any  news  of  them  he  had  been 
attacked  by  the  nations  of  the  Maskoutins  and 
Poxes,  who  had  killed  three  of  our  Frenchmen 
whilst  they  were  working  in  the  woods  but  two 
gun  shots  beyond  the  fort;  that  when  the  savages 
had  retreated  he  had  been  obliged,  after  having 
concealed  the  merchandises  he  had  remaining, 
and  seeing  that  he  was  out  of  powder  and  lead, 
to  abandon  the  fort  and  descend  with  his  peo- 
ple to  the  sea." 

Because  of  their  special  connection  with  Blue 
Earth  County  we  also  take  from  Le  Harpe's  his- 
tory those  extracts  from  Le  Sueur's  Journal 
which  pertain  to  Ft.  Le  Huillier. 

LE  SUEUE'S  JOUENAL. 

"After  he  entered  into  the  Blue  river,  thus 
named  on  account  of  the  mines  of  blue  earth 
found  at  its  mouth,  he  founded  his  post,  situated 
in    forty-four    degrees,  'thirteen    minutes,    north 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


latitude.  He  met  at  this  place,  nine  Sioux  who 
told  him  that  the  river  belonged  to  the  Sioux 
of  the  west;  the  Ayavios,  (lowas)  and  Otoctatas, 
(Ottoes),  who  lived  a  little  farther  off;  that  it 
was  not  their  custom  to  hunt  on  ground  belong- 
ing to  others,  unless  invited  to  do  so  by  the  own- 
ers, and  that  when  they  would  come  to  the  fort 
to  obtain  provisions,  they  would  be  in  danger 
of  being  killed  in  ascending  or  descending  the 
rivers,  which  were  narrow,  and  that  if  they 
v/ould  show  their  pity,  he  must  establish  himself 
on  the  Mississippi,  near  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Pierre,  where  the  Ayavois,  the  Otoctatas,  and  the 
other   Sioux  could  go  as  well  as  they. 

Having  finished  their  speech,  they  leaned  over 
the  head  of  Le  Sueur,  according  to  their  custom, 
crying  out.  "Oueachissou  ouaspanimanabo,"  that 
is  to  say,  "Have  pity  upon  us.''  Le  Sueur  had 
forseen  that  the  establishment  of  Blue  riv- 
er would  not  please  the  Sioux  of  the  oast, 
who  were,  so  to  speak,  masters  of  the  other 
Sioux  and  of  the  nations  which  will  be  here- 
after mentioned,  because  they  were  the  first  with 
whom  trade  was  commenced,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  had  already  quite  a 
number  of  guns. 

As  he  had  not  commenced  his  operations  only 
v/ith  a  view  to  the  trade  of  beavers,  but  also 
to  gain  a  knowledge  of  the  mines,  which  he  had 
pi'eviously  discovered,  he  told  them  he  was  sorry 
that  he  had  not  known  their  intentions  sooner; 
and  that  it  was  just,  since  he  came  expressly  for 
them  that  he  should  establish  himself  on  their 
land,  but  that  the  season  was  too  far  advanced  for 
him  to  return.  He  then  made  them  a  present 
of  powder,  balls  and  knives,  and  an  armful  of 
tobacco,  to  entice  them  to  assemble  as  soon  as 
possible,  near  the  fort  which  he  was  about  to 
construct;  that  when  they  should  be  all  assem- 
bled he  might  tell  them  the  intention  of  the  king, 
their  and  his  sovereign. 

The  Sioux  of  the  west,  according  to  the 
statement  of  the  eastern  Sioux,  have  more  than 
a  thousand  lodges.  They  do  not  use  canoes,  noi 
cultivate  the  earth,  nor  gather  wild  rice.  They 
remain  generally  in  the  prairies,  which  are 
between  .  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  ilissouri 
rivers,  and  live  entirely  by  the  chase.  The 
Sioux  generally   say  they  have  three  souls,   and 


that,  after  death,  that  which  has  done  well  goes 
to  the  warm  country,  and  that  which  has  done 
evil  to  the  cold  regions,  and  the  other  guards 
the  body.  Polygamy  is  common  among  them. 
They  are  very  jealous,  and  sometimes  fiight  in 
duel  for  their  wives.  They  manage  the  bow  ad- 
mirably, and  have  been  seen  several  times  to 
kill  ducks  on  the  wing.  They  make  their  lodges 
of  a  number  of  buffalo  skins  interlaced  and 
sewed,  and  carry  them  wherever  they  go.  They 
are  all  great  smokers,  but  their  manner  of 
smoking  differs  from  that  of  other  Indians. 
There  are  some  Sioux  who  swallow  all  the 
smoke  of  the  tobacco  and  others  who,  after  hav- 
ing kept  it  some  time  in  their  mouth,  cause  it 
to  issue  from,  the  nose.  In  each  lodge  there  are 
usually  two  or  three  men  with  their  families. 

On  the  3d  of  October,  they  received  at  the 
fort  several  Sioux,  among  whom  was  Wahken- 
tape,  chief  of  the  village.  Soon  two  Canadians 
arrived  who  had  been  hunting,  and  had  been 
roblDcd  by  the  Sioux  of  the  east,  who  had  raised 
their  guns  against  the  establishment  which  M. 
Le   Sueur  had  made  on  Blue  River. 

On  the  14th  the  fort  was  finished  and  named 
"Fort  L'Huillier"  and  on  the  22nd  two  Cana- 
dians were  sent  out  to  invite  the  Ayavois  and 
Otoctatas  to  come  and  establish  a  village  near  the 
fort,  because  these  Indians  are  industrious  and 
accustomed  to  cultivate  the  earth,  and  they  hoped 
to  get  provisions  from  them  and  to  make  them 
work  in  the  mines. 

On  the  2ith,  six  Sioux  Oujalespoitons  wished 
to  go  into  the  fort,  but  were  told  that  they  did 
not  receive  men  who  had  killed  Frenchmen. 
This  is  the  term  used  when  they  have  insulted 
them.  The  next  day  they  came  to  the  lodge  of 
IjC  Suettr  to  beg  him  to  have  pity  on  them. 
1'Jiey  wished  according  to  custom,  to  weep  over 
his  head,  and  make  him  a  present  of  packs  of 
beavers,  which  he  refused.  He  told  them  he 
v^'as  surprised  that  people  who  had  robbed  should 
come  to  him;  to  which  they  replied  that  they 
had  heard  it  said  that  two  Frenchmen  had  been 
robbed,  but  none  from  their  village  had  been 
present  at  that  wicked   action. 

Le  Sueur  answered  that  he  knew  it  was  the 
Jlendeoucantons  and  not  the  Oujalespoitons; 
"but,"   continued  he,   "you  are   Sioux;   it  is   the 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Sioux  who  have  robbed  me,  and  if  I  were  to 
follow  your  manner  of  acting,  I  should  break 
your  heads;  for  is  it  not  true,  that  when  a 
stranger  (it  is  thus  that  they  call  the  Indiana 
who  are  not  Sioux)  has  insulted  a  Sioux, 
Mendeoucanton,  Oujalespoitons  or  others — all 
the  villages — revenge  upon  the  first  one  they 
meet?" 

As  they  had  nothing  to  answer  to  what  he 
said  to  them,  they  wept  and  repeated,  according 
to  custom,  "Ouaechissou,  ouaepanimanabo ;"  Le 
Sueur  told  them  to  cease  crying,  and  added  that 
the  French  had  good  hearts,  and  that  they  had 
come  into  the  country  to  have  pity  on  them. 
At  the  same  time  he  made  them  a  present,  saying 
to  them,  "Carry  back  your  beavers  and  say  to 
all  the  Sioux,  that  they  will  have  from  me  no 
more  powder  or  lead,  and  they  will  no  longer 
smoke  any  long  pipe  until  they  have  made 
satisfaction   for   robbing   the   Frenchmen." 

The  same  day  the  Canadians,  who  had.  been 
sent  off  on  the  32nd,  arrived  without  having 
found  the  road  which  led  to  the  Ayavois  and 
Otoctatas.  On  the  25th  Le  Sueur  went  to  the 
river  with  three  canoes,  which  he  filled  with 
blue  and  green  earth.  It  is  taken  from  the  hills 
near  which  are  very  abundant  mines  of  copper, 
some  of  which  was  worked  at  Paris  in  1696  by 
I/Huillier,  one  of  the  chief  collectors  of  the 
kind.  Stones  were  also  found  there  which  would 
be  curious,  if  worked. 

On  the  9th  of  November,  eight  Mantanton 
Sioux  arrived,  who  had  been  sent  by  their 
chiefs  to  say  that  the  Mendeoueantons  were  still 
at  their  lake  on  the  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
they  could  not  come  for  a  long  time;  and  that 
for  a  single  village  which  has  no  good  sense, 
the  others  ought  not  to  bear  the  punishment; 
and  that  they  were  willing  to  make  reparation 
if  they  knew  how.  Le  Sueur  replied  that  he 
\7as  glad  that  they  had  a  disposition  to  do  so. 

On  the  15th  the  two  Mantanton  Sioux,  who 
had  been  sent  expressly  to  say  that  all  of  the 
Sioux  of  the  east  and  part  of  those  of  the 
west  were  Joined  together' to  come  to  the  French 
because  they  had  heard  that  the  Christianaux 
and  the  Assinipoils  were  making  war  on  them. 
These  two  nations  dwell  above  the  fort  on  the 


east  side,  more  than  eighty  leagues  on  the  Up- 
per Mississippi. 

The  Assinipoils  speak  Sioux,  and  are  cer- 
tainly of  that  nation.  It  is  only  a  few  years 
since  they  became  enemies.  The  enmity  thus 
originated:  The  Christianaux,  having  the  use 
of  arms  before  the  Sioux,  through  the  English 
at  Hudson's  Bay,  they  constantly  warred  upon 
the  Assinipoils,  who  were  their  nearest  neigh- 
bors. The  latter  being  weak,  sued  for  peace, 
and  to  render  it  more  lasting,  married  the 
Christianaux  women.  The  other  Sioux,  who 
had  not  made  the  compact  continued  to  war; 
and  seeing  some  Christianaux  with  the  Assini- 
poils broke  their  heads.  The  Christianaux  fur- 
nished the  Assinipoils  with  arms  and  merchan- 
dise. 

On  the  16th,  the  Sioux  returned  to  their 
village,  and  it  was  reported  that  the  Ayavois 
and  the  Otoctatas  were  going  to  establish  them- 
selves towards  the  Missouri  river,  near  the 
Maha,  who  dwell  in  that  region.  On  the  26th, 
the  Mantantons  and  Oujalespoitons  arrived  at 
the  fort;  and  after  they  had  encamped  in  the 
woods,  Wahkentape  came  to  beg  Le  Sueur  to 
go  to  his  lodge.  He  there  found  sixteen  men 
v/ith  women  and  children,  with  their  faces 
daubed  with  black.  In  the  middle  of  the  lodge 
^^'ere  several  buffalo  skins,  which  were  sewed 
for  a'  carpet.  After  motioning  him  to  sit  down, 
they  wept  for  the  fourth  of  an  hour,  and  the 
chief  gave  him  some  wild  rice  to  eat,  (as  was 
their  custom)  putting  the  first  three  spoonsful 
to  his  mouth.  After  which,  he  said  all  present 
were  relatives  of  Tioscate,  whom  Le  Sueur  took 
to  Canada  in  1695,  and  who  died  there  in  1696. 

At  the  mention  of  Tioscate  they  began  to 
weep  again,  and  wipe  their  tears  and  heads 
upon  the  shoulders  of  Le  Sueur.  Then  Wah- 
kentape again  spoke,  and  said  that  Tioscate 
begged  him  to  forget  the  insult  done  to  the 
Frenchmen  by  the  Mendeoueantons,  and  take 
pity  on  his  brethren  by  giving  them  powder 
and  balls  whereby  they  could  defend  themselves, 
and  gain  a  living  for  their  wives  and  children, 
who  languished  in  a  country  full  of  game  be- 
cause they  had  not  the  means  of  killing  them. 
"Look,"  added  the  chief,  "Behold  thy  child- 
ren, thy  brethren,  and  thy  sisters;  it  is  to  thee 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


■rA 


to  see  whether  thou  wishest  them  to  die.  They 
will  live  if  thou  givest  them  powder  and  ball; 
they  will  die  if  thou  refusest." 

Le  Sueur  granted  them  their  request,  but  as 
the  Sioux  never  answer  on  the  spot,  especially 
in  matters  of  importance,  he  •  went  out  of  the 
lodge  without  saying  a  word.  The  chief  and 
all  those  within  followed  him  as  far  as  the 
door  of  the  fort;  and  when  he  had  gone  in, 
they  went  around  it  three  times;  crying  with 
all  their  strength,  "Atheouanan"  that  is  to 
say,  "Father,  have  pity  on  us."  (Ate  unyanpi, 
moans  "our  father.'") 

The  next  day  he  assembled  in  the  fort  the 
principal  men  of  both  villages;  and  as  it  is  not 
possible  to  subdue  the  Sioux  or  to  hinder  them 
from  going  to  war,  unless  it  be  by  inducing 
them  to  cultivate  the  earth,  he  said  to  them 
that  if  they  wished  to  render  themselves  worthy 
of  the  protection  of  the  king,  they  must  abandon 
their  errant  life,  and  form  a  village  near  his 
dwelling,  where  they  would  be  shielded  from 
the  insults  of  their  enemies;  and  that  they 
might  be  happy  and  not  hungry,  he  would  give 
them  all  the  corn  necessary  to  plant  a  large 
piece  of  ground;  that  the  king,  their  and  his 
chief,  in  sending  him,  had  forbidden  him  to 
purchase  beaver  skins,  knowing  that  this  kind 
of  hunting  separates  them  and  exposes  them  to 
their  enemies;  and  that  in  consequence  of  this 
he  had  come  to  establish  himself  on  Blue 
river  and  vicinity,  where  they  had  many  times 
assured  him  were  many  kinds  of  beasts,  for 
the  skins  of  which  he  would  give  them  all  things 
necessary;  that  they  ought  to  reflect  that  they 
could  not  do  without  French  goods,  and  that 
the  only  way  not  to  want  them  was,  not  to  go 
to  war  with  our  allied  nations. 

As  it  is  customary  with  the  Indians  to  ac- 
company their  word  with  a  present  proportioned 
to  the  affair  treated  of,  he  gave  them  fifty 
pounds  of  powder,  as  many  balls,  six  guns,  ten 
axes,  twelve  armsfuls  of  tobacco  and  a  hatchet 
pipe. 

On  the  1st  of  December,  the  Mantantons  in- 
vited Le  Sueur  to  a  great  feast.  Of  four  of 
their  lodges  they  had  made  one,   in  which   was 


one  hundred  men  seated  around,  and  every  one 
his  dish  before  him.  After  the  meal,  Wah- 
kentape,  the  chief,  made  them  all  smoke  one 
after  another  in  the  hatchet  pipe  which  had 
been  given  them.  He  then  made  a  present  to 
Le  Sueur  of  a  slave  and  a  sack  of  rice,  and 
said  to  him,  showing  him  his  men:  "Behold 
the  remains  of  this  great  village,  which  thou 
hast  aforetunes  seen  so  numerous!  All  the 
others  have  been  killed  in  war;  and  the  few 
njen  whom  thou  seest  in  this  lodge,  accept 
the  present  thou  hast  made  them,  and  are  re- 
solved to  obey  the  great  chief  of  all  nations, 
of  whom  thou  hast  spoken  to  us.  Thou  ought- 
est  not  to  regard  us  as  Sioux,  but  as  French, 
and  instead  of  saying  the  Sioux  are  miserable, 
and  have  no  mind,  and  are  fit  for  nothing  but 
to  rob  and  steal  from  the  French,  thou  shalt 
say  my  brethren  are  miserable  and  have  no 
mind,  and  we  must  try  to  procure  some  for 
them.  They  rob  us,  but  I  will  take  care  that 
they  do  not  lack  corn,  that  is  to  say,  all  kinds 
of  goods.  If  thou  dost  this  I  assure  thee 
that  in  a  little  time,  the  Mantantons  will  be- 
come Frenchmen,  and  they  will  have  none  of 
tliose    vices   with   which   thou   reproachest   us." 

Having  finished  his  speech,  he  covered  his 
face  with  his  garment,  and  the  others  imitated 
him.  They  wept  over  their  companions  who  had 
died  in  war,  and  chanted  an  adieu  to  their 
country  in  a  tone  so  gloomy  that  one  could  not 
keep   from   partaking  of  their   sorrow. 

Wahkentape  then  made  them  smoke  again, 
and  distributed  the  presents,  and  said  that  he 
was  going  to  the  ilendeoucantons,  to  inform 
them  of  the  resolution,  and  invite  them  to  do 
the  same. 

On  the  12  th,  three  Mendeoucanton  chiefs  and 
a  large  number  of  Indians  of  the  same,  village, 
arrived  at  the  fort,  and  the  next  day  gave  sat- 
isfaction for  robbing  the  Frenchmen.  They 
brought  400  pounds  of  beaver  skins,  and  prom- 
ised that  the  summer  following,  after  their 
canoes  were  built  and  they  had  gathered  their 
wild  rice,  that  they  would  come  and  establish 
themselves  near  the  French.  The  same  day 
tliey  returned  to  their  village  east  of  the  ilis- 
sissippi. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FEATHERSTONHAUGH      SUMMER'S     EX- 
PEDITION—FIRST   STEAMBOAT   EX- 
CURSION ON  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 


After  the  adventures  of  the  intrepid  Le  Sueur 
a  long  period  of  silence  fell  upon  the  country 
of  the  Blue  Earth.  Doubtless  the  region  was 
occasionally  visited  by  some  of  the  bold  French 
voyagers,  who  swarmed  everywhere  over  the 
northwest  in  those  days  in  the  interest  of  the 
fur  companies,  but  they  have  left  us  no  record. 

Along  toward  the  end  of  the  first  week  in 
December,  1766,  a  venturous  Connecticut  Yan- 
kee, named  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  bent  on 
an  exploring  tour  of  the  western  wildes,  passed 
up  the  Minnesota,  by  the  mouth  of  the  Blue 
I'^arth,  in  an  Indian  canoe,  with  one  or  two  In- 
dian guides  in  his  company.  How  far  he  as- 
cended the  river  is  not  very  definitely  known. 
Some  think  it  was  to  a  point  opposite  the  mouth 
of  the  Big  Cottonwood.  He  himself  states  in 
his  book  that  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Minnesota  to  Carver  river  was  40  miles, 
and  from  there  to  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth 
another  forty  miles,  and  that  the  total  distance 
he  ascended  the  river  was  200  miles.  This 
would  make  the  place  where  he  met  the  large 
camp  of  Indians  with  whom  he  spent  the  win- 
ter, somewhere  between  Granite  Falls  and  Lac 
qui  Parle  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river.  The 
chart  he  drew  indicates  the  spot  to  have  been 
in  that  vicinity  as  well  as  the  number  of  days 
hfc  spent  on  the  Journey.  Though  it  was  the 
?th  of  December  when  he  reached  the  Indian 
village  still  the  river  was  free  of  ice.  Indeed, 
it  seems  to  have  been  a  very  mild  and  open 
wmter.  In  commenting  on  the  weather  Carver 
says,  that  there  was  very  little  snow  all  winter 
and  that  it  did  not  seem  to  him  as  cold  as  the 
New  England  winters.  He,  also,  states  that  the 
Indians   claimed   that  this  was   an   average   win- 


ter, and  that  the  fact  that  they  had  no  snow 
shoes,  showed  that  the  snowfall  was  generally 
hght. 

During  his  five  months  sojourn  among  these 
Sissetons,  he  went  on  frequent  hunting  trips, 
but  what  explorations  he  made  into  the  coun- 
try of  the  Blue  Earth  we  are  not  told  though 
we  gather  that  he  made  some.  He  was  evi- 
dently much  impressed  with  the  beauty  of  the 
locality  from  the  word  pictures  he  drew  of  its 
fine  scenery. 

"The  river  St.  Pierre,  which  runs  through 
the  territories  of  the  Naudowessies,  flows  through 
a  most  delightful  country,  abounding  with  all  the 
necessaries  of  life  that  grow  spontaneously, 
and  with  a  little  cultivation  it  might  be  made 
to  produce  even  the  luxuries  of  life.  Wild 
rice  grows  here  in  great  abundance;  and  every 
part  is  filled  with  trees  bending  under  their 
loads  of  fruit,  such  as  plums,  grapes  and  ap- 
ples; the  meadows  are  covered  with  hops, 
and  many  sorts  of  vegetables,  whilst  the 
ground  is  stored  with  useful  roots,  with  angel- 
ica, spikenard,  and  ground-nuts  as  large  as 
hen's  eggs.  At  a  little  distance  from  the  sides 
of  the  river  are  eminences  from  which  you 
liave  views  that  cannot  be  exceeded  even  by  the 
most  beautiful  of  those  I  have  already  de- 
scribed; amidst  these  are  delightful  groves,  and 
such  amazing  quantities  of  maples  that  they 
would  produce  sugar  sufficient  for  any  number 
of  inhabitants. 

"Near  the  branch  which  is  termed  the  Mar- 
ble river  is  a  mountain,  from  whence  the  In- 
dians get  a  sort  of  red  stone,  out  of  which  they 
hew  the  bowls  of  their  pipes.  In  some  of 
these    parts    is    found    a    black    hard    clay,    or 


25 


26 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


rather  stone  of  which  the  Naudowessie  make 
their  family  -utensils.  This  country  likewise 
abounds  with  a  milk  white  clay  of  which 
chinaware  might  be  made  equal  in  goodness 
to  the  Asiatic;  also  with  a  blue  clay  that 
serves  the  Indians  for  paint,  with  this  last 
they  contrive  by  mixing  it  with  the  red  stone 
powdered,  to  paint  themselves  of  diSerent 
colors.  Those  that  can  get  the  blue  clay  here 
mentioned  paint  themselves  very  much  with 
it  particularly  when  they  are  about  to  begin 
their  sports  and  pastimes.  It  is  also  es- 
teemed by  them  a  mark  of  peace,  as  it  has  a 
resemblance  of  blue  sky,  which  with  them  is  a 
svmbol  of  it,  and  make  use  of  it  in  their 
speeches  as  a  figurative  expression  to  denote 
peace  when  they  wish  to  show  that  their  in- 
clinations were  pacific  toward  other  tribes,  they 
greatly  ornament  both  themselves  and  their 
belts    with    it." 

Another  long  silence  ensues  and  in  May 
1820  two  Scotchmen,  named  Graham  and 
Laidlow,  from  Lord  Selkirk's  Colony  at  Pem- 
bina, who  had  been  down  to  Prairie  du  Chien 
to  purchase  seed  for  the  Eed  river  settlements, 
whose  fields  had  been  devastated  by  grasshop- 
pers, passed  in  three  Mackinaw  boats  up  the 
Minnesota.  The  boats  were  loaded  with  two 
hundred  bushels  of  wheat,  one  hundred  bushels 
of  oats  and  thirty  bushels  of  peas,  and  pro- 
pelled by  six  men  on  each  boat  with  long 
poles.  Along  bcth  sides  of  each  boat  a 
foot  board  was  placed,  and  the  men  ranged 
in  order  upon  .these  boards  three  on  each 
side.  Each  in  turn  would  walk  to"  the  front 
of  the  boat,  plant  his  pole  in  the  bottom 
of  the  river  and  push  the  boat  ahead  walk- 
ing as  he  did  so  along  the  foot  board  un- 
til he  reached  the  rear,  where  he  would  pick  up 
his  pole  and  return  to  the  head  of  the  boat 
and  repeat  the  process.  For  over  a  hundred 
years  this  method  of  navigation  was  common 
on  the  Minnesota  and  other  western  streams. 
Ixearly  always  the  boatmen  were  French  voy- 
agers, who  by  practice  had  special  skill  in 
this  work.  It  was  their  custom  to  sing  as 
they  handled  their  poles,  and  often  in  those 
days  of  the  fur  trade  the  echoes  of  the  Min- 
i:esota  valley  were  awakened  by  the  melodies  of 


old  France.  In  the  present  instance  the 
crews  pushed  their  freighted  boats  up  the 
Minnesota  into  Big  Stone  Lake,  hauled  them 
on  rollers  across  the  portage  of  one  and  one- 
half  miles  into  Lake  Traverse  and  thence  de- 
scending the  Sioux  Wood  river  and  Eed  river 
to  the  Pembina  country  where  they  arrived 
June  3rd,   1820. 

Here  they  sold  their  produce  at  a  good  price 
and  the  crews  returned  on  foot  as  far  as  Big 
Stone  Lake  and  thence  in  canoes  down  the 
Minnesota  and  Mississippi  to  Prairie  du  Chien. 
Charles  St.  Antoine,  who  in  1856,  lived  near 
Xorthfield,  Miinn.,  was  one  of  the  number.  In 
further  evidence  of  the  use  made  of  our  wa- 
ters in  those  early  days,  and  the  skill  display- 
ed by  the  French  voyagers  in  their  navigation, 
we  are  told  that  in  the  early  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century  La  Framboise  and  his  voyagers, 
after  spending  the  winter  trapping  and  purchasing 
furs  along  the  upper  Des  Moines,  dragged  their 
boats  across  a  portage  of  a  mjile  and  a  half 
only,  between  the  waters  of  the  Des  Moines  and 
the  waters  of  the  Watonwan,  and  descending 
the  latter  stream  to  the  Blue  Earth,  found 
their  way  into  the  Minnesota  and  Mississippi 
with  their  cargoes  of  peltries.  This  portage 
from  the  Des  Moines  into  the  Watonwan  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  Windom,  into  a  lake  called 
by  the  Indians,  Tchan-shetcha  (Drywood 
Lake),  which  formed  the  source  of  one  of  the 
f(irks  of  the  Watonwan.  The  portage  seemed 
to  have  been  noted  enough  to  find  a  place  on 
Nicollet's  map,  which  indicates  -the  use  made 
of  the  Watonwan  in  the  traffic  of  the  fur 
traders. 

Some  years  ago  as  a  farmer  named  Kem- 
nitz  was  excavating  for  a  barn  at  the  foot  of 
the  bluff  Just  across  the  river  from  the  old 
village  of  South  Bend  he  discovered  the  stone 
foundaljion  of  some  ancient  building.  It  was 
buried  three  or  four  feet  under  ground  and 
large  trees  had  grown  over  it.  Evidently 
there  had  been  an  excavation  made  into  the 
bluff  and  the  rear  wall  built  five  or  six  feet 
high  and  about  forty  feet  long  against  the  bluff 
and  two  lateral  walls  about  24  feet  long .  erect- 
ed for  the  sides.  The  inner  surface  of  the 
stone    had    been     dressed     and     the    wall    laid 


HISTORY  OF  BLtJE  EAETH  COUNTY.  27 

in  mortar.  A  superstructure  and  front  of  and  taste  yet  the  French  readily  adopted  all 
logs  had  been  doubtless  used  to  complete  the  the  squalor  and  roughness  of  barbarism.  Their 
building.  This  log  part  had  probably  burnt,  ambition  was  not  to  lay  the  foundations  of 
as  the  inner  surface  of  the  stones  had  been  a  home,  but  of  a  fortune.  They  came  not  to 
blackened  by  smoke  and  glazed  by  heat,  and  possess  the  land,  but  its  spoils.  They  found  a 
most  of  the  rear  wall  had  fallen  in.  A  pile  vald  country,  with  wilder  inhabitants,  and  left 
of  ashes,  some  clam  shells,  and  what  seemed  both  unchanged.  They  sojourned  in  the  land 
to  be  an  liron  poker,  which  crumbled  when  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  and  then  suddenly 
touched,  were  found  inside.  Probably  this  the  land  knew  them  not.  Another  people  with 
was  the  site  of  some  ancient  trading  post  a  different  purpose  discovered  the  same  wil- 
dating  back  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  derness  and  it  disappeared.  They  looked  the 
hundred  years.  There  is  no  record  or  tradi-  same  savagery  in  the  face  and  it  vanished, 
tion  of  anv  such  post  in  this  vicinity,  but  the  and  the  old  order  quickly  gave  place  to  the 
ruins  remain  to  tell  the  only  tale  of  a  business  new.  These  newcomers  have  known  the  land  hard- 
venture  of  some  white  man  iin  the  long  ago.  ly  fifty  years,  but  the  impress  they  have   made 

From  these  glimpses  into  this  western  wil-  upon  it  cannot  be  effaced  in  a  thousand  years, 
derness  by  the  Blue  Earth  during  the  century  It  is  to  the  coming  of  these  miracle  workers  of 
and  half  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  settlers  modern  civilization — ^these  invincibles  of  a  vital 
we  find  that  it  was  not  wholly  untouched  Christianity  that  we  now  turn, 
by  the  foot  of  the  pale  face.  On  the  contrary  In  the  summer  of  lft23  ilaj.  Stephen  H. 
that  hardy  race  of  French  traders  and  voy-  Long  of  the  U.  S.  Army  made  an  exploring 
agers  hunted  and  trapped  in  these  forests  and  trip  up  the  ilinnesota  river  to  its  source, 
valleys  and  plains  for  ages  before  the  coming  under  directions  of  the  secretary  of  war,  and 
of  the  modern  agriculturist.  In  daring,  en-  his  notes  were  published  in  the  government 
durance  and  resourcefulness  these  Arabs  of  reports.  He  was  accompanied  by  Prof.  Wjil- 
our  northern  frontier  could  not  be  surpassed,  liam  Keating  of  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
Their  lives  were  a  succession  of  adventures  and  vania,  who  wrote  a  book  giving  a  full  account 
replete  with  herolism.  Quick,  yet  cool,  fear-  of  the  expedition,  which  was  published  in  two 
less,  yet  cautious,  affable  yet  stern,  they  were  volumes  in  1885  at  London.  In  the  same  ex- 
well  fitted  to  meet  the  savagery,  which  sur-  pedition  also  came  an  eccentric  Italian,  J.  C. 
rounded  them.  Deprivations  and  hardships  Beltrami,  who,  also,  wrote  an  account  of  the 
never  dulled  their  ardor  or  dissipated  their  trlip  in  French,  which  was  published  in  New 
light  heartedness.  With  merry  Jest  and  song  Orleans.  This  expedition  and  the  various  books 
they  cheered  the  gloom  of  the  evening  camp  written  about  it,  attracted  wide  attention  to 
fires,  and  the  weariness  of  the  long  pull  the  Minnesota  Valley.  The  expedition,  how- 
against  the  current  or  of  the  heavy  load  across  ever,  did  not  touch  Blue  Earth  county,  but 
the  portage.  They  built  no  permanent  abodes  purposely  avoided  it  by  a  portage  over  land 
but  roamed  over  the  great  commons  of  nature  from  Traverse  Des  Sioux  to  Eed  Stone  be- 
at their  will.  In  their  day,  these  experts  of  cause  of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  about  the 
the  wilderness,  made  not  only  the  Minnesota,  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth,  inspired  by  the  sad 
but  the  Blue  Earth  and  all  its  tributaries  fate  of  their  chief  Mazakoota. 
highways  of  their  commerce.  History,  how-  In  1835  an  Englishman,  named  Geo.  W. 
ever,  has  preserved  but  few  annals  of  these  Featherstonhaugh,  who  had  been  commissioned 
Nimrods  of  the  West,  and  hence  we  must  pass  U.  S.  Geologist  by  Col.  J.  J.  Ahert  of  the 
them  by,  and  come  to  the  real  forerunners  of  bureau  of  Topographical  Engineers,  made  an 
our  modern  civilization,  the  explorers,  who  exploring  trip  up  the  Minnesota  valley.  In 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  home  seeker  to  the  Company  was  Prof.  William  W.  Mather, 
the    country.  a   native    of    Connecticut,    then    a    scientific    in- 

While    retaining    a    certain    native    politeness  structor    at    West    Pdint,    but   later    state   geolo- 


28 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


gist  of  Ohio.     A  man  of  great  scientific  ability, 
principally    as    a   geologist. 

Two  works  were  published  as  the  fruit 
of  this  expedition.  One  an  official  report  pub- 
lished by  the  government  in  1836  and  the 
other  entitled  "A  Canoe  Voyage  up  the  Miin- 
naj'-sotar"  published  in  London  in  1847;  both 
of  which  helped  to  call  attention  to  the  coun- 
try. In  the  latter  work  Featherstonhaugh 
speaks  of  a  trip  he  took  up  the  Blue  Earth  to 
investigate    the    copper    mine    of    Le    Sueur. 

As  this  portion  of  his  narrative  pertains  to 
Blue  Earth  County,  it  has  a  special  interest  to 
us  and  we  give  it  in  an  abridged  form. 

"September  22nd,    (1835)    soon  after  8  A.  M. 
we  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Mahkatoh  or  'Blue 
Earth   Biver.'      This   was    a   bold   stream,    about 
80    yards    wide,    loaded    with   mud    of    a    bluish 
color,    evidently    the    cause    of    the    St.    Peter's 
being  so  turbid.     It  was  not  far  from  the  mouth 
of  this  river  that  M.  Le  Sueur  was  asserted  to 
have  discovered  in  1692  an  immense  deposit  of 
copper   ore.     No   traveller   had   ever   entered   the 
river    to   investigate   his    statement;    I    therefore 
directed  the  head  of  the  canoe  to  be  turned  into 
the  stream.     Having   ascended   it   about   a  mile, 
we    found    a    Sisseton    family    established    with 
tlieir  skin  lodge  upon  a  sand  bar.     These  people 
constantly    asserted    that    they    knew    of    no    re- 
mains of  any  old  fort  or  stone  building  in  that 
part   of  the  country.     Whilst  we  were  negotiat- 
ing   this    exchange,    it   began    to    snow    for    the 
first  time   this  autumn.     Pushing  on,  we  passed 
a  singular  conical  grassy  hill  on  the  right  bank, 
which  commanded  all  the  vicinity,  and  appeared 
to    be    a    likely    situation    for    the    site    of    Le 
Sueur's  fort.     About  twelve,  we  came  to  a  fork 
or    branch    coming'    down    on    our    right,    about 
forty-five    yards   broad,    and   we   turned   into    it, 
having  a  well   wooded  blufl!  on   the   right  bank, 
about  ninety  feet  high.     We  had  not  proceeded 
three-quarters    of   a   mile   when    we    reached   the 
place   which   the    Sissetons   had    described   to    us 
as  being  that  to  which  the  Indians  resorted  for 
their    pigment.      This    was    a    bluff    about    150 
feet  high,  on  the  left  bank,  and  from  the  slope 
being  much  trodden   and   worn   away,   I   saw   at 
once  that  it  was  a  locality  which  for  some  pur- 
pose or  other  had  been  frequented  from  a  very 


remote    period.     We   accordingly   stopped   there, 
■\\rhilst  I  examined  the  place. 

"As  soon  as  I  had  reached  that  part  of  the 
bluff  whence  the  pigment  had  been  taken,  Le 
Sueur's  story  lost  aU  credit  with  me,  for  I 
ii'Stantly  saw  that  it  was  nothing  but  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  seam  which  divided  the  sand- 
stone from  the  limestone,  and  which  I  have  be- 
fore spoken  of  at  the  Myah  Skah,  as  contain- 
ing a  silicate  of  iron  of  a  bluish-green  color. 

"The  concurrent  account  of  all  the  Indians 
we  had  spoken  with,  that  this  was  the  place 
tlie  aborigines  had  always  resorted  to,  to  pro- 
cure their  pigment,  and  the  total  silence  of 
everybody  since  Le  Sueur's  visit  respecting  any 
deposit,  of  copper  ore,  in  this  or  any  other 
part  of-  the  country,  convinced  me  that  the  story 
of  his  copper  mines  was  a  fabulous  one,  most 
probably  invented  to  raise  himself  in  impor- 
tfince  with  the  French  government  of  that  day. 
Charlevoix  having  stated  that  the  mine  was  only 
a  league  atid  three-quarters  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Terre  Bleu,  made  it  certain  that  I  was  now 
at  that  locality,  and  the  seam  of  coloured  earth 
gave  the  key  to  the  rest.  Le  Sueur's  account 
of  the  mine  being  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
ten  leagues  long,  was  as  idle  as  the  assertion 
that  he  had  obtained  30,000  pounds  of  copper 
ore  in  twenty-two  days,  for  there  is  nothing  like 
a  mountain  in  the  neighborhood.  The  blufi, 
to  be  sure,  rises  to  the  height  of  150  feet  from 
the  river;  but  when  you  have,  ascended  it,  you 
find  yourself  at  the  top  of  a  level  prairie. 
Finding  the  copper  mine  to  be  a  fable,  I  turned 
niy   attention — &c.,   &c." 

In  1838  Jean  N.  Nicollet,  a  fine  scholar,  and 
the  most  accurate  and  thorough  of  all  the  ex- 
plorers of  the  Northwest,  after  whom  Nicollet 
County  is  named,  visited  Blue  Earth  County. 
He  came  in  the  employ  of  the  U.  -  S.  Govern- 
ment to  gather  material  for  a  map  of  the  upper 
Mississippi  region,  and  the  famous  explorer, 
soldier  and  statesman.  General  John  C.  Fre- 
mont was  commissioned  as  his  special  assistant. 
A  number  of  specialists  were,  also,  attached  to 
the  expedition.  They  made  quite  an  extended 
tour  of  the  county  to  explore  its  many  rivers 
and  lakes,  so  that  they  might  be  properly  delin- 
eated  on  the   proposed   map,    and   Nicollet  was 


HLSTOEV  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COFXTY. 


29 


careful  to  note  their  Indian  names.  A  number 
of  astronomic  observations  were  taken  at  dif- 
ferent points  to  determine  the  longitude  and 
latitude,  and  the  elevation  above  the  sea.  At 
the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth,  on  the  Le  Sueur 
in  McPherson,  on  the  Cobb  in  Beauford  or 
Medo,  on  the  Maple  in  Lyra,  on  the  Blue  Earth 
in  Shelby  and  Vernon  Center,  in  Pleasant 
Mound,  on  the  Watonwan  in  Garden  City,  and 
doubtless  at  other  points  in  the  county,  these 
scientific  measurements  were  made,  and  the  di- 
rections of  the  rivers  and  the  general  topography 
of  the  country  noted.  The  flora  of  the  region 
was  gathered,  and  the  geology  inspected,  and 
every  matter  of  special  interest  investigated  and 
reported.  Xicollet  was  particularly  impressed 
by  the  great  number  of  streams  tributary  to  the 
Blue  Earth  and  his  fine  poetic  fancy  suggested 
the  fitting  name  of  "Undine"  for  this  land  of 
rivers,  after  the  famous  German  romance  of 
Fouque.  We  quote  from  Nicollet's  narrative  a 
short  passage  regarding  the  country  of  which 
Blue  Earth   County  is  now  the  center. 

"Among  these  that  which  appeared  to  me  the 
most  favorable,  is  the  one  watered  liy  the  bold 
Mankato  or  Blue  Earth  river,  and  to  which  I 
have  given  the  name  of  'Uiidine  region.' 

The  great  number  of  the  navigable  tributaries 
of  the  Mankato,  spreading  themselves  out  in  the 
shape  of  a  fan;  the  group  of  lakes  surrounded 
by  well-wooded  hills ;  some  wide-spreading  prai- 
ries with  fertile  soil ;  others  apparently  less 
favored,  but  open  to  .improvement  the  whole  to- 
gether bestow  upon  this  region  a  most  pictures- 
que appearance.  It  was  while  on  a  visit  to 
lakes  Okamanpidan  and  Tchanhassan  (Little 
Heron  and  Maplewood  lakes),  that  it  occurred 
in  me  to  give  it  the  name  tliat  I  have  adopted, 
derived  from  that  of  an  interesting  and  roman- 
tic German  tale,  the  heroine  of  which  be- 
longed to  the  extensive  race  of  water-spirits 
living  in  the  brooks  and  rivers  and  lakes,  whose 
father  was  a  mighty  prince.  She  was,  moreover, 
the  niece  of  a  great  brook  (the  Mankato)  who 
lived  in  the  midst  of  forests,  and  was  beloved 
by  all  the  many  great  streams  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  etc,  etc. 

"The  Mankato  becomes  navigable  witli  boats 
within  a  few   miles   of   its  sources.     It  is   deep, 


with  a  moderate  current  along  a  great  portion 
of  its  course,  but  becomes  very  rapid  on  its  ap- 
proach to  the  St.  Peter's.  Its  bed  is  narrowly 
walled  up  by  banks  rising  to  an  elevation  of 
from  sixty  to  eighty  feet,  and  reaching  up  to 
the  uplands  through  which  the  river  flows. 
These  banks  are  frequently  cliffs,  or  vertical 
escarpments,  such  as  the  one  called  by  the 
Sioux,  "Manya  Kickaksa,"  or  "cleft  elevation." 
The  breadth  of  the  valley  through  which  it  flows 
is  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  The  latter,  as 
well  as  the  high  grounds  are  well  wooded;  the 
timber  beginning  to  spread  out  on  both  shores, 
especially  since  they  have  become  less  fre- 
quented by  the  Sioux  hunters,  and  are  not  so 
often  fired.  But  the  crossings  of  the  river  are 
hard  to  find,  requiring  to  be  pointed  out  by  an 
experienced  guide.  I  have  laid  down  on  the 
map  my  route  over  the  Undine  region,  and  the 
geographical  positions  of  the  crossing  places  will 
be  found  in  the  table  at  the  end  of  the  report. 

"On  the  left  bank  of  the  Mankato,  six  miles 
from  it^  mouth  in  a  rocky  bluff,  composed  of 
sandstone  and  limestone,  are  found  cavities  in 
which  the  famed  blue  or  green  earth,  used  by 
the  Sioux  as  their  principal  pigment,  is  ob- 
tained. This  material  is  nearly  exhausted,  and 
it  is  not  likely  that  this  is  the  spot  where  a 
Mr.  Le  Sueur  (who  is  mentioned  in  the  narra- 
tive of  Major  Long's  Second  Expedition,  as 
aJso  by  Mr.  Featherstonhaugh)  could,  in  his 
tl'ird  voyage  during  the  year  ITOO  have  collected 
his  four  thousand  pounds  of  copper  earth  sent 
Ijy  him  to  France.  I  have  reason  to  believe  that 
Le  Sueur's  location  is  on  the  river  to  which  I 
have  affixed  his  name,  and  which  empties  into 
the  Mankato  three  quarters  of  a  league  above 
Fort  L'Huillier,  built  by  him,  and  where  he 
spent  a  winter. 

"This  location  corresponds  precisely  with  that 
given  by  Charlevoix,  while  it  is  totally  inappli- 
cable to  the  former.  Here  the  blue  earth  is 
abundant  in  the  steep  and  elevated  hills  at  the 
mouth  of  this  river,  which  hills  form  a  broken 
country  on  the  right  side  of  the  Mankato.  Mr. 
Fremont  and  myself  have  verified  this  fact — 
he  during  his  visit  to  the  Le  Sueur  river,  and 
I  upon  the  locality  designated  by  ilr.  Feather- 
stonhaugh,   where    the    Dakotahs    formerly    as- 


30 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAKTH  COUNTY. 


sembled  in  great  numbers  to  collect  it,  but  to 
which  they  now  seldom  resort,  as  it  is  now  com- 
paratively scarce — at  least  so  I  was  told  by 
SJeepy  Eye,  the  chief  of  the  Sissetons,  who  ac- 
companied me  during  this  excursion. 

"As  I  did  in  the  case  of  the  red  pipestone  de- 
scribed above  I  will  state  the  mineralogical  char- 
acter of  the  Indian  blue  earth  or  clay.  It  is 
massive,  somewhat  plastic,  emits  an  argillaceous 
odor  when  breathed  upon;  color  bluish  green; 
easily  scratched  with  the  nail,  when  formed  into 
hardened  balls.  The  acids  have  no  action  upon 
it;  it  is  infusible  before  the  blowpipe,  but  loses 
it.--  color  and  becomes  brown.  This  color  is  due 
tc  the  peroxide  of  iron  which  it  contains  in  the 
proportion  of  ten  per  cent  at  least.  It  con- 
tains no  potash  and  but  a  small  proportion  of 
lime.  It  is  a  very  different  mineral  from  that 
described  by  Dr.  Thompson  under  the  name  of 
pipe-clay." 

General  Fremont  speaks  of  their  visit  to  the 
Blue  Earth  country  and  gives  a  glimpse  of  the 
party  at  work  in  the  following  extract  we 
take  from  his  "Memoirs:" 

"The  Traverse  des  Sioux  is  a  crossing  place 
about  thirty  miles  long,  where  the  river  makes  a 
large  rectangular  bend,  coming  down  from  the 
northwest  and  turning  abruptly  to  the  northeast; 
the  streams  from  the  southeast,  the  south  and 
southwest  flowing  into  a  low  line  of  depression 
to  where  they  gather  into  a  knot  at  the  head  of 
tliis  bend,  and  into  its  lowest  part  as  into  a 
bowl.  In  this  great  elbow  of  the  river  is  the 
Marahtanka,  or  Big  Swan  Lake,  the  summer 
resort  of  the  Sisseton  Sioux."  After  describing 
their  camp  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Cottonwood 
he  proceeds,  "We  were  occupied  quietly  among 
the  Indians,  Mr.  ISTicollet,  as  usual,  surrounded 
by  them,  with  the  aid  of  the  interpreter  getting 
them  to  lay  out  the  form  of  the  lake,  and  the 
course  of  the  streams  entering  the  river  near, 
and  after  repeated  pronunciations,  entering  their 
names  in  his  note  book ;  Geyer,  followed  bv  some 
Indians,  curiously  watching  him  while  digging 
up  plants;  and  I  more  numerously  attended, 
pouring  out  the  quicksilver  for  the  artificial 
horizon,  each  in  his  way  busy  at  work;  when 
suddenly  every  thing  started  into  motion,  the 
Indians    running   tumultuously    to    a    little   rise 


w^hich  commanded  a  view  of  the  prairie,  all 
clamor  and  excitement.  The  commotion  was 
caused  by  the  appearance  of  two  or  three  elk  on 
the  prairie  horizon.  Those  of  us  who  were 
strangers,  and  ignorant  of  their  usages,  fancied 
there  must  be  at  least  a  war  party  in  sight." 
He  further  states,  "AVhile  Mr.  Nicollet  was  oc- 
cupied in  making  a  survey  of  the  Le  Sueur 
river,  and  identifying  localities,  and  verifying 
accounts  of  preceding  travelers,  I  was  sent  to 
make  an  examination  of  the  Mankato  or  Blue 
Earth  rivers,  which  bore  on  the  subject  he  had 
in  view." 

The  results  of  this  expedition  were  incor- 
porated by  Mr.  Nicollet  in  a  very  interesting 
and  instructive  report,  which  was  accompanied 
by  a  large  and  most  valuable  map,  the  most 
complete  and  accurate  of  the  upper  Mississippi 
country,  which  up  to  that  time  had  been  pro- 
duced, and  for  years  was  the  basis  of  most 
maps  of  the  region.  General  J.  K.  Warren,  a 
high  authority,  declares  it  to  be;  "One  of  the 
greatest  contributions  ever  made  to  American 
geography."  It  probably  did  as  much  as  any 
one  thing  in  directing  the  attention  of  settlers 
to  the  Blue  Earth  region.  Many  of  our  pioneers 
attribute  their  coming  to  this  part  of  the  land 
to  this  map. 

In  July,  1841,  Gov.  James  D.  Doty  of  Wis- 
consin, while  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  In- 
dians at  Traverse  des  Sioux,  made  a  visit  to 
the  country  of  the  Blue  Earth  to  which  he 
refers  in  a  report  the  fojlowing  year  in  these 
words:  'TTou  are  aware  that  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mahkato  river  there  was,  a  hundred  years 
ago,  a  copper  smelting  establishment  erected  by 
a  Frenchmen.  I  visited  the  ruins  last  summer. 
There  is  no.  doubt  in  my  mind  that  extensive 
beds  of  copper  ore  will  be  found  in  the  valley 
of  the  Minisoto,"  etc.  We  wonder  what  the 
governor  really  saw  to  make  him  believe  that 
they  were  the  "ruins  of  a  copper  smelting  es- 
tablishment," or  to  make  him  so  sure  that  there 
was  copper  in  the  country. 

Early  in  October,  1844,  Captain  B.  V.  Sum- 
ner and  Lieut.  J.  Allen  with  a  company  of 
dragoons  from  Fort  Atkinson,  while  on  an  ex- 
pedition to  Lac  qui  Parle  to  arrest  some  Indians, 
who  had   murdered   three   cattle   drovers,   passed 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  BAETII  COUNTY. 


31 


tlirough  Blue  Earth  Count}',  cutting  a  road  for 
tlieir  supply  wagons  through  the  timber,  fol- 
lowing an  old  Indian  trail  from  the  present 
town  of  Decoria  to  where  now  stands  the  city  o'f 
Mankato.  They  descended"  into  the  valley  over 
Bunker  hill  and  camped  one  night  near  the 
south  end  of  Front  street. 

They  passed  down  the  valley  to  the  crossing 
at  Traverse  des  Sioux.  In  two  or  three  weeks 
they  returned  by  the  same  route  with  four  or 
five  Indian  prisoners,  but  they  did  not  prove 
tj  be  the  real  guilty  ones.  The  following  June 
therefore,  Captain  Sumner  led  a  second  expedi- 
tion over  the  same  road.  Henry  M.  Eice  was 
sutler  to  these  military  campaigns.  Seven  years 
later  the  first  settlers  at  Mankato  discovered  this 
old  militar}'  road  and  used  it  for  a  time.  Be- 
side it  in  the  timber  the)',  also,  found  a  broken 
and  abandoned  military  wagon. 

During  1847-50  a  geological  survey  was  made 
of  the  IMinnesota  and  Blue  Earth  rivers  under 
direction  of  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen.  IMost  of  the  work 
in  Blue  Earth  County  was  done  by  Prof.  B. 
F.  Shumard.  Extended  reports  of  these  surveys 
were  published  by  the  government.  The  year 
1850  was  mainly  noted  in  the  history  of  our 
ccmmonwealth  because  of  its  steamboat  excur- 
sions up  the  Minnesota  river.  Prior  to  this  year 
no  steamer  had  ever  ascended  our  sky-tinted 
river  more  than  a  few  miles  above  its  mouth. 
It  was  supposed  to  be  unnavigable  except  for 
irackinaw  boats  and  Indian  canoes,  especially 
beyond  the  Eapids  at  Carver.  In  the  latter 
part  of  June,  1850,  a  big  freslict  occurred  in 
tliC  river  just  as  the  Anthony  Wayne,  a  Mis- 
sissippi boat,  in  charge  of  Captain  Able,  ar- 
rived at  St.  Paul.  The  Wayne  was  a  fairly 
good  sized,  side-wheel  boat  and  had  an  excursion 
aboard  of  seventy  persons  from  St.  Louis.  They 
■s^ere  a  jolly  crowd  and  had  brought  with  them 
a  string  band  from  Quincy,  Illinois,  to  help 
enliven  the  trip.  Seeing  so  much  water  in  the 
^rinnesota,  someone  suggested  an  excursion  upon 
it  with  the  Wayne.  After  consultation  with 
river  pilots,  who  had  been  up  the  ]\Iinnesota 
in  Mackinaw  boats,  Captain  Abies  concluded  to 
make  the  venture.  The  people  of  St.  Paul  gen- 
erally took  a  great  interest  in  the  project  through 
the  efforts  of  Henry  L.  Tilden  and  David  01m- 


stead,  and  a  purse  of  $225.00,  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses, was  quickly  raised.  So  on  Friday,  June 
28th,  1850,  the  Anthony  Wayne  with  over  150 
of  St.  Paul's  most  prominent  citizens  and  their 
seventy  St.  Louis  guests  on  board,  turned  her 
prow  up  the  unknown  waters  of  tlie  ilinnesota. 
At  Fort  Snelling  the  military  band  joined  the 
jiarty.  The  day  was  [)erfect,  the  scenery, 
adorned  with  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of  the 
season  was  mag-nificent.  The  boat  went  as  far 
as  the  rapids  and  returned  to  St.  Paul  by 
night  without  a  single  mishap.  The  success  of 
the  trip,  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  great 
valley  surpassed  all  expectations.  Other  boats 
grew  envious  of  the  sudden  popularity  of  the 
Wayne.  Two  weeks  later,  another  steamer,  the 
ISTominee,  thinking  she  could  do  as  much  and 
n:ore  than  her  rival,  got  up  another  big  ex- 
cursion and  ascended  not  only  to  the  rapids,,  but 
through  them,  and  having  planted  her  shingle 
two  or  three  miles  above  them  returned  in  tri- 
umph. The  Anthony  Wayne,  not  to  be  outdone 
by  the  "Xominee"  got  tip  another  monster  ex- 
cursion and  on  Thursday,  July  18th.  ascended 
the  river  to  the  big  bend,  a  mile  or  two  below 
the  city  of  ]\Iankato.  Animated  by  a  spirit  of 
emulation,  Captain  ^I.  K.  Harris  of  the  'TTan- 
kee"  concluded  to  out  do  all  the  other  boats. 
With  the  help  of  Colonel  Goodhue  and  others 
hf,  got  up  a  big  excursion  party  and  on  July 
S2nd,  started  up  the  now  famous  river.  At 
Fort  Snelling  the  military  band  was  taken  on 
board  to  help  entertain  the  gala  crowd.  The 
"Yankee"  had  the  advantage  of  being  a  smaller 
boat  than  the  other  two,  and  was  a  stern  wheeler. 
Passing  the  shingles  of  the  three  former  excur- 
sions, she  arrived  on  the  third  night  with  her 
tlirong  of  sischtseers  opposite  the  present  village 
of  Judson.  The  want  of  provisions,  the  excessive 
heat — 104  in  the  shade — and  the  pestiferous  at- 
tacks of  myriads  of  mosquitoes  finally  on  the 
morrow  induced  our  explorers  to  turn  back.  At 
noon  they  tarried  a  few  minutes  at  the  mouth 
oP  the  Blue  Earth,  where  they  found  a  log  trad- 
ing post,  belonging  to  H.  H.  Sibley  in  charge 
of  a  Frenchman.  It  stood  at  the  base  of  Sibley 
5[ound — at  its  northwest  corner.  Some  of  the 
party  picked  up  a  small  lump  of  ligTiite  coal 
from    among    the   bed    of   pebbles   found    at   the 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


junction  of  the  rivers.  The  Frenchman  as- 
sured them  that  a  few  miles  up  the  Blue  Earth 
there  was:  a  vein  three  or  four  feet  thick  of  the 
same  substance.  Perhaps  he  inferred  so  from 
the  Indian  name  "ila^yasapa''  (Black  Banks)  ap- 
plied to  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  in  dis- 
tinction to  Mayaskadan  (white  banks)  the  In- 
dian name  for  the  mouth  of  the  Minnesota,  or  it 
may  be  this  coal  mine  lies  buried  in  the  same 
lost  moiTutain  as  Le  Sueur's  copper  mine. 

These  excursions  fully  demonstrated  the  navi- 
gability of  the  ilinnesota,  and  the  hundreds 
of  people  who  had  participated  in  them  were  all 
completely  captivated  by  the  beauty  and  fertility 
of  the  country,  and  went  everywhere  proclaiming 
it.  St.  Paul  went  wild  about  it.  Her  papers 
were  full  of  glowing  accounts  of  its  wonderful 
wealth  and  splendor.  Her  citizens  could  talk  of 
nothing  else  and  every  home  seeker  and  fortune 
hunter  was  immediately  inocculated  with  the 
idea  that  here  was  the  land  of  promise.  Having 
spied  the  land  and  found  it  so  good  and  so 
accessible    by    boats,    the    white    people    became 


anxious  to  go  in  and  possess  it,  and  the  result 
was  the  great  event  of  the  following  year, 
namely :  the  treaties  of  Traverse  des  Sioux  and 
ilendota.  By  these  important  treaties,  negotiat- 
td  in  Jul}-  and  August,  1851,  the  Sioux  or 
Dakota  Indians,  transferred  to  the  whites  all  of 
}linnesota.  south  of  St.  Cloud  and  Morehead  and 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  taking  in  also  portions 
of  Iowa  and  of  South  Dakota — an  empire  in 
area — an  Eldorado  in  wealth  and  a  Paradise  in 
beauty. 

Xo  sooner  was  the  treaty  signed  than  set- 
tlers began  to  pour  into  the  country,  and  the 
winter  of  1851-2  witnessed  the  founding  of  many 
townsites  along  the  Minnesota  valley.  Most 
of  the  proprietors  of  these  towns  were  citizens 
cf  St.  Paul,  and  were  thus  most  advantageously 
located  to  direct  the  tide  of  immigration  toward 
their  new  possessions;  for  St.  Paul  then  was 
the  gateway  of  Minnesota.  Shakopee,  Le  Sueur, 
Traverse  des  Sioux,  St.  Peter  as  well  as  Man- 
kato  and  other  valley  towns  of  that  date  were 
so  founded. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FIEST    SETTLEMENTS.  IN   BLUE    EAETH 
COUNTY. 


Among  the  excursionists  on  board  the  "Yan- 
kee" in  1850  were  two,  who  were  specially 
impressed  by  the  country  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Blue  Earth.  They  were  Henry  Jackson  and 
Parsons  King  Johnson,  both  prominent  residents 
of  St.  Paul. 

Mr.  Jackson  was  a  native  of  Virginia  where 
he  was  born  in  February,  1811.  When  a  young 
man  he  went  to  Texas  and  in  1836-7  served  as 
orderly  sargent  in  the  Patriot  war.  Soon  after 
this  he  returned  to  the  states  and  located  at 
Buffalo,  New  York.  Here  in  May,  1838,  he 
married  Angelina  Bevins  and  moved  the  same 
spring  to  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  and  thence  in  a  year 
or  two  to  Galena,  111.,  where  he  engaged  in 
business.  In  June,  1842,  he  and  his  wife  landed 
at  the  present  site  of  St.  Paul  where  there  was 
hardly  a  habitation  in  which  they  could  find 
shelter  for  the  first  night,  which  chanced  to  be 
dark  and  rainy.  Soon  he  purchased  of  one  Ben. 
Gervais  three  acres  of  land  bounded  at  present 
by  Bench,  Eobert,  Third  and  Jackson  streets 
and  erected  the  first  house  with  a  shingled  roof 
ia  our  capitol  city.  In  this  building  he  con- 
ducted the  first  store,  the  first  hotel,  the  first 
post  office  and  the  first  court  in  St.  Paul.  He 
was  appointed  postmaster  in  1816,  though  he 
liad  acted  in  that  capacity  for  some  years  prior. 
He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Wisconsin  As- 
sembly, while  St.  Paul  still  pertained  to  that 
9tate,  and  later  he  was  a  member  of  the  first 
territorial  legislature  of  Minnesota.  He  also 
served  on  the  first  town  council  of  St.  Paul. 
A  strong  character,  able,  energetic,  self  reliant, 
e^er  ready  for  any  new  enterprise — such  was 
Henry  Jackson.  Mr.  Johnson,  his  brother-in- 
hiAv,  was  a  A'ermont  man  by  birth,  and  a  tailor 
by  trade.     In  the  spring  of   1837,   on  attaining 


his  majority  he  came  west,  and  located  first  at 
liockford.  III,  then  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  whence 
h.e  came  to  St.  Paul  in  the  spring  of  1847,  and 
boarded  for  some  time  with  Henry  Jackson.  In 
j\[ay,  1850,  married  Laura  Bivens,  a  sister  of  Mrs. 
Jackson.  He  had  been  a  member  of  the  first 
territorial  legislature  of  Minnesota.  Genial, 
witty,  companionable,  he  made  friends  wherever 
he  went.  While  better  educated  and  more  re- 
fined and  even  tempered  than  Jackson,  he  lacked 
the  latter's  push  and  energy.  This  with  his  dis- 
inclination to  selfish  advantage  and  acquisition, 
and  his  convivial  habits,  which  he  shared  with 
his  friend  Jackson,  and  with  too  many  of  the 
pioneers  of  his  day,  hindered  his  accumulation 
of  much  property.  His  happy,  contented  and 
peaceable  disposition,  however,  insured  him  more 
enjoyment  and  length  of  days  than  wealth  could 
have  done. 

jMany  are  the  stories  told  of  his  wit  and 
humor.  Space  forbids  the  narration  of  more 
than  two  to  illustrate  his   characteristics. 

It  was  in  the  antibellum  days,  when  politics 
^vere  intense  and  their  discussion  often  rufEled 
the  temper.  A  big  hurley  stranger  of  English 
descent  had  drawn  Johnson  into  a  hot  dispute 
over  some  question  of  disagreement  between  the 
two  nations.  The  Englishman  challenged  John- 
son to  fight  him.  After  both  had  reached  the 
street  and  taken  off  their  coats  Johnson  with 
the  gravest  expression  of  countenance  said  to 
bis  antagonist :  "Stranger,  before  we  engage 
in  this  first  encounter  let  us  sit  down  a  bit  and 
sing  a  hymn,  omitting  the  first  and  last  stanzas." 
The  ridiculous  suggestion  broke  up  the  fight, 
and  the  Englishman  departed  with  his  wrath 
badly  punctured. 

It   was    the   fifth   of   July   in   the  days    when 


33 


34 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Mankato  was  a  -village  and  Squire  Johnson  sat 
on  the  bench  of  justice.  Two  women  walked  into 
the  court  room  and  one  of  them  related  most 
vividly,  how  her  husband  in  attempting  to  cele- 
brate the  great  day  of  American  Independence, 
had  grossly  overdone  the  matter,  much  against 
the  peace  and  dignity  of  the  State  of  Minnesota, 
as  was  evidenced  by  certain  scratches  and  bruises 
exhibited  by  the  wife.  "P.  K."  as  Johnson  was 
familiarly  called  listened  patiently  to  the  wom- 
an's harrowing  tale  of  the  breach  of  the  law, 
but  the  court  had  not  recovered  fully  from  the 
effects  of  his  own  celebration,  and  was  aware  of 
his  inability,  after  looking  earnestly  at  the  wom- 
an a  minute  or  two  he  asked,  "Are  you  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Presbyterian  Church?"  Surprised 
and  angry  the  woman  sharply  retorted  "ISTo,  I 
belong  to  no  church.  What  has  that  to  do  with 
getting  a  warrant?"  Johnson  gravely  replied, 
"Madame,  I  am  very  sorry,  but  the  day  after  the 
Fourth  my  Jurisdiction  is  limited  to  the  Pres- 
byterian church."  The  women  expressed  their 
opinions  of  the  court  in  language  quite  vigorous 
and  left  in  a  hufE. 

Such    were    the    two    men,    who    in    January, 

1852,  at  Jackson's  store  in  St.  Paul  were  dis- 
cussing earnestly  the  proposition  of  locating  a 
townsite  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth.  Fin- 
ally   on    Saturday,    the    31st    day    of    January, 

1853,  having  hired  two  wood  choppers,  named 
Daniel  Williams  and  John  James,  and  a  team- 
ster, named  Louis  DeMoreau,  to  carry  the  men 
with  the  goods  and  provisions,  they  started  for 
the  site  of  their  future  city.  Jackson  and 
Johnson  led  the  way  in  their  cutter,  while  the 
rest  of  the  party  followed  in  the  Frenchman's 
sleigh  drawn  by  two  Indian  ponies.  With  the 
company  went  W.  W.  Paddock  to  view  the  coun- 
try. 

Winter,  which  the  week  before  had  sent  the 
n^ercury  thirty  degrees  below,  had  suddenly  lost 
his  grip,  and  the  weather  was  balmy  as  April. 
The  snow  had  mostly  disappeared  and  the  pro- 
gress of  our  travelers  was  slow  and  tedious. 
The  first  night  was  spent  with  the  old  Indian 
interpreter,  Hugh  Quinn,  just  above  Fort  Snell- 
ing.  The  second  night  they  lodged  with  Tom 
Holmes,  who  had  just  built  the  first  log  cabin 
on   the  present  site  of  Shakopee.     Holmes  had 


great  expectations  for  his  town.  He  said  St. 
I'aul  might  make  quite  a  city  were  it  not  so 
near  Shakopee.  The  third  night  found  our 
friends  at  the  trading  post  of  Nelson  Robert, 
a  mile  or  two  below  the  present  site  of  Belle 
Plaine.  Here  Jackson  was  taken  sick  and 
early  next  morning  returned  in  the  cutter  to 
St.  Paul.  The  rest  of  the  party  pressed  on  in 
De  Moreau's  sleigh,  and  camped  the  fourth 
night,  where  the  city  of  Le  Sueur  now  stands. 
Here  Messrs.  C'athcart  and  Christie,  were  in 
the  act  of  laying  out  that  townsite,  and  they 
were  greatly  exercised  by  the  advent  of  John- 
son's party,  fearing  they  had  come  to  jump 
their  valuable  claim.  Late  at  night  the  entire 
Le  Sueur  company  each  armed  with  a  gun  paid 
our  tired  travelers  a  visit,  pretending  they  were 
just  returning  from  a  hunt,  when  in  fact  their 
object  was  to  learn  with  what  intent  the  new 
comers  had  arrived.  Having  learned  this  the 
Cathcart-Christie  party  departed,  but  lest  there 
might  be  treachery,  since  it  was  plain  that  the 
spot  they  had  chosen  was  sure  to  be  the  site 
of  the  biggest  city  west  of  Chicago,  they  spent 
the  rest  of  the  night  staking  out  lots  and  build- 
ing log  shanties.  Unmindful  of  the  trepida- 
tion their  presence  was  causing,  and  of  the  fu- 
ture greatness  of  the  spot  on  which  they  camped, 
our  friends  rose  early  next  morning  and  by 
noon  Traverse  des  Sioux  was  reached,  then  the 
principal  point  in  the,  Minnesota  valley,  where 
six  months  before  had  been  held  the  great  Sioux 
Treaty.  David  Faribault  and  Alexander  Gra- 
ham had  Indian  trading  posts  here,  and  Nathan 
Myrick  had  opened  a  more  pretentious  store 
the  previous  November  in  charge  of  his  brother, 
A.  J.  Myrick.  Here,  too,  were  the  three  neatly 
painted  mission  buildings  of  the  American  Board, 
and  a  few  log  houses,  giving  the  place  an  air  of 
civilization. 

After  dinner  our  party  proceeded  as  far  as 
Joseph  Provencelle's  trading  post,  which  stood 
about  where  the  St.  Peter  Asylum  is  now  lo- 
cated. Joseph  or  "Joe"  as  he  was  generally 
called  was  the  son  of  the  old  Traverse  des  Sioux 
trader,  Louis  Provencelle  (or  "Le  Blanc"  as  he 
was  nicknamed)  by  an  Indian  mother.  He  had 
married  a  daughter  of  Sleepy  Bye,  the  noted 
head  chief  of  the  Sissetons.     The  river  had  to 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


be    recrossed    near    Joe's    cabin,    but    the    recent 
thaw    would    not    permit    it    that    afternoon,    as 
there  was  a  rod  or  two   of  clear  water  on  each 
side  of  the  river.     The  night  was  therefore  spent 
at    Joe    Provencelle's    cabin.      By    morning    our 
friends    were    able    to    cross    the    river    on    the 
fresh   ice,    but   it    was    only    to    find    their   pro- 
gress arrested  by  a  more  serious  obstacle.     The 
Kasota    plateau    that    winter    was    covered   by    a 
vast    Indian    camp.      Hundreds   of    Indian    dogs 
signaled   loudly   the   unwonted    approach   of   the 
whites   and  soon  the  Indians,  men,  women   and 
children,   came  pouring  out   of  their   teepees   to 
see    what    the    commotion    was    about.       Chief 
Sleepy  Eye  with   a   number  of  his  braves   went 
to   meet   our   travelers    and    demanded   the    pur- 
pose of   their   visit.     Upon  being   told,   the   old 
chief   declared   that   his   young   men   would    not 
permit  the  whites  to  settle  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Blue    Earth,    as    it   was    the    key   to   their    best 
hunting  grounds,   and  »there  was  located   one  of 
their  principal    sugar  camps.     To  the  argument 
that  the   Indians  by  the   recent  treaty  had  sold 
all  these  lands  to  the  whites,  Sleepy  Eye  replied 
•  that    they    had    not    yet    received    their    money. 
Every     argument     and     appeal    failed,     and    it 
looked   as   though   the   enterprise   would  have   to 
be  abandoned.     Johnson's  Yankee  wit  finally  hit 
upon  a  new  tact.     Seeing  that  their  recent  host, 
Joe    Provencelle,    had    come    over    to    learn    the 
cause   of   the   trouble,    and    knowing   him   to   be 
the  chief's  son-in-law,  he  called  him  to  one  side 
and  explained  to  him  that  because  of  the  poor 
sleighing,  they  would  be  obliged  to  divide  their 
load   and  he   wanted   Joe   to   get  his  horse   and 
sleigh  and  carry  a  portion  of  it  in  case  Sleepy 
Eye  would  let  them  proceed..     He  told  Joe  then 
what    they    would    pay    him,    a    most    tempting 
price.     Having  thus   got   Joe   Provencelle   inter- 
ested on  the  side  of  the  whites  it  did  not  take 
long    for    him    to    arrange    things    between    his 
father-in-law    and    them.      A    few    provisions    in 
hand   delivered   and  an   order  on   Jackson  for  a 
barrel  of  pork  satisfied  his  red  majesty  and  John- 
son   and    his    party    were    allowed    to    proceed, 
l^he  order  for  pork  referred  to  was  not  presented 
for    a    year    or    two,    but    one    day    an    Indian 
brought  it  to  Johnson   at"  Mankato,   and   it  was 
honored.     With   Joe    Provencelle   as   guide    and 


helping  transport  the  luggage,  our  travelers 
reached  the  mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  that  after- 
noon, being  Thursday,  February  5th,  1853. 
Their  first  night  in  their  chosen  locality  was 
spent  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Blue  Earth  at  the 
south  foot  of  Sibley  mound. 

Sibley's   trading   post   and   the   Frenchman   in 
charge    of    it    had    both    disappeared    from    the 
other  side  of  the  mound,  but  on  top  of  it  about 
where  the   flagstaff  now   stands  Mr.   Sibley   had 
caused  the  sides  of  a  log  shanty  to  be  erected, 
with   the   view    of    claiming   the   location    for    a 
townsite.     Just  south  of  the  mound  where   the 
race  track  is  now  situated  was  a  fine  meadow  in 
which  a  very  small  stack  of  hay  had  been  cut. 
The  forenoon  of  the  next  day  was  spent  by  Mr. 
Johnson    and   his    companions    in    exploring   the 
land   adjacent  to  the   mound   for  the  best  loca- 
tion for  their  future  city.     Classic  in  many  an 
Indian   legend    and    French    adventure    was    the 
ground  they  traversed.     Just  west   of  the  Blue 
Earth  was  the  site  of  an  ancient  Indian  village, 
where   the   old    chief   Mahkato,    had    held    sway. 
Here  was  the  home  of  Akich-etah-dutah,  whose 
sad   tale   of  paternal  love   is  worthy   of   immor- 
tal song.     Here  the  Indian  maiden  Hapan,  had 
poured   out  her  lament  and  life  for  her  unfor- 
timate  lover.     Here  had  lived  the  Indian   chief 
Tioskate,    who    in    1695    had    accompanied    Le 
Sueur  to  ^lontreal  and  died  there,  after  twenty- 
two   rlavs  illness;  and  here,   five  years  later,  Le 
Sueur  had  met  sixteen  of  his  weeping  relatives. 
Here  Wahkentape,  another  Sioux  chief,  had  en- 
.  tertained  Le   Sueur  and  his  followers,   at  many 
a   feast.      Two    and    a   half   miles   up    the   Blue 
Earth    was    the    site    of    old    Fort    Le    Huillier, 
built   by   the    French    in    the    autumn    of    1700, 
while  prospecting  for  copper  in  the  clayey  hanks  of 
the  river  and  where  to  this  day  the  goods   and 
the  tools  of  the  garrison   are  cached.     Near  by 
are   the  beds   of  bluish   green   clay,   famed   as   a 
sacred   pigment    among    all    tlie    aborigines,    and 
which    gave    the    river    and    our    county    their 
names. 

Investigation  disclosed  the  fact  that  the  lands 
immediately  adjacent  to  the  mouth  of  the  Blue 
Earth  were  subject  to  overflow  in  high  water, 
and  hence  not  adapted  for  the  location  of  the 
future   city.     Finally   a  narrow   strip    of   prairie 


36 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


laying  between  Warren  Creek  and  the  stone 
quarry  bench  was  selected.  A  beautiful  spot  it 
was,  covered  with  tall  dead  grass,  which  waved 
in  the  breeze  like  a  field  of  ripe  grain,  and 
interspersed  here  and  there  with  clumps  of 
brush  and  small  trees.  On  one  side  the  river 
swept  in  a  grand  curve  affording  a  convenient 
boat  landing,  just  above  high  water  mark,  while 
on  the  other  side  the  great  forest  climbed  in 
terraces  the  high  bluff  and  thence  stretched 
for  miles,  unbroken  in  its  vastness,  towering  in 
its  majesty,  and  impressive  in  its  solitude.  In 
the  edge  of  this  forest  was  a  pond  fed  by  a 
number  of  springs,  which  gushed  from  the  foot 
of  the  bluff.  A  grove  of  tall  graceful  poplars 
encircles  it,  mingled  with  a  tangle  of  willows 
and  vines.  At  the  south  end  of  this  pool,  be- 
side a  huge  fallen  tree,  near  the  present  site  of 
Masonic  hall,  the  first  camp  was  pitched  on 
the  sixth  of  February,  1853. 

After  hauling  together  a  few  logs,  De  Moreau 
and  Paddock  returned  with  the  team  to  St.  Paul, 
leaving  Johnson,  Williams  and  James  to  fashion 
the  first  cabin.  No  great  architectural  skill  was 
displayed  in  its  construction.  A  low  log  shanty, 
twelve  feet  square,  plastered  with  black  loam, 
gathered  from  some  half  thawed  gopher  hills, 
roofed  with  bark  and  floored  with  mother  earth, 
it  stood  on  the  rear  of  lot  4  block  6  of  Man- 
kato,  about  midway  between  the  State  bank  and 
Patterson  Wholesale  block.  A  single  opening  in 
its  easterly  end  served  the  double  purpose  of 
door  and  window. 

One  day  after  the  sides  of  the  cabin  had  been 
raised,  and  while  Johnson  was  inside  of  the 
enclosure  cooking  a  savory  mess  of  pork  and 
beans  for  dinner  over  a  camp  fire,  an  Indian 
accompained  by  his  young  son  called  and  de- 
manded food.  As  Johnson's  supply  of  provisions 
were  almost  exhausted,  owing  to  the  heavy  toll 
paid  to  old  Sleepy  Eye  and  Joe  Provencelle, 
and  there  were  no  more  nearer  than  St.  Paul 
he  was  obliged  to  refuse.  The  Indian  was  a 
very  large  and  ugly  looking  brute,  who  bore  a 
hard  name.  Seeing  Johnson  was  alone  and 
unarmed  he  at  once  became  insolent,  and  draw- 
ing a  long  sharp  knife,  motioned  that  he  would 
cut  the  white  man's  throat.  Johnson  was  just 
grabbing  a  big  hickory  poker  from  the  ground 


for  defense,  when  the  boy,  who  had  climbed  to 
the  top  log  of  one  side  of  the  cabin  for  a  look- 
out, saw  Williams  and  James  coming  and 
quickly  signaled  his  father  and  both  beat  a  very 
hasty  retreat. 

Wliile  Johnson  and  his  companions  were  erect- 
ing this  first  building  in  the  city  of  Mankato 
and  the  County  of  Blue  Earth,  Jackson  and  a 
number  of  friends  at  St.  Paul  were  booming  the 
country  of  the  Mahkato  and  its  future  metropolis. 
On  February  14th  the  Blue  Earth  settlement 
Claim  Association  was  organized  there,  with 
ten  members,  namely:  Henry  Jackson,  P.  K. 
Johnson,  Daniel  Williams,  Col.  D.  A.  Eobert- 
son,  Justus  C.  Eamsey,  J.  M.  Kastner,  D.  F. 
Erawley  and  William  Hartshorn.  A  stock  capi- 
tal of  $1,000.00  divided  into  ten  equal  shares 
was  subscribed  for  the  enterprise. 

The  honor  of  christening  the  new  city  was 
accorded  to  Mrs.  P.  K.  Johnson  and  Mrs. 
Henry  Jackson,  who  selected  the  name  "Man- 
kato," upon  the  suggestion  of  Col.  Robertson. 
He  had  taken  the  name  from  Nicollet's  book, 
ill  which  the  French  explorer  compared  the 
"Mahkato"  or  Blue  Earth  river  with  all  its 
tributaries,  to  the  water  nymphs  and  their  uncle 
in  the  German  legend  of  "Undine."  Through 
some  strange  misunderstanding  of  the  text,  he 
thought  the  name  to  be  that  of  a  German  water 
spirit,  when  in  fact  it  was  the  Indian  name  of 
the  Blue  Earth  river.  Though  in  a  way  unin- 
tentional, no  more  appropriate  name  could  be 
given  the  new  city,  than  that  of  the  noble 
river,  at  whose  mouth  it  is  located.  The  morn- 
ing after  forming  the  claim  association  and  the 
naming  of  the  new  city.  Col.  D.  A.  Robertson, 
Henry  Jackson,  Evans  Goodrich,  John  S.  Hinck- 
ley, with  one  or  two  others  left  St.  Paul  by 
team  to  visit  the  new  settlement  and  carry  pro- 
visions for  it,  which  they  knew  from  the  mes- 
sage brought  back  by  Paddock  and  De  Moreau 
must  be  sorely  needed.  The  morning  before  the 
arrival  of  this  party  at  the  new  town,  the  last 
morsel  of  food  had  been  eaten,  and  Johnson  had 
gone  on  foot  as  far  as  Kasota  in  quest  of  help, 
when  he  met  his  old  friends  bringing  the  long 
expected  supplies. 

Sixteen  days  now  were  spent  by  this  conipany 
inspecting  the  new  town  and  exploring  the  sur- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


rounding  country.  Then  Robertson/  Jackson, 
Johnson  and  Hinckley  returned  to  St.  Paul  leav- 
ing Williams,  Goodrich,  James  and  one  or  two 
others  to  hold  their  new  possessions.  On  the 
JOth  of  February  Evans  Groodrich  staked  out 
northeast  of  the  townsite,  a  claim  of  160  acres, 
on  a  part  of  which  is  now  situated  Dukes  Addi- 
tion to  Mankato.  John  James  and  others,  also, 
located  claims  just  north  of  the  new  town.  On 
March  13th,  John  S.  Hinckley  paid  the  new 
settlement  a  second  visit,  in  company  with  one 
Henry  D.  J.  Koons  and  both  after  locating 
claims,  entered  into  the  employ  of  the  claim 
company  for  a  time.  Much  interest  was  now 
taken  at  St.  Paul,  in  the  Blue  Earth  Country, 
and  it  formed  the  main  topic  of  conversation. 
Five  Germans  rigged  up  a  boat  with  a  mast 
and  sail  intending  to  ascend  the  Minnesota  to 
the  land  of  promise.  They  were  Jacob  Guen- 
ther,  Peter  Frenzel,  Philip  Krummel,  —  Stultz 
and  Joseph  Weinheimer.  The  latter  was  the 
stepfather  of  Charles  and  Louis  Graf,  now  of 
Mankato.  On  the  8th  of  April,  after  the  ice 
had  left  the  river  and  while  the  water  was  still 
over  the  banks,  they  loaded  their  baggage  and 
provisions  into  the  batteau  and  started  on  their 
journey.  When  they  had  proceeded  about  fif- 
teen miles,  their  sail  caught  in  an  overhanging 
limb  and  the  boat  was  suddenly  capsized  and  the 
five  men  were  precipitated  into  the  swift,  icy 
current.  Their  cries  for  help  were  heard  by 
some  Indians  in  the  vicinity  and  all  saved,  but 
Weinheimer,  who  was  swept  away  and  drowned. 
All  the  baggage  and  provisions  were  lost  ex- 
cept one  gun,  which  Guenther  hung  to  with 
one  hand,  while  he  clung  to  the  upturned  boat 
with  the  other  until  rescued.  After  the  body 
of  their  unfortunate  companion  had  been  re- 
covered and  buried,  the  remaining  four,  noth- 
ing daunted,  procured  fresh  supplies,  and  reached 
Mankato  on  foot  before  the  last  of  May.  Pleased 
with  the  country  they  all  located  upon  claims 
near  the  townsite. 

Colonel  D.  H.  Robertson  was  a  very  promi- 
nent character  in  St.  Paul  at  that  time  and  was 
the  editor  and  publisher  of  "The  Democrat," 
the  most  influential  paper  in  the  territory. 
Being    a   member   of   the    townsite    company    he 


gave  much  publicity  to  the  Blue  Earth  region 
in  his  paper,  and  the  influence  which  he  and 
Henry  Jackson  exerted  in  behalf  of  the  new 
settlement  was  of  great  value.  Largely  through 
them  the  steamer  Tiger  was  induced  to  make  a 
trip  to  Mankato,  where  she  arrived  on  April 
23rd,  1852,  with  a  number  of  settlers  and  a 
quantity  of  goods  and  provisions.  Both  Robert- 
son and  Jackson  held  licenses  to  trade  with  the 
Sioux,  and  the  latter  brought  with  him  on  this 
first  boat  a  small  stock  of  Indian  goods,  to  start 
a  trading  post  in  charge  of  Mr.  Johnson.  On 
1he  28th  of  the  same  month  the  Tiger  left  St. 
Paul  for  her  second  trip  up  the  Minnesota, 
crowded  with  passengers  and  freight,  mostly  for 
Mankato.  The  townsite  company  had  some 
weeks  prior  purchased  and  sent  up  to  be  used 
in  developing  their  property  a  span  of  mules, 
relics  of  the  Mexican  war.  The  logs  were  hauled 
for  three  or  four  small  cabins,  a  boat  landing 
constructed,  and  the  brush  cleared.  Jackson 
had  brought  with  him  on  the  first  boat,  as  em- 
ployees of  the  company,  a  Mr.  Blair  and  Mr. 
James  Rablin.  On  the  second  boat  Mrs.  James 
Rablin  arrived,  being  the  first  white  woman  to 
settle  in  Mankato,  or  even  Blue  Earth  county. 
The  second  cabin  on  the  townsite  was  erected 
on  block  three  (3),  about  one  hundred  feet 
north  of  the  Hubbard  Flour  mill  and  about  the 
same  distance  west  of  Front  street.  It  was 
bailt  with  more  care  than  the  first.  In  size 
about  13x14  feet,  and  high  enough  so  that  a 
man  could  stand  upright  in  it,  without  hitting 
his  head  against  the  joists.  It  had  a  window 
and  a  door,  and  a  roof  of  slabs  or  clapboards. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rablin  were  put  in  possession  of 
tiiis  second  shanty,  and  here  about  the  entire 
population  of  Mankato  boarded  during  this  first 
summer. 

About  the  30th  of  May  the  Tiger  arrived  at 
Mankato  on  her  third  trip,  bringing  a  number 
of  passengers  and  another  quantity  of  freight. 
Among  the  passengers  at  this  time  came  Gen- 
eral Samuel  Leech,  a  man  of  some  prominence 
and  means  of  Warsaw,  Illinois,  who  had  been 
the  first  Receiver  of  the  Stillwater  Land  office. 
He  was  so  favorably  impressed  with  Mankato 
and  its  surrounding  country  that  he  bought  the 


38  HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 

interest  of  Daniel  Williams  in  the  townsite  com-  In  May  of  this  year  the  company  had  their 
pany,  paying  $200.00  therefor.  He  proved  a  town  surveyed  and  platted  by  S.  P.  Polsom,  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  the  embryo  city.  civil  engineer  of  St.  Paul. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


EVENTS  AT  MANKATO  IS  THE  SUMMEE 
OE  1853. 


During  the  spring  of  1852  most  of  the  land 
lying  in  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota,  between 
Mankato  and  Kasota,  was  staked  out  into  160 
acre  claims  and  occupied  by  settlers.  On  the 
first  of  June  two  young  men  of  St.  Paul  named 
Josiah  B.  and  Henry  S.  Gump  had  located  on 
160  acres  next  adjoining  the  townsite  of  Man- 
ki'.to  on  the  northeast,  where  are  now  situated 
Mankato  city  and  the  stone  quarries.  Before 
they  had  hardly  completed  their  log  cabin,  on 
the  26th  of  the  same  month  the  Gump  boys  sold 
their  claim  to  a  very  prominent  real  estate  man 
of  St.  Paul,  named  Henry  McKenty.  On  the 
8th  of  this  same  June  the  name  of  the  river 
which  heretofore  had  been  the  "St.  Peter"  was 
officially  changed  by  act  of  Congress  to  the 
"Minnesota."  The  bill  was  introduced  by  Hon. 
Stephen  A.  Douglass  as  chairman  of  Committee 
on  Territories,  and  was  in  response  to  a  mem- 
orial for  the  change  which  the  Legislature  of 
Mianesota  had  sent  to  Congress.  The  real  in- 
stigators of  the  change,  it  is  claimed,  were 
Martin  McLeod  and  H.  H.  Sibley,  who  were 
familiar  with  the  ancient  Indian  name,  whose 
poetic  meaning  and  euphony  they  admired. 

The  Tiger  after  her  third  trip,  having  with- 
drawn from  the  Minnesota  trade,  the  Black 
Hawk  was  induced  to  enter  it.  She  left  St. 
Paul  on  her  first  trip  on  July  3rd,  1852,  with 
forty  passengers  aboard,  fifteen  of  whom  were 
booked  for  Mankato.  Among  the  latter  was 
Colonel  D.  A.  Eobertson.  Near  the  Carver  Eap- 
ids  they  passed  a  keel  boat  carrying  up  the  ma- 
chinery for  J.  W.  Babeock's  saw  mill  at  Kasota. 
The  boat  reached  Mankato  on  the  morning  of 
July  5th,  Just  as  the  young  town  was  recovering 
from  its  first  celebration  of   Independence  Day. 


There  had  been  a  large  attendance  at  this  jubilee 
of  native  Americans,  from  the  villages  of  Sleepy 
Eye,  Bed  Iron  and  Suntu  mahnaduta.  P.  K. 
Johnson  mounted  on  a  dry  goods  box  had  read 
the  immortal  Declaration,  and  made  a  spread 
eagle  speech,  all  of  which  has  been  duly  inter- 
preted by  Evans  Goodrich  to  the  copper  hued 
democracy  about  them. 

In  those  pioneer  days,  however,  the  arrival  of 
a  steamboat  was  a  greater  event  than  any  Fourth 
of  July,  no  matter  how  glorious.  Though  a 
thunder  shower  was  in  full  swing,  when  the 
Black  Hawk  approached  the  Mankato  levee  and, 
the  deep  tones  of  her  whistle  startled  the  echoes 
far  and  near,  it  did  not  deter  a  single  person 
v/ithin  a  radius  of  three  miles  from  being  pres- 
ent at  the  landing.  The  occupants  of  every 
shanty  and  every  wigwam  were  there,  a  motley, 
eager  throng. 

Colonel  Eobertson  remained  for  some  days  at 
the  new  town  exploring  the  country  around  it, 
and  consulting  with  its  resident  proprietors  as  to 
ifc-i  welfare. 

One  immediate  need,  to  which  attention  was 
then  particularly  drawn,  was  a  highway  to  the 
east  over  which  emigrants  might  come  into  the 
country.  Only  a  week  or  two  before  six  emi- 
grant families  from  Dubuque,  Iowa,  had  come 
in  their  wagons,  drawn  by  oxen  across  the  coun- 
try. They  struck  the  Decoria  prairie,  but  missed 
the  old  dragoon  road  and,  in  the  bewilderment 
of  people  who  are  lost,  took  a  westerly  course, 
and  after  infinite  trouble  and  vexation  crossed 
the  net  work  of  deep  ravines  formed  by  the 
Big  Cobb,  the  Maple  and  the  Blue  Earth  rivers 
and  reached  the  present  site  of  South  Bend, 
whence    they    were    obliged    to    cross    the    Blue 


39 


40 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COTJNTY. 


Earth  a  second  time  to  get  to  Mankato.  The 
Kooky  Mountains  could  hardly  furnish  a  rougher, 
wilder  bit  of  country  than  that  which  they 
traversed,  and  to  say  that  they  had  a  strenuous 
time  is  putting  it  mildly.  The  party  spent  a 
few  days  at  Mankato  recuperating  and  while 
there  plowed  a  garden  for  P.  K.  Johnson  and 
one  or  two  others,  probably  the  first  plowing  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  They  finally  located  upon 
claims  near  Kasota, 

During  his  Mankato  visit  Colonel  Robertson 
met  there  John  M.  Norecong,  who,  with  two 
others,  had  been  sent  by  the  colony  at  Rolling 
Stone  near  Winona,  to  spy  the  land,  with  a 
view  to  locate  a  highway  from  there  to  a  point 
on  the  Minnesota  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Blue  Earth.  They  met  with  no  obstacle  until 
they  struck  the  Big  Woods  in  the  vicinity  of 
Waseca.  When  they  became  hopelessly  entangled 
in  the  labyrinth  of  swamps  and  lakes  forming 
the  headwaters  of  the  Le  Sueur  and  Cannon 
rivers,  between  Smith's  Mill  and  Elysian.  Mr. 
Norecong  finally  reached  Mankato,  while  his 
two  companions  found  themselves  at  Traverse 
des  Sioux.  Colonel  Robertson  now  concluded 
to  accompany  Mr.  Norecong  in  his  quest  for  a 
feasible  highway  route  in  and  out  of  Mankato 
to  the  east  and  south.  One  of  the  mules  be- 
longing to  the  townsite  company  had  died,  some 
claimed  he  had  been  carried  away  by  the  mos- 
quitoes. So  Robertson  packed  on  the  remaining 
mule  a  camping  outfit  and  some  provisions,  and 
on  July  10th  started  on  foot  with  Norecong  by 
the  old  dragoon  road.  Cfossing  the  Le  Sueur 
they  soon  reached  the  Decoria  prairie  and,  turn- 
ing eastward  by  the  way  of  McPherson  and 
Wilton,  discovered  a  very  practicable  wagon  route 
to  any  point  east  or  south.  As  Robertson  wished 
to  return  to  St.  Paul,  they  followed  the  valley 
of  the  Cannon  in  a  northeasterly  direction  and 
after  eight  days  of  adventure  and  hardship  they 
reached   St.   Paul. 

As  a  result  of  this  exploration  Messrs.  Reed, 
Thompson  and  Kennedy  about  a  month  later, 
under  a  commission  from  the  State  Legislature 
granted  the  previous  winter,  with  the  aid  of 
a  corps  of  surveyors  and  assistants,  laid  out  a 
public    highway    from    Reed's    Landing    at    the 


foot  of  Lake  Pepin  to  Mankato  along  the  route 
suggested  by  our  explorers.  A  little  later  a  road 
was  established  from  Winona,  which  entered 
Mankato  by  the  same  route  through  Wilton  and 
tlie  present  village  of  St.  Clair,  and  for  more 
than  twenty  years  thereafter  the  principal  travel 
to  and  from  Mankato  and  Blue  Earth  County 
east  was  along  this  route.  Speaking  of  this  visit 
in  the  "Democrat"  Robertson  stated  that  he 
foimd  some  thirty  settlers  located  upon  claims 
around  Manltato  and  that  a  number  of  Germans 
had  settled  in  the  timber  back  of  the  town. 

On  the  12th  and  again  on  the  21st  of  July, 
the  Black  Hawk  left  St.  Paul  for  her  second 
and  third  trips  to  Mankato,  carrying  thence 
each  time  many  passengers  and  much  freight. 
On  the  20th  of  the  same  month  the  Tiger  re- 
turned to  the  Minnesota  and  made  her  third 
trip  to  Mankato.  With  six  boat  arrivals  at  her 
wharf  the  very  first  season,  Mankato  and  the 
country  in  her  vicinity  received  quite  a  boom. 

During  the  summer  (185^)  P.  K.  Johnson 
built  for  himself  on  lot  1  block  14  of  Mankato 
a  comfortable  house  of  hewn  logs,  into  which 
he  removed  his  store.  His  stock  of  goods  com- 
prised as  advertised  in  the  "St.  Paul  Democrat," 
"clothing,   crockery  and  groceries." 

Later  in  the  fall  Henry  Jackson  erected  a 
good  house  of  hewn  logs  on  lot  5  of  block  14, 
which  he  occupied  with  his  family  the  next 
spring.  The  same  fall  Colonel  Robertson  had  a 
log  store  building  put  up  on  lot  4  block  15, 
the  interior  of  which  was  finished  by  Hiram  J. 
Puller  on  his  arrival  in  November.  Here  Evans 
Goodrich  presided  over  a  stock  of  Indian  goods 
furnished  by  Robertson,  and  performed  besides 
the  duties  pertaining  to  his  various  avocations  of 
real  estate  dealer,  surveyor  and  Justice  of  the 
peace.  Early  in  October  of  this  same  year, 
James  Hanna,  George  Maxfield,  Milton  Hanna, 
James  Maxfield  and  Wesley  Maxfield  located 
claims  of  IGO  acres  each  near  the  Le  Sueur  on 
the  highway  just  laid  out  by  Messrs.  Reed, 
1'hompson  and  Kennedy,  and  then  returned  to 
tlicir  homes  in  Licking  County,  Ohio,  for  their 
families.  Besides  those  already  named  the  year 
1853  witnessed  the  settling  at  Mankato  or  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  M.  H.  Bergholz,  John  Sehroe- 


HISTOBY  OF  BLtTE  EAHTH  COtJNTY. 


41 


der,  John  Trenhauser,  Ephraim  Colej  Lewis  H. 
YVinsloWj  Minard  Mills,  James  Hanna  and  many 
others  whose  names  we  did  not  learn  and  others 
v/ho  did  not  remain  but  a  short  time. 

About  December,  1853,  the  townsite  company 
contracted  with  Windslow  to  build  a  large  frame 
hotel,  the  same  afterwards  known  as  the  "Man- 
kato  House."  He  sublet  the  contract  to  Minard 
Mills,  who  during  the  winter  got  ready  most  of 
the  frame  work,  and  on  March  14th,  1853, 
moved  with  his  wife  (afterwards  Mrs.  J.  LuUs- 
dorf)  to  the  new  town  and  occupied  the  second 
claim  shanty,  recently  vacated  by  James  Rablin. 
In  February,  1853,  Eobert  Wardlaw  with  his 
half  brother,  William  Wood,  arrived  with  a  small 
stock  of  goods,  having  come  upon  the  ice  of 
the  Mississippi  and  Minnesota  all  the  way,  in 
a  two  horse  sled,  from  Dubuque.  For  a  short 
time  they  occupied  the  first  claim  shanty,  which 
M.  H.  Bergholz  had  purchased  the  previous 
July,  but  on  the  return  of  the  owner  in  the 
spring,  Mr.  Wardlaw  removed  with  his  store  to 
a  claim  shanty  he  had  bought  of  Eablin  below 
town,  at  the  mouth  of  the  ravine,  which  still 
bears  his  name.  Connected  with  this  removal 
occurred  the  first  case  of  eviction  in  Blue  Earth 
County.  "WTien  Wardlaw  first  arrived  in  Man- 
kato  he  had  letters  of  introduction  from  friends 
in  St.  Paul  to  Evans  Goodrich,  and  the  latter 
received  him  into  his  cabin.  Soon  thereafter 
Goodrich  and  Wood  took  Wardlaw's  team  to  St. 
Paul  after  a  load  of  goods,  half  for  Goodrich 
and  half  for  Wardlaw.  Goodrich  had  left  Ward- 
law  in  charge  of  his  store  and  left  him  a  price 
list  of  the  goods  and  of  furs  so  he  might  trade 
with  the  Indians.  A  band  of  Indians  happened 
to  come  down  from  the  west  with  a  lot  of  furs 
and  instead  of  trading  with  Goodrich's  goods, 
Wardlaw  opened  up  his  own  stock  and  traded 
with  them.  When  Goodrich  returned  and  dis- 
covered this,  a  quarrel  resulted  between  him 
and  Wardlaw,  and  the  latter  had  to  seek  new 
quarters.  In  the  fall  Bergholtz,  owner  of  the 
lirst  claim  shanty,  went  to  St.  Paul  for  the 
vanter,  leaving  the  key  of  his  cabin  with  Mr. 
Johnson. 

Wardlaw  now  coaxed  Johnson  to  let  him  into 
Bergholtz    shanty,   which   he   finally   did   on   the 


promise  that  he  would  vacate  same  at  once 
when  the  owner  returned.  Bergholtz  got  back 
three  or  four  weeks-  later  and  found  his  cabin 
occupied  by  a  stranger,  who  refused  him  admit- 
tance. He  went  to  see  Johnson  about  it,  but 
Wardlaw  declared  he  had  no  other  place  to  go 
tu,  and  therefore  could  not  vacate;  that  he  was 
entitled  to  a  reasonable  notice  before  he  could 
be  forced  out.  Johnson  reminded  him  on  what 
condition  he  had  been  let  into  the  building,  and 
that  he  might  have  built  a  cabin  of  his  own  had 
lie  made  the  effort.  Wardlaw  declared  he  intended 
to  hold  the  fort  and  would  fight  if  necessary, 
pointing  to  a  couple  of  pistols  in  his  belt. 
Johnson  now  went  after  Jim  Eablin,  a  dare 
dtvil  fellow,  who  enjoyed  a  fight  better  than 
anything  else  under  the  sun,  unless  it  was  a 
drink  of  whisky.  Bergholtz,  Johnson,  Goodrich 
and  Eablin  now  proceeded  to  evict  Wardlaw. 
The  latter  saw  them  coming  and  locking  the 
cabin  door,  stood  in  front  with  two  revolvers 
to  await  the  attack.  Eablin  picked  up  a  fence 
rail,  and,  while  the  others  were  parleying  with 
Wardlaw,  he  broke  in  the  cabin  door  with  a 
single  blow.  Seeing  his  bluff  would  not  work, 
V.'ardlaw  declared  he  did  not  wish  to  live  among 
such  lawless  people,  and  he  moved  into  a  tent 
he  had  brought  with  him.  A  few  days  later 
he  bought  Jim  Eablin's  claim  and  moved  upon 
it  as  before  stated. 

Another  episode  of  that  first  winter  will 
help  to  illustrate  life  in  our  new  town.  Minard 
Mills-  had  been  up  and  down  the  river  with  a 
pony  and  sled  trading  with  the  Indians.  One 
day  in  February,  1853,  he  drove  up  to  the 
levee  at  jMankato  with  a  load  of  goods,  on  top 
of  which  in  plain  view  was  a  five  gallon  keg 
of  whisky.  The  Indians  soon  caught  sight  of 
the  keg  and  began  gathering  around  the  sled. 
Several  of  the  savages  had  a  desperate  craving 
for  liquor  and  when  inflamed  by  it  were  wholly 
unmanageable  and  dangerous.  Johnson  saw  there 
was  trouble  brewing  and  after  a  few  words  with 
Mills  seized  the  keg,  which  fortunately  was 
nearly  empty,  and  took  it  to  his  shanty  and  hid 
it  under  the  counter.  It  would  have  been  wiser 
to  have  emptied  the  liquor  on  the  ground,  but 
perhaps   the  whites   deemed   it   too   precious   for 


42 


HISTORY  OF  BLtTE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


that.  The  Indians  soon  came  to  Johnson's  cabin 
and  demanded  the  liquor.  Being  refused  two  of 
them  sprang  over  the  counter  and  seized  the 
keg  and  carried  it  off  in  triumph.  Noah  Arm- 
strong, who  was  clerking  for  Johnson^  started  to 
draw  a  knife,  but  was  cautioned  by  Johnson  to 
desist.  Luckily  there  was  not  enough  whisky 
to  make  any  Indian  drunk. 


The  Indian  chiefs  came  to  town  to  complain 
about  the  whites  letting  their  young  men  have 
liquor,  which  was  contrary  to  law.  It  cost  the 
Mankato  traders  ten  dollars  worth  of  goods  to 
pacify  the  chiefs,  so  they  would  not  make  com- 
plaint to  the  government. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


BLUE    EAETH    COUNTY    CEBATED— ITS 
PEIOR  POLITICAL  HISTOEY. 


On  Februajy  14th,  1853,  Congress  ratified  the 
important  treaties  of  Traverse  des  Sioux  and 
Mendota,  whereby  the  Indian  title  to  all  lands 
in  Blue  Earth  County  and  in  all  the  state  west 
of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  St.  Cloud  and 
Morehead  was  extinguished. 

On  March  5th,  1853,  the  County  of  Blue 
Earth  was  created  by  ah  act  of  the  Territorial 
Legislature,  it  embraced  all  of  the  State  of 
Minnesota  south  of  the  Minnesota  river,  except 
the  counties  of  Wabasha,  Dakota,  Goodhue,  Eice, 
Scott,  Pilmore  and  that  portion  of  Le  Sueur 
which  lies  east  and  north  of  Wi  -  Wi  Creek  op- 
posite St.  Peter. 

Truly  our  county  at  birth  was  of  goOdly  size 
and  fair  to  look  upon.  No  land  on  earth  more 
richly  endowed  in  productive  qualities.  None 
more  full  of  promise  to  the  homeseeker.  It 
may  be  well  to  give  the  political  history  of  our 
county  to  this  point.  The  first  civilized  nation 
to  claim  its  soil  was  Prance,  and  we  have  seen 
how  Le  Sueur  in  1700,  by  permission  of  the 
French  government  built  Port  Le  Huillier  in 
our  county  and  prospected  for  copper.  French 
traders  also  carried  on  a  brisk  trade  in  furs 
with  the  Indians  of  our  county  in  those  days  of 
long  ago. 

In  1763  the  French  at  a  secret  treaty  sold 
their  old  Louisiana  Territory,  to  which  our 
county  belonged,  to  Spain.  The  matter  was 
kept  a  secret  for  some  time  and  Spain  did  not 
take  possession  until  1769.  The  Spanish  domi- 
nation however,  was  very  feeble  and  did  not  ef- 
fect the  northern  end  of  the  territory  in  the 
least.  It  is  not  probable  that  a  single  Spaniard 
even  saw  the  portion  of  the  territory  embraced 
in  the  present  state  of  Minnesota.     October  1st, 


1800,  at  another  secret  treaty  Spain  sold  back  to 
Prance  her  Louisiana  Territory,  and  our  county 
became  a  part  of  the  dominion  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  It  did  not  so  remain  but  a  short 
time,  for  Napoleon,  fearing  that  the  territory 
might  fall  a  prey  to  Great  Britain,  on  June 
30th,  1803,  sold  it  to  the  United  States.  It 
continued  under  its  old  name  of  "Province  of 
Louisiana"  until  March  26th,  1804,  when  by 
Act  of  Congress,  the  portion  now  embraced  in 
the  present  State  of  Louisiana,  was  created  into 
the  Province  of  Orleans,  and  the  vast  remainder, 
of  which  our  county  was  part,  was  designated 
"District  of  Louisiana"  and  attached  to  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Indiana  for  administrative  purposes, 
with  seat  of  government  at  Vincennes  on  the 
Wabash.  On  June  4th,  1813,  the  District  of 
Louisiana  was  erected  into  the  Territory  of  Mis- 
souri. We  remained  a  part  of  Missouri  until 
June  28th,  1834,  when  all  the  lands  west  of 
the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the  Missouri  river 
became  a  part  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan. 
Here  we  continued  until  April  10th,  1836, 
when  the  territory  of  Wisconsin  was  created,  of 
wliich  we  were  made  part.  Here  we  belonged 
until  June  12th,  1838,  when  the  Territory  of 
Iowa  was  formed  and  we  were  included  within 
its  boundaries.  Here  we  came  very  near  finding 
our  permanent  home.  At  the  convention  which 
met  October  17th;  1844,  to  form  a  State  Con- 
stitution the  proposed  north  boundary  adopted 
for  the  New  State  was  a  straight  line  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  Eiver  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Blue  Earth  river  and  thence  down  the  Min- 
nesota river  to  its  mouth.  This  took  in  nearly 
all  of  Blue  Earth  County. 

Congress,    however,    was    unwilling    to    allow 


43 


44 


HISTOEY  OP  BLtTE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Iowa  so  much  territory^  as  it  wished  to  reserve 
enough  to  form  another  northern  state.  So 
thu  bill  for  its  admission  was  amended  fixing 
vhe  line  between  ranges  29  and  30  as  its  west 
b<  undary  and  the  Minnesota  river  as  its  north 
boundary.  This  put  the  whole  of  our  county 
into  Iowa,  forming  its  northwest  corner.  The 
people  of  Iowa  were  much  dissatisfied  with  this 
abridgment  of  their  territory  and  the  position 
of  Des  Moines,  with  reference  to  the  long  narrow 
strip  proposed,  was  unfavorable  for  retention 
of  the  capitol. 

When  therefore  the  amended  bill  came  back 
to  the  people  for  ratification  it  was  defeated  by 
a  small  majority.  A  compromise  was  at  last 
effected  and  Iowa  finally  admitted  on  March 
3rd,  1845,  with  its  present  boundaries.  The 
land  to  the  north  and  east  of  the  Mississippi 
of  which  our  county  was  part,  was  thus  cut 
ofE  from  any  government. 

On  the  admission  of  Wisconsin  May  29th, 
1848,  as  a  state,  the  portion  of  our  state  lying 
between  the  St.  Croix  and  the  Mississippi  was 
also  left  in  the  same  condition.  The  initial 
iiieeting,  for  organizing  the  two  remnants  thus 
severed,  into  a  new  territory,  was  held  at  the 
trading  post  of  our  old  friend  Henry  Jackson, 
ai  St.  Paul  in  July,  1848,  which  was  the  first 
public  meeting  held  in  Minnesota.  Pinally 
through  the  efl:orts  of  H.  H.  Sibley  an  act  of 
Congress  was  passed  on  March  3rd,  1849,  creat- 
ing the  Territory  of  Minnesota. 

Thus  after  being  outside  of  the  pale  of  gov- 
ernment for  four  years  to  a  day  we  were  restored 
again  to  an  organized  state.  The  further  changes 
in  the  political  annals  of  our  county,  after  its 
creation  as  a  separate  municipal  body,  will  ap- 
pear more  properly  as  we  proceed  with  our 
narrative. 

The  winter  of  1852-3  was  quite  cold  and 
tlie  snow  deep.  The  spring  freshets  conse- 
quently were  high,  and  the  Minnesota  in  tlie 
early  part  of  April  was  over  all  its  banks.  The 
first  boat  for  Mankato  was  the  Greek  Slave, 
■(vhich  left  St.  Paul  on  the  4th  day  of  April. 
She  was  a  newly  built  side  wheeler,  with  pow- 
erful boilers,  a  fine  cabin,  and  well  equipped  for 
passengers  and  freight.     Her  captain  and  owner 


was  Louis  Robert,  destined  to  become  one  of 
the  most  prominent  river  men  in  Minnesota. 
On  this  her  first  trip  the  Slave  carried  in  addi- 
tion to  a  big  load  of  freight,  150  passengers, 
many  of  whom  were  bound  for  Mankato,  and 
the  Blue  Earth  country,  where  on  April  7th, 
they  arrived. 

Another  new  boat  to  enter  the  Minnesota 
river  trade  this  spring  was  the  Clarion.  She 
was  a  small  boat  of  seventy-two  and  one-half  tons 
burden,  owned  by  Captain  Samuel  Humbertson. 
She  at  once  began  making  trips  to  the  Blue 
Earth  country.  Early  in  April,  1853,  Edwin 
Perkins  of  St.  Paul  was  appointed  the  first 
Eegister  of  Deeds  of  Blue  Earth  County,  and 
on  April  14th,  he  recorded  his  first  deed  in  the 
new  county.  It  seems,  when  appointed  to  the 
office,  Perkins  intended  to  locate  immediately 
at  Mankato  City,  a  new  town  which  Henry 
McKenty  had  just  laid  out  on  the  stone  quarry 
bench,  as  a  rival  to  Mankato.  The  recordtug  of 
the  plat  of  this  new  townsite  was  one  of  Per- 
kins' first  ofl^icial  acts. 

Plenry  McKenty  was  an  eccentri.c  character, 
with  much  of  the  typical  western  in  his  make- 
up, a  mixture  of  energy,  daring  and  bluster. 
Since  purchasing  his  claim  the  previous  sum- 
mer, he  had  been  greatly  bothered  by  claim 
jumpers,  and  had  been  obliged  to  buy  out  suc- 
cessively three  of  four  different  claimants,  and 
]:is  patience  was  completely  exhausted.  So  when 
he  came  up  on  the  first  boat  in  the  spring  of 
1853,  he  was  armed  with  two  big  revolvers  and 
brought  with  him  a  coffin,  with  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  taking  the  next  jumper  back  in  it.  As 
yet  the  government  had  made  no  survey  of  the 
ci/untry  and  there  were  no  definite  lines  to  go 
by,  and  much  confusion  resulted  as  to  boundar- 
ies of  the  various  claimants.  To  avoid  any  such 
difficulty  as  to  his  claim,  McKenty  had  posts 
eight  to  ten  feet  high  planted  at  its  four  cor- 
ners, with  a  number  of  posts  almost  as  large 
put  at  intervals  to  mark  the  lines.  Mr.  Mc- 
Kenty being  in  the  real  estate  business  at  St. 
Paul  and  a  great  hustler,  worked  up  quite  an 
interest  in  his  townsite,  and  the  sale  of  lots  in 
Mankato  City  during  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1853  was  vei-y  brisk.     About  May,  Edwin  Howe 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


45 


opened  a  hotel  there,  which  he  called  the  "Man- 
kato  City  Hotel."  It  was  a  fair  sized  log  house 
but  quite  bare  of  furniture.  Each  guest  as  a 
rule  had  to  provide  his  own  bed  and  bedding. 
There  were  no  partitions.  The  men  slept  in  the 
attic  and  the  woman  down  stairs.  The  first 
blacksmith  shop  in  ilankato  or  even  Blue  Earth 
County,  was  started  by  Josiah  Keene  in  "j\Ic- 
Kenty's  Town,"  as  ilankato  City  was  then  gen- 
erally called. 

A  native  of  Maine,  young  Keene  had  arrived 
at  the  new  townsite  almost  at  its  birth.  He  was 
very  fond  of  music  and  spent  about  as  much 
time  with  his  violin  as  with  his  anvil,  for  cus- 
tomers were  not  numerous. 

The  original  townsite  of  Jlankato  in  the 
meantime  had  been  growing.  On  Itarch  14th, 
1853,  Minard  Mills  had  brought  his  wife  (after- 
wards Mrs.  Lullsdorff)  to  the  new  town  and  es- 
tablished there  his  home.  He  began  prepara- 
tions at  once  for  the  erection  of  a  frame  ware- 
house at  the  south  end  of  the  levee,  just  a  few 
feet  south  of  where  tlie  city  hall  now  stands. 
The  river  at  that  time  was  situated  about  the 
rear  of  that  building.  Mr.  Mills  had  the  frame 
of  his  warehouse  up  and  the  structure  ready  for 
shingling,  when  on  April  IGth,  James  Hanna 
and  George  Maxfield  with  three  or  four  of  their 
oldest  sons  arrived.  Both  had  very  large  fami- 
lies of  sons  and  daughters,  nearly  all  full  grown, 
tv,'enty-six  souls  in  both  families,  ilessrs.  Hanna 
and  Maxfield  were  perplexed  to  find  immediate 
shelter  for  their  large  households,  the  balance 
of  whom  were  waiting  at  St.  Paul.  ]\rr.  Hanna, 
therefore,  bought  the  warehouse  of  Mills,  and 
he  and  Maxfield  hastily  completed  it,  and  occu- 
pied it  with  their  families. 

Two  main  events  in  the  history  of  our  state 
in  1853  were  the  removal  of  the  Sioux  to  their 
aLcneies  and  the  establishment  of  Fort  Eidgely, 
about  forty  miles  above  Mankato,  on  the  Min- 
nesota. All  the  material  and  supplies  required 
for  the  fort  and  about  half  of  the  garrison  had 
to  be  transported  by  boats  up  the  Jlinnesota. 
I^he  West  Newton  secured  the  contract  for  car- 
rying the  troops  and  their  baggage,  and  about 
the  last  of  April  she,  together  with  the  Tiger 
and    Clarion,    each   having   two    or   three   barges 


in  tow  loaded  with  lumber,  passed  by  Maukato 
on  their  way  to  the  new  fort.  A  letter  written 
under 'date  of  April  29th,  1853,  on  board  the 
West  Newton  gives  many  interesting  glimpses 
of  the  country  and  its  people.  Among  other 
things  it  tells  of  the  Indians  gathering  from  the 
eugar  bushes  into  Traverse  des  Sioux  and  Man- 
kato, many  of  them  very  sick  from  gorging 
themselves  on  maple  sugar;  it  speaks  of  meet- 
ing at  Traverse,  George  McLeod,  who  had  just 
ai  rived  from  Lac  qui  Parle  in  a  huge  canoe 
twenty-four  feet  long  by  forty-four  inches  wide, 
made  from  a  single  cottonwood  tree,  in  which 
he  had  brought  forty  bushels  of  potatoes,  be- 
sides a  crew  of  five  men;  Kasota  then  was  in 
Blue  Earth  County,  and  our  correspondent  states 
tljat  J.  W.  Babcock  had  just  started  his  new 
saw  mill  on  Tchankaska  (AVood  tying)  creek, 
two  weeks  before.  It  had  an  overshot  water 
vi'heel  for  power,  a  muley  saw,  and  its  capacity 
was  about  8,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day.  Ka- 
sota townsite  was  then  full  of  great  expectations. 
A  railroad  from  Dubuque  was  headed  straight 
for  the  town  and  was  sure  to  reach  it  by  next 
summer.  There  was  no  other  place  where  a 
railroad  could  conveniently  cross  the  Minnesota 
river.  There  was  no  question,  but  here  was 
,t;(iing  to  be  the  second  largest  city  in  the  Min- 
nesota valley.  Second  of  course  to  Traverse 
des  Sioux,  which  was  then  generally  supposed 
to  have  the  lead  for  the  first  place.  Our  cor- 
respondent seemed  to  have  been  carried  away 
with  such  delusions  until  he  reached  jMankato 
City.  But  ^\'hen  ilcKenty  and  his  boomers  had 
showed  him  the  prospects  of  the  city  whose 
foundations  were  literally  on  the  rock,  the 
scales  fell  from  his  eyes,  and  he  was  completely 
dazzled  by   its   future  magnificence. 

On  May  4th,  the  Mankato  Townsite  company 
cnncelled  the  contract  they  had  made  the  pre- 
vious November  with  Lewis  F.  Windslow,  to 
build  the  Mankato  House,  and  Samuel  Leech 
n-as  appointed  to  superintend  its  construction. 
During  the  winter,  Minard  Mills,  who  had  a 
subcontract  from  Windslow,  had  the  sills  and 
most  of  the  frame  hewed  from  the  native  forest 
and  hauled  on  the  gnmnd.  General  Ijcech  now 
had  most  of  the  mill  work  for  the  building  done 


46 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


at^  St.  Paul  and  shipped  same  with  the  pine 
lumber  necessary  and  some  workmen  by  boat  to 
Mankato.  The  building  was  raised  on  July 
Gth,  and  enclosed  and  doors  and  windows  hung 
that  season  and  the  stairway  built.  It  was  a 
two  story  frame  thirty-two  feet  by  twenty-four 
feet  with  a  one  story-  wing  sixteen  feet  by 
twenty-four  feet,  and  stood  where  the  present 
Xational  Citizens  bank  block  stands  on  corner 
of  Front  and  Hickory  streets. 

It  was  a  very  pretentious  building  in  its  day, 
and  for  many  years  was  the  center  of  much  of 
the  public  activities  of  both   city  and  county. 

The  spring  and  summer  of  1853  were  ex- 
ceptionally wet  and  cold.  On  May  12th  there 
was  a  big  snow  storm,  which  covered  the  ground 
six  to  eight  inches  in  depth,  and  sundogs  were 
visible. 

On  May  27th,  Henry  Jackson  located  in  Man- 
kato with  his  family,  occupying  their  new  log 
house  on  lot  5  block  14.  About  the  same  time 
the  Hanna  and  Maxfield  families  arrived  and 
took  up  their  abode  in  the  new  frame  structure 
at  the  south  end  of  the  levee.  These  two  fam- 
ilies had  been  religiously  trained  in  their  Ohio 
home  and  about  June  3rd,  1853,  Mr.  Ilanna 
started  a  Sunday  school  at  his  home,  the  con- 
duct of  which  devolved  mostly  on  his  energetic 
daughter,  Sarah  J.  Hanna,  afterwards  Mrs.  J. 
Q.  A.  Marsh.  This  was  the  first  service  of  a 
religious  character  in  the  county.  The  Sunday 
school  was  kept  up  thereafter  with  fair  regular- 
ity and  was  the  precursor  of  the  present  Pres- 
byterian Sunday  school  of  Mankato.  Of  late 
years  there  has  been  some  diversity  of  opinion 
a--  to  who  preached  the  first  sermon.  "When  the 
question  was  asked  in  a  lyceum  at  Mankato  in 
1857,  it  was  answered  without  a  dissenting  voice 
that  a  Rev.  Brown,  a  Presbyterian  preacher 
from  Cleveland,  Ohio,  was  the  man.  This  ver- 
dict, rendered  at  a  time  when  people  ought 
to  have  known  the  fact,  has  generally  been  ac- 
cepted by  a  majority  of  the  old  settlers.  The 
main  doubt  arises  from  the  fact  now  known, 
that  a  Rev.  Brown,  a  Presbyterian  minister  from 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  a  returned  missionary,  who 
came  to  Minnesota  in  quest  of  health,  visited 
Mankato   and   preached   at   Mr.    Hanna's   house, 


but  the  date  was  October  16th,  1853,  and  we 
also  know  that  two  sermons  at  least  had  been 
preached  before  that  date.  Mrs.  John  Q.  A. 
Marsh,  who  as  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school 
and  leader  in  the  choir,  was  present  and  had  a 
part  in  all  the  religious  meetings  of  that  year 
in  the  Mankato  settlement,  thought  that  Rev. 
Brown  paid  Mankato  two  visits,  one  in  the  spring 
and  the  other  in  October,  or  that  the  Rev.  Brown 
who  came  in  the  spring  was  a  brother  of  the 
Rev.  Brown  who  arrived  in  October.  In  the 
summer  of  1853,  Rev.  Chauncey  Hobert  was 
commissioned  by  the  M.  E.  Church  to  visit 
the  various  towns  of  the  Minnesota  valley  and 
secure  building  sites  for  M.  E.  chapelg.  In 
his  note  book  under  date  of  July  3rd,  1853,  he 
tells  of  visiting  Mankato  and  preaching  there  at 
Mr.  Hanna's  house,  the  first  sermon  heard  in 
the  new  town.  In  his  memoirs  Rev.  Julius  S. 
Webber,  a  Baptist  minister,  states  that  he  vis- 
ited Mankato  on  September  25th,  1853,  and 
preached  the  first  sermon  there  at  Mr.  Hanna's 
home.  Mrs.  0.  Pitcher,  a  daughter  of  T.  D. 
Warren,  is  very  positive  that  Rev.  Norris  Hobert 
preached  the  first  sermon  on  June  12th,  1853. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  Mrs.  Pitcher's  memory 
has  got  the  two  Hoberts  mixed,  and  that  her 
recollection  relates  to  the  visit  of  Rev.  Chauncey 
Hobert  referred  to  above. 

About  the  first  of  June  of  this  year  Thomas 
D.  Warren  and  George  Van  Brunt  arrived  at 
jMankato,  followed  by  their  families  a  few  days 
later.  They '  located  on  seven  forties  of  land 
claimed  by  the  old  townsite  company,  being  the 
land  now  covered  by  the  Warren  and  Van  Brunt 
Additions  to  Mankato.  Henry  Jackson  brought 
suit,  against  Warren  for  jumping  his  land  be- 
fore  Squire  Mills.  This  was  probably  the  first 
law  suit  in  Blue  Earth  County.  The  action  was 
never  pressed,  as  there  were  no  lawyers  to 
carry  it  on,  and  it  soon  was  abandoned. 

On  June  11th,  1853,  the  first  marriage  in 
Blue  Earth  County  was  solemnized  before  Squire 
Jiills  at  Mankato,  the  contracting  parties  being 
Jacob  Guenther  and  Christiana  M.  Wischmeier. 
The  bride  came  to  Mankato  with  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Joseph  Fronert  from  Milwaukee,  where  she  and 
the  groom  first  met. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


47 


The  only  other  marriage  recorded  in  the  coun- 
ty for  this  year  was  that  of  Hazen  Moores 
to  Mrs.  Ellen  Larkin,  which  occurred  at  Eed 
Wood  on  November  22nd,  1853,  and  at  which 
the  noted  Sioux  missionary,  Dr.  Thomas  S.  Wil- 
liamson officiated.  Eed  Wood  then  belonged  to 
our   county   as   we   have   seen. 

This  Hazen  Moores  was  a  famous  character 
whose  adventurous  life  was  spent  among  the 
Indians  and  traders  of  the  Minnesota  valley 
during  the  first  half   of  the  last  century. 

The  Minnesota  continued  navigable  during  the 
whole   summer   of   1853   and   several  boats  made 
regular  trips  to  Mankato.     On  her  trip  of  June 
29th   and   again   on   July   6th,   the    Clarion   left 
St.  Paul  with  150  passengers  on  board  each  time. 
The  other  boats  engaged  in  the  same  trade  this 
year  were  the  Tiger,  Black  Hawk,   Greek  Slave, 
West   Newton,   Humbolt,   lola    and    Shenandoah. 
In    all  there   were  forty-nine   arrivals    from    the 
Minnesota    at   the   port   of    St.    Paul    this   year. 
01'  the  multitude  of  homeseekers,  who  thronged 
these  boats,  or  who  on  foot  or  by  team  followed 
tlie  rough  Indian  trails,  Mankato   and  the  Blue 
Earth   country   received   their    share.      With   the 
Warren  and  Van  Brunt  families  came  Marshall 
T.    Comstock    and    James    Jlcilurtrie.    In    June 
Clements  Kron  and  Hoxie  Eathburn  arrived  with 
their  families.     About  the  same  time   came   Dr. 
Jeffrey  T.   Adams,  the   first  physician   to   locate 
in  Blue  Earth  County.     He  was  followed  July 
14th,  by  the  first  lawyer,  J.  McMahon  Holland, 
who  brought   in  his   pocket   a  commission   from 
the    Governor    appointing   him   the   first    County 
Attorney.     Among  many  other  arrivals  of  1853, 
vc   have    not   yet   mentioned    were :      Dr.    James 
W.  Heath,  Michael  Kaufman,  Henry  J.   Sontag, 
John  Brules,   George  W.  Lay,   Henry   Goodrich, 
Blassius   Yobst,   Michael   Syler,   John    Schroeder, 
James  M.  Ayers,   George  W.   Cummings,  George 
II.   Marsh,  Jared  Lewis,   Henry  Goodrich,   John 
C.  Taylor,  John  Henderson,  Basil  Moreland,   0. 
C.  Eedfield,  Benj.  Fritz,  Bernhard  Bruggernian,- 
Joseph  Frounert,  Levi  Kotthoff,  Martin  ]\Iettler, 
John    Fresholtz,    Byron    W.    Comstock,    B.    W. 
Stannard,  James  Talmadge,  Max  Freudle,  Chris- 
tian  Eoos,   Uriah   S.   Karmany   and   John    Fres- 
holtz. 


The  Legislative  Act  creating  the  County  of 
Blue  Earth  authorized  the  Governor  to  ap- 
pciint  the  first  officers.  We  have  already  noted 
the  appointment  of  Eegister  of  Deeds  and  Coun- 
ty Attorney.  Edwin  Perkins  after  serving  two 
months  concluded  not  to  move  to  Blue  Earth 
County  and  about  June  1st,  1853,  P.  K.  John- 
son was  appointed  Eegister  in  his  place,  and 
the  office  removed  from  St.  Paul  to  Jlr.  John- 
son's  home   in    Mankato. 

Early  in  July   a  school  was   started   at   Man- 
kato with  twenty-four   scholars,   taught  by   ]Miss 
Sarah    J.    Hanna    (the    late    Mrs.    John    Q.    A. 
Marsh.)      It    was    held    in    a    room    built    as    a 
wing  to  the  frame  warehouse,  which  Mr.  Hanna 
had  finished  as  a  dwelling,  and  which  wing  T. 
D.   Warren  had  occupied  for  a  short  time  as   a 
store.      During   the    same    month    Captain    Eeno 
v/ith  a  corps  of  United  States  engineers  surveyed 
through  the  county  a  military  road,  which   Con- 
gress had  ordered  to  be  laid  out  and  constructed 
between    Mendota    and    the    mouth    of    the    Big 
Sioux  river.     The  survey  was  begun  at  the  Big 
Sioiix    end    and    followed   in    the    main   the    In- 
dian trail.     It  entered  Blue  Earth  County  near 
its  southwestern  corner,  east  of  Perch  Lake,  and 
traversing    Pleasant    Mound    and    Ceresco    in    a 
nrrtherly    direction    it    passed    to    the    west    side 
of    Perch    Creek   near    the    Thurston    farm    and 
crossing  the  Watonwan  above  the  mouth  of  that 
creek  near  the  present  bridge   and  thence  keep- 
ing in  the  general  direction  of  the  North  Bluffs 
of   the   Watonwan   and  west   bluffs   of  the   Blue 
Earth    it    continued    in    a    northeasterly    course 
t]:rough    Garden    City    and    South    Bend    Town- 
sliips,  following  quite  closely  the  present  Garden 
City  and  Mankato  road.     The  first  survey  from 
Garden    City   to   Mankato   followed   the    old    In- 
dian trail  which  crossed  the  Blue  Earth  near  the 
Eapidan  Mill  and  the  Le  Sueur  near  its  mouth 
and  thence  to  Mankato  by  the  Eed  Jacket  val- 
ley,  but   this   route    was    so   rough    that   it   was 
abandoned,  and  the  way  by  Welsh  Lane,  Pigeon 
Hill  and  Village  of  South  Bend  adopted  instead. 
From    i^Iankato   the    survey    followed    practically 
the   present   highway   to    Kasota    and    thence   by 
what  was  known  as  the  Dodd  road  through  the 
Big    Woods.      The    laying    out    of   this    military 


48                                          HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAKTH  COUNTY. 

road  was  quite  an  event  in  the  history  of  the  cept   three   counties   in   the    Eed    river   country, 

coimty,  because  it  made  communication  with  St.  which  comprised  the  Third  District.     This  put 

Paul   much    easier,    and   by    bridging    the    Blue  Blue  Earth  in  the  Second  Judicial  District,  over 

Earth  made  the   country  to  the  west  more   ac-  which  Judge  Cooper  of  the  Supreme  Court  was 

cessible.  appointed  to  preside.     Eirst  term  for  Blue  Earth 

In  July  the  Governor  appointed  James  Hanna  County  was  appointed  for  the  first  Monday  in 

and  John   S.  Hinckley  of  Mankato   and  Joseph  October   of   that  ■  year,    and   annually   thereafter. 

W.   Babcock  of   Kasota  ■  as   the   First   Board   of  Accordingly  on  October  3rd,  1853,  the  first  term 

County  Commissioners.     This  board  first  met  on  of  the  District  Court  ever  held  in  Blue  Earth 

August  6th,  1853,  at  the  house  of  P.  K.  John-  County   convened    at   the   Mankato    House.     As 

son   in  block   14   of   Mankato   and   organized   by  there  was  no  business  to   transact,   it   adjourned 

electing    James    Hanna    chairman,    and    P.    K.  the  same  day. 

Johnson,  Clerk.  They  also  divided  the  county  On  August  37th,  was  held  the  first  political 
into  two  election  precincts,  all  south  of  claim  caucus  or  convention  in  the  county.  It  convened 
of  James  Eablin  being  designated,  "Mankato  at  Mankato  for  the  purpose  of  nominating  can- 
precinct,"  and  all  north,  "Babcock's  Mill  pre-  didates  for  county  ofl'ices.  Minard  Mills  was 
cinct,"  with  place  of  election  for  last  precinct  made  chairman  and  J.  McMahon  Holland  see- 
in  J.  W.  Babcock's  house  and  for  the  former  retary.  Dr.  P.  P.  Humphrey  was  the  nominee 
pi-ecinct,  the  New  Hotel.  The  judges  of  election  for  Judge  of  Probate,  J.  McMahon  Holland  for 
for  Mankato  precinct  were:  Henry  Jackson,  District  Attorney,  Basil  Moreland  for  Sheriff, 
Edwin  Howe  and  Jacob  Guenther;  and  for  Bab-  I*.  K.  Johnson  for  Eegister  of  Deeds,  Hiram 
cock's  Mill:  Eeuben  Butters,  C.  C.  Mack  and  Puller  for  Treasurer,  and  Ephraim  Cole,  Jos- 
Dr.  P.  P.  Humphrey.  The  first  grand  and  petit  eph  W.  Babcock  and  Jacob  Guenther  for  County 
jury  for  the  county  were  also,  drawn  at  this  Commissioners.  On  September  ISth,  a  special 
session,  and  comprised  the  following  persons:  meeting  of  the  County  Commissioners  convened 
Grand  juroi-s:  Lewis  P.  Windslow,  P.  K.  John-  at  P.  K.  Johnson's  house.  At  this  meeting 
son,  Evans  Goodrich,  Philip  Krummel,  Minard  Basil  Moreland  was  appointed  the  first  County 
Mills,  Edwin  Howe,-  Josiah  Keene,  James  Eablin,  Treasurer  and  Thomas  D.  Warren  was  made 
William  Wood,  Eobert  Wardlaw,  George  C.  Justice  of  the  Peace.  At  the  third  meeting  of 
C'lapp,  John  Henderson,  Hiram  Puller,  Thomas  the  Board  held  October  3rd,  the  salary  of  J. 
Lemaraux,  Joseph  Prounert,  John  B.  Harrison,  McMahon  Holland  as  County  Attorney  was  fixed 
Jared  Lewis,  Dr.  P.  P.  Humphrey,  C.  C.  Mack,  at  $100.00  per  annum.  James  Eablin  and 
Eeuben  Butters,  James  Lindsley,  Charles  Pettis,  Jared  Lewis  were  also  appointed  Judges  of 
John  C.  Durham  and  Philip  Snider.  Petit  Election  for  Babcock  precinct  instead  of  Mack 
Jurors:  George  M.  Van  Brunt,  Thos.  D.  War-  and  Humphrey.  On  October  11th  occurred  the 
ren,  Marshall  T.  Comstock,  M.  Gruntry,  Eph-  first  election  held  in  the  county  at  which  Man- 
raim  Cole,  George  Maxfield,  Basil  Moreland,  kt.to  precinct  cast  twenty-one  votes,  and  Kasota 
Henry  Goodrich,  Clements  Kron,  Michael  Lea-  precinct  ten  votes,  making  thirty-one  votes  in 
land,  Jeffrey  T.  Adams,'  I.  S.  Lyons,  M.  H.  all  in  the  county.  The  county  officers  elected 
Bergholtz,  John  ScliToeder,  John  (the  mason),  at  this  first  election  were:  Sheriff,  Basil  More- 
Jacob  Guenther,  Peter  Lano,  Charles  C.  Pettis,  land ;  Treasurer,  Hiram  Puller ;  Eegister  of 
Charles  Kirtmacher,  Thos.  Sparhawk,  William  Deeds,  P.  K.  Johnson;  Judge  of  Probate,  Min- 
Ehodes,  and  John  Gerheim.  ai'd    Mills;    District    Attorney,    Henry    Jackson; 

By  an  act  approved  March  5th,  1853,  the  Coroner,  Philip  Krummel;  Surveyor,  Daniel  L. 
Legislature  divided  the  territory  into  Judicial  Turpin;  County  Commissioners,  Ephraim  Cole, 
Districts.  All  counties  east  of  the  Mississippi  Joseph  W.  Babcock  and  Jacob  Guenther;  As- 
formed  the  First  District,  and  all  west  of  that  sessor,  Joseph  Prounert.  One  freak  of  this  first 
river  were  included  in  the  Second  District,  ex-  election  was  the  selection  of  Henry  Jackson  (who 


£^ 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


49 


did  not  pretend  to  know  anything  about  law)  as 
District  Attorney  by  22  votes  to  3  votes  for  J. 
McMahon  Holland,  the  only  lawyer  in  the 
county.  Holland -was  so  disgusted  with  the  re- 
sult that  he  soon  quit  the  country.  Most  of  the 
county  officers  elected  were  democrats  and  yet 
party  politics  does  not  seem  to  have  cut  much 
figure.  On  the  vote  for  Delegate  to  Congress, 
H.  M.  Eice,  then  democratic  nominee,  received 
seven  votes  to  eleven  for  Alexander  WilMn,  the 
Whig  nominee,  in  Mankato  precinct;  while 
Kasota  gave  nine  votes  to  Eice  and  one  for 
Wilkin. 

In  the  fall  of  1853  James  Hanna  erected  a 
frame  dwelling  on  lot  5  block  13  of  Mankato, 
just  in  the  rear  of  where  now  stands  the  First 
National  Bank  building.  Until  the  opening 
of  the  Mankato  House,  Mr.  Hanna's  home  be- 
came the  usual  stopping  place  at  Mankato  for 
strangers  other  than  Germans,  while  the  latter 
generally  made  the  log  cabin  of  Clements  Kron 
their  hostelry.  In  the  same  fall  Basil  Moreland 
put  up  a  frame  building  on  lot  2  block  6  of 
Mankato.  It  had  its  side  to  Front  street  and 
was  partitioned  into  two  parts.  The  northerly 
half  was  used  for  church,  lyceum,  Sunday  and 
day  school,  and  public  purposes  generally,  while 
the  southerly  half  generally  served  as  a  dwell- 
ing. 

Under  date  of  November  23nd,  18.53,  P.  K. 
Johnson  writes  to  a  St.  Paul  paper:  "Mankato 
has  about  20  families  and  the  precinct  about  100 
voters.  There  are  about  twenty  buildings  in 
the  village,  among  them  is  a  good  hotel  50x30 
with  wing.  The  village  has  a  school  with  24 
jrapils,  taught  by  Miss  Sarah  J.  Hanna.  Tt  also 
has:  one  minister  (old  school  Presbyterian), 
two  lawyers,  one  saddler,  two  tailors,  one  mill- 
wright, two  stores,  two  hotels.  Four  miles  away 
on  the  Le  Sueur  a  saw  mill  has  been  nearly 
completed,  owned  by  George  Van  Brunt.  There 
are  carpenters,  masons,  plasterers,  etc.,  here.  A 
new  town  called  South  Bend  has  been  laid  out 
across  the  Blue  Earth,  and  eight  miles  further 
is  Eureka,  where  there  is  a  good  saw  mill." 
The  Eureka  referred  to  was  a  paper  townsite 
which  Hiram  Caywood  had  laid  out  just  across 
the  river  from  the  present  townsit«   of   Judson, 


but  South  Bend  belongs  to   our  county  and  its 
history. 

At  La  Crosse,  Wis.,  there  resided  in  1853  a 
prominent  Welshman  named  David  C.  Evans. 
In  the  spring  of  that  year,  when  in  the  real 
e&tate  office  of  Colonel  T.  B.  Stoddard,  his  at- 
tention was  called  to  the  great  bend  of  the  Min- 
nesota as  a  strategic  commercial  point  and  he 
concluded  to  visit  it.  On  the  26th  of  July  Mr. 
Evans  started  to  spy  the  country.  On  the  way 
he  fell  in  with  General  Lyman  Matthews,  who 
had  come  from  the  blue  grass  region  of  Ken- 
tucky. They  spent  a  day  at  St.  Paul,  then  a 
village  of  a  few  shanties,  and  went  to  see  the 
great  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  found  upon  the 
land  now  occupied  by  the  city  of  Minneapolis 
only  a  single  white  man,  Colonel  John  H.  Stev- 
ens, who  had  built  a  squatters  shanty  close  to 
the  falls,  but  was  in  daily  apprehension  of  being 
driven  off  by  the  military  at  Fort  Snelling,  as 
a  trespasser.  At  St.  Paul  Evans  and  Matthews 
met  Captain  Samuel  Humbertson.  (No  native 
American,  having  any  opinion  of  himself,  came 
west  in  those  anti-bellum  days,  whose  rank  was 
less  than  "captain."  Our  captain's  title  was 
not  derived  from  any  military  record,  however, 
but  from  the  fact  that  he  owned  and  operated 
the  boat  "Clarion,"  which  did  such  valiant  ser- 
vice upon  the  Minnesota  in  those  early  days.) 
On  his  trips  to  Fort  Eidgely  the  captain  had 
discovered  an  excellent  boat  landing  at  the 
mouth  of  a  dry  ravine,  through  which  ages 
ago,  the  Blue  Earth  had  found  its  way  into 
the  Minnesota,  but  which  now  was  a  mile  above 
the  mouth  of  that  stream.  So  impressed  was  he 
^s'ith  the  advantages  of  the  spot  as  a  townsite 
that  on  his  last  trip  he  had  left  there  a  pile  of 
boards  for  a  shanty,  with  his  nephew,  Thomas 
Lameraux,  in  charge,  while  he  got  up  a  town- 
site  company  at  St.  Paul.  His  enthusiasm  soon 
induced  Evans  and  Matthews  to  Join  the  en- 
terprise, and  up  the  Minnesota  they  all  went  in 
the  Clarion.  It  was  the  1st  day  of  August 
when  they  reached  'TBabcock's  Landing,"  near 
Kasota  and  the  river  was  getting  low,  so  they 
had  to  tie  up  the  boat  there  and  proceed  the 
rest  of  the  way  on  foot.  Besides  our  two  friends 
and  the  captain,   the   company   comprised   Alden 


50 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Bryant,  clerk  of  the  Clarion  and  John  Mann, 
it?  engineer.  They  found  Tom  Lemeraux  and 
the  pile  of  boards  holding  possession  of  the 
coveted  site.  On  the  bench  above  they  also 
found  I.  S.  Lyon  and  family,  who  had  arrived 
from  Iowa  a  day  or  two  before  in  a  covered  wagon, 
or  "Prairie  Schooner"  as  the  vehicle  was  called 
by  the  pioneers.  Lyon  was  at  iirst  taken  into 
the  townsite  company,  making  the  sixth  member, 
each  having  an  equal  share.  At  the  suggestion 
of  Mr.  Evans  the  prospective  city  was  called 
"South  Bend"  from  its  position  at  the  great 
bend  of  the  river. 

On  Saturday,  August  6th,  1853,  was  built  for 
Mr.  Lyon  on  the  table  land  east  of  the  village 
site,  the  iirst  log  cabin.  Mr.  Lyon  brought  with 
him  the  first  cow  west  of  the  Blue  Earth  and 
on  this  day  was  done  the  first  churning,  the  be- 
ginning of  the  great  dairy  industry  of  today. 
On  the  7th  day  of  August  most  of  our  townsite 
proprietors  footed  it  back  to  the  Clarion,  and 
thence  returned  to  St.  Paul  and  their  various 
homes,  to  get  ready  to  move  at  once  to  the  new 
town.  The  death  of  his  father  at  Palmyra, 
Ohio,  delayed  Mr.  Evans  several  weeks  in  his 
return.  He,  however,  sent  Owen  Herbert,  to 
South  Bend  in  August  to  look  after  his  interests 
while  he  followed  in  ISTovember.  On  the  33nd 
of  the  same  month  Mr.  Evans  went  to  St.  Paul 
after  D.  T.  Turpin,  a  civil  engineer,  to  survey 
and  plat  the  new  townsite,  which  survey  was 
completed  the  2nd  of  December.  The  weather 
had  been  exceedingly  pleasant  all  this  fall,  and 
on  the  last  day  of  the  survey  there  was  no. 
frost  in  the  ground.  Even  on  Christmas  day, 
when  a  party  of  Mankato  people  came  up  to 
visit  South  Bend,  the  ice  on  the  Blue  Earth 
was  not  strong  enough  to  cross. 

By  the  first  of  January,  1854,  however,  there 
was  a  change  in  the  weather  program,  and  for 
six  weeks  a  very  cold  spell  was  experienced. 
About  this  time  the  provisions  at  South  Bend 
got  very  low,  and  none  to  be  had  nearer  than 
St.  Paul,  one  hundred  miles  away.  Mr.  Evans 
had  bought  a  span  of  horses  of  Captain  Hum- 
bertson,  which,  by  the  way,  were  the  first,  and 
for  two  years  the  only,  horses  west  of  the 
Blue  Earth.     It,   therefore,   devolved   upon   Mr. 


Evans  to  take  his  horses  and  sleigh  after  the 
needed  supplies.  With  deep  snow  on  the  ground, 
drifted  in  places  to,  mountain  heaps,  with  the 
mercury  down  to  the  twenties,  and  the  danger 
of  being"  caught  in  a  blizzard  without  a  road  or 
human  habitation,  the  journey  was  anything  but 
desirable.  It  took  Mr.  Evans  eleven  days  to 
make  the  trip,  and  the  hardships  attending  it 
were  the  severest  he  experienced  in  all  his  life. 
On  the  evening  of  January  34th,  he  was  over- 
taken by  a  terrible  storm,  far  away  from  any 
house,  and  soon  lost  the  road.  The  deep  snow, 
the  blinding  storm,  and  the  bitter  cold  gave  no 
hope  of  escape.  He  could  not  see  a  rod  away. 
He  had  no  idea  of  the  points  of  the  compass, 
night  was  approaching,  the  howling  blizzard 
seemed  to  be  closing  in  on  its  prey.  Unhitch- 
ing his  team  he  made  the  best  shelter  possible 
for  them  behind  the  sleigh,  and  put  before  them 
all  the  fodder  he  had.  "With  a  few  sticks  of 
wood  he  managed  to  kindle  a  small  fire,  and  sat 
down  beside  it  not  expecting  to  see  the  morrow. 
He  soon  fell  into  a  stupor,  from  which  he  awoke 
to  find  his  fur  cap  laying  on  a  few  coals  before 
him,  apparently  intact,  but  on  touching  it  with 
his  hand  it  fell  to  ashes.  This  aroused  him 
from  his  lethargy,  and  the  storm  having  fortu- 
nately abated,  he  took  courage,  and  with  head 
tied  up  in  some  flannel  shirts  he  had  bought 
at  St.  Paul,  he  eventually  managed  to  reach 
Shakopee,  where  he  and  his  team  were  hospi- 
tably cared  for  at  the  hostelry  of  the  old  pioneer, 
Joe  Reynolds.  The  next  morning  Mr.  Evans 
resumed  his  journey  and  after  three  or  four 
more  days  of  struggling  with  snow  drifts,  he 
finally  reached  the  famine  stricken  city  at  the 
bend.  The  winter,  however,  was  very  short. 
Towards  the  last  of  February  the  weather  grew 
very  warm,  and  a  thunder  storm  on  March  1st, 
took  away  all  the  snow  and  broke  up  all  the 
rivers.  After  this  so  mild  was  the  temperature 
that  Mr.  Evans  had  no  need  to  shelter  his 
horses,  but  left  them  out  to  pasture  day  and 
night.  By  the  4th  of  April  the  sndces  and 
mosquitoes  were  out. 

Before  we  pass  to  the  events  of  the  spring  of 
1854,  let  us  return  to  the  settlement  east  of  the 
Blue  Earth,     About  December   15th,   1853,  the 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


r.i 


postoffice  of  Mankato  was  created,  and  P.  K. 
Johnson  appointed  its  first  postmaster.  Soon 
thereafter  the  contract  for  carrying  the  mail 
from  St.  Paul  to  Mankato  once  a  week  was  left 
to  George  H.  Marsh  to  hegin  July  1,  1854. 
Until  that  date  the  mails  came  when  the  boats 
ran,  or  when  some  one  happened  to  call  for 
them. 

About  December  30th,  1853,  Theron  Par- 
sons and  son,  L.  P.  Parsons,  arrived  at  Man- 
kato, having  come  by  team  all  the  way  from 
Illinois.  At  Hastings  they  stopped  at  a  hotel 
kept  by  Eev.  Jonathan  Morris,  a  noted  pioneer 
Campbellite  preacher,  who  afterwards  founded 
Morristown,  Eice  County,  Minnesota.  Eev.  Mor- 
ris accompanied  Mr.  Parsons  on  a  visit  to  Man- 
kato, and  on  January  1st,  preached  there  a 
sermon  long  remembered  by  the  pioneers.  Mr. 
Parsons  purchased  the  Chris  Eoss  claim,  a 
portion  of  which  was  afterwards  laid  out  as 
"Parsons  Addition  to  Mankato,"  and  moved  to 
his  new  home  in  April,   1854,  with  his  family. 

The  Indians  who  made  their  home  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Blue  Earth  were  divided  into  two 
bands.  One  under  the  chieftainship  of  Sin- 
tomnidutah,  and  the  other  under  a  half  breed, 
called  "Frenchman."  The  latter  was  married 
to  a  sister  of  the  other  chief,  but  they  did  not 
live  very  happily  together.  Late  in  the  fall  of 
1853,  Frenchman  accused  his  wife  of  being  un- 
faithful to  him.  Her  friends  claimed  he  did 
tliis  for  an  excuse  to  marry  a  younger  squaw. 
According  to  the  Indian  law  the  punishment  for 
adultery  was  to  cut  oflE  the  end  of  the  nose,  and 
Frenchman  and  his  followers  were  in  favor  of 
law  enforcement  in  this  case.  The  squaw  fled 
to  her  brother  for  protection.  His  village  then 
stood  on  the  table  land  in  West  Mankato. 
Frenchman  and  his  warriors  pursued  her  thither, 
and  demanded  that  she  be  delivered  up  to  them. 
This  was  refused  and  the  Frenchman's  band  fired 
into  the  teepees,  and  a  battle  was  precipitated. 
Most  of  Sintomnidutah's  warriors  happened  to 
be  away  on  a  hunt  and  he  was  not  able  to  cope 
with  his  opponent.  In  the  fight  one  of  his 
warriors  was  killed  and  another  dangerously 
Mounded.  As  it  was  in  the  dusk  of  evening  he 
and  his  sister  managed  to  escape  into  the  brush 


and  fled  to  a  cave  beside  Minneopa  Falls,  which 
ever  after  bore  the  name  of  "Sintomnidutah's 
Cave."  Here  they  kept  concealed  for  two  or 
three  days  until  the  chiefs  warriors  returned 
from  the  hunt.  He  then  sallied  forth  at  the 
head  of  his  warriors  to  avenge  his  sister's  wrongs 
and  his  own,  and  chief  Frenchman  was  obliged 
to  flee  to  the  whites  at  Mankato  for  protection, 
where  he  stayed  for  some  time,  until  a  truce 
was  arranged  between  the  two  bands.  The 
wounded  Indian  from  Sintomnidutah's  band 
was  also  taken  at  once  to  the  whites  at  Mankato 
for  medical  aid,  and  he  stayed  with  Drs.  Heath 
and  Adams  all  winter,  being  about  the  only 
patient  the  doctors  had,  and  was  healed  of  his 
wounds. 

January  32,  1854,  occurred  the  first  meeting 
of  the  new  Board  of  County  Commissioners,  the 
first  board  elected  by  the  -people.  Ephraim 
Cole  was  chairman  and  J.  W.  Babcock  and 
Jacob  Guenther  were  the  other  members.  At 
this  meeting  a  .resolution  was  passed  making 
Mankato  the  county  seat. 

During  this  month  the  small  Mankato  set- 
tlement had  a  narrow  escape  from  an  Indian 
m^assacre.  In  the  autumn  the  chief  Sintomni- 
outah  had  purchased  twenty-five  dollars  worth  of 
goods  of  T.  D.  Warren,  and  hypothecated  his 
crop  of  wild  rice  for  the  payment,  which  was  to 
be  made  from  the  first  annuity  money.  This 
money,  however,  was  spent  for  something  else, 
and  when  winter  brought  hunger  to  his  wigwam, 
the  chief  began  calling  for  his  rice.  Warren  in- 
formed him  he  could  get  it  as  soon  as  he  paid 
the  debt  and  not  before.  The  chief  said  he 
had  no  money,  and,  therefore,  could  not  pay, 
but  that  his  squaw  and  papoose  were  starving, 
and  so  must  have  the  rice.  The  chief  carried 
a  fine  rifle,  which  had  the  reputation  among  the 
Indians  of  always  hitting  whatever  it  was  aimed 
at,  and  Warren  proposed  to  give  him  the  rice 
and  five  dollars  to  boot  for  the  gun.  Sintomni- 
dutah  agreed  to  this,  but  when  he  and  his  brother 
and  their  squaws  came  that  evening  to  get  the 
rice,  they  pretended  to  have  forgotten  the  rifle, 
and  said  they  would  bring  it  next  morning. 
Warren  was  too  shrewd  for  such  a  trick,  and  in- 
sisted  they    could    not    have    the   rice    until    the 


52 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


gun   was  brought.      Sintomnidutah   was    a   tall, 
well   proportioned   Indian,    with   head    and    fea- 
tures   resembling    those    of    Henry    Clay.      Be- 
sides being  quick  witted  he  had  great  reputation 
for  strength  and  bravery,  and  was  an  ugly  an- 
tagonist in  a  fray.     On  the  supper  table  lay  a 
Itng  bladed  knife.     Seizing  it  like  a  flash,  the 
chief  brandished  it  over  his  head  and  declared 
h'    would  have  his  rice,  whether  pale  face  was 
willing   or   not,   and   started  to   climb   into   the 
attic  where  it  was  stored.     Warren  was  a  large, 
athletic  man,  who  knew  no  fear.     Instantly  he 
grabbed  the  chief  by  both  wrists,   and  shaking 
the    knife    out    of    his    hand,    shoved    him    out 
through    the    door    with    a   parting   kick.      The 
Indians  at  once  took  their  departure  and  noth- 
ing more  was  heard  of  them  for  several   days, 
when   Tom   Lemeraux,   who   was    accustomed   to 
visit  the  Indians,   came  to   Warren's   cabin  one 
night  with  the  intelligence  that  he  had  just  been 
to   the   Indian   village;   that  the   warriors   were 
holding  a  war  dance  and  the  squaws  had  warned 
him  away,  saying  that  the  braves  were  very  ugly 
towards  the  whites  and  had  determined  to  kill 
them  all  in  the  morning.    Warren  simply  laugh- 
ed at  Tom's  story.     Next  day  about  nine  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  however,  the  people  of  Mankato 
were   surprised   and   startled   to   see   some   forty 
Indians,  all  armed  and  decked  in  war  paint  and 
feathers,   march  up   Front  street  in   single  file. 
The  settlers  hurried  from  their  cabins  to  inquire 
the  meaning  of  this  unwonted  savage  demonstra- 
tion.    The  school  children  saw  the  strange  pro- 
cession   as    it    passed    the    school    room    in    the 
Moreland   building,    and   followed   with    childish 
curiosity.      Straight    to    Warren     cabin,    which 
stood   near    Dr.    Harrington's   present   residence, 
grimly  marched   the  line  of  warriors.     Warren 
and    a   young   man,    named    George    Oummings, 
were   chopping  firewood  by  the   door  when  the 
Iiidians  approached.     Cummings  dodged  into  the 
house  and  he  and  Mrs.  Warren  seized  a  couple 
of  guns.     Warren  faced  the  foe  like  a  lion  and 
demanded  the  why  of  their  coming.    The  laconic 
word  "rice"  was  the  only  answer  as  the  braves 
formed  in  two  lines,   one  on  each  side  of  the 
path  leading  to  the  door.     Not  seeing  the  chief 
at  once,  Warren  demanded  where  he  was.    Down 


at  the  further  end  of  the  two  lines   Sintomni- 
dutah stepped  out  into  the  path  in  all  his  regalia 
of  war.     Instantly  Warren   seized  a   large   sled 
stake,    and,    marching    straight    down    the    path 
between    the    two    lines    of    armed    savages,    he 
faced   the  chief   and   demanded  the  gun.     Sin- 
tomnidutah   eyed    his    antagonist    keenly    for    a 
moment,  then  turning  the  barrel  of  his  gun  up- 
side   down    he    emptied    the    contents    into    the 
palm  of  his  hand,  and  showing  Warren  the  half 
dozen  ugly  slugs,  which  had  formed  the  charge, 
he   said,   "White  man,  these   were  intended  for 
you,  but   your  heart   is  brave."     So  saying  he 
replaced   the   charge   and   fired   it  into   the  air 
and  handed  the  gun  to  Warren.     Warren's  cour- 
age was  all  that  saved  him  and  the  other  set- 
tlers of  Mankato  that  day.     Had  he  shown  the 
slightest  fear  the  massacre  planned  would  have 
taken    place.      The    Indians    always    reverenced 
courage  as  something  supernatural,   and  a  true 
ejhibition  of  it  seldom  failed  to  call  forth  their 
respect.     Some  twenty  or  more  settlers  had  now 
gathered,  most  of  them  fairly  well  armed  and  a 
determined  lot  of  men.     So  if  the  Indians  had 
begun  the  fight,  it  would  not  have  been  wholly 
a  one  sided   affair.     Warren  paid  the  chief  at 
once   the    five    dollars,    and    hitching   his    oxen, 
hauled  the  rice  down  to   his   lodge,   and   peace 
and  good  will  prevailed  once  more. 

On  February  25th,  1854,  Rev.  James  Thom- 
son, a  Presbyterian  minister,  arrived,  having 
come  all  the  way  from  Wabash,  Indiana,  on 
horseback.  He  was  the  first  minister  to  locate 
in  the  county,  and  the  next  day  being  Sunday, 
he  preached  his  first  sermon  at  the  little  room 
in  the  Moreland  building,  where  Miss  Hanna 
had  her  school  and  where  the  Sunday  school 
was  kept.  After  the  sermon  Rev.  Thomson  had 
all  who  were  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church 
rise  and  make  a  sort  of  church  covenant  to- 
gether. There  were  seven  persons  who  arose  as 
follows:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  Hanna  and  two 
of  their  children,  Mrs.  George  Maxfield  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  George  Clapp,  who  lived  on  a  claim 
in  Kasota  township,  and  whom  Eev.  Thomson 
had  met  on  the  road  the  day  before  and  invited 
to  the  meeting. 

"Father    Thomspu,"    m    be    was    generally 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EASTH  COtTNTY. 


53 


called,  came  of  a  distinguished  family  of  preach- 
ers, educators,  and  authors.  His  father  and 
three  of  his  brothers  were  ministers,  two  broth- 
ers were  professors  in  Wabash  College,  and  one 
brother  was  the  famous  Dr.  William  M.  Thom- 
son, the  author  of  "The  Land  and  the  Book." 
Father  Thomson  had  organized  the  first  Pres- 
byterian church  at  CrawfordsvUle,  Indiana,  and 
had  taken  the  most  active  lead  in  the  founding 
of  Wabash  College.  His  whole  life  was  domi- 
nated by  one  ambition  to  found  a  great  religious 
college  in  the  west.  Wabash  College  did  not 
satisfy  him,  and  hence  he  started  for  the  Blue 
Earth  country  in  Minnesota,  haviag  a  great 
scheme  on  his  mind.  This  was  to  find  a  town- 
ship of  the  choicest  farm  land  and  purchase  it 
entire  from  the  government,  then  get  up  a  col- 
ony of  select  Presbyterian  people,  to  whom  the 
lands  were  to  be  sold  at  a  fair  profit,  this  profit 
to  be  the  endowment  of  the  school.  Thus  a 
financial  and  moral  support  would  be  afforded 
the  young  institution,  which  would  insure  its 
success.  So  reasoned  Father  Thomson  and  as 
a  precedent  he  pointed  to  Galesburg  College 
in  Illinois.  That  first  Saturday  night  at  Mr. 
Hanna's  house  he  explained  his  mission  to  Mr. 
Hanna  and  Major  Murphy,  then  superintendent 
of  the  Sioux  Indians  in  Minnesota,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  stopping  there  over  night.  Mr.  Han- 
na thought  that  the  best  land  had  already  been 
taken,  for  in  those  days  prairie  land  away  from 
the  timber  was  considered  uninhabitable.  The 
Major  suggested  a  still  more  fatal  objection  to 
the  plan,  which  the  reverend  gentleman  had 
not  thought  of,  namely:  That  the  government 
was  not  selling  land  any  more  in  large  tracts, 
that  the  only  way  in  which  land  could  be  se- 
cured at  that  time  was  under  the  "Pre-emption 
Act,"  which  did  not  permit  more  than  160  acres 
to  be  sold  to  one  person.  Though  greatly  dis- 
appointed in  not  getting  his  township  of  land 
and  being  able  to  carry  out  his  original  plan. 
Father  Thomson  did  not  abandon  his  dream  of 
founding  a  great  college  at  the  big  bend  of  the 
Minnesota  and  he  concluded  to  locate  at  Mankato. 
Mr.  Hanna  assured  him  that  small  tracts  of 
land,  suitable  for  a  college,  could  be  found  and 
showed   him   a   lithographed   map    of    Mankato, 


on  which  a  big  college  building  was  already 
pictured.  The  Major  showed  him  a  big  lump 
of  excellent  coal,  which  someone  had  just  found 
that  afternoon  upon  the  Blue  Earth,  and  spent 
half  the  evening  dilating  upon  the  importance 
of  the  find,  and  the  discovery  was  heralded  iu 
the  state  papers.  It  was  afterwards  proven  that 
the  coal  had  been  taken  from  Josiah  Keene'a 
blacksmith  shop  and  deposited  where  found,  by 
some  wag. 

February  27th  Rev.  M.  N.  Adams,  then  col- 
porteur of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Traverse 
des  Sioux,  held  at  Mankato  the  first  meeting 
in  the  interest  of  the  Bible  cause.  Father 
Thomson  had  met  him  at  Traverse  des  Sioux 
the  previous  Saturday  and  arranged  for  the 
meeting.  Rev.  Thomson  in  a  few  days  bought 
the  claim  of  Evans  and  Henry  Goodrich,  where 
Dukes  Addition  is  now  located,  for  $800.00  and 
sent  for  his  family  who  arrived  the  foUowiag 
June. 

On  April  3rd,  1854,  the  County  Commission- 
ero  organized  the  county  into  two  school  dis- 
tricts: District  No.  1  to  comprise  the  voting 
precinct  of  Mankato  and  District  No.  3  the 
precinct  of  Kasota.  The  excellent  stage  of  water 
maintained  ia  the  Minnesota  river  during  1853 
had  greatly  encouraged  steamboat  men.  Captain 
Humbertson  during  the  winter  disposed  of  his 
"Clarion,"  and  had  built  in  its  stead  a  much 
lurger  and  finer  boat,  which  he  called  the  "Min- 
nesota Belle."  On  the  third  of  May  the  cap- 
tain started  up  the  Minnesota  with  his  new 
boat.  On  board  also  were  Lewis  Branson, 
Henry  Shaubut,  John  Barnard,  Luther  Bar- 
rett and  many  others  destined  for  the  Blue 
Earth  country.  The  little  freshet  caused  by  the 
melting  snow  had  occurred  early  in  March  and 
there  had  been  no  spring  rains.  On  reaching 
the  rapids  near  Carver,  on  the  fourth  of  May, 
the  Belle  got  stuck  on  the  rock  and  every  effort 
to  get  her  over  it  proved  futile.  The  captain 
was  so  disgusted  with  his  failure  that  he  never 
attempted  to  navigate  the  Minnesota  again.  Most 
of  the  passengers  managed  to  reach  their  des- 
tination by  team  or  on  foot,  but  aU  of  those 
bound  for  South  Bend  located  elsewhere  except 


54 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Matthew  Thomson.  Lewis  Branson,  a  lawyer 
from  Indiana,  Henry  Shaubut,  Adam  Froendle 
and  a  number  of  others  settled  at  Mankato.  In 
a  few  days  after  his  arrivel  Henry  Shaubut  pur- 
chased from  the  Mankato  Townsite  company, 
tlirough  General.  Leech,  the  Mankato  House. 
ll  had  cost  the  company  about  $3,500.00  but 
Mr.  Shaubut  got  it  for  $1,200.00.  He  had  the 
lower  story  plastered  and  completed  during  the 
summer,  and  the  wing  part  was  occupied  by 
Eevw  Thomson  and  his  family  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  when  Mr.  Shaubut  brought  his 
family  to  Mankato  and  took  possession  of  the 
,  building. 

Along  about  the  middle  of  May  there  was 
some  rain,  which  raised  the  river  sufficiently, 
so  the  steamer  "Globe"  was  able  to  reach  Man- 
koto,  on  May  30th.  She  was  the  first  boat  that 
seasouj  and  about  the  last,  for  the  water  in  the 
river  soon  fell  again.  Eight  glad  were  the 
people  -at  Mankato  to  see  the  boat,  for  their 
provisions  were  about  exhausted  and  nearly  all 
the  inhabitants  had  been  living  on  fish  alone 
for  weeks. 

Among'  the  'Globe's'  passengers  was  John  Q. 
A'.  Marsh,  who  brought  with  him  a  stock  of  mer- 
chandise, which  his  brother  George  H.  Marsh 
had  ordered  the  'previous  fall.  The  two  brothers 
opened  a'  store  at  once  in  the  Hanna  building, 
which  was  the  first  store '  in  the  county  having 
other  than  Indian'  goods.  A  month  later  they 
moved"  the  store  to  their  own  building  on  lot 
5  block  16,  where  they  conducted  a  general  store 
for  years.  '    ' 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1854,  a,  second  term  of 
the  District  Court  was  held  in  Colonel  Eobert- 
son's  store  building.  Hon.  A.  G.  Chatfield  pre- 
sided, Basil  Moreland  was  sheriff,  ajid  Jeffrey 
T.  Adams  clerk. 

This  year  witnessed, a  number  of  cabins  added 
to  Mankato  as  well  as  to  farm  settlements  to 
the  north,  east  and  south  of  it.  At  South 
Bend  D.  C.  Evans  erected  quite  a  pretentious 
three  story  log  house,  the  rear  of  the  lower 
stories  extended  into  the  bluff,  on  the  side  of 
which  it  was  built.  Matthew  Thompson,  Elijah 
K.   Bangs   and   John   Barnard   were   among  the 


new   arrivals   at  the  townsite.     Joshua  Barnard 
hdd  located  there  some  months  before. 

On  the  west  half  of  section  34  in  Mankato 
township  George  Van  Bnmt  had  in  1853  dis- 
covered a  good  water  power  on  the  he  Sueur, 
and  during  the  winter  with  the  help  of  M.  T. 
Comstock  and  James  McMurtrie,  he  had  a  dam 
constructed  and  timbers  hauled  for  a  sawmill.  By 
July,  1854,  the  mill  was  completed  and  began 
the  manufacture  of  lumber,  a  much  needed  com- 
modity. This  same  summer  George  W.  Lay  be- 
gan the  erection  of  a  saw  mill  at  Mankato,  but 
tor  some  reason  he  failed  to  get  it  into  workiug 
order  for  a  year  or  two.  On  Minneopa  Creek 
I.  S.  Lyons,  "Buckskin  Lyons,"  as  the  old  set- 
tlers called  him  from  his  peculiar  costume,  put 
lip  a  small  saw  mill,  which  he  began  to  operate 
on  the  8th  of  August.  It  stood  just  above 
where  the  present  New  Ulm  road  crosses  the 
stream. 

From   a   census   taken   at   the   time   and   pre- 
served in  his  diary  by  D.   C.  Evans ,  the  Town- 
ship of  South  Bend  on  August  8th,  1854,  had: 
-'J'ive  "houses,  1  six    lamilies,-  comprising    twenty- 
.  six  souls,,  one  span  lof  horses,  four  yokes  of  oxen, 
-  six  cows,   and  two  dogs.  ,   On  September  23nd, 
18S4,   a  plat   of  the/ ■  tpwjisite  was   recorded,  in 
'y/hich  D.  ,C.   Evans,  Lyman  Matthews,    Samuel 
-IIumbertson,i/Alden -Bryant  •ai;4  'M.    ThompsOjU 
'  appear  i  as' I  proprietors.  ■  .:,'    .,  ij    iii 
.    In  July  John  JooBf  and.  his.  Son-in-law,  Grif- 
fith   Jones,    from    nfear  :  Oshkosh, ,  Wis.,    visited 
■South   Bend!  Township  J  and  rlooated    claims    on 
Eush  Lake,  to  which-  on  August.  17th,,  they  re- 
moved with  their  families.   -About -the  first- of 
,  April  of  this  I  same  ,  y^ar   S.   Titus  :  Mills,  started 
from  his  home  in  Lakfe.  County,  111.,  in  a:coveTed 
-wagoui-drtiwn  by  i two  .yokes  of- >  Dxen,i  hound  for 
the   Blue,-  Earth '.country. ,    i -He  .  took  -  with  ,  him 
thirty ,  head  of  cattle  and  one  horse  and  had  a 
man  !to  help   drive   them.     After   many   adven- 
tures :  and  hardships- .he -.reached   Mankato   about 
the  first  of  June.     Mrs.  Mills  and  the  children 
started  about  a  month  later  with   Theron   Par- 
sons   and    family    and    came    by    the    ordinary 
steamboat  route.     She  reached  Mankato  about  as 
soon    as    her    husband.      Mr.    Mills    bought    of 
George  Cummings  of  Mankato  a  claim,  he  had 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


55 


just  taken  and  built  a  small  log  cabin  upon, 
at  the  east  end  of  Mills  lake,  and  on  July  1st, 
moved  his  family  thereon,  being  the  first  per- 
manent settler  of  Garden  City  Township. 

To  illustrate  one  special  annoyance,  which 
every  pioneer  of  that  day  experienced  from  the 
Indians,  and  to  show  as  well  the  mettle  of  the 
women  of  that  period,  I  will  quote  from  a  pa- 
per Mrs.  Mills  prepared  for  an  old  settlers  gath- 
ering, this  incident:  "Provisions  of  all  kinds 
v/ere-  very  high.  Mr.  Mills  paid  $1.50  a  bushel 
for  some  corn.  He  kept  it  in  sacks  in  one  cor- 
ner of  our  cabin.  The  Indians  saw  it  and  came 
every  day  begging  for  it.  At  last  they  became 
so  persistent  we  told  them  it  was  for  our  own 
use  we  had  got  it,  and  could  not  let  them  have 
it.  One  day  Indian  men,  squaws  and  papooses 
crowded  in  and  filled  the  room  full.  They  ap- 
peared very  merry,  laughing  and  gabbleing 
among  themselves.  Soon  I  noticed  their  atten- 
tion was  directed  to  the  corner  where  the  corn 
was  and  I  knew  they  were  helping  themselves 
tn  it.  I  was"  alone  with  my  little  child  and 
what  could  I  do  with  so  many  of  them.  When 
they  began  to  go  out  I  saw  some  of  them  had 
corn  in  their  blankets  and  let  them  go  without 
saying  anything.  But  one  squaw  had  such  a 
big  load,  it  was  more  than  I  could  put  up  with. 
1  took  hold  of  her  blanket,  and  gave  it  a  sud- 
deii  jerk,  which  loosened  it  and  the  corn  fell 
tp  the  floor.  I  told  her  to  put  it  back  in  the 
sack  and  she  said  no,  and  I  closed  the  door  and 
gave  her  to  understand  it  must  be  put  back 
before  she  could  go  out.  The  others  laughed 
at  her  and  helped  her  put  it  back,  but,  oh,  how 
mad  she  was!  I  gave  her  a  few  ears  and  told 
her  to  go,  and  that  was  the  last  I  saw  of  her." 

About  the  same  time,  or  it  may  have  been  a 
i'ew  weeks  later,  two  young  men  from  Vermont, 
named  William  and  Edward  Washburn,  located 
claims  in  the  Haunted  Valley  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Watonwan,  in  Garden  City  township.  Early 
in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  came  Charles 
Gilchrist,  Edward  Thompson,  George  Lamberton, 
Orin  J.  Westover  and  Edson  Gerry,  all  young 
men,  and  located  claims  in  the  same  town  along 
the  Watonwan.  About  the  1st  of  May  W.  E. 
Eobinson   and    S.    H.    Thorne   left   their   homes 


in  Tompkins  County,  N.  Y.,  to  seek  their  for- 
tunes  in   the  west.     Thorne  went  to   visit   his 
brother-in-law,    Calvin    Webb,    in    Iowa,    while 
Eobinson  went  to  his  brother-ia-law,  L.  0.  Hunt, 
in  Wisconsin.     Since  the  cession  of  their  lands 
by  the   Sioux,  Minnesota  was  everywhere  talked 
about   as    ofiering   the   best    opportunity   to    set- 
tlers.    Messrs.  Hunt  and  Eobinson  concluded  to 
visit    the   Blue    Earth    country,    where   they    ar- 
rived  early  in   Jidy.     Both  were   favorably   im- 
pressed and  made  up  their  minds  to  locate  here 
at  once.     Eobinson  wrote  to  his  family  and  to 
Mr.  Thorne  about  the  decision  he  had  come  to, 
and   Mr.    Thorne   induced    Calvin    Webb    to    sell 
his  Iowa  claim  and  go  with  the  rest  to  Minnesota. 
The   Eobinson   family    joined    the    Hunt    family 
in  Dodge  County,  Wis.,  while  the  Thorne  family 
went   to    Calvin    Webb's    home   near    Davenport, 
and    all   were    to    rendezvous    at   La    Crosse    on 
August  1st,  1854.     Writing  of  the  journey  Mrs. 
Thorne    says:      "So    we    procured    our    camping 
outfit   in   Davenport   and    shipped    most    of    our 
goods  by  boat  to   St.   Paul.     Our  boat  was   de- 
tained   four    days    at    Galena,    waiting    for.  pas- 
sengers overland  from  the  west,  so  when  we  ar- 
rived at  La  Crosse,  we  did  not  meet  our  friends. 
We  went  up  the  river  a  few  miles  above  Winona, 
and    then    started    for    our    overland    trip,    very 
much  disappointed  that  we  did  not  meet  them. 
We  left  the  river,  and  it  took  all  the  forenoon 
to  get  up  the  bluff.     When  all   the  teams  had 
reached  the  prairie  we   camped  for   dinner,   our 
first  meal  on  the  boundless   prairie.     While  we 
were   preparing   the   meal,    Mr.    Webb    and    Mr. 
Thorne    cui   the    bark   from    some   trees    nearby 
and  wrote  our  names  and  date. 

After  we  had  traveled  about  an  hour  we  no- 
ticed a  horseman  following  us  on  the  gallop,  and 
halted  for  him  to  come  up.  It  proved  to  be 
Mr.  Eobinson.  They  had  found  our  campfire 
and  our  names  and  he  had  hurried  after  us, 
whUe  the  rest  were  cookiag  dinner,  and  we 
were  very  happy  to  be  together.  We  had  no 
roads  to  follow,  only  the  compass  ■  to  guide  us. 
We  had  not  expected  to  be  more  than  ten  days 
on  the  way,  but  we  found  all  the  marshes  and 
cieeks  full  of  water,  and  every  river  a  raging 
torrent,    so    that   it    took   us    nearly    six    weeks. 


56 


HISTOEY  OF  BLtJE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Our  stores  of  bread  and  cake  and  such  things 
soon  disappeared.  Once  we  traveled  two  days 
and  came  back  where  we  camped  'the  first  night. 
That  is  only  one  of  the  many  adventures  we 
had.  For  over  three  weeks  we  never  saw  an- 
other human  being,  except  two  Indians,  who 
visited  our  camp  one  night.  We  had  no 
vegetables.  ALL  we  had  was  some  dried  fish  and 
salt  meat  and  what  bread  we  could  bake  before 
the  camp  fire,  and  many  times  we  held  the 
umbrella  over  it  while  it  baked.  We  frequently 
saw  elk  and  deer  and  plenty  of  wild  fowl,  but 
our  hunters  never  could  get  near  enough  to  kill 
any  of  them.  When  everything  was  done  for 
the  night,  before  we  sought  our  beds  spread  on 
the  earth  under  the  canvass  we  always  sang: 

"Forever  with  the  Lord, 
Amen,  so  let  it  be. 
Life  from  the  dead  is  in  that  word. 
Tis  immortality. 
Here  in  the  body  pent 
Absent  from  him  we  roam. 
But   nightly   pitched   our   moving  tent 
A  days'  march  nearer  home." 

Well  at  last  we  reached  the  Blue  Earth  river, 
just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Le  Sueur  and  we 
had  no  way  to  get  across.  So  some  of  our 
m.en  swam  across  and  went  to  South  Bend,  and 
Armstrong  and  Lemeraux  came  over  with  a 
boat  and  helped  us.  It  took  about  all  day  Sat- 
urday, and  we  could  not  get  to  South  Bend 
until  Sunday  morning,  September  13th,  and  a 
very  sorry  looking  crowd  were  we.  D.  C.  Evans 
kindly  welcomed  us  and  let  us  have  a  part  of 
his  new  house,  and  we  were  happy  to  be  under 
a  roof  once  more.  We  thought  our  troubles 
were  over,  but  alas  we  had  only  begun  our 
frontier  life,  and  the  many  trials  and  privations 
we  had  to  endure  seem  now  almost  incredible. 
Mr.  Thorne  took  a  claim  on  Crystal  Lake,  Mr. 
Webb  located  in  Judson  Township,  and  Mr. 
Hunt  and  Mr.  Eobinson  after  settling  for  a 
few  weeks  in  Eapidan,  removed  on  November 
1st  to  the  banks  of  Lake  Crystal." 

Early  in  1853  the  Eureka  Townsite  and 
Water  Power  company  was  organized,  with  Hir- 
am  Caywood  as  the  prime  mover.     A  townsite 


was  laid  out,  called  "Eureka"  near  the  mouth  of 
Swan  Lake  Creek,  in  Nicollet  County,  and  dur- 
ing that  summer  a  saw  mill  was  erected  by  Mr. 
Caywood  on  the  creek.  This  at  once  attracted 
some  settlers  to  the  locality,  as  the  townsite  was 
widely  advertised.  A  few  of  these  located  on 
the  Judson  bottom,  on  the  Blue  Earth  County 
side  of  the  river,  as  early  as  1853.  Eev.  John 
Tidland  and  family,  and  John  Eandahl,  were 
of  this  number.  During  1854,  John  Goodwin, 
William  Irving,  Chester  D.  Hill,  Eobert  Pat- 
terson, Gustav  Johnson,  Peter  Olson,  Charles 
Youngberg,  John  Beckman  and  Fred  and  Frank 
Winnestrand  joined  the  Judson  settlers. 

Near  the  little  town  of  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  not 
far  from  St.  Louis,  a  number  of  German  farm- 
ers had  settled.  The  land  was  quite  hilly  and 
ill  adapted  for  agriculture.  Two  of  the  colony 
went  across  the  Mississippi  into  the  Illinois 
country  to  purchase  a  threshing  outfit  in  the 
spring  of  1854.  The  rich  farming  lands  they 
saw  there  opened  their  eyes  to  the  poverty  of 
the  soil  they  had  chosen  at  St.  Charles,  and 
they  went  home  and  stirred  up  the  community 
to  the  folly  of  remaining  in  such  a  barren  spot, 
when  the  country  was  full  of  good  land.  Af 
a  conference  held,  it  was  decided  to  send  one  of 
their  number  as  a  spy  to  discover  the  best  land. 
A  young  German  of  good  judgment  and  educa- 
tion and  thoroughly  reliable,  named  Nicolas 
Uhle,  was  hired  for  $35.00  per  month  and  ex- 
penses and  sent  out  on  the  important  mission. 
He  went  through  Nebraska,  Iowa,  Wisconsin, 
and  up  above  St.  Paul  on  the  Mississippi. 
Then  he  came  up  the  Minnesota  to  Mankato 
and  put  up  with  Clements  Kron.  The  next 
morning  after  his  arrival  he  called  on  Mr.  Kron 
for  his  bill  and  paid  it.  He  remained  in  the 
locality  two  or  three  weeks,  making  daily  ex- 
cursions into  the  country.  He  would  tell  no 
one  of  his  mission,  and  the  Germans  at  Man- 
kato were  quite  puzzled  to  explain  his  mysterious 
coming  and  going.  He  finally  returned  to  St. 
Charles  with  a  full  report  of  all  the  lands  he 
had  seen,  but  his  recommendation  was  to  the 
country  about  Mankato  in  Blue  Earth  County. 

The    report    was    adopted    and    the    following 
persons  made  ready  at  once  to  go  to  the  prom- 


HISTORY  OF  BLtJB  EAETH  COtTNTT. 


57 


ised  land:  Michael  Hund,  Philip  Hodapp,  Peter 
Schulte,  David  Heidwinkle,  and  Frank  Bortmeir 
with  their  families,  and  Henry  Vahle  and  Leo 
Lamm,  both  ithen  unmarried.  Young  "Uhle  was, 
to  his  great  disappointment,  denied  the  privi- 
lege of  going  with  the  colony,  as  his  parents  just 
tiien  summoned  him  back  to  Germany.  This 
band  of  German  emigrants  reached  Mankato 
on  October  14th,  1854,  and  settled  in  Lime  and 
Mankato  Townships,  where  they  and  their  de- 
scendants became  prominent  residents.  Nearly 
all  of  the  fathers  and  mothers,  however,  have 
gone  to  their  reward,  after  rendering  splendid 
service  to  their  church  and  community. 

The  year  1854  saw  the  beginning  of  settle- 
ments in  Eapidan,  Lyra  and  McPherson.  Basil 
Moreland  made  a  claim  of  160  acres  in  section 
7  of  Eapidan  covering  the  finest  water  power 
on  the  Blue  Earth.  In  April,  Oliver  J.  Roe 
and  John  N.  Dodgson  made  claims  in  the  same 
town.  In  August  Isaac  Andrus  and  Truman  P. 
Andrus  located  upon  farms  along  the  Maple  in 
sections  11  and  12  of  the  same  town,  while 
Williston  K.  Greenwood  claimed  on  the  Blue 
Earth  adjoining  Basil  Moreland  in  section  7. 
In  the  fall  of  this  same  year  Noble  G.  Eoot 
moved  with  his  family  to  a  claim  he  had  made 
on  the  Maple  adjoining  the  present  vUlage  of 
Good  Thunder  on  the  south  in  sections  9  and 
10  of  Lyra.  On  October  11th  Barnabas  W. 
Simmons  took  possession  with  his  family  of  160 
acres  in  section  33  of  Lyra.  In  November  of 
this  same  year  Charles  Mansfield  and  Ansen 
AV.  Callen  located  upon  claims  on  the  east 
bank  of  -Rice  LaJvC,  in  McPherson  Township  on 
sections   nineteen   and  twenty. 

On  July  1st,  1854,  George  H.  Marsh  began 
his  contract  with  the  government  for  the  trans- 
portation of  the  mail  once  a  week  between  St. 
Paul  and  Mankato.  The  first  trip  he  made  on 
foot  as  far  as  Traverse  des  Sioux  and  thence 
down  the  river  in  an  Indian  canoe.  A  horse 
and  light  wagon  were  procured  for  the  return 
trip  and  used  for  a  time;  but  soon  two  horses 
\vere  used  and  a  covered  rig  to  carry  passen- 
gers and  light  freight.  Within  about  a  year 
the  service  was  increased  to  twice  a  week,  then 
thrice  a  week,  and  finally  daily  and  the  south- 


ern terminus  removed  to  South  Bend.  To  have 
a  regular  mail  service  even  once  a  week  was  a 
wonderful  convenience  to  the  settlers  in  their  iso- 
lation. No  need  then  for  any  postoffice  or  let- 
ter boxes,  for  on  mail  day  every  resident  in  the 
settlement  was  on  hand  long  before  the  arrival 
of  the  post,  and  all  postmaster  Johnson  had  to 
do,  after  opening  the  mail  bag,  was  to  call  the 
names  and  each  person  was  on  hand  to  receive 
his  mail.  If  any  one  failed  to  respond  Mr. 
Johnson  would  put  the  letter  in  his  pocket  and 
look  him  up,  for  there  must  have  been  something 
serious  the  matter  with  him.  The  first  assess- 
ment ever  made  in  the  county  occurred  in  1854. 
A  most  important  event  for  the  settlers  of 
Blue  Earth  County  in  1854  was  the  government 
survey  of  the  land.  Until  this  time  no  settler 
cculd  tell  much  about  the  boundary  of  his  claim. 
Surveyors  would  mark  out  160  acres  of  land  for 
a  settler,  but  with  no  township  or  section  lines 
to  go  by,  no  one  could  well  describe  it,  or  know 
how  much  of  it  he  could  hold  when  the  survey 
was  made.  The  original  townsite  of  Mankato 
was  platted  from  a  survey  made  before  the 
government  lines  were  run,  and  the  whole  is  tied 
to  a  stake  on  Main  street  near  the  Saulpaugh, 
where  the  survey  started.  AU  the  settlers  had 
to  readjust  their  farms  more  or  less  when  the 
survey  was  made.  The  government  surveyors 
began  their  work  on  the  county  about  July  1st, 
1854,  at  its  southeast  corner,  and  worked 
north  and  west.  They  first  ran  the  township 
and  range  lines,  and  then  subdivided  the  town- 
ships into  sections.  The  work  occupied  all  that 
summer  and  fall,  and  was  not  fully  completed 
until  the  following  spring.  A  number  of  per- 
sons connected  with  this  survey  located  at  Man- 
kato this  same  fall.  Prominent  among  whom 
were  L.  G.  M.  Fletcher,  John  T.  Everett  and 
Henry  Humphrey.  Others  who  settled  in  Manka- 
to this  same  fall  are:  William  P.  Coffin  and  Joel 
Cloud,  (who  during  the  winter  ran  a  small 
store  in  the  Hanna  building  on  the  levee), 
Daniel  T.  Bunker,  S.  M.  Walker,  Adam  Freun- 
dle,  Geo.  A.  Clark,  Morton  Lafiin,  B.  W.  Stan- 
nard,  Antoin  Jacoby,  Jacob  and  Henry  Sontag, 
Columbus  Ballard  and  many  others. 

On  the   3rd  of   July,   1854,   the   election  pre- 


58 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COtJNTY. 


cinct  of  South  Bond  was  created,  embracing  all 
the  county  -west  of  the  Blue  Earth  river.  The 
second  election  in  the  county  occurred  on  Octo- 
ber 10th,  1854.  That  in  South  Bend  precinct 
was  held  at  the  house  of  D.  C.  Evans,  with 
L.  Matthews,  ISToah  Armstrong  and  D.  0.  Evans 
as  Judges  of  Election  and  I.  S.  Lyons  as  Clerk 
I'lve  votes  were  cast  at  this  precinct,  forty-five 
at  the  Mankato  precinct,  and  thirteen  at  Kasota 
j)recinct,  maldng  fifty-three  votes  in  all.  Daniel 
T.  Bunker  was  elected  sheriff  over  Edwin  Howe, 
Vtho  on  the  resignation  of  Basil  Moreland  liad 
been  appointed  to  the  office  on  September  4th. 
Minard  Mills  was  elected  Judge  of  Probate; 
James  Thomson,  County  Treasurer;  D.  C.  Evans, 
County  Commissioner,  and  E.  Goodrich,  Sur- 
veyor. 

On  September  9th,  1854,  John  Lyons,  son 
of  I.  S.  Lyons  died,  and  was  buried  a  little 
Avest  of  the  present  Minneopa  Cemetery.  He 
was  about  twenty-one  years  old  and  of  a  very 
amiable  character.  His  death  was  the  first 
among  the  settlers  west  of  the  Blue  Earth. 
The  funeral  services  were  held  out  doors  in  a 
grove,  and  Eev.  James  Thomson  on  this  occas- 
ion preached  the  first  sermon  west  of  the  Blue 
Earth.  The  first  birth  among  the  settlers  west 
of  the  Blue  Earth  was  that  of  Elsie  J.  (now 
Mrs.  Bailey)  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  H. 
Thorne  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Crystal  on  De- 
cember 13th,  1854.  The  winter  of  1854-5  was 
quite  severe,  with  deep  snow  and,  as  none  of 
the  settlers  were  very  well  housed  or  clad,  it 
entailed  no  little  suffering  and  hardship.  Deer 
and  all  kinds  of  game  were  plenty,  but  the  cold 
and   snow   made  hunting   a   very   arduous   sport. 


P.  K.  Johnson  bought  of  the  Indians  and  set- 
tlers during  the  winter  five  hundred  deer  pelts, 
killed  around  Mankato,  showing  something  of 
the  number  of  that  kind  of  game. 

In  spite  of  the  cold,  the  poor  houses,  the 
poor  clothing,  the  poor  food,  the  isolation,  and 
the  many  hardships  and  deprivations,  the  peo- 
ple were  mostly  young  and  strong  and  enjoyed 
their  frontier  life.  A  lyceum  had  been  started 
in  Mankato  as  early  as  the  winter  of  1853,  in 
which  all  took  great  interest.  It  had  closed 
in  the  spring  in  a  blaze  of  glory  with  a  grand 
exhibition.  The  Lady  of  the  Lake  was  drama- 
tized, there  were  songs,  recitations  and  comic 
farces.  John  E.  Harrison,  Minard  Mills,  Josiah 
Keene  and  Miss  Hanna  and  others  were  fine 
singers.  Josiah  Keene  made  a  great  hit  as  a 
colored  man,  wearing  a  pair  of  cow  hide  boots, 
he  had  borrowed  of  General  Matthews.  The 
General  was  quite  a  large  man  and  his  feet 
were  massive.  He  had  these  boots  constructed 
ample  enough  to  fit  over  his  other  shoes,  and 
truly  they  were  "Great."  It  toook  some  ^plo- 
macy  on  the  part  of  the  managers  to  keep  good 
old  Father  Thomson  from  not  being  over  much 
shocked  by  such  levity,  especially  when  Keene 
added  some  lively  tunes  on  his  ungodly  fiddle  to 
his  other  antics.  But  one  or  two  good  religious 
songs,  sang  in  the  minor  key  brought  the  old 
gentleman  to,  and  all  went  home  happy.  The 
winter  of  1854-5  saw  the  lyceum  more  flourish- 
ing than  ever,  because  of  the  added  numbers. 
There  were  learned  addresses,  fiery  debates,  and 
iiispiring  songs,  the  echoes  of  which  lingered  in 
the  souls  of  our  pioneers  for  many  a_  day,  and 
broke  the  monotony  of  the  wilderness  life. 


"TV 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

LOSS  OF  TBREITORY— WINNEBAGO  EES- 
EEVATION— EVENTS  OF  1885. 


Never  did  a  year  open  more  auspiciously  for 
our  county  than  1855.  The  streams  of  immi- 
gration, now  at  flood  height,  all  tended. to  the 
Llue  Earth  country;  capital  was  seekiag  there 
for  some  of  its  best  investments;  and  tiie  na- 
tural wealth  of  its  soil  was  budding  everywhere 
with  the  assurance  of  abundant  fruitage.  But 
just  as  sometimes  happens  with  our  Minnesota 
weather;  the  morning  opens  splendid  in  promise, 
bright,  clear  and  balmy,  when  suddenly  the 
entire  heavens  are  overcast,  and  the  splendid 
promise  of  the  morning  is  lost  in  a  dull,  damp 
desolate  day.  So  that  even  the  beauty  of  the 
morning  is  only  remembered  as  a  "weather 
breeder."  So  the  exceptional  bright  prospects 
of  our  county  were  doomed  to  a  sudden  and 
unexpected   eclipse. 

On  February  20th,  1855,  the  Territorial  Leg- 
islature, which  heretofore  had  been  so  lavish  to 
the  county  in  matter  of  territory,  now,  when 
it  was  ready  to  use  it,  changed  its  attitude.  On 
.the  ;east,-  south  and  west  the  present  boundaries 
■R  ere  adopted,  while  on  the.  north  the  entire 
township:  of  Kasota  including  also  the  present 
township  of  Lime  and  Jamestown  were  taken 
from  Blue  Earth  and  added  to  Le  Sueur  county. 
But  this  was  not  the  worst.  Seven  days  after 
the ,  passage  of  this  bill  by  our  Legislature,  a 
treaty  was  negotiated  on  February  37th,  1855, 
by  a  few  Winnebago  chiefs,  who  had  been  taken 
to  Washington  for  the  purpose,  whereby  these 
Indians  ceded  their  reservation  on  the  upper 
Mississippi  and  were  given  iastead  a  reservation 
in  Blue  Earth  and  Waseca  Counties,  thirty 
miles  long  east  and  west,  by  thirteen  miles  wide 
north  and  south.  The  north  line  of  this  reser- 
vation was  to  pass  through  the  juncture  of  the 


Le  Sueur  and  Blue  Earth  rivers.  This  point  it 
is  claimed  had  been  falsely  represented  to  Con- 
gress to  have  been  twenty  miles  distant  from 
Mankato.  The  portion  taken  from  Blue  Earth 
County  embraced  the  whole  of  McPherson,  Medo, 
Beauford,  Decoria,  Lyra  and  Eapidan  and  the 
south  tiers  of  sections  in  South  Bend,  Mankato 
and  Le  Ray,  six  townships  and  a  half  of  the 
very  best  farm  lands  in  the  county, — about  one- 
third  of  its  total  area, — taken  from  its  very  heart 
and  given  to  the  Indians,  while  two  full  town- 
ships and  a  fraction  were  cut  ofE  from  its  north- 
east corner  and  given  to  Le  Sueur  county.  All 
there  was  left  of  our  once  magnificent  fine 
county  was  a  thin  shell  embracing  at  its  center 
a  big  Indian  reservation.  In  those  days  before 
there  was  a  telegraph  or  even  a  railroad  news 
traveled  slowly.  Our  people  heard  of  their  loss 
of  territory  by  hand  of  the  Legislature,  however, 
a  month  or  more  before  the  news  from  Wash- 
ington. The  delegation  of  Winnebagoes,  who 
had  accompanied  General  Fletcher,  their  agent, 
to  Washington  comprised  three  chiefs  namely: 
Winneschiek  or  Waunk-annchakugah  (the  Com- 
ing Thunder),  Hoonch-ha-haykah  •  (Big  Bear), 
and  Hoonkhonokah  (Little  Priest),  and  three 
braves.  These  returned  to  St.  Paul  with  Gen- 
eral Fletcher  by  April  20th,  and  at  once  pro- 
ceeded with  him  to  the  Blue  Earth  country,  to 
inspect  their  new  reservation  and  to  accurately 
fix  its  boundaries,  for  the  matter  had  been  left 
somewhat  to  the  agent.  On  arriving  at  Mankato 
about  the  last  of  April,  General  Fletcher  em- 
ployed Evans  Goodrich,  the  County  Surveyor,  to 
run  the  lines  of  the  reservation.  The  people 
raised  the  most  vigorous  protests  against  these 
confiscations  of  their  territory.     They  were  the 


59 


60 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COTTNTY. 


main  topics  of  conversation  all  that  year.  On 
the  3nd  of  June  a  mass  meeting  convened  at 
Mankato  to  protest  against  the  Indian  reserva- 
tion. Theron  Parsons  was  chairman  and  Eo- 
bert  Wardlaw,  Secretary.  Speeches  were  made 
by:  Isaac  Andrus,  Basil  Moreland,  Lewis  Bran- 
son, P.  K.  Johnson  and  others.  Resolutions 
were  passed  protesting  against  the  taking  of  their 
homes  away  from  the  settlers,  against  the  putting 
so  many  savages  as  a  menace  to  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  adjacent  white  settlements,  and 
against  the  taking  so  much  territory  from  civ- 
ilization, and  the  county  of  Blue  Earth  for  the 
perpetuation  of  savagery  in  its  midst.  A  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  present  the  memorial  to 
Governor  Gorman.  But  all  was  to  no  avail  so 
far  as  the  Indian  reservation  was  concerned,  for 
their  cry  for  redress  was  too  feeble  to  be  heard 
in  Washington.  About  the  middle  of  June  the 
entire  Wimnebago  tribe,  over  two  thousand 
strong,  broke  upon  Mankato  like  an  avalanche. 
Some  came  up  the  river  in  bark  canoes,  others 
came  upon  ponies  and  dog  carts,  and  still  others 
on  foot,  and  were  piloted  out  to  their  reserva- 
tion. General  Fletcher  fixed  upon  the  spot 
where  now  stands  the  village  of  St.  Clair  as 
the  headquarters  for  the  tribe,  and  here  he  had 
his  own  house  and  the  government  houses  and 
stores  erected,  and  the  place  was  designated  the 
''Winnebago  Agency." 

In  following  the  advent  of  the  Winnebagoes 
into  the  county  we  have  omitted  many  other 
lesser  events,  which  we  now  will  return  to 
chronicle.  The  office  of  sheriff  in  those  early 
days  was.  not  as  much  sought  for  as  in  subse- 
quent years.  Daniel  P.  Bunker  as  sheriS  elect 
should  have  taken  office  on  January  1st,  1855, 
but  he  sent  his  resignation  to  the  County  Board 
instead  and  Edwin  Howe,  who  had  served  under 
appointment  during  the  latter  half  of  1854, 
was  re-appointed  for  1855;  and  on  February 
21st,  Lewis  Branson  was  appointed  County  At- 
torney. The  County  Commissioners  for  this 
year  were  Bphraim  Cole,  Chairman,  D.  C.  Evans 
and  Joseph  W.  Babcock;  but,  by  cutting  Kasota 
from  the  county  of  Blue  Earth,  Mr.  Babcock 
was  legislated  out  of  office  on  April  1st,  1855, 
and  the  county  had  to  get  along  with  two  com- 


missioners for  the  balance  of  the  year.  Since 
the  spring  of  1854  most  of  the  county  offices 
had  been  located  in  the  Moreland  building  on 
lot  3  block  7,  where  most  everything  of  a  public 
nature  was  conducted.  Here  Father  Thomson 
preached  twice  every  Sabbath;  here  Sarah  J. 
Marsh,  and,  after  her.  Miss  Mary  Ann  Thomson 
tfiught  the  day  school,  here  was  held  the  lyceum 
and  debating  society.  On  top  of  the  building 
Father  Thomson  had  rigged  a  large  dinner  bell, 
he  had  brought  with  him  from  Indiana,  to  caD 
the  people  to  church.  This  bell  during  the  hot 
summer  months,  when  routed  from  their  beds 
by  mosquitoes,  the  young  men  used  to  ring  at 
midnight  to  the  great  annoyance  of  the  rest  of 
tiie  town. 

On  January  5th,  1855,  South  Bend  was  or- 
ganized into  a  separate  school  district,  designated 
No.  3  and  it  was  reported  that  there  were  eighty 
persons  between  the  ages  of  four  and  twenty- 
one  in  Blue  Earth  County  aside  from  Kasota. 
Even  the  snow  and  cold  of  winter  did  not  stop 
immigration  altogether.  About  February  10th, 
John  A.  Jones,  David  J.  Lewis  and  Evan  J. 
Lewis  arrived  in  South  Bend  from  Emmet,  Wis., 
having  made  the  journey  mostly  on  foot.  They, 
found  claims  in  the  vicinity  of  South  Bend  and, 
after  building  temporary  cabins,  returned  early 
in  March  to  Wisconsin  after  their  families  and 
neighbors.  In  March,  William  P.  Coffin  and 
Joel  Cloud  located  upon  section  five  of  Eapi- 
dan.  Francis  Veigh,  David  B.  Backus  and 
Frank  Obale  also  took  claims  early  in  the  spring 
in  Rapidan.  This  was  before  they  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  Winnebago  reservation  cover- 
ing these  lands. 

In  the  early  spring  Mankato  and  vicinity 
bad  a  small  Indian  scare.  Messrs.  Callen  and 
Mansfield,  who  had  been  domiciled  on  claims 
by  Rice  Lake,  came  hurrying  into  town  one 
day  saying  they  had  been  attacked  by  Indians. 
A  company  was  formed  and  started  for  the 
seat  of  trouble.  On  the  Le  Sueur  they  met  an 
Indian  lad,  about  eighteen  years  old  named 
"Joyce,"  who  was  quite  friendly  with  the  set- 
tlers and  a  favorite  among  them.  The  whites 
asked  him  about  the  matter  and  he  burst  into 
a  big  laugh,    and   explained  how   he   had  been 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


61 


out  hunting  with  other  Indians  on  Eice  Lake. 
1'hat  in  some  way  he  got  separated  from  his  com- 
panions and  to  signal  them  had  fired  his  gun 
three  or  four  times.  Thus  ended  the  scare  and 
the  company  marched  home. 

Before  navigation  had  fairly  opened  in  the 
spring  of  1855,  hundreds  of  settlers  were  pushing 
VTestward.  Some  came  by  teams  but  the  great 
majority  journeyed  on  foot.  On  the  18th  of 
April  Humphrey  Jones,  Thomas  Y.  Davis,  Wil- 
liam C.  Williams,  William  Jenkins,  Ed.  Pierce, 
John  Watkins,  William  Jones  and  Anthony 
Howells  arrived  at  South  Bend  from  Ohio  and 
Illinois  and  soon  located  upon  claims  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  Judson.  When  they  came 
the  ice  was  yet  firm  in  Lake  Pepin,  though  the 
river,  both  above  and  below,  was  open  and 
the  boats  running.  They  with  hundreds  of 
others  walked  from  the  foot  of  the  lake  to  its 
head  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  to  catch  a  boat 
at  that  point  for  St.  Paul.  The  water  in  the 
Minnesota  continued  very  low  during  the  spring 
of  1855,  and  few  boats  were  able  to  ascend  be- 
yond the  rapids  at  Carver,  until  the  June  rains. 
John  Menne  and  John  Pohl  reached  St.  Paul 
from  Dubuque,  Iowa,  in  April  before  the  ice  was 
out  of  Lake  Pepin.  Meeting  John  Fresholtz  at 
the  capital  city,  they  were  induced  to  come  to 
Mankato  and  take  up  claims  in  its  vicinity. 
On  the  17th  the  first  boat  passed  through  Lake 
Pepin.  On  board  came  Edward  Brace,  who  with 
a  companion  footed  it  from  St.  Paul  to  Man- 
kato, and  that  fall  took  a  claim  near  Jackson 
Lake.  He  was  the  second  settler  in  Shelby. 
Norman  Jackson  who  had  been  obliged  to  aban- 
don his  claim  in  Lyra  because  it  was  on  the 
Winnebago  reservation,  preceding  Mr.  Brace  as 
first  settler  of  Shelby  only  by  a  few  weeks.  About 
the  middle  of  April  Evan  D.  Evans  arrived  at 
South  Bend  with  his  family  from  Blossbury, 
Pa.,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  came 
Evan  Evans  (Pant)  and  John  Jones  (Maes 
Mawr)  from  Waukesha,  Wis.  April  22nd  was 
held  the  first  prayer  meeting  west  of  the  Blue 
Earth.  The  place  was  the  cabin  of  John  Jones 
(Oshkosh)  on  Eush  Lake  and  those  present  were: 
Mr.  Jones  and  family,  William  C.  Williams, 
William    Jenkins,    Humphrey    Jones,    Thos.    Y. 


Davis  and  others  of  their  party.  April  39th  the 
first  prayer  meeting  in  South  Bend  village  was 
held  at  the  home  of  D.  C.  Evans,  then  occupied 
by  Evan  D.  Evans.  The  service  was  partly  in 
Welsh  and  partly  in  English,  both  nationalities 
being  present.  Those  taking  part  were  Evati 
D.  Evans,  Owen  Herbert,  Joshua  Barnard  and 
Evan  Evans  (Pant).  A  Sunday  school  had 
been  held  the  preceeding  February,  when  D.  C. 
Evans,  Joshua  Barnard,  Owen  Herbert,  John 
A.  Jones,  David  and  Evan  J.  Lewis  with  others 
would  gather  on  Sundays  at  Mr.  Evans'  house, 
and  read  chapters  of  the  Scriptures,  each  com- 
menting and  questioning  upon  his  own  verse 
after  the  Welsh  method.  Mr.  Barnard,  a  re- 
ligious man,  who  thereafter  became  an  efficient 
minister  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  usually  began 
those  Bible  studies  with  prayer.  None  of  South 
Bend  pioneers  at  that  time  had  much  musical 
ability,  so  Mr.  Barnard,  who  had  learned  to 
play  the  violin  in  his  youth,  would  lead  the  sing- 
ing by  first  thrumming  the  tune  over  on  an  old 
bass-viol,  then  all  joined  in  with  lusty  voices. 
On  the  5th  of  May  Edward  Thomas  Sr.,  ar- 
rived with  his  family  from  Pomeroy,  Ohio,  and 
on  the  second  Sabbath  of  that  month  was  started 
the  first  regular  Sunday  school  in  South  Bend, 
with  Dr.  E.  Thomas  as  superintendent.  Dr. 
Thomas  was,  also,  a  music  teacher,  and  he  sup- 
plied the  village  beyond  the  Blue  Earth  with 
their  lack  in  this  line.  He  had  the  whole  com- 
munity soon  organized  into  singing  classes.  May 
21st,  Thos.  M.  Pugh  and  Thomas  Phillips 
reached  South  Bend  from  Dodgeville,  Wis.  They 
made  the  journey  from  Shakopee  on  foot  in 
company  with  two  Germans.  Failing  to  reach 
a  house  by  night,  they  had  to  lodge  under  the 
twinkling  stars.  The  four  laid  down  in  a  row, 
on  a  blanket,  Pugh  on  the  outside,  and  being 
tired,  soon  fell  asleep.  Towards  midnight  Pugh 
was  awakened  by  the  loud  howling  of  the  wolves 
in  the  surrounding  forest.  After  listening  a 
while  to  their  dismal  cries,  at  times  sounding 
viciously  near,  he  began  to  think  his  outside 
position  not  the  most  desirable.  Next  to  him 
lay  a  sleek  fat  German  and  getting  up,  Pugh 
crawled  in  on  the  other  side  of  him,  saying  as 
he    pushed   the    Teuton    outward,    "The    Dutch- 


62 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


man  first  Mr.  Wolf."  The  early  settlers  well 
remember  how  numerous  the  wolves  were  dur- 
ing the  first  few  years,  and  how  they  made  night 
hideous  with  their  howlings.  As  a  rule  they 
were  a  small  harmless  kind,  though,  and  so 
timid  as  to  be  seldom  seen  by  day,  and  with  the 
settling  of  the  country  they  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared. 

The  foreign  elements  which  came  to  Blue 
Earth  County  in  its  pioneer  days  were  not  only 
tJirifty  and  honest  but  as  a  rule  devoutly  relig- 
ious. The  majority  of  the  Germans  belong- 
ed to  the  Catholic  faith,  and  soon  aifter 
their  arrival  they  began  to  long  for  the  worship 
of  God  after  the  custom  of  their  fathers.  As 
early  as  December  30,  1854,  a  few  of  the  faithful 
oiies  gathered  at  the  log  hotel  of  Clements  Kron 
tj  consider  the  founding  of  a  Catholic  congre- 
gation at  Mankato.  Among  those  present  were: 
Micheal  Hund,  John  Bruels,  Philip  Hodapp, 
Peter  Schulte,  Frank  Borgmeier,  David  Heid- 
winkel,  Peter  Frenzel,  Carl  Prohnert,  Anton 
Jacoby,  Blasius  Yobst,  Clements  Kron,  Henry 
Sontag  and  Henry  Vahle.  In  the  spring  of 
1855  a  church  building  lot  was  bought  of  P. 
K.  Johnson  for  $300.00.  The  first  mass  in  the 
county  was  read  by  Father  A.  Eavaux,  the  In- 
dian missionary,  on  February  2nd,  1855,  at  the 
log  cabin  of  Micheal  Hund,  where  the  worthy 
father  was  stopping  over  night.  With  the  Win- 
nebagoes  came  to  the  county  a  number  of  white 
employees  connected  with  the  agency.  Most  of 
these  were  of  French  extraction  and  largely 
Catholic  in  religion.  Many  of  the  Indians,  also, 
belonged  to  that  faith. 

In  the  latter  part  of  June,  1855,  Bishop  Jos- 
eph Cretin  drove  by  team  from  his  home  in  St. 
Paul  to  visit  his  Mankato  flock,  and  on  June 
24th,  1855,  celebrated  the  first  public  mass  in 
Blue  Earth  County.  It  was  held  at  a  log  cabin 
donated  for  the  service  of  the  church  by  Michael 
Hund,  and  located  about  a  mile  east  of  the 
present  Mankato  church  on  the  Agency  road. 
I'his  service  was  a  privilege  greatly  enjoyed  by 
the  Catholic  brethren  and  they  gathered  from 
the  Winnebago  agency  and  from  all  parts  of  the 
county  to  hear  the  good  bishop.  He  encouraged 
the  Mankato  congregation  to  build  a  church  and 
a   building  committee  was   appointed,   of   which 


John  Bruels  was  secretary,  and  subscriptions 
obtained,  and  by  the  22nd  of  July  the  work 
on  the  foundations  of  a  stone  church  were  be- 
gun. Ludwig  Volz  had  the  contract  for  the 
stone  work  and  Gottfried  Eobel  for  the  lumber. 
Among  the  baptisms  administered  on  this  visit 
by  the  bishop  were,  Joseph  Kron,  the  first 
white  male  child  born  in  Mankato,  and  John 
B.  Hodapp,  now  and  for  many  prior  years  the 
City  Eecorder  of  Mankato.  About  the  first  of 
August  the  very  Eev.  Francis  De  Vivaldi,  apos- 
tolic missionary  to  the  Winnebago  Indians,  held 
services  at  the  agency. 

In  the  train  of  the  Winnebago  Indians  came 
a  few  men,  who  at  once  took  a  prominent  place 
in  the  business  affairs  of  the  county.  Among 
these  were  Isaac  Marks,  Asa  White  and  Henry 
Foster.  The  last  two  located  at  the  agency, 
but  Mr.  Marks  opened  a  general  store  at  Man- 
kato, and  for  years  the  firm  of  White  and 
Marks  was  the  most  prominent  emporium  of 
ti'ade  in  the  county.  In  the  spring  of  1855  the 
U.  S.  government  advertised  for  bids  to  construct 
the  military  road,  surveyed  by  Captain  Eeno 
in  1853  between  Mendota  and  the  Big  Sioux 
river.  Three  contracts  were  let  covering  the 
portion  of  this  road  between  South  Bend  and 
Mendota,  and  two  went  to  Captain  William 
Dodd  of  St.  Peter,  who  on  June  14th  began 
work  with  sixty  men  and  eight  or  ten  yokes  of 
oxen.  The  construction  of  this  important  high- 
way greatly  aided  travel  between  our  county  and 
St.  Paul. 

About  June  1,  1855,  Morris  Lewis  and  David 
A.  Davis,  located  claims  in  the  present  town  of 
Cambria  and  on  the  12th  of  the  same  month, 
John  E.  Davis  and  family  arrived,  having  come 
in  a  covered  wagon  from  Illinois.  He  was  the 
first  actual  settler  in  that  town.  He  was  soon 
followed  by  John  Nicholson  and  family  and 
George  Gilley  and  family.  In  July,  David  J. 
Davis,  David  J.  Williams,  David  Y.  Davis  and 
others  located  in  the  same  town,  then  known  as 
the    Cottonwood    settlement. 

A  Welsh  preacher,  named  Eev.  Eichard  Davis, 
whose  home  had  been  at  La  Crosse,  had  done 
much  to  arouse  the  interest  of  the  Welsh  people 
in  South  Bend  and  Blue  Earth  County  by  ar- 
ticles in  the  periodicals  of  that  nationality.     In 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


63 


July  he  removed  to  South  Bend  being  the  first 
minister  to  settle  there.  In  June,  John  A. 
Jones,  Evan  and  David  J.  Lewis  returned  to 
South  Bend  bringing  their  families  and  a  num- 
ber of  their  neighbors.  Of  this  colony  were,  be- 
sides the  families  named  Evan  H.  Evans,  Hugh 
Edwards,  William  J.  Roberts,  John  Pugh,  Sr., 
Griffith  Eoberts,  Eobert  R.  Williams,  Thomas 
J.  Jones  (Bryn  Llys),  and  David  Evans,  all  from 
Emmet  near  Watertovra,  Wis.  They  came  across 
the  country  by  way  of  La  Crosse  and  Rochester 
in  eleven  covered  wagons  with  their  families, 
household  goods,  farming  implements  and  cat- 
tle, making  a  great  company,  so  that  David 
Lyon  of  La  Crosse  told  D.  C.  Evans,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  there  a  few  days  after  they  passed, 
that  there  were  thousands  of  them.  They  were 
six  weeks  making  the  journey.  A  religious  peo- 
ple, too,  were  they,  who  in  all  their  weary 
journey  did  not  forget  the  worship  of  God  a 
single  Sunday.  Crossing  the  Mississippi  oppo- 
site La  Crosse  on  Saturday,  they  halted  over 
the  Sabbath,  May  34,  1855,  and  had  Eev.  Rich- 
ard Davis  come  across  in  a  skiff  and  preach  to 
them  there  in  the  wilderness.  This  was  the 
first  Welsh  sermon  in  Minnesota,  and  probably 
the  first  west  of  the  Father  of  Waters.  Near 
the  Straight  river  they  were  overtaken  by  a 
detachment  dfi  several  hundred  Winnebagoes 
from  Wisconsin,  on  their  way  to  their  new  res- 
ervation in  Blue  Earth  County.  The  sight  of 
KO  many  savages  and  the  thought  that  they  were 
to  be  such  close  neighbors,  rather  intimidated  our 
immigrants  and  they  halted  some  days  in  doubt 
whether  to  advance,  retreat  or  go  elsewhere. 
The  majority  concluded  to  go  ahead  and  the 
others  soon  followed.  Arriving  at  the  top  of 
the  Main  street  hill  overlooking  Mankato,  they 
adopted  a  novel  method  of  letting  their  loads 
down  the  steep  bluff.  A  number  of  trees  were 
chopped  down  and  one  hitched  behind  each 
wagon.  They  answered  the  purpose  of  brakes 
most  successfully.  This  colony  located  along 
Minneopa  Creek. 

On  June  24,  1855,  Rev.  William  Williams,  a 
Baptist  preacher  from  Big  Rock,  111.,  visited 
South  Bend  and  preached  there  the  first  Welsh 
sermon  in  Blue  Earth  County.     About  July  8th, 


Eev.  Richard  Davis  removed  from  La  Crosse  to 
South  Bend  and  was  the  first  Welsh  minister 
to  settle  in  the  county.  On  the  1st  of  August, 
1855,  he  organized  at  his  own  cabin  in  South 
Bend  village  the  first  Welsh  church  in  the 
county.  It  was  an  Union  church  with  five 
deacons  and  forty-three  members.  Rev.  R.  Davis 
was  pastor;  Edward  Thomas,  Sr.,  Secretary,  and 
the  Deacons  were:  Evan  H.  Evans,  Evan  Evans 
(Pant),  William  R.  Price,  William  J.  Roberts, 
and  Edward  Thomas,  Sr.  As  far  as  known  this 
was  the  first  regular  church  in  the  county.  Reg- 
ular Sabbath  services  were  held  thereafter  at 
South  Bend  village. 

On  August  31st,  1855,  the  First  Presbyterian 
church  of  Mankato  was  formally  organized  by 
Rev.  James  Thomson  at  the  Hanna  residence, 
in  the  rear  of  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  First 
National  Bank.  The  following  seventeen  per- 
sons, each  bearing  a  letter  from  an  eastern 
church  comprised  the  charter  members  of  the 
new  church:  Maria  H.  Thomson,  Juliet  Thom- 
son, Mary  Ann  Thomson,  William  H.  Thomson, 
Amos  D.  Seward,  Henry  Schuler,  Jonathan  B. 
Stanley,  Nancy  Hanna,  Margaret  Ann  Hanna, 
Sarah  Jane  Hanna,  Cornelius  Vannice,  Susan 
Vannice,  George  C.  Clapp,  Marietta  Clapp  and 
Sarah  Maxfield.  A.  D.  Seward  was  chosen  elder 
and  was  the  only  church  officer  elected  for 
years.  At  the  Methodist  Episcopal  conference 
held  in  June,  1855,  Rev.  Lewis  Bell  was  ap- 
pointed to  have  charge  of  preaching  stations  at 
]\rankato,  Le  Sueur,  Traverse  des  Sioux,  Shako- 
pee  and  Henderson,  making  quite  an  extensive 
parish.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  at  Man- 
kato on  July  1st  of  that  year. 

On  the  evening*  of  July  4th,  1855,  the  open- 
ing of  the  Mankato  House  was  duly  celebrated 
with  a  big  supper  and  ball  to  which  the  settlers 
gathered  from  far  and  near,  and  a  royal  time 
was  had. 

About  August  1st,  the  Sioux  Indians  gave 
their  new  neighbors,  the  Winnebagoes,  a  great 
reception  feast  at  Mankato,  which  in  number  of 
guests  and  the  demonstrations  held,  far  outdid 
the  opening  of  the  white  man's  wigwam.  The 
streets,  the  woods,  and  the  river  literally  swarmed 
for   several    days    with   these   dusky   denizens   of 


64 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


the   wilderness.      Their   e&stumes,   consisting   al- 
most wholly  of  paint  and  feathers,  were  gorgeous. 
Their  principle  gathering  place  was  in  Warren 
and  Van  Brant's  Additions.     Four  or  more  of 
the  largest  teepees  were  joined  together  to  form 
the  feast  lodges.     The  sound  of  the  tom  toms 
and   dance    songs    was    scarcely    hushed    day    or 
night.     Our  old  settler  friend,  \Y.  P.  Coffin,   re- 
members coming  to  Mankato  during  the  days  of 
this  feast  from  his  Eapidan  claim.    As  all  the  pio- 
neers well  recall,  cattle  were  much  afraid  of  In- 
dians, and  would  scent  them  from  afar  and  run 
from    them.      Mr.    Coffin    had    a    pair   of    very 
young    steers    and    the    smell    and.  sight    of    so 
many  Indians  had  put  them  in  a  quiver  of  ex- 
citement and  terror.     A  mischievous  young  buck 
noticing  the  frantic  behavior  of  the  oxen  slipped 
o-i  his  blanket  and,  with  a  yell  that  might  have 
split    Gibralter,    smote    them    on    the   back.      A 
modem    runaway    on    Front    street   would    have 
been  a  tame  affair  compared  to  what  that  thor- 
oughfare then  saw,   and   it  took  Mr.    Coffin    a 
long  time  to  find  his  oxen  and  wagon  again.     In 
those  early  days  the  Indians  were  very  numerous 
in  the  land  and  were  regarded  with  much  dis- 
trust and  fear  by  the  settlers  before  they  became 
used  to  them.     Frequently  a  number  of  dusky 
braves,  much  to  the  terror  of  the  women   and 
children,  would  come  to  a  cabin,  peer  in  at  the 
window  or  door,  walk  into  the  room  unbidden, 
and   drawing  their  blankets   about  them,   sit   on 
the   floor   in    a   row    against   the    wall,    smoking 
their  long  stone  pipes  in  silence.     Then  rising, 
by  signs  and  Indian  speech  they  would  beg  for 
something  to  eat,  which  usually  would  be  given 
them   if  there   was   a  morsel   in   the   house,   in 
order  to  get  rid  of  them.     After  a  while  every 
settler    provided    himself    with    a    good    savage 
watch  dog,  which  from  religious  veneration,  the 
red   man   seldom   killed.     When    on   a   drunken 
spree  or  when  holding  their  wild  dancing  feasts, 
the  Indians  were  very  noisy  and  demonstrative, 
and   often   in  the   weary   watches   of  the   night 
would    the    poineers    shudder    as    he   heard    the 
tumult   of  their   revelry.      One   beautiful    night 
in   July,   1855,    as   Humphrey   Jones,   Thos.   Y. 
Davis,    Owen    Eoberts    and    Morris    Lewis    were 
sitting    in    their    newly    finished    cabin    in    the 


northwest  corner  of  Judson,  they  were  startled 
by  the  most  blood  curdling  yells  and  shrieks 
and  pounding  of  drums  and  firing  of  guns  in 
the  direction  of  an  Indian  camp,  situated  in 
the  edge  of  the  timber  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  distant.  Eunning  out  they  could  see  that 
the  whole  village  was  in  the  wildest  commotion. 
Men  and  women  running,  leaping  and  yelling 
like  raving  demoniacs,  and  beating  upon  kettles 
and  Indian  drums,  with  a  hubbub  like  pande- 
monium. Our  friends,  newly  arrived  from  the 
coal  mines  of  Ohio,  spent  a  night  of  terror  in 
their  hut,  expecting  every  moment  to  be  mur- 
dered by  the  savages,  who,  all  night  long  with 
unabated  fury  continued  their  hideous  riot. 
Carried  by  the  breeze  the  noise  ever  and  anon 
seemed  to  approach  close  to  the,  cabin,  then  it 
would  recede  again.  When  morning  came  at 
last  all  was  quiet  and  peaceful,  and  our  four 
friends  found  their  scalps  had  not  been  dis- 
turbed. During  the  day  an  Indian  boy,  dis- 
posed to  cultivate  the  acquaintance  of  the  pale- 
faced  strangers,  paid  them  a  visit,  and  of  him 
they  inquired  the  cause  of  the  night's  uproar. 
"Sick;  so  big"  (measuring  with  his  hand  about 
two  feet  from  the  floor),  was  the  laconic  reply. 
They  finally  understood  that  a  papoose  had 
been  taken  very  ill  during  the  night  and  the 
savages  thought  that  the  Evil  one  was  prowling 
around  trying  to  steal  its  soul,  and  the  noise 
was  made  to   scare  him  away. 

Another  obnoxious  occupant  of  the  land,  more 
numerous  than  the  wolves  or  Indians,  and  much 
more  aggressive  in  their  hostility,  were  the 
mosquitoes.  N'one  but  the  oldest  pioneers  can 
form  any  idea  of  what  a  plague  these  pests 
were  in  the  early  days.  The  rank  grass  of  the 
prairie,  encircling  so  many  lakes  and  sloughs, 
and  the  thick  underbrush  of  the  forests,  with 
the  many  bogs,  brooks  and  rivers,  bordered  by 
dense  thickets,  seemed  a  very  paradise  for  these 
blood-thirsty  little  vampires.  Should  it  be  cloudy, 
one  could  hardly  endure  them  during  the  day; 
but  when  evening  came,  the  atmosphere  was 
alive  with  them,  a  million  to  every  cubic  inch, 
and  as  ferociously  hungry  as  though  they  had 
fasted  for  a  year  and  a  day.  The  rude  huts 
of    the    settlers,    without    the    many    protecting 


14 
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HISTOKY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


05 


devices,  which  invention  and  money  furnish  to 
modern  life,  afforded  but  little  shelter  against 
this  annoying  foe. 

Thus  amid  Indians,  wolves,  mosquitoes  and 
wild  nature  in  general,  our  sturdy  pioneer  be- 
gan the  work  of  bringing  the  savage  Wilderness 
into  civilized  subjection.  A  great  work  too  it- 
was,  much  greater  than  we  of  today  can  ever 
appreciate.  No  houses,  no  lumber,  no  fields, 
no  .fences,  no  farming  implements,  no  seed,  no 
schools,  no  churches,  no  highways,  no  bridges, 
no  mills,  no  money,  no  food,  no  towns  wherein 
to  buy  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  no  railway 
to  bring  in  a  few  hours  these  things  from  afar; 
but  with  a  slow  ox  team  plodding  through  the 
tall  grass  of  the  prairie  and  the  thick  tangled 
underbrush  of  the  unbroken  forest,  now  fast 
in  some  bottomless  slough,  and  having  to  carry 
on  his  back  the  load  and  the  wagon  out  by 
piece  meal,  now  descending  at  the  peril  of  his 
neck  into  some  ravine,  and  again  with  much 
labor  climbing  the  steep  precipice  out  of  it,  here 
having  a  narrow  escape  from  drowning  in  at- 
tempting to  ford  a  river,  there  almost  dashed 
in  pieces  by  the  upsetting  of  the  wagon  over 
the  precipitous  edge  of  some  narrow  hillside 
trail,  ever  from  one  adventure  and  peril  to  an- 
otber,  on  the  long,  long  journev  of  one  hundred 
miles  to  St.  Paul  after  a  little  flour  and  pro- 
visions. Three  week?  are  spent  in  going^  to  this 
nearest  market  and  back,  without  shelter  from 
summer's  heat  and  rain,  and  from  winter's 
cold  and  stormy  blast.  TTp  mav  Tierish  in  the 
snow  and  storm,  his  family  in  the  little  bark 
roofed  shantv  mav  perish  from  cold  and  hnnsrer. 
Then  when  in  response  to  their  hard  toil  the 
(rround  bejran  to  vield  her  increase  and  their 
flocks  to  multiplv.  there  was  no  market  for  their 
little  surnlus  and  for  manv  a  year  all  their 
labor  and  sacrifice  Yielded  but  scant  reward.  All 
honor  to  the  sturdy  nioneer!  Wortbv  are  thev 
of  lone  remembrance!  "NTohlv  thev  suffered, 
bravely  they  stma'a'led  in  the  strife  with  savage 
nature  and  savage  men.  ninched  bv  novertv, 
around  under  the  heal«  of  one  advprsitv  after 
another:  vet  with  heroic  faith  and  fortitude 
thev  faced  each  foe ;  and  one  hv  one  ere  scarce 
the  battle  ceased,  they  fell  covered  with  the 
scars   of  toil    and   hardship,   leaving  to   us   who 


follow  the  fruits  of  their  glorious  victory,  in 
happy  homes,  fields  smiling  with  cultivation, 
cities  bustling  with  trade,  churches,  schools, 
manufactories,  transportation  facilities,  a  com- 
monwealth rich  and  prosperous.  The  modern 
pioneer  preceded  by  railroads,  telegraphs  and 
all  the  modem  conveniences,  knows  little  of 
pioneer  life  fifty  years  ago. 

The  year  1855  saw  a  number  of  settlements 
started  in  various  parts  of  the  county.  We  have 
seen  how  the  Germans  were  occupying  the  tim- 
ber farms  of  ilankato  and  Lime  Township,  how 
the  Welsh  colony  from  Emmett,  •  Wis.,  took  pos- 
session of  the  county  along  Minneopa  Creek, 
while  Welsh  immigrants  from  Ohio,  Illinois, 
and  Pennsylvania  settled  along  the  timber  of 
the  Minnesota  in  Judson  and  Cambria.  Be- 
sides those  we  have  already  named,  Eev. 
William  Williams,  a  Baptist  preacher,  settled 
with  his  family  on  Judson  Bottom.  David  T. 
Davis  and  family,  Henry  Hughes  and  family, 
Evan  .T.  Davis,  and  many  others  settled  in 
Judson  and  Cambria  this  year.  Just  across  the 
river  from  Judson  village  located  David  J. 
Williams  (Bradford)  and  Evan  Bowen  and 
families.  Later  they  moved  into  Blue  Earth 
County. 

We,  also,  noted  how  the  previous  year  settlers 
had  located  along  the  Maple  in  Eapidan  and 
near  the  junction  of  the  Watonwan  and  Blue 
Earth.  The  year  1855  saw  a  number  of  ac- 
cessions to  the  settlements  on  the  Watonwan 
and  the  claims  adjacent  to  that  stream  taken 
as  far  as  Ceresco  and  Lincoln.  Among  the 
settlers  of  that  year  to  locate  in  Garden  City 
were:  William  P.  Thompson  and  family,  John 
C.  Thompson  and  family,  Joseph  Derby  and 
family,  John  Derby  and  family,  John  B.  Skin- 
ner and  family.  James  Gale  and  family,  Edsort 
Gerry,  Mr.  Esmond,  Georg-e  Atwell.  Gehiel  Abar, 
David  D.  Hunter  and  family,  Ithimer  Town 
and  family,  Abraham  Lvtle  and  family.  J.  H. 
Greenwood  and  Warren  Greenwood.  In  Ceresco, 
Fellows  D.  Pease  and  William  D.  Gray  had 
located  in  the  summer  of  1855,  on  the  north  side 
oi  the  Watonwan,  a  little  above  the  mouth  of 
Perch  Creek.  Mr.  Gray  kept  a  small  store  of 
Indian  ffoods.  In  October  of  the  same  year 
A.  B.  Barney  and  D.  K.  Shaw  made  claims  in 


66 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Ceresco,  while  Charles  Barney  at  the  same 
time  settled  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Ver- 
non Township.  Other  settlers  who  located 
in  Vernon  this  year  were  Isreal  Wing,  James 
Taylor,  Marquis  L.  Plumb,  Eobert  Marley, 
Zenas  Scott,  George  M.  Keenan,  Joseph  W. 
Darling,  John  A.  Darling  and  Thos.  Doke. 
These  settled  along  the  Blue  Earth.  In  Shelby, 
besides  Korman  W.  Jackson,  his  son  Eli  N. 
Jackson,  son-in-law,  Hiram  Luddington,  and 
Edward  Brace,  who  made  claims  by  Lakes  Ida 
and  Jackson,  a  number  of  people  located  this 
year  along  the  Blue  Earth.  Among  these  were : 
Tobias  Miller,  John  Doke,  Wrn.  Clark,  Sanford 
Allen,  Kasper,  Geo.  J.  and  Simon  HofEman, 
Chas.  C.  Mack  and  Jesse  Jdack,  Eudolph,  Jo- 
seph and  William  Crandall.  In  the  summer  of 
1855,  Verpucius  A.  Highland  became  the  first 
settler  in  Sterling.  He  and  his  family  drove 
across  the  country  in  a  covered  wagon,  from 
Illinois,  and  located  on  sections  three  and  four. 
He  had  brought  with  him  a  fine  drove  of  cattle 
and  the  balance  of  the  summer  was  largely 
taken  up  in  putting  up  hay  for  the  coming 
winter.  As  all  hay  in  those  days  had  to  be  cut 
with  a  scA-the  and  gathered  with  a  hand  rake, 
it  was  not  an  easy  task  to  provide  food  enough 
for  a  herd  of  cattle  to  last  a  long  Minnesota 
winter.  Mr.  Highland  had  finally  got  his  hay 
all  put  up  in  stacks  near  his  cabin.  On  the 
l-ith  of  October,  the  smoke  of  a  big  prairie  fire 
rose  in  the  southwest  in  the  vicinity  of  Jackson 
Lake.  The  wind  was  blowing  a  hard  gale  from 
that  direction  and  the  grass  was  like  tinder. 
Soon  the  hurricane  of  flame  and  smoke  came 
leaping  and  bounding  across  the  prairie  straight 
for  the  Highland  home  and  haystacks.  Fortu- 
nately between  them  and  the  oncoming  wave 
of  fire  was  a  strip  of  breaking.  This  bit  of 
plowed  land  parted  the  wall  of  flame  and  it 
swept  swiftly  by  on  either  side,  lashed  to  fury 
by  the  wind,  and  leaving  a  trail  of  black  de- 
solation behind.  But  the  grass  was  so  dry  and 
abundant  that  a  fire  now  began  working  in 
from  both  sides  in  the  rear  of  the  plowed  land, 
and  every  effort  to  extinguish  it  proved  futile, 
and  in  a  short  time  all  that  remained  of  the 
stacks  of  hay,  which  had  cost  such  labor  and 
on  which  so  much  depended,  were  three  or  four 


ash   heaps.     After   a   desperate  fight,   the   cabin 
was  saved. 

Mr.  Highland  made  a  heroic  struggle  to  save 
his  cattle  by  procuring  food  for  them  wherever 
he  could,  but  many  of  them  perished.  In  those 
days  when  the  vast  illimitable  prairies  were 
covered  with  a  rank,  thick  herbage,  which  in  the 
many  sloughs  grew  to  the  height  of  eight  to 
twelve  feet,  a  prairie  fire  in  the  fall  of  the 
year,  when  all  was  dry,  was  most  dangerous. 
Driven  by  the  high  autumnal  winds  amid  such 
abundant  combustible  material,  nothing  could 
stay  its  fury.  With  the  roar  and  speed  of  the 
hurricane  it  sped  over  the  plains,  grand,  ma- 
jestic and  terrible,  like  the  burning  of  a  thou- 
sand Eomes,  and  struck  terror  into  the  heart 
of  the  pioneer.  Many  a  poor  settler  suffered 
from  its  rage.  His  fences,  his  sheds,  his  stacks 
of  hay  and  grain,  and  sometimes  his  little  cabin 
home  and  all,  would  in  a  few  moments  be  swept 
away  by  this  besom  of  destruction,  leaving  him 
and  his  family  and  stock  stripped  of  every- 
thing against  the  winters  cold  and  hunger.  Every 
autumn  the  smoke  of  these  fires  would  darken 
the  sun,  while  nightly  the  sky  would  be  lit  by 
their  glow.  Far  off  on  the  distant  prairies 
night  after  night  the  long  seried  ranks  of  shin- 
ing flames  could  be  seen.  A  beautiful  picture, 
when  the  danger  was  eliminated,  and  one  that 
haunts    the    memory    of    many    a    pioneer. 

On  August  20th,  1855,  the  election  precinct 
of  Eice  Lake  was  created  comprising  all  of  the 
county  lying  south  of  the  Le  Sueur  and  east 
of  the  Maple  rivers.  Chas.  Mansfield,  A.  W. 
Callen  ■  and  Joseph  L.  Alexander  were  appointed 
its  first  election  judges.  On  the  same  date  the 
precinct  of  Watonwan  was  also  formed,  with 
Chas.  Gilchrist,  Orlin  J.  Westover  and  S.  Titus 
Mills  as  Election  Judges.  It  had  for  its  boun- 
daries the  Maple  river  on  the  east,  the  county 
lines  on  the  south  and  west,  and  the  Town- 
ship line  between  107  and  108  for  its  northern 
limits. 

On  this  same  30th  of  August  occurred  the 
second  opening  of  bids  for  construction  of  the 
Big  Sioux  and  Mendota  road.  The  largest  bid 
was  for  the  construction  of  a  bridge  over  the 
Blue  Earth  river  between  Mankato  and  South 
Bend,    It  called  for  a  structure  eighty  feet  long 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


07 


by  sixteen  feet  wide,  consisting  of  five  spans, 
to  be  completed  by  May  1st,  1856.  This  im- 
portant contract  went  to  S.  J.  Frazier  of  St. 
Anthony,  who  sublet  much  of  it  to  T.  D.  War- 
ren of  Mankato,  and  work  was  started  during 
the  fall  and  continued  during  tlae  winter  with 
a  large  force  of  men.  The  frame  work  of  the 
bridge  was  all  completed  before  the  spring 
freshet,  and  the  floor  and  railings  put  in  place 
soon  after.  This  was  the  first  bridge  of  any 
importance  constructed  in  Blue  Earth  County 
and  was  a  great  convenience  to  the  settlers.  It 
cost   the    government    $10,000. 

On  the  9th  of  October,  1855,  was  held  the 
third  election  in  the  county.  The  main  ques- 
tion, which  concerned  Blue  Earth  County,  was 
how  to  regain  the  territory,  which  Le  Sueur 
had  taken  from  it  tlie  previous  winter.'  The 
majority  were  of  the  opinion  that  P.  K.  John- 
son was  the  best  man  to  send  to  the  Legisla- 
ture for  the  purpose,  because  of  his  acquaintance 
at  St.  Paul  and  elsewhere  through  the  terri- 
tory at  that  time.  He  was  accordingly  elected 
with  this  special  commission.  For  County  com- 
missioners, Theron  Parsons  was  elected  for  the 
three  year  term  and  A.  W.  Callen  for  Babcock's 
unexpired  term  of  one  year.  Mr.  Callen  hav- 
ing moved  away  never  qualified,  and  on  April 
7,  1856,  William  E.  Eobinson  was  appointed  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  The  board  consisted  in  1856 
of:  Theron  Parsons,  Chairman,  D.  C.  Evans 
and  (after  April  7th,)  William  E.  Eobinson. 
The  other  officers  elect  were :  Sheriff,  Francis 
Bunker ;  Eegister  of  Deeds,  George  H.  Marsh ; 
County  Treasurer,  John  0-  A.  Marsh ;  Judge  of 
Probate,  Minard  Mills ;  Surveyor,  Basil  l\Ioreland. 
At  this  election  Mankato  cast  86  votes.  South 
Bend  31,  Watonwan  ?2,  Eice  Lake  27,  making 
a  total  of  186  votes  in  the  county.  On  August 
2,  1855,  the  County  Board  had  received  a 
petition  signed  by  Philander  Prescott  and  many 
others  asking  for  the  establishment  of  two  vot- 
ing precincts,  one  at  the  Upper,  and  the  other 
at  the  Lower  Sioux  Agencies.  As  these  pre- 
cincts were  beyond  the  limits  of  Blue  Earth 
Countv  the  Board  doubted  its  iurisdiction  in 
the  matter  and  postponed  action.  On  the 
twenty-seventh  of  the  same  month  a  petition  was 
received  from  twenty-four  legal  voters  of  Brown 


County,  asking  for  an  election  precinct  to 
comprise  the  territory  between.  Blue  Earth  Coun- 
ty and  the  Sioux  Eeservation  and  laying  south 
of  the  Minnesota  Eiver.  This  petition,  though 
relating  to  a  matter  beyond  the  county's  boun- 
dary, was  granted.  New  Ulm  was  designated 
as  the  place  at  which  the  election  should  be 
held  and  August  Kisling,  Fredrick  Bebberke, 
and  Albert  Behnke  were  appointed  Judges  of 
Election;  and  Henry  Behnke  was  made  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace  and  Ludwig  Myer,  Constable. 
At  the  October  election  both  the  New  Ulm 
and  Lower  Sioux  Agency  precincts  cast  theii* 
ballots  for  the  Territorial  and  Legislative  can- 
didates, which  were  canvassed  among  the  Blue 
Earth  County  precincts.  There  were  45  votes  at 
New  Ulm  and  24  at  the  Lower  Agency.  They 
did  not  vote  for  any  county  official. 

The  Autumn  of  1855  saw  the  building  of 
the  two  first  school  houses  in  the  county,  one 
at  iiiankato  and  the  other  at  South  Bend.  Both 
were  rude  log  structures,  but  they  answered  the 
purpose  in  those  early  days.  As  there  was  no 
school  tax  raised  for  the  purpose,  the  buildingf? 
were  almost  wholly  erected  by  voluntary  con- 
tributions. John  S.  Hinckley  donated  one 
lot  and  the  Mankato  Claim  Company  gave  an- 
other for  the  site,  being  lots  three  and  four  in 
block  thirtjr-eight  of  Mankato.  Father  Thom- 
son and  A.  D.  Seward  took  the  lead  in  the 
erection  of  the  building.  Some  were  in  favor 
of  building  a  church,  which  could  be  used  for 
school  purposes  during  the  week,  but  the  ma- 
jority favored  the  construction  of  a  school  house, 
which  could  be  used  for  a  church  on  Sunday. 
All  worked  with  a  will  and  the  building  was 
completed  by  the  first  of  November.  It  was 
constructed  of  logs  hewn  on  one  side,  which 
were  laid  to  face  inward.  Its  size  was  24  feet 
bv  30  feet.  It  had  a  door  in  the  middle  of 
the  south  end  and  there  were  two  windows  on 
its  east  side  and  two  on  its  west  side.  The 
ladies  of  the  Presbyterian  church  had  formed 
that  summer  an  aid  society  and  had  collected 
a  few  dollars  from  suppers.  These  were  ex- 
pended in  buying-  window  curtains  and  a  stove 
for  the  new  edifice,  costing  about  twentv-five 
dollars.  Hardly  had  the  building  been  com- 
pleted, when  it  was  dedicated  by  a  mass  meeting 


68 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


to  protest  against  the  selling  of  liquor  to  In- 
dians. A.  D.  Seward  was  chairman,  and  Henry 
Jackson,  secretary.  Speeches  were  made  by 
Lewis  Branson,  Eev.  Thomson,  General  Flet- 
cher, the  "Winnebago  Agent,  and  others.  Eev. 
Thomson,  Theron  Parsons,  George  Maxfield, 
Samuel  Kitchen  and  John  S.  Hinckley  were 
appointed    a    committee    on   resolutions. 

It  seems  that  a  number  of  Winnebagoes  had 
been  to  town  and,  getting  drunk,  had  painted 
the  village  red.  A  sober  Indian  was  not  a 
desirable  person,  but  a  drunken  one  was  a  hun- 
dred times  worse.  Liquor  seemed  to  fire  all 
their  fiendish  propensities.  The  law  was  quite 
strict  against  selling  any  intoxicants  to  Indians, 
but  there  had  been  some  flagrant  violations, 
which  had  stirred  the  people  up.  On  the  mor- 
row after  this  meeting  the  people  turned  out 
en  masse  and  broke  up  all  the  liquor  shops  in 
town    and    poured    the  liquors    into    the    streets. 

For  a  brief  period  there  was  law  enforcement 
at  Mankato,  but  when  the  storm  of  righteous 
indignation  was  over,  poor  Lo  moistened  his 
tongue  in  fire  water  as  before.  The  school 
house,  soon  after  the  exciting  scenes  '  of  this 
reform  were  over,  was  put  in  charge  of  L.  G.  M. 
Fletcher,  the  first  regularly  emplo^^ed  teacher 
in  the  county.  The  district  only  had  $70.00 
in  its  treasury.  With  this  it  hired  Mr.  Fletcher 
for  two  months  at  $35.00  per  month,  but  he 
was  so  interested  in  the  work  that  he  donated 
his  services  for  an  extra  month.  There  were 
thirty-seven  scholars  enrolled  in  this  first  regu- 
larly  organized    District   School   of   the    County. 

The  South  Bend  school  house  was  started 
early  in  September,  with  Evan  Evans  (Pant) 
and  William  Francis  in  charge  of  its  construc- 
tion. Through  lack  of  funds  it  was  not  com- 
pleted until  early  in  the  winter.  Like  the  Man- 
kato building  it  served  for  educational  and  hall 
purposes  during  the  week,  and  on  Sunday  it 
answered  for  a  church.  This  school  house  was 
situated  near  the  present  residence  of  D.  P. 
Davis  in  South  Bend.  The  first  school  in 
South  Bend  had  been  taught  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1855  by  Mrs.  Joshua  Barnard  at  her  own 


home.  A  short  term  was  held  during  the  win- 
ter, with  Edward  Thomas  probably  as  teacher. 
A  literary  and  debating  society  was  organized 
early  in  the  winter  at  South  Bend,  which  met 
regularly  at  the  school  house.  D.  C.  Evans  or 
Eev.  Eichard  Davis  usually  presided.  It  was 
a  live  organization  in  which  every  important 
question  was  discussed,  with  perhaps  more  earn- 
estness than  learning.  But  the  whole  country 
was  interested,  and  came  many  miles  with  their 
ox  teams,  through  snow,  cold  and  darkness. 
Preaching  services  and  Sunday  schools  were 
regularly  observed  there   on  the   Sabbath. 

Dr.  Edward  Thomas  held  singing  schools 
there,  also,  and  the  deserted  village  of  today 
was  then  a  very  live  place.     In  the  fall  of  1855 

D.  C.  Evans  and  W.  E.  Price  erected  a  saw 
mill  at  the  village,  which  they  began  to  operate 
on  the  twenty-third  of  the  following  February,  to 
the  great  convenience  of  the  settlers  in  that 
vicinity.  In  connection  with  the  saw  mill  they 
ran  one  set  of  burrs  for  grinding  corn.  On  the 
5th  of  February  1856  a  post  office  was  estab- 
lished at  South  Bend,  with  Matthew  Thomp- 
son as  postmaster. 

In  the  Judson,  or  "Eureka"  settlement  as  it 
was  then  called,  Eev.  Jenkins  while  on  a  visit 
on  October  14th,  1855  organized  a  Congrega- 
tional church  with  thirteen  members  at  the  log 
cabin  of  John  Watkins.    Their  names  were  John 

E.  Davis  and  wife,  David  T.  Davis  and  wife, 
William  Jones  and  wife,  David  J.  Williams  and 
wife  and  daughter,  Hannah,  John  Watkins  and 
wife,  Owen  Eoberts  and  William  C.  Williams. 
On  February  21st,  1856,  Eev.  E.  Steele  Peake, 
missionary  for  the  Minnesota  Valley  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  conducted  the  first  service 
for  that  denomination  in  the  county,  at  the 
Mankato  log  school  house. 

The  assessors  returned  the  total  personal  pro- 
perty of  the  county  for  1855  at  $40,000.00. 
The  weather  was  very  fine  in  1855  until  about 
the  18th  of  December  when  there  was  a  sud- 
den change  to  snow  and  cold  and  the  year  closed 
wHh  a  big  blizzard.  The  balance  of  the  winter 
was  quite  severe  with  much  snow. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


THE  JVIAPLETON  AND  WELSH  COLONIES 
AND  OTHER  SETTLEMENTS  OF  1856. 


Claim  jumping  was  one  of  the  great  evils  of 
pioneer  life.  No  neighborhood  was  free  from  it 
and  nothing  seemed  so  effective  to  stir  up  the 
baser  passions  of  men.  Friends  were  made  bit- 
ter enemies.  Communities,  churches,  societies 
of  every  nature,  and  even  families  were  disrupted 
by  the  bitter  dissensions  engendered.  Both  the 
country  and  the  villages  suffered  from  the  rav- 
ages of  this  pernicious  evil.  Mankato  was  par- 
ticularly troubled  by  it  and  titles  there  were 
unsettled  for  years.  We  have  already  seen  how 
the  ownership  of  the  old  Mankato  Claim  Com- 
pany began  to  be  disputed  as  early  as  1853  by 
Warren  and  Van  Brunt.  Later,  rival  townsite 
companies  were  formed,  who  questioned  the  old 
company's  right  to  any  of  the  land.  Various 
private  individuals  took  possession  of  any  un- 
occupied lots  they  could  find.  Years  of  litiga- 
tion followed  in  which  the  old  company ,  for  the 
most  part  were  successful,  but  their  victory 
proved  a  very  barren  one  in  a  financial  way. 
An  important  step  in  the  final  settlement  of 
titles  at  the  county  seat,  occurred  on  January 
25th,  1856,  when  Hon.  A.  G.  Chatfield  as  Judge 
of  the  District  Court  entered  the  townsite  for 
tlie  old  company,  under  the  occupying  Claim- 
ant's Act.  Under  the  entry  a  patent  was  issued 
en  August,  1857,  by  the  government  to  the 
judge  in  trust  for  the  occupants  of  the  several 
lots  in  the  townsite. 

The  fight  against  the  location  of  the  Winne- 
bagoes  in  the  county  was  still  kept  up  during 
the  winter  of  1855-6,  and  numerously  signed 
petitions  were  sent  to  the  State  Legislature  to 
induce  it  to  send  a  memorial  to  Congress  in 
the  matter.  The  settlers  who  had  located  upon 
lands  within  the  reservation  limits,  before  the 
coming  of  the  Indians,  still  clung  to  their 
claims.  All  their  protests  and  memorials  how- 
ever, were  of  no  avail  and  some  abandoned  their 
farms  in  the  fall  of  1855,  while  in  the  spring  of 


1856  all  the  rest  were  obliged  to  vacate  their 
homes  and  move  off  the  reserve,  except  Isaac 
Andrus  and  Truman  Andrus,  who  made  so  vig- 
orous a  fight  that  the  officials  did  not  evict  them 
until  the  spring  of  1857.  Twenty-one  home- 
steaders in  all  were  thus  driven  from  their 
claims.  Nearly  all  had  comfortable  log  dwell- 
ings, outbuildings  and  few  acres  of  land  plowed 
and  fenced  into  fields.  Soon  after  their  vaca- 
tion the  Winnebago  chiefs  went  into  occupation 
of  these  buildings  and  the  squaws  planted  corn 
in  the  fields.  The  government  finally  paid  the 
settlers  for  their  improvements.  The  Van  Brunt 
saw  miU  was  within  the  reservation,  and  was 
appropriated  for  the  use  of  the  agency.  Mr. 
Van  Brunt  had  died  in  January,  1856,  but  his 
heirs  were  paid  for  the  mill  in  December,  1858. 
Basil  Moreland  was  the  only  settler  whom  the 
government  did  not  settle  with.  He  had  located 
in  the  spring  of  1854  on  the  Blue  Earth  rap- 
ids, just  above  the  present  Eapidan  Mill,  which 
was  considered  the  most  valuable  water  power  in 
the  county.  He  had  built  a  good  house,  and  in 
1856  tendered  the  government  pay  for  the  land. 
This  was  refused  because  it  was  part  of  the 
Winnebago  Agency,  and  Mr.  Moreland  evicted 
in  the  fall  of  1856.  The  government  was 
willing  to  pay  him  for  his  improvements,  but 
nothing  for  his  land,  with  its  valuable  water 
power.  Mr.  Moreland  it  is  said  had  been  offered 
$25,000.00  for  his  claim,  and  while  in  posses- 
sion of  the  Indians,  the  government  was  offered 
$1,000.00  a  year  for  a  thirty  year  lease  of  the 
big  water  power.  Hence,  Moreland  thought  it 
very  unjust  to  be  deprived  of  so  valuable  a  pro- 
perty without  any  compensation,  and  hence  re- 
fused any  offer  of  settlement  for  his  mere  im- 
provements. In  the  fall  of  1861  he  managed  to 
legain  possession  of  his  claim  in  spite  of  the 
Indians  Agent.  In  1862  he  came  very  near  getting 
a   patent  for   his   land.     Caleb    Smith,  the   Sec- 


69 


70  HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 

retary  of  the  Interior,  had   ordered  it  granted,  diana.     The  plat  has   one  block  marked   "Rail- 

and    the    patent   had    actually   been    issued    and  way  station  grounds,"  another  block  is  designat- 

sent  to    the  local   land   office   for   delivery,   but  ed  'School  house  square,"  while  a  tract  of  12.57 

J.  P.  Usher,  the  new  Secretary,  who  had  been  acres     is     labeled     "Shelbyville     Park."       Rev. 

1st  assistant  under   Smith,  and  on  the  resigna-  Powell    started    a    small    store    on    his    townsite 

tion  of  his   chief   had   been   appointed  his   sue-  during   the    summer.     Eobert    Shannon   built  a 

cesser  January   8th,   1863,   recalled   it  before   it  log   hotel    and    George    Marsh    opened    the   first 

reached  Moreland.     Moreland,  however,  remained  blacksmith  shop  there  at  the  same  time.     A  post 

on  his  claim  until  a  year  or  two  after  the  de-  office    was    established    later    in    the    year    with 

parture   of   the  Winnebagoes  in   1863.     On  the  Eev.    Powell    as    first    post    master.      The    new 

sale  of  the  Winnebago  lands  in  1864  this  tract  town  prospered  well  for  a  few  years,  and  we  wiU 

was    included,   but   no   one   cared   to    bid   much  have  more  to  say  of  it  later.     A  large  number 

for   it,    as    all   believed    Moreland's    claim   to    it  of   settlers   made    claims   in    Shelby    during  the 

would  be  held  valid.     Willard  &  Barney  bought  year.      Tilton    0.    Allen    and    his    cousin    Zoeth 

it    finally    with    other    land    for    only    $1,212.00  Allen,    made    claims    near    Shelbyville    on    April 

and  got  the  patent  for  it.     Just  fifty  years  after  12th,   and   during  the  same  month   came  Albert 

his    first    entry    upon    the    land,    Moreland    was  M.    Stephens,   William   J.    Chamberlain   and   Ar- 

awarded    $2,213.00    by    the    government    in    set-  del  D.  Pinkerton.     Other  settlers  of  Shelby  this 

tlement  of   his   claim,   which  he   had   prosecuted  year  were  Horace  Kinney,  George  Quiggle,  Lewis 

most    of    his    life.      He    was    then    an    old    man  and   Hosea    S.   True,   Milton   T.   Walbridge,   Or- 

living  in   Southern   California.  lando    and    Eichard    B.    Smith,    Bennoney    Far- 

But  to  return  to  the  events  of  1856.  On  ley,  John  L.  Samson,  William  Gregory,  Henry 
February  23rd  of  this  year  a  meeting  was  held  11.  Case,  Asa  P.  Jacobs,  Milton  Eoss,  Francis 
at  Mankato  to  agitate  the  question  of  a  mail  H.  Seward,  William  and  George  H.  Bobbins, 
route  between  Mankato  and  Winona,  and  re-  Anthony  Eitterbush,  Magnus  Eice,  Noble  G. 
solutions  were  sent  to  Washington  requesting  its  Eoot,  Abbington  Parrett,  John  McCabe,  Edmund 
establishment.  On  February  28th  P.  K.  John-  Kingsland,  Alexander  Kennedy,  Chas.  P.  Hutch- 
son  succeeded  in  having  the  Legislature  pass  an  ins,  Josiah  N.  Cheney,  Eeuben  Barrot,  Levi 
Act  restoring  to  Blue  Earth  county  the  south  Calhoon  and  many  others.  About  the  same  time 
half  of  townships  109  in  ranges  25  and  26,  be-  Eev.  James  Hindman,  Hiram  Biglow,  Chas. 
ing  the  territory  comprised  in  the  present  Wheaton,  John  Kimble,  Thomas  J.  Thorp  and 
Jamestown  and  Lime.  The  act  took  efiect  the  some  others  settled  over  the  line  in  Pleasant 
first  of  the  following  June  and  fixed  perma-  Mound.  The  year  1856  in  fact  saw  all  the  de- 
nently  the  northern  Jboundary  of  the  country.  sirable   claims   along   the    Blue   Earth   river   and 

In    October,    1855,    Eev.    John    W.    Powell,    a  Jackson  lake  in  Shelby  taken. 
Methodist    minister    from    Shelbyville,    Indiana,         In    the    winter    of    1854-5    a    school    teacher, 

located  in  Blue   Earth   County,  being  about  the  by   the   name    of   Murphy,    living   in   New  York 

first  preacher  of  that   denomination   in   the  set-  City  advertised  in  a  paper  a  call  for  a  meeting 

tlement.      He   was   put   in   charge -of   classes    at  to    form    a    colony   to   locate    on    western   farms. 

Mankato    and    South   Bend    and    at   Eureka   and  A  number  of  persons  responded  to  this  call  and 

Dakota    in    Nicollet    County.      Besides    minister-  an  organization   formed   entitled  the  "Minnesota 

ing  to  the   scattered  flocks   of  these   four   com-  Settlement  Association.'*    A.  Murphy  was  elected 

munities,  Eev.  Powell  found  time  for  other  mat-  president,     William    Wilde,,    secretary,    Ezra    L. 

ters.      Soon    after   his   arrival   he   made    a   claim  I'erguson,    Corresponding    secretary    and    A.    A. 

on   the   west   half   of   section    thirty-five,    in   the  Wessels,     Treasurer.       A     fee     oif     $10.00     was 

present    township    of    Shelby.      Early    in    April,  charged  each  member  when  Joining.     The  bene- 

1856,  he  had-  this  surveyed   and  platted  by  A.  fits  assured  him  in  return  consisted   of:    cheap 

D.    Seward    into    a    Townsite,    which    he    called  transportation  west;  an  opportunity  to  pre-empt 

"Shelbyville,"   after   his   old  home  town   in   In-  160  acres  of  the  best  farm  land;  one  lot  in  the 


b^^gii^  ;5a«MH'^i?i^  ^^"g°i:.?«"vj_'-.'-?^ 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUIv^TY. 


71 


townsite,  which  was  to  be  platted  in  the  midst 
ol  the  new  settlement^  which  was  certain  of 
being  a  big  town;  and  having  a  well  settled  com- 
munit}'  at  once,  instead  of  the  isolation  inci- 
dent to  the  ordinary  pioneer  life. 

Mr.  Murphy  had  organized  a  similar  colony 
before,  and  therefore  had  experience,  besides 
a  natural  gift  in  that  direction.  During  his 
summer  vacation  he  made  a  trip  through  the 
west  in  quest  of  a  suitable  location.  He 
reported  in  favor  of  Southern  Minnesota,  but 
did  not  determine  upon  the  particular  locality. 
During  the  winter  of  1855-6,  it  was  found  that 
Robert  Taylor,  who  had  become  a  member  of 
the  Association,  was  but  recently  returned  from 
Southern  Minnesota,  where  he  had  in  1852 
planted  the  "Rolling  Stone  Colony"  above  Wi- 
nona. He  was  at  once  delegated  to  proceed  to 
Southern  Minnesota,  and  spy  out  the  best  loca- 
tion for  this  new  colony.  He  went  to  the  Crow 
iiiver  country  first  and  was  inclined  to  take 
the  colony  there  for  a  time.  Then  he  came  to 
Blue  Earth  County  and  with  the  aid  of  L.  G.  M. 
Fletcher,  who  had  helped  make  the  survey, 
stlected    the    lands    along    the    ilaple    river    and 


around  Lura  Lake,  in  Sterling  and  Mapleton 
Townships,  where  as  yet  there  were  only  two  or 
t]iree  settlers.  These  were  all  in  Sterling,  and 
comprised,  besides  V.  A.  Highland,  his  two 
brothers-in-law,  Barnabas  W.  Simmons  and  Hor- 
ace M.  De  Wolf,  who  were  located  just  north 
of  Sterling  Center.  They  were  all  originally  of 
New  England  stock,  and  Simmons  had  located 
first  on  October  11th,  1851,  just  across  the  line 
in  Section  33  of  Lyra.  Mr.  De  Wolf  came  to 
Sterling  in  1855  and  claimed  in  sections  9  and 
10.  In  the  fall  of  1855  a  Dr.  Hiram  Harrington 
had  made  a  claim  in  section  22  of  Sterling  and 
put  up  the  logs  for  his  shanty  and  gone  back 
to  his  old  home  in  Iowa  for  the  winter.  He  re- 
turned to  his  claim  in  the  spring  and  lived  there 
for   a  time. 

Through  its  advertising  the  colony  had  at- 
tracted much  attention  and  its  membership  was 
drawn  from  nearly  all  the  northern  states  though 
the  majority  were  from  New  York.  From  a 
list  preserved  by  Gilbert  Webster,  the  last  sec- 
retary of  the  Association,  it  seems  there  were 
239  persons  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  so- 
ciety   (see    foot    note    for    names).      The    main 


Minnesota  Settlement  Association  known  as  the 
Mapleton  Colony,  which  came  to  Mapleton,  Blue 
Earth    County,   Jlinn.,   May,   1856. 

The  officers  were:  Robert  Taylor,  President  and 
Pioneer;    Wm.    Wilde,   Secretary. 

MEMBERS. 


C.  H.  Andrus. 
E.  C.  Andrus. 
J.  D.  AUwood. 
A.  B.  Bunn. 
R.  E.  Bannon. 
James  Barker. 
Thos.   Blair. 

J.  Bodwell. 
S.  Y.  Bogart. 
J.   S.   Bard. 
P.  Bodine. 

E.  Brown. 

P.  H.  Behring. 
Thos.  Brown. 

F.  W.  Buckingham. 

D.  H.  Burleigh. 
J.   Belden. 
Geo.   Baldwin. 
C.   Benny. 

A.   W.   Birge. 
T.   Brown  Jr. 
J.  Bogga. 
A.   Bain. 
John  Blair. 

G.  W.   Colon. 
Ammi.  Coy. 
W.  Curtis. 

H.  L.  Conklin. 


W.   M.    Clinton. 
J.   Camack. 
D.  H.   Carpenter. 
P.  M.  Curtis. 
H.  D.   Copley. 
J.  B.  Crosby. 
J.   Cook. 
J.  Culver. 
0.  Case. 

R.   A.   Carpenter. 
S.  G.  Campey. 
H.  F.  Cook. 
S.   J.   Camps. 
G.  W.  Colon. 
J.  Canlon. 
J.  Corbit. 
A.  L.  Clough. 
C.   H.   Gushing. 
G.   Conger. 
James  Cornell. 
C.   Conley. 
J.  W.  Cracken. 
J.  G.  Christie. 
R.   Canfield. 
R.  V.  Coy. 
Joseph  Dobie. 
John  Dawson. 
L.  Deming. 


L.   Dudley. 

J.    H.   Dickerman. 

J.   Dixon. 

E.  Dixon. 

A.  C.  Doolittle. 

B.  Durkee. 

J.  H.   Dunnell. 
R.   Dooley. 
G.  W.  Ewing. 
J.   M.   Eibert. 
T.  Elliott. 
G.  Eagen  Jr. 
J.  H.  Evans. 
E.  P.  C.   Fowler. 
Dan.    Foley. 
E.   L.  Furgeson. 
J.   B.    Fitzgerald. 
T.   W.   Planner. 
D.  Frisbie. 
D.  W.  Fox. 
G.   P.  Fox. 
W.  Faber. 
R.   Fowles. 
Carlos  Fogg. 

C.  L.   Francis. 
A.   D.  Foy. 

L.  A.  Fleming. 
A.   T.   Fowler. 
Alex.  Gregg. 
W.   George. 
H.  J.  Goode. 
J.   A.    Gibbon. 
A.  Galloway. 
Robt.   Goodyear. 
Allen  Gibson. 


C.   W.   Goodrich. 

H.   P.   Gardiner. 

L.   G.   Hoyt. 

Thos.   Hill. 

J.    D.    Hamm. 

Wm.   Howe. 

R.  0.  Humphrey. 

R.  Hutell. 

J.  P.  Harrington. 

A.  Hollyer. 
V.  Hoffman. 
J.   E.   Harboe. 
J.^.  Hamilton. 
Wesley   Hindman. 
J.  Heald. 

M.   B.  Haynes. 
Geo.   Hart. 
J.   Hemperly. 
J.  M.   Hitchcock. 

B.  H.   Hunt. 
E.  Horton. 
V.  Hoffman. 
J.  L.   Hart. 
S.  E.  Hicks. 
O.   C.   Healey. 
R.  S.  Jones. 
E.  Jennings. 
J.  Jordan. 

A.  P.  Jacobs. 
N.  Jackman. 
John   Johnson. 
E.   E.  Johnson. 
S.  J.  Jones. 
W.  Jennings. 
R.  A.  Judd. 


HISTORY  0'^  BLUE  EAETH  COtTNTY. 


body  of  the  colony  left  New  York  about  the 
middle  of  April,  1856.  They  contracted  with 
the  railroad  to  carry  them  to  Dunleith,  op- 
posite Dubuque,  Iowa,  for  $11.75  apiece  for 
adults  and  half  that  price  for  children.  There 
were  six  carloads  of  people,  and  their  baggage 
filled  six  other  cars.  Dunlieth  was  then  the 
nearest  point  to  Minnesota  reached  by  the  rail- 
road. Our  colonists  crossed  the  river  to  Du- 
buque, where  a  meeting  was  held  to  explain 
away  some  misunderstanding-s,  which  had  risen 
between  some  of  the  members  and  the  ofEicers. 
A  grocery  association  was  also  formed  here, 
which  purchased  $2,000.00  worth  of  provisions. 
Committees  were  appointed  to  secure  wagons 
and  other  farm  implements  for  such  of  the 
colony  as  wanted  them.  Many  of  the  colonists 
especially  from  Illinois,  Indiana  and  Iowa  made 
the  trip  overland  with  wagons  and  stock.  The 
main  body  of  the  colony,  after  completing  all 
necessary  arrangements  at  Dubuque,  embarked 
on  the  City  Belle  for  St.  Paul,  and  thence  to 
Mankato  on  the  Eeveille.  The  latter  was  a 
good  sized  boat  for  the  Minnesota,  still  it  was 
well  crowded,  since  the  party  numbered  over 
300  persons,  men,  women  and  children.  A  St. 
Paul  paper  of  that  date  states  that  there 
were  350  adults  and  90  children  in  the  party. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  5th  day  of 
May   1856,  they  landed  in  Mankato,  the  largest 


company  of  immigrants,  which  had  arrived  at 
one  time  in  the  state.  Luckily  they  were  not  de- 
pendent on  the  accommodations  of  the  village, 
which  were  far  too  limited  for  such  overwhelm- 
ing numbers.  They  had  brought  with  them  sev- 
eral tents,  which  they  pitched  along  the  levee. 
Soon  after  their  arrival  one  of  their  number 
named  Wall,  died,  and  was  buried  near  the 
river  bank  below  Main  street.  Like  most  all  the 
rest  of  the  company  he  was  a  young  man,  who 
had  come  west  to  seek  his  fortune.  Years  later 
the  river  cut  into  the  bank,  exposing  his  coffin, 
and  the  remains  were  removed  to  the  old  ceme- 
tery below  town.  After  spending  a  few  days 
awaiting  their  conveyances  our  colonists  started 
for  the  promised  land,  which  Mr.  Taylor  had  se- 
lected. They  followed  the  old  trail  by  the  site  of 
Ft.  Le  Huillier,  but  there  was  a  freshet  tu  the  Le 
Sueur  river  so  the  teams  could  not  ford  it.  A 
number  of  the  men  crossed  in  canoes  and  con- 
tinued their  journey  on  foot  carrying  their 
bedding  and  provisions  on  their  backs.  Pass- 
ing through  Eapidan  and  Lyra  and  using  the 
cabins  of  the  evicted  settlers  for  stopping  places, 
they  reached  Mr.  Highland's  home,  on  the 
south  boundary  of  the  reservation,  on  the  sec- 
ond day.  They  gazed  with  longing  eyes  upon 
the  beautiful  country  they  passed  through,  but 
it  all  belonged  to  the  wards  of  Uncle  Sam.  At 
last,    however,    they    had    reached    their    land    of 


T.  Kragin. 

A.  D.  H.  Kemper. 

Silas   Keenan. 

D.  B.  Kent. 

J.   E.  Le   Cavellier. 

W.   H.   Leonard. 

T.  B.  Louder. 

S.  Loomis. 

D.  Loekwood. 

G.   H.   Lawrence. 
M.   Leonard. 
H.   Lee. 
J.  W.  Lane. 

E.  X).  Loveland. 

C.  A.  Lane. 
J.  W.  Mead. 
A.  Murphy. 

D.  Meredith. 
James   Morris. 
John   Morris. 
J.   Mitchell. 

J.  Mounds. 
J.  Malett. 
L.  Mathrop. 

F.  Y.  McNamee. 
Ira   Merrill. 
James  Monroe. 
A.   W.   Miner. 


G.  H.  Moore. 

A.  Menzias. 
G.   Miller. 
John   W.   ileek. 
John  McCormack. 
H.  V.  McNeal. 
Wm.   Norton. 

B.  G.   ISfevill. 
J.  Odell. 

H.   Parker. 
J.   Phillips. 
Gilbert   D.   Pitts. 
W.   G.   Pike. 
J.   Pope. 
John  Price. 
L.  E.   Pinney. 
J.   G.   Parker. 
G.  B.  Quigley. 
J.  S.  Robertson. 
J.   Robertson  Jr. 

B.  F.  Read. 

C.  Ronald. 

J.  M.  Rockefeller. 
S.   Mc.  Reynolds. 
H.  N.  Rust. 
B.    S.   Read. 
0.  B.  Marsh. 
A.  Mead. 


C.  N.  Rockwell. 
J.   L.   Sanborn. 

A.  S.   Smith. 
E.   Smith. 

J.  Sherman. 

D.  Stell  Jr. 
J.  Southwick. 
Fred.  Strong. 
H.  Stangnett. 
S.  S.  Saxton. 
J.  H.  Smith. 
H.  G.  Smith. 
C.  Selden. 

B.  H.   Seabering. 
J.   L.    Samson. 
G.   0.   Saxton. 

L.    Sutherland. 

A.  Stevens. 

S.    E.    Standish. 
J.   E.  Smith. 
W.   D.    Stewart. 
W.  H.  Shelby. 

B.  W.  Todd. 
Robert   Taylor. 
B.  Tuesdale. 
Isaac   Tabor. 
M.  Thompson. 
S.   H.   Thomas. 


C.   E.   Tuttle. 
W.  H.  Tate. 
C.  H.  Thayer. 
W.  R.  Targee. 
L.  H.  Tyler. 
Wm.  Twaits. 
Z.   C.  Tabor. 
J.    Tillinghast. 

F.  R.  Tenny. 
L.  Willard. 
J.  L.  Wilde. 
Wm.   Wilde. 
C,   C.   Watts. 
W.  Whitmore. 
H.   C.  Welsh. 
Gilbert   Webster. 
T.  H.  Whitiker. 
C.  A.  Williams. 
W.   A.   Ward. 

G.  L.  Wentz. 
W.  C.  Whipple. 
John  F.  Williams. 
E.  L.  Wilde. 

H.   J.  Wakefield. 
J.  Wilson. 
B.  Wilcox. 
M.   Witmer. 
A.  A.  Weasels. 


EISTOEY  O'E'  BLUE  EARTH  COUlsrTY. 


Promise.  All  that  fair  and  fertile  region  along 
the  Maple  and  about  Lake  Lura,  South  of  the 
Agency  line^  was  the  rich  inheritance  they  had 
been  seeking.  Through  the  aid  of  L.  G.  M.  Flet- 
cher, who  had  accompanied  them  for  the  pur- 
pose (as  he  had  been  on  the  government  sur- 
vey), they  blocked  out  the  land  into  claims  of 
160  acres  each.  Only  65  claims  could  be  found 
having  the  required  amount  of  timber.  Three 
of  the  head  ofEicers  were  allowed  the  first  pick. 
The  rest  of  the  claims  were  numbered  and  di- 
vided by  lot,  but  as  there  were  139  persons  pres- 
ent entitled  to  claims,  more  than  half  the  tickets 
were  blanks.  The  result  was  great  dissatisfac- 
tion. Many  who  drew  good  claims  were  young 
men  without  families,  whose  only  purpose  was 
speculation,  while  many  heads  of  families  drew 
blanks.  A  general  row  followed  and  much 
claim  jumping.  Most  of  the  disappointed  scat- 
tered, some  went  into  the  timber  country  near 
j\lankato,  others  crossed  the  line  into  Faribault 
County  and  elsewhere,  while  quite  a  number  re- 
turned home  disgusted.  The  northwest  quarter 
of  section  seven  of  Mapleton  and  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  twelve  of  Sterling  were  chosen 
for  the  townsite,  which  was  surveyed  and  plat- 
ted July,  1856,  by  M.  B.  Haynes,  a  young  civil 
engineer,  who  was  a  member  of  the  colony.  It 
was  named  "Mapleton"  after  the  ilaple  river. 
The  plat  was  signed  by  Eobert  Taylor,  James 
Cornell  and  John  Mund  as  proprietors.  The 
town  lots  were  divided  among  all  the  members 
by  a  drawing.  Nothing  came  of  the  townsite 
project,  and  the  land  was  jumped  in  a  short 
time  by  two  enterprising  claim  hunters. 

In  April,  1856,  Uriah  Payne  had  located  a 
claim  in  Sections  seven  and  eighteen  in  Mapleton 
township,  probably  the  first  claim  taken  in  that 
town.  He  then  returned  to  Wisconsin  to  prepare 
for  moving  to  his  new  home.  There  he  fell  in 
with  a  colony  of  settlers  from  Fond  du  Lac,  who 
were  drifting  westward  in  quest  of  new  homes. 
They  were  Ira  Annis,  wife  and  five  children  and 
]iis  sister  now  (Mrs.  J.  W.  Sprague) ,  Azra  Annis 
and  wife,  Asa  P.  Sherman,  wife  and  two  child- 
ren, E.  B.  Hall,  wife  and  one  child,  Eussell 
Franklin,  wife  and  one  child,  Charles  Durkee 
and  Jonathan  Holbrook.  The  company,  includ- 
ing Mr.   Payne   and  his  three  sons,   comprised 


25  souls,  and  were  conveyed  in  six  or  seven 
covered  wagons,  all  but  one,  drawn  by  oxen.  As 
the  colony  had  no  special  destination,  Mr.  Payne 
piloted  them  towards  his  claim  on  the  Maple.  At 
Owatonna  a  halt  was  made,  while  a  few  of  the 
men  went  forward  with  Mr.  Payne  in  a  light 
wagon,  drawn  by  the  only  span  of  horses  in 
the  company,  owned  by  Ira  Annis.  After  view- 
ing the  country  on  the  Maple  all  were  well 
pleased  with  it  and  returned  after  their  fami- 
lies. The  party  finally  reached  the  Maple  on 
June  20th  and  settled  in  Mapleton  and  Sterling. 
They  were  soon  joined  by  Joel  Holbrook.  This 
company  observed  their  first  Independence  day 
with  a  celebration  at  their  tent.  Guns  were  fired. 
Captain  E.  B.  Hall  delivered  an  oration,  and 
the  best  dinner  possible  was  served.  Emil  Bue- 
card  and  family,  also,  settled  in  the  present 
town  of  Mapleton  the  same  summer. 

In  the  counties  of  Jackson  and  Gallia,  Ohio, 
there  was  a  large  ^^^elsh  settlement,  which  had 
emigrated  mostly  from  Cardiganshire,  Wales. 
They  were  mostly  farmers,  but  their  Ohio  loca- 
tion was  ill  adapted  for  that  calling,  as  it  was 
a  very  rugged  and  sterile  country. 

Iron  ore  was  discovered  in.  the  hills  and  a 
number  of  the  farmers  united  into  a  company 
under  the  name  of  "Jefferson  Furnace"  to 
manufacture  iron.  In  those  anti-bellum  days 
ihere  was  little  demand  for  iron,  and  our  farmer 
stock  holders  saw  no  dividends,  and  were  becom- 
ing doubtful  if  they  ever  should  see  any  of  the 
capital  they  had  invested,  as  the  company's  in- 
debtedness amounted  to  $75,000.00.  They  had 
read  Eev.  Eichard  Davis  communications  in  the 
Welsh  ■  periodicals  regarding  the  fertile  farm 
lands  of  Minnesota.  Edward  Thomas  of  South 
Bend  had  lived  among  them  for  a  time,  and  his 
personal  letters  increased  their  interest  in  the 
new    Welsh    settlement    in    Blue    Earth    County. 

On  October  8th,  1855,  a  delegation  of  six  per- 
sons arrived  at  South  Bend  from  Jackson,  Ohio, 
to  inspect  the  country.  Their  names  were  David 
P.  Davis,  Sr.,  John  I.  Jones,  Thomas  Jones 
(Cooper),  Eichard  Morgan,  Evan  Williams  and 
James  Morgan.  They  were  greatly  pleased  with 
the  beauty  of  the  land  and  the  fertility  of  its 
soil.  After  investing  in  some  lots  in  South 
"f^?nd  for  fear  they  would  be  aU  gone  by  spring, 


74 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


they  returned  after  their  families,  and  to  bring 
a  favorable  report  to  their  neighbors.  The  re- 
sult was  that  by  the  spring  of  1856  a  large 
number  of  Welsh  people  from  Jackson  and  Gal- 
lia Counties  were  ready  to  emigrate.  They 
started  in  April,  from  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  down 
the  Ohio  river  and  thence  up  the  Mississippi  to 
St.  Paul  on  the  steamer  "Granite  State."'  They 
reached  the  latter  place  only  a  few  hours  later 
than  the  Mapleton  colony,  but  were  obliged  to 
tarry  there  three  or  four  days  before  they  could 
get  a  boat  up  the  Minnesota.  They  finally  bar- 
gained with  Captain  Samuel  G.  Cabbell  to  take 
them  in  his  boat,  "H.  T.  Yeatman."  The  colony 
numbered  121  souls  and  with  their  baggage 
made  a  fair  sized  load. 

The  Yeatman  was  a  stern  wheeler,  rather 
large  for  the  Minnesota  river,  and  this  was  her 
first  trip  on  this  stream.  Though  the  water  was 
high  the  boat  had  much  difficulty  in  making 
ihe  many  sharp  curves.  Her  smoke  stacks  were 
knocked  down  by  overhanging  trees,  and  her  sides 
scratched,  so  her  progress  was  necessarily  slow. 
At  last  the  tired  passengers  were  all  landed 
safely  at  the  South  Bend  levee  on  Saturday  the 
10th  of  May,  1856,  almost  one  month  after 
leaving  their  Ohio  liomes. 

The  hospitality  of  the  village  in  spite  of  all 
prior  preparations  was  taxed  to  the  limit,  to 
accommodate  such  a  crowd.  Three  or  four  fam- 
ilies occupied  the  log  school  building,  and  every 
house  and  shanty  was  packed  to  the  attic. 
They  were  a  religious  people  who  had  not  failed 
to  observe  a  single  Sabbath  on  their  long  and 
weary  journey.  The  first  Sunday  after  their  ar- 
rival, an  open  air  meeting  was  held  in  a  grove 
beside  a  small  pond  called  "Llyn  Tegid."  Kev. 
Eichard  Davis  preached,  and  the  hymns  of  old 
AVales  were  sung  with  much  zest  and  gladness 
in  this  God's  first  temple. 

Most  of  the  workmen  employed  on  the  govern- 
ment bridge,  just  completed  over  the  Blue  Earth, 
were  young  fellows  from  St.  Paul  and  else- 
v/here,  who  had  no  intention  of  taking  claims 
in  Blue  Earth  County.  Hearing  that  a  b^'g  Welsh 
colony  was  due  in  South  Bend  in  a  few  days, 
they  concluded  that  here  was  a  fine  opportunity 
for  speculation  in  land.  They  accordingly  scat- 
tered through  the  country  and  took  possession  of 


every  desirable  tract  of  land  they  could  find  and, 
when  the  colonists  arrived,  they  asked  them 
$300.00  per  claim  for  their  right.  The  Welsh 
■s\'ere  anxious  to  settle  in  one  neighborhood  so 
as  to  secure  the  religious  and  social  privileges  to 
which  they  had  been  accustomed.  Weeks  were 
spent  by  them  tramping  over  the  country  look- 
ing for  suitable  claims,  but  between  the  squat- 
ters and  the  Indians  the  desirable  land  had  all 
been  appropriated.  About  one  fourth  of  the 
colony  at  last  went  to  Le  Sueur  County  and 
took  claims  there  in  Sharon  and  Cleveland 
Townships.  The  squatters  at  last  began  to  get 
impatient,  as  they  had  no  thought  of  even  filing 
on  their  claims,  and  they  sold  for  whatever 
they  could  get.  Our  colonists  now  settled  mostly 
in  the  vicinity  of  South  Bend  and  Minneopa 
Creek,  and  in  Cambria  Township.  Among  the 
latter  were  Dr.  David  Davis,  and  his  sons  Da- 
vid, John  and  Peter  S.  Davis,  Darid  P.  Davis, 
Sr.,  and  his  sons  Daniel,  John,  David  and  Eben  P. 
Davis,  David  Price  and  family,  John  Walters 
and  his  sons,  John,  Stephen,  and  David  Wal- 
ters, and  his  sons-in-law,  William  P.  Jones  and 
Thos.  D.  Lloyd,  and  Eichard  Morgans  and  his 
sons,  James,  Isaac  and  William  Morgans.  Among 
those  who  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Minneopa 
Creek  were :  Isaac  Woods,  and  his  son  Walter  A. 
Woods,  Evan  Williams  and  his  son,  William  B. 
Williams,  Thomas  J.  Jones,  (Cooper)  and  his 
son  David  J.  Jones,  and  John  I.  Jones,  and 
his  family. 

About  July  1st,  1856,  Eev.  Jenkin  Jenkins  ar- 
rived and  located  in  Cambria  Township,  then  call- 
ed the  Cottonwood  Settlement,  and  took  charge 
of  the  Congregational  church.  Practically  all  the 
colonists  from  Jackson  and  Gallia  Counties, 
Ohio,  were  Calvinistic  Methodists,  and  on 
July  3rd,  a  church  of  that  denomination  was 
organized  in  Cambria,  at  the  log  cabin  of  David 
P.  Davis,  by  Eev.  Eichard  Davis,  with  about 
22  members.  It  was  called  "Horeb"  after  a 
church  to  which  most  of  the  membership  had 
belonged  in  Jackson. 

On  July  7th,  1856  a  new  election  precinct  was 
organized  comprising  the  territory  now  embraced 
in  the  Townships  of  Shelby  and  Pleasant  Mound 
and  Koble,  G.  Eoot,  James  McCannahan  and  A. 
B.   Parrot  appointed  Judges  of  Election;  A.  B. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


75 


Parrot,  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Wm.  A.  Clark, 
Constable,  and  Horton  Nelson,  Eoad  Surpervisor. 
It  was  named  "Shelby"  at  the  suggestion  of 
Eev.  J.  W.  Powell  after  "Shelby,  Indiana." 
On  July  9th,  1856  the  seventh  election  precinct 
in  the  county  was  created,  called  "Mapleton," 
after  the  Maple  Eiver.  It  embraced  the  present 
Townships  of  Sterling,  Mapleton  and  Danville 
and  its  first  ofEicers  were:  Judges  of  Election: 
Vespucius  A.  Highland,  James  Cornell  and  0. 
E.  Marsh,  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Robert  Tay- 
lor and  Albert  A.  We>isells,  Constables,  John 
Dixon  and  James  Dobin,  Road  Supervisor,  Wm. 
Wildes.  The  same  territory  was  on  the  same  date 
made  into  a  school  district  and  numbered  5. 

The  year  1856  saw  the  coming  of  the  first  set- 
tlers into  the  present  town  of  Danville.  Hector 
Sharp  is  generally  accredited  to  have  been  the 
first  settler.  He  located  in  section  27  in  Jlay, 
1856  and  a  month  later  came  Nicholas  J. 
Kremer,  who  had  been  living  at  Wabasha, 
Minn.,  about  a  year,  and  with  him  came  Francis 
and  Bernhard  Phillips,  George  Mosser  and  Mi- 
cheal  Schaller.  The  Phillipses  and  Mosser  were 
from  Erie  County  N.  Y.,  while  the  Kremers 
were  from  Fon  Du  Lac,  Wis.  They  built  their 
first  cabin  in  Danville  together  in  June  1856, 
on  the  Phillips  claim  in  section  thirty-four. 
Francis  Phillips,  Sr.,  Joined  them  about  the  first 
of  September,  and  John  Kramer,  Sr.,  and  his 
wife  and  their  three  sons,  Peter,  J.  P.  and  John 
arrived  in  October.  All  lived  in  the  same  cabin 
for  a  short  time.  In  October  came  also  William 
Larabee  and  his  son,  Samuel  Larabee  and  wife 
and  four  children.  During  the  same  summer 
and  fall  came  Isaac  Sherman,  Nelson  Gray, 
Stephen.  Kelly,  Noadiah  W.  Towne,  Ahijah  H. 
and  Amos  Chambers,  John  and  Josiah  Rogers. 
All  these  located  along  the  Big  Cobb  river,  which 
passed  diagonally  through  the  town  of  Danville, 
and  is  fringed  with  a  narrow  belt  of  timber. 

On  a  former  page  we  spoke  of  Edson  Gerry 
m.aking  a  claim  on  the  Watonwan  in  the  fall  of 
1854  in  company  with  George  Lamberton,  Ed- 
ward Thomson  and  others.  This  claim  has  quite 
a  history,  a  brief  outline  of  which  we  shall  now 
give. 

Mr.  Gerry  was  a  native  of  the  old  Bay  state, 
but  in  1854  resided  at  Berlin,  Wis.     He  was  a 


music  teacher  by  profession.     The  claim  he  took 
in  Blue  Earth  county  was  the  Northwest  quar- 
ter of  section  twenty-six  of  Garden   City,  town- 
ship,   the    site    of    the    present    village    of    that 
name.    He  put  up  a  log  claim  shanty  near  where 
the  Baptist  Church    now    stands.      Finding  there 
were  a  number  of  excellent  water    powers  on   his 
claim  he    conceived  the  idea  of   founding   a   city 
thereon  and  utilizing  the  water  power  for  mills  and 
factories.    He  also  procured  to  be  entered  by  third 
parties  two  other  quarter  sections  adjoining  on  the 
east  and  south,  which  he  paid  for  and  had  con- 
veyed to  him  later.     In  the  spring  of  1855,  he 
built  a  log  house  on  the  claim  in  the  Northeast 
quarter    of    section    twenty-six,    which    had    been 
preempted    by    him    in    the    name    of    Elizabeth 
Olds,    and    broke    quite    a    tract    of    land.      This 
sujnmer  occurred  the  first  known  cyclone  in  this 
locality.   It   unroofed  his   house   and  uprooted   a 
strip   of   large   oak  timber   across  his   claim   and 
along  the  Watonwan.     As  he  had  used  his  pre- 
emption   right    in    Wisconsin,    Mr.    Gerry    knew 
he  could  not  hold,  or  prove  up  on  his  original 
claim   himself.     So   in  the   fall   of   1855   he   re- 
turned to  his  Berlin  house  and  procured  a  mul- 
atto  named,    Nelson   W.    Askins,    a   musical    ac- 
quaintance of  his  at  Berlin,  to  go  with  him  to 
Garden  City  and  make  the  necessary  filing  and 
payment   to   secure   a  patent   for   the   land,   and 
then  on  January  23,  1856  had  Askins  convey  the 
title    to    Gerry's    brother-in-law.    Rev.    Anthony 
Case,    a    Baptist    minister,    then    of    Fox    Lake, 
Wis. 

At  this  time  there  resided  at  Boston,  Mass., 
one  Samuel  M.  Folsom,  who  had  been  engaged 
in  a  large  mercantile  business,  but  had  re- 
cently failed.  His  stock  was  sold  by  the  trus- 
tee to  one  Farnsworth,  who  was  friendly  to 
Folsom,  and  the  latter  managed  thus  to  save 
a  few  thousand  dollars  from  the  wreck  of  his 
fortune.  Early  in  1856  Mr.  Gerry  happened 
on  one  of  his  trips  to  meet  Folsom,  who  pre- 
tended to  be  quite  a  capitalist  and  manufac- 
turer. The  two  men  soon  entered  into  a  ver- 
bal agreement,  whereby  Gerry  was  to  cause  to 
be  deeded  to  Folsom  a  three  fifth  interest  in  his 
townsite  on  the  AVatonwan  in  consideration  of  the 
latter  putting  in  several  thousand  dollars  capital 
for    its    development.      Accordingly    Mr.    Folson 


76 


HISTOEY  OF  BLtJE  EAETfl  COUNTY. 


took  possession  of  the  claim  early  in  June  1856, 
and  on  the  15th  of  that  month  had  Mr.  A.  D. 
Seward  survey  and  plat  the  land  into  a  townsite, 
under  the  name  "Fremont."  This  plat  was 
signed  by  Anthony  Case  as  nominally  the  sole 
owner. 

Hardly  had  the  town  been  platted  when 
Benjamin  H.  Seabujy  brought  a  few  groceries 
in  a  covered  wagon  and  opened  the  first  store 
there  in  a  tent.  In  a  few  days  he  sold  out  to 
Josiah  N.  Cheney,  Lyman  C.  Harrington  and 
Emery  Z.  Harrington,  who  were  originally  from 
the  same  place  in  Vermont,  and  had  been  in  the 
mercantile  business  together  at  Manitowac,  Wis. 
This  business  they  had  just  disposed  of  be- 
fore coming  to  Fremont  in  June  1856.  Cheney 
stayed  in  charge  of  the  new  store,  while  the 
Plarringtons  returned  to  Manitowac  to  bring 
the  families  and  goods  to  their  new  home  on 
the  Watonwan.  Lyman  C.  Harrington  and  his 
wife's  brother,  William  H.  Watts,  drove  across 
the  country  in  a  wagon  from  Manitowac  to 
Fiemont,  where  Harrington  and  Cheney  en- 
gaged in  business  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
Harringtons  were  brothers  of  Dr.  Harrington  of 
Mankato,  and  L.  C.  Harrington  and  Cheney 
ivere  brothers-in-law. 

About  the  middle  of  September  Mr.  Folsom 
began  the  construction  of  a  mill  dam  across 
the  Watonwan,  but  did  not  put  up  the  mill 
until  the  next  year.  In  the  fall  of  1856  Eri  P. 
Evans,  a  Boston  acquaintanije  of  Folsom,  whom 
the  latter  induced  to  join  him  in  this  Western 
enterprise,  removed  to  the  new  town  and  at  once 
began  to  take  active  part  in  its  development.  He 
started  a  small  store,  had  a  postofEice  created 
at  Fremont,  and  himself  appointed  as  its  first 
postmaster.  The  same  fall  witnessed  the  build- 
ing of  another  mill  dam  on  land  adjoining  the 
Townsite  on  the  west.  John  Dilley,  George  W. 
Atwell  and  Jehiel  Aber  were  the  parties  inter- 
ested in  this  enterprise.  Others  who  located  in 
Fremont  in  1856  were  Amos  Warner,  J.  H. 
Preston,  John  B.  Skinner,  Jeduthan  P.  and  Al- 
bert M.  Kendall,  James  G.  Thompson  and  others 
whose  names  we  did  not  learn. 

The  first  religious  service  in  the  present  town 
of  Garden  City  was  conducted  in  the  log  cabin 
of    Edward    Thompson,    early    in    the    spring,  of 


1856,  by  a  Methodist  preacher  from  Kasota, 
named  Eev.  Theophilus  Drew.  This  cabin  of 
Mr.  Thompson  was  built  by  him  on  his  claim  in 
1854  and  was  close  by  the  village  of  Fremont.  It 
was  known  in  the  early  day  as  the  "Boarding 
House"  where  many  young  unmarried  men  made 
their  home.  It  was  prominent  in  all  the  early 
history  of  the  village  and  community.  A  Sabbath 
school  was  organized  at  this  house  early  ia  the 
fall  of  this  year  with  fifteen  scholars.  E.  P. 
Evans  was  its  energetic  superintendent.  In  Oc- 
tober Eev.  Case  paid  the  townsite  a  visit,  and 
during  his  stay  of  three  or  four  weeks  held  regu- 
lar preaching  services.  The  same  fall  Eev.  B. 
Y.  Coffin  preached  to  a  few  settlers  at  the  cabin 
of  S.  T.  Mills.  The  first  move  in  an  educational 
way  was  a  petition  to  the  County  Commissioners 
for  a  school  district,  which  was  granted  on  Oc- 
tober 20,  1856,  to  embrace  the  following  terri- 
tory: Commencing  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
section  18,  107,  28,  thence  east  six  miles,  thence 
south  four  miles,  thence  west  six  miles,  thence 
north  four  miles.  It  was  designated  No.  10. 
In  the  fall  of  1856  the  first  school  was  taught 
by  Thaddeus  Wright  in  the  cabin  of  Edson 
Gerry.  About  this  time  a  school  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  J.  C.  Thompson,  when  it  was 
determined  to  erect  a  log  school  house  in  the  vil- 
lage. This  was  finished  during  the  winter, 
and  the  first  school  taught  in  it  by  John  S. 
•Daggett. 

The  first  saw  mill  on  the  Watonwan  was 
built  in  the  fall  of  1856  by  Neri  P.  Hoxie  and 
Erastus  Conklin,  on  the  site  afterwards  occupied 
by  the  Butterfield  Mill.  James  H.  Greenwood 
and  J.  Williston  Greenwood  helped  to  construct 
and  operate  this  mill.  Beside  it  the  following 
summer  was  built  the  first  bridge  over  the  Wa- 
tonwan. Other  settlers  of  Watonwan  Township 
(now  Garden  City)  in  1856  were  Frank  and 
Eeuben  H.  Thurston,  Patrick  Eooney,  James 
Glynn,  and  many  others. 

At  the  general  election,  held  on  October  14, 
1856,  Blue  Earth  County  cast  227  votes,  divid- 
ed among  the  seven  precincts  as  follows:  Man- 
kato 113,  South  Bend  41,  Watonwan  13,  Ma- 
pleton  6,  Eice  Lake  19,  Shelby  13,  Judson  22. 
Politically  the  county  went  Eepublican  for  the 
first    time    in    its    history   by    a   small    majority. 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUXTY. 


Mankato  and  Eice  Lake  remained  strongly 
Democratic,  but  all  the  other  precincts  cast  al- 
most an  unanimous  Free  Soil  vote.  Dr.  P.  P. 
Humphrey,  (Republican)  of  Kasota  received  37 
majority  for  Senator,  and  S.  Kenworthy,  of 
Le  Sueur,  and  E.  Iv.  Bangs,  of  South  Bend, 
(both  Eepublicans)  received  fair  majorities  for 
the  Legislature,  but  as  the  district  included  a 
number  of  other  counties  they  failed  of  elec- 
tion. A.  D.  Seward,  (Eep)  won  as  County  Trea- 
surer over  J.  Q.  A.  Marsh  (Dem)  by  only  six 
votes,  while  E.  Howe  (Eep)  beat  L.  Branson 
(Dem)  for  District  Attorney  by  only  two  votes. 
William  Sargent  (Dem)  for  Eegister  of  Deeds, 
E.  D.  Bruner  (Dem)  Probate  Judge,  Francis 
Bunker  (Dem)  Sheriff,  George  W.  Cum- 
mings  (Dem)  Clerk  of  Court,  were  appar- 
ently elected  without  opposition.  Mathew  Thomp- 
son (Dem)  of  South  Bend  and  Eobert  Patter- 
son (Eep)  of  Judson  were  chosen  County  Com- 
missioners. 

Thus  far  the  County  possessed  no  jail  or 
county  building  of  any  sort.  Offices  were  rent- 
ed at  Mankato  in  such  vacant  buildings  as 
could  be  found.  The  townsite  proprietors  had 
donated  on  their  plat  an  entire  block  for  such 
buildings,  but  as  yet  it  Avas  covered  by  its 
original  forest.  We  have  seen  how  the  County 
Commissioners  as  early  as  March  6th,  1854,  had 
designated  this  block  50  of  Mankato  as  the 
location  of  the  future  court  house  by  resolution, 
but  no  move  looking  to  the  actual  use  of  the 
spot  was  made  until  July  10th  1856,  when  a 
resolution  was  passed  by  the  Board  to  erect  a 
court  house  and  jail.  At  their  meeting  of  Oc- 
tober 21st,  1856,  it  was  determined  to  abandon 
the  building  of  the  court  house  '^because  of  the 
lateness  of  the  season,"  but,  because  of  "ur- 
gent necessity,"  it  was  decided  to  proceed  with 
the  building  of  a  jail  at  once  according  to  the 
specifications  given.  The  contract  was,  on  ITo- 
vomber  1st,  1856,  let  to  Francis  Bunker,  the 
Sheriff,  for  $900.00,  and  this  first  county  build- 
ing was  duly  completed  and  accepted  by  the 
board  on  January  7th,  1857.  The  jail  was  12-20 
feet  on  the  inside  and  10  feet  high.  It  was  built 
of  hardwood  timber,  hewed  eight  inches  square, 
mth  floor  and  ceiling  of  three  inch  oak  plank. 
It  was  divided  into  two  cells  by  a  three  inch  oak 


plank  partition.  A  door  of  the  same  material 
opened  into  a  hall  4x6  feet,  and  a  door  from 
this  hall  led  to  each  cell.  At  the  farther  end 
01  each  cell  was  a  small  iron  grated  window  and 
a  grated  window  was  put  into  the  partition.  In 
front  of  the  jail  proper  ^Aas  erected  a  frame 
building  12x14  feet  and  of  same  height  as  jail. 
This  building  was  plastered  and  painted  and  di- 
vided into  three  rooms,  a  bed  room,  pantry 
and  sitting  room  and  kitchen  combined  for  use 
of  the   jailer. 

The  valuation  of  the  personal  property  in 
the  county  as  returned  by  the  assessors  in  June, 
1856,  was  $141,377.50  and  the  tax  rate  was 
fixed  at  214  per  cent. 

We  have  already  noted  how  the  various  com- 
munities were  beginning  to  bestir  themselves 
along  educational  and  religious  lines.  On  April 
8th,  1856  School  District  No.  4  was  created 
embracing  the  present  toM'ns  of  Judson,  Cam- 
bria and  Butternut  Valley.  July  9th  of  the 
same  year  the  territory  covered  by  the  present 
towns  of  Sterling,  Mapleton  and  Danville,  was 
set  apart  as  School  District  No.  5.  On  October 
6  the  present  town  of  Cambria  was  divided 
into  three  School  Districts,  two  of  them  num- 
bered six  and  seven,  and  the  other  left  undesig- 
nated. On  the  same  date  the  west  half  of  Lime 
was  made  into  District  No.  8,  and  the  South 
two  miles  of  Judson  and  the  north  two  miles 
of  Garden  City  into  District  No.  9.  On  October 
20th  v/e  saw  the  organization  of  the  Fremont  or 
Garden  City  District  as  No.  10,  and  on  the 
same  date  School  District  No.  11  (Shelbyville) 
was  created,  with  the  following  boundaries  :- 
commencing  at  the  northeast  corner  of  section 
thirteen  of  Shelby  Township,  thence  west  six 
miles,  thence  south  four  miles,  thence  east  six 
miles,  thence  north  four  miles.  Mankato  and 
South  Bend  were  the  only  points  in  the  county  in 
which  schools  were  actually  kept  in  1856  as  far 
as  known. 

On  December  10th,  1856,  Judson  Townsite 
was  platted  by  Eobert  Patterson  and  John 
Goodwin,  according  to  a  survey  made  by  An- 
thony D.  ]\rcSweeny.  The  proprietors  were 
Baptists,  and  named  their  prospective  city,  as 
well  as  the  township,  after  the  missionary  hero 
of   their   church.    Before   the  close  of   1856    set- 


78 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


tlements  had  been  started  in  every  township  in 
the  county,  where  settlers  were  permitted.  The 
big  Indian  reservation  was,  however,  forbidden 
territory,  into  which  no  white  man  could  enter. 
The  Germans  continued  to  come  in  large  num- 
bers into  the  village  and  township  of  Mankato 
and  their  vicinity.  Among  the  number  were: 
Stephen  Lamm,  Henry  Himmelman,  Wm.  and 
Jacob  Bierbauer,  Mathias  Ulman,  Gottlieb 
Schmidt,  Henry  Guth,  J.  William  Hoer,  George 
Peter  Hoerr,  H.  L.  Gude,  John  A.  Arnold, 
Henry  Mohr,  Jacob  PfafE,  Frederick  Heinze 
and  his  sons :  Theodore,  Eobert  G.,  Charles 
A.,  Frederick  E.,  and  Ferdinand  G.,  Philip 
Mueller,  John  Eausch  and  his  sons  Jacob  and 
Joseph  C,  Henry  Schwarble,  Anton  Schipple, 
Joseph  Krause,  Jacob  Traub,  Henry  Heinzman, 
Ur.  A.  G.  Dornberg  and  a  host  of  others.  Besides 
the  prominent  Germans  mentioned  the  village  of 
Mankato  added  to  its  citizens  this  year  a  number 
of  men,  who  were  destined  to  play  a  very  impor- 
tant part  in  its  future  development  among 
whom  were :  John  A.  Willard,  Aaron  K.  Diikes, 
John  J.  Shaubut,  Father  Y.  Sommerisen,  Dr. 
Wm.  E.  McMahan,  Isaac  Marks,  (who  located 
at  the  Agency  the  year  before,  but  this  year 
opened  a  store  at  Mankato)  Dr.  Wm.  F.  Lewis, 
Dr.  M.  0.  Wickersham,  Clinton  B.  Hensley  (the 
first  editor).  Dr.  Eeuben  J.  Sibley,  James  E. 
Tinkcom,  Daniel  H.  Tyner  and  William  Irving. 
South  Bend,  also,  received  an  important  acces- 
sion this  year,  in  the  firm  of  Bxstrom  and 
Brown  from  La  Crosse.  The  Tivoli  neighborhood, 
on  the  line  between  Mankato  and  Le  Eay  Town- 
sliips,  began  to  be  settled  this  year.  In  April, 
1856,  came  Moses  0.  Bennett  and  his  brother- 
in-law,  Hollis  Whitney,  from  Kenosha,  Wis.  Mr. 
Bennett  was  a  man  above  the  average  in  ability 
and  force  of  character.  He  also  was  the  father 
of  a  large  family  of  grown  up  sons  and  daugh- 
ters, most  of  whom  settled  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  removed  to  their 
new  home  in  June,  and  with  them  came  their 
son-in-low.  Captain  Euegg  and  wife.  Their  sons 
Nathan  and  George  Bennett  came  by  team  across 
the  country.  In  October  of  the  same  year  ar- 
rived their  other  children;  Edward,  Charles, 
Lewis,  Levi,  Caroline  (Mrs.  Harvey)  and  Adna 
(Mrs.    Ciarpenter).   With   them   also   came   Hollis 


Whitney  and  family,  Henry  B.  Lane,  wife  and 
mother,  David  Davis  and  wife  and  son,  Thomas  E. 
Davis,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Corp  and  three 
children.  These  journeyed  from  Wisconsin  in 
seven  covered  wagons,  spending  five  weeks  on  the 
road.  Mr.  Corp,  being  a  blacksmith,  located  at 
Winnebago  Agency,  but  the  rest  settled  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Tivoli.  Mr.  Bennett  was  soon  impressed 
with  the  need  of  a  saw  mill  in  his  new  forest 
home,  and  concluded  to  erect  one  as  soon  as 
possible.  He  accordingly  began  the  construction 
of  a  dam  on  the  Le  Sueur  that  fall.  About  the 
same  time  came  Captain  X.  W.  Dickinson  and 
family  and  located  on  Hoosier  Lake  in  Mankato 
Township. 

Another  important  acquisition  to  this  neigh- 
borhood was  the  Burgess  family,  who  arrived  in 
the  fall  of  this  same  year  and  settled  just 
across  the  line  in  Le  Eay.  John  F.  Burgess  was 
a  man  of  ability  and  character  and  had  a  large 
family  of  grown  up  children,  who  made  claims 
in  the  same  vicinity.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Christian  church  and  his  son,  William  Burgess, 
often  preached  for  that  denomination.  During 
the  summer  of  1856,  Eev.  Elias  Clark,  a  young 
Congregational  minister  from  Berkshire  County, 
ilass.,  took  up  a  claim  near  Tivoli.  He  had  in- 
tended to  start  a  Congregational  church  at 
Mankato,  but  found  the  field  occupied  by  Father 
Thomson,  a  Presbyterian  (the  Home  Mission- 
ary Society  of  both  churches  then  being  united). 
The  Bennetts  and  their  many  relatives  and  neigh- 
bors in  the  Tivoli  neighborhood  belonged  to  the 
Congregational  faith,  having  come  originally 
from  near  Oberlin,  Ohio,  and  Eev.  Clark  might 
have  been  of  service  to  this  new  community, 
but  very  unwisely  he  at  once  incurred  the  en- 
mity of  Mr.  Bennett  and  his  family,  by  jumping 
a  claim  the  old  gentleman  was  trying  to  hold 
for  one  of  his  boys,  then  on  the  way  from  Wis- 
consin. After  a  few  months  Eev.  Clark  de- 
parted for  a  new  field,  but  kept  his  claim  for 
laany  years.  Besides  the  Burgess,  Davis  and 
Lane  families,  the  country  now  embraced  in  the 
township  of  Le  Eay  saw  a  number  of  worthy 
people  locate  within  its  border.  Among  these 
were:  George  A.  and  Michael  Beiries,  Alexander 
and  James  Doughlass,  Michael  D.  McNamara, 
William   Morris,    George   Chapman,   Eobert   Has- 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


7Q 


lip,  Alyin  P.  Reynolds,  August  Glockzin,  Con- 
rad Schogel,  Wm.  Gilfillan,  Patrick  Madigan, 
Joseph  Schlingerman,  George  P.  Lill  and  many 
others,  whose  names  we  have  not  learned,  or 
who  only  stayed  a  few  months.  Jamestown, 
also  had  a  large  influx  of  settlers  during  this 
same  year.  It  is  claimed  that  John  Heron 
was  the  first  settler  in  this  township  locating  in 
the  fall  of  1855,  near  Lake  Wita.  Others  say 
Enoch  G.  Burkhurst  and  Henry  "W.  Hodges  were 
the  first  and  that  they  came  in  1S.").J.  All  three 
families  must  have  come  in  1855  or  at  least  very 
early  in  1856,  but  Heron  seems  to  have  located 
in  Lime.  On  May  16th  1856  the  families  of 
Albert  A^olk,  Charles  Doran  and  Lawrence 
Bryne  took  claims  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Wash- 
ington. The  same  year  came  the  families  of  Law- 
rence, Patrick  and  Margaret  Smith.  In  Sep- 
tember came  Alvin  P.  Davies  and  family.  Oth- 
ers who  settled  in  Jamestown  this  year  were: 
James  P.  Ballatine,  a  school  teacher  after  whom 
Lake  Ballantine  was  named,  Patrick  Mullen, 
Timothy,  Thomas,  John  and  Michael  Murtaugh, 
Bowater  Summer,  Hiram  Wentworth,  Solon 
Webster,  James  P.  Westlake,  John  Spencer, 
Abner  Shearer,  John  and  Owen  ]\Ieigen,  Pat- 
rick McGrath,  Dennis  L.  Maher,  Andrew  C. 
Powble  and  Paul  Pasnacht.  About  the  same 
time  Samuel  Kerlinger  and  i\Iicliael  B.  Parrel 
with  their  families  made  their  homes  in  the 
same  locality. 

In  fact,  there  ^-as  hardly  a  claim  in  or  near 
the  timber  in  Blue  Earth  county,  outside  of  the 
Indian  Agency,  which  by  the  end  of  1856,  had 
not  been  taken  by  some  settler. 

The  year  1856  had  been  fairly  good  for  steam- 
boat trafl'ic  on  the  Minnesota.  There  had  been 
207  arrivals  from  that  river  at  the  St.  Paul 
levee,  an  increase  of  ninty-eight  over  the  pre- 
vious year.  The  boats  engaged  were  the  Equator, 
Reveille,  Globe,  Wave,  Minnesota,  Clarion,  Time 
and  Tide,  Berlin  and  H.  T.  Yeatman.  These 
boats  made  Mankato  on  the  majority  of  their 
trips  and  many  went  as  far  as  Ft.  Eidgely  and 
some  to  Yellow  Medicine.  The  transportation  of 
goods  and  supplies  by  the  gn\-ernment  to  the 
Indian  Agencies  and  Port  Ridgely  had  greatly 
stimulated  the  steamboat  business  on  the  ilinne- 
Bota.     This  increase  of  trade  and  traveling  facil- 


ities, together  with  the  money  brought  into 
the  country  for  payment  of  annuities  and  pur- 
chase of  furs  were  about  the  only  benefits  to 
the  settlers  from  their  Indian  neighbors,  while 
the  disadvantages  were  many. 

The  winter  of  1856-7  was  a  memorable  one 
in  the  history  of  the  country,  and  the  impression 
its  rigors  made  upon  the  settlers  of  Minnesota, 
then  poorly  sheltered,  poorly  clothed,  and  poorly 
fed,  has  not  been  entirely  effaced  to  this  day. 
The  winter  of  1855-6  had  been  quite  long  and 
severe,  but  it  fell  far  short  in  length,  depth  of 
snow,  intensity  of  cold,  and  frequency  of  storms, 
to  this  its  successor.  It  began  in  the  latter  part 
of  October.  On  December  1st,  1856,  one  of  the 
"svorst  snow  storms  ever  known  in  our  north- 
west set  in,  and  continued  without  any  abate- 
ment for  three  days  and  nights,  until  the 
ground  was  covered  to  the  depth  of  two  feet 
or  more,  on  an  average.  ^Vfter  this,  one  snow 
storm  followed  another  in  quick  succession,  while 
the  blizzards  filled  the  time  between.  The  snow 
lay  piled  in  mountain  heaps;  many  of  the  big 
drifts  being  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  depth.  The 
snow  and  cold  continued  through  all  of  April. 
Even  on  May  9th,  there  was  a  hard  snow  storm 
and  the  cold  so  great  that  sun  dogs  appeared. 
During  all  of  May  and  paiily  into  June  the 
fnow  clung  to  some  hillsides  facing  north,  and 
even  in  July  remains  of  huge  drifts  were  found 
in  deep,  wooded  glens,  secluded  from  the  sun. 
No  wonder  the  settlers  thought  the  Minnesota 
winters  were  long  and  cold,  and  that  their 
dread  fell  upon  the  whole  country. 

On  January  6th,  1857,  the  election  precinct 
of  Butternut  Valley  was  created,  comprising 
the  present  towns  of  Butternut  Valley  and  Cam- 
bria. 

Since  July  1st,  1856,  a  mail  route  had  been 
established  between  Port  Snelling  and  Sioux 
City,  and  a  contract  to  carry  a  bi-weekly  mail 
between  the  two  points  made  with  George  H. 
and  John  Q.  A.  Marsh  of  Mankato  and  J.  W. 
Babcock  of  Kasota.  Hoxie  Rathburn  one  of  the 
first  settlers  at  Mankato,  was  employed  by  them 
for  the  hard  and  dangerous  duty  of  mail  carrier. 
About  Christmas  1856  he  was  overtaken  by  one 
of  the  blizzards  of  this  terrible  winter  and 
perished  near  the  Des  Moines  in  Jackson  County. 


80 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Mail  service  over  these  inhospitable  plains  had 
to  be  suspended  the  balance  of  the  year.  The 
mail  between  Mankato  and  South  Bend  and 
St.  Paul  had  been  increased  to  a  tri-weekly  ser- 
vice;,  but  the  storms  of  this  winter  interfered 
gTeatly  with  its  regularity. 


Early  in  1857,  the  question  of  a  mail  route 
between  Mankato  and  New  Ulm  began  to  be 
agitated,  and  the  Legislature  was  induced  to 
memoralize  Congress  to  that  effect  in  February. 


^lORTOX  S.  WILKIXSOX. 


CHAPTER  X. 

'HE   INKPADUTAH  MASSACRE    OP  1857. 


A  terrible  winter  and  an  extremely  late,  cold 
spring  were  not  the  only  evils  in  tlie  annals  of 
our  county,  which  characterized  the  year  1857. 
Its  months  of  March  and  April  gave  the  settlers 
their  first  genuine  Indian  scare  and  brought 
them  in  close  touch  with  the  horrors  of  an 
Indian  massacre. 

In  the  Winter  of  1853-4  a  Sisseton  subchief 
named,  Sintomnidutah  (Eed-all-over)  with  his 
mother,  wife  and  two  or  three  children  had  been 
foully  murdered  by  a  disreputable  white  whisky 
trader  named  Henry  Lott,  a  few  miles  north  of 
Algona,  Iowa.  Lott  and  his  son,  who  had  partic- 
ipated in  the  bloody  affair,  fled  to  California, 
and  were  never  punished.  Whether  this  Sin- 
tomnidutah was  the  same  chief  noted  in  con- 
nection with  early  settlement  of  JMankato  may 
be  doubted,  but  there  is  strong  ground  to  believe 
that  he  was.  His  name  and  the  name  of  his 
son,  Joshpadutah  (usually  called  "Josh")  are 
the  same.  The  description  given  in  each  case 
of  the  chief's  personal  appearance  and  character, 
tdly  very  well.  Each  is  spoken  of  as  a  large 
stately  Indian  of  commanding  presence,  possessed 
of  a  bold  aggressive  spirit  and  much  opposed  to 
the  coming  of  the  Whi'te  men  upon  his  hunting 
grounds,  so  much  that  he  was  nicknamed  "The 
Il'ater  of  the  Paleface."  The  fact,  also,  that  the 
Jlankato  chief  and  his  hand  claimed  northwest- 
ern Iowa  and  southwestern  Minnesota  as  their 
special  hunting  groTinds,  and  the  tradition  that 
the  last  known  of  the  chief  Ijy  the  whites  was, 
that  he  was  going  into  Iowa  to  hunt,  as  well 
as  his  sudden  disappearence,  add  to  the  plausi- 
bility of  his  identity  with  the  victim  of  Lott's 
vengence. 

Attached  to  Sintomnidutah's  wild  band  in  a 
way  was  a  renegade  subchief  of  the  Wahpekutas, 
named  Inkpadutah  (Eed  End).  The  latter,  with 
two  or  three  companions  of  lUce  desperate  charac- 
ter, had  been  expelled  from  their  native  band,  who 


lived  on  the  Cannon  Eiver,  for  the  murder  of 
their  chief.  The  fugitives  first  went  to  A'ermil- 
lion  river  in  South  Dakota,  but  later  seemed  to 
Iiavc  joined  themselves  nioi-e  or  less  to  Sintom- 
nidutah's band.  Ties  of  marriage  and,  some  say 
of  blood,  existed  between  them.  After  the  chief's 
death  Inkpadutah  seems  to  have  aspired  to  the 
chieftainship,  and  a  few  of  the  most  lawless  of 
the  band  joined  themselves  to  him.  The  Indians 
v\'ere  very  angry  at  the  murder  of  ■  their  chief, 
and  did  not  believe  the  whites  made  much  effort 
to  apprehend  the  murderer.  Inlqjadutah,  being 
naturally  of  an  ugly,  revengeful  disposition,  was 
especially  bitter,  and  his  followers  shared  his 
■\enom.  The  rapid  appropriation  of  their  hunt- 
ing grounds  by  the  whites  was  another  cause 
of  their  hate.  During  the  summer  of  1856  six 
or  seven  families,  who  had  mostly  come  original- 
ly from  Howard  County  Ind.,  settled  on  Lake 
Okoboji,  the  most  southerly  of  the  group  of 
bikes  usually  called  "Spirit  Lake,"  from  the 
largest  of  their  number.  About  the  same  time 
a  townsite  company  from  Eed  Wing,  Minn., 
laid  out  ,1  town  on  the  lake  and  built  thereon 
a  log  trading  post,  which  was  in  charge  of  three 
or  four  young  men.  The  same  summer  another 
small  group  of  settlers  located  on  the  Des 
Moines,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  village  of 
Jackson,  Minnesota :  and  William  and  George 
Wood  had  laid  out  a  townsite  in  their  midst, 
and  opened  a  store  there  and  were  enjoying  a 
good  trade,  especially  with  the  Indians.  Both 
colonies  were  very  remotely  situated  from  other 
uhite  settlements,  and  were  an  invasion  into 
tlie  ven'  heart  of  Inkpadutah's  hunting  grounds. 
It  is  said  that  Eed  End  with  his  band  were 
camped  in  the  fall  of  1856  for  some  time  near 
;\Iinneopa  Falls,  and  that  they  went  thence  to- 
vrard  the  Sioux  City  countrv.  Brutish  and  l>lood 
thirsty  by  nature,  and  tlieir  innate  ugliness 
inflamed    by    the    circumstances    just    mentioned 


81 


82 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


they  were  ripe  for  mischief.  The  terrible  winter 
had  driven  most  of  the  game  from  the  coun- 
try and  hunting  was  almost  impossible.  Their 
evil  tempers  thus  made  more  desperate  by  cold 
and  famine,  it  needed  but  a  small  excuse  to  kill 
and  plunder  the  hated  paleface,  whom  they 
imagined  were  the  ca.use  of  their  woes. 

They  reached  the  Okoboji  settlement  on  the 
7th  of  March  1857  and  the  next  day  the  trouble 
occurred.  Just  how  it  started,  perhaps  will 
never  be  known,  but  the  Indians  claimed  it 
arose  from  an  attempt  to  steal  some  hay  from  a 
settler  for  their  ponies,  and  that  in  the  quarrel 
the  settler  was  shot.  Having  a  taste  of  blood  the 
savages,  like  wild  beasts,  thirsted  for  more.  The 
settlers  were  in  their  several  cabins,  scattered 
some  distance  apart,  in  the  timber  about  the 
lakes,  and  had  no  suspicion  of  danger.  There  were 
only  twelve  to  thirteen  warriors  in  Inkpadutah's 
band  at  this  time  and  if  the  settlers  had  re- 
ceived warning,  so  they  could  mass  their  force 
or  been  on  their  guard,  they  might  have  defend- 
ed themselves  and  families  with  ease.  But  as 
it  happened  the  Indians  went  to  each  cabin  in 
force  and  pretended  to  be  friendly.  The  fact 
that  they  had  guns  roused  no  suspicion,  as 
they  always  carried  them.  Taking  the  man 
wholly  off  his  guard  they  would  shoot  him  first 
and  then  butcher  the  women  and  children  at 
their  leisure.  Any  person,  who  attempted  to 
go  from  one  house  to  another,  was  shot  from 
ambush.  By  this  treacherous  means  on  the  8th 
and  9th  of  March  the  red  fiends  slaughtered 
the  entire  settlement  on  Lake  Okoboji,  men, 
women,  and  children,  except  two  or  three  of  the 
men,  who  happened  to  be  away  after  provisions, 
and  three  young  women,  Miss  Abbie  Gardner, 
Mrs.  Alvin  Noble  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Thacher, 
whom  they  carried  oif  as  captives.  In  all  thirty- 
three  persons  were  butchered  at  Lake  Okoboji. 
After  spending  two  or  three  days  and  nights 
in  dancing,  feasting  and  all  manner  of  wild  or- 
gies, the  murderers  gathered  such  plunder  as 
they  wished  from  the  cabins  and,  loading  the 
three  captives,  the  squaws  and  the  ponies  there- 
with, they  moved  northward.  On  the  banks  of 
Spirit  Lake  proper,  on  March  13th,  they  came 
upon  the  cabin  of  a  young  couple  named  Marble, 
who  had  located  there  the  fall  before.  Three  or 


four  of  the  Indians  went  to -the  cabin  and  pre- 
tended to  be  friendly,  until  the  proper  opportuni- 
ty came,  when  they  shot  Mr.  Marble  and  carried 
away  his  wife  as  their  fourth  captive.  Thence 
they  proceeded  to  Heron  Lake,  Minnesota. 

The  terrible  tragedy  at  Lake  Okoboji  was 
soon  discovered  by  Morris  Markham,  a  young 
trapper,  who  immediately  carried  the  news  to 
Springfield.  The  settlers  there  gathered  at  the 
log  house  of  one  J.  Thomas  for  mutual  pro- 
tection, and  on  March  18th  dispatched  two 
young  men,  Joseph  B.  ChefEins,  whose  home 
had  been  at  Mankato,  and  Henry  Tretts,  to 
Port  Eidgely  for  help,  where  they  arrived  the 
next  morning.  Captain  Bernard  B.  Bee  with 
forty-eight  men  were  detailed  at  once  to  go  to 
the  scene  of  trouble.  By  noon  they  were 
ready  to  start.  Joseph  La  Fromboise  went  as 
guide,  and  Judge  Flandreau,  then  Sioux  Agent, 
and  Philander  Prescott  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany the  expedition.  The  snow  lay  upon  the 
ground  in  a  great  mass,  covering  it  to  a  depth 
of  two  or  three  feet  on  the  plains  and  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  in  the  hollows,  and  it  was  beginning 
to  get  soft.  Had  the  soldiers  been  then  equipped 
and  trained  for  Indian  fight"ing,  they  might 
have  made  a  bee  line  over  the  prairie  to  Spring- 
field and  reached  there  easily  in  two  days,  fol- 
lowing the  tracks  of  the  messengers.  But  heav- 
ily accoutred  as  they  were,  and  obliged  to 
carry  their  ammunition  and  baggage  in  cumber- 
some wagon  trains,  it  was  wholly  impracticable. 
Hence  they  were  obliged  to  follow  the  only  tra- 
veled road,  which  led  down  the  Minnesota  to 
South  Bend.  They  reached  the  latter  place  on 
Saturday  night,  March  21st,  and  spent  the 
next  day  there  resting  and  gathering  supplies. 
Thence  they  proceeded  by  way  of  Lake  Crystal 
and  by  the  evening  of  the  24th  reached  Slocum's 
home  on  the  Watonwan.  Here  all  semblance 
of  a  track  ended,  and -a  few  rods  beyond  was  an 
immense  snow  bank,  which  it  took  the  entire 
force  all  of  the  next  day  to  cut  through. 

In  the  meantime  Inlcpadutah  sent  two  spies 
to  Springfield  from  his  camp  on  Heron  Lake. 
They  found  the  Wood  boys  at  their  store,  heed- 
less of  danger  as  they  gave  no  credit  to  Mr. 
Markham's  story.  They  sold  the  two  spies  a  large 
quantity   of   ammunition   against  the  protest  of 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


83 


the  settlers,  at  whose  fears  they  laughed.  The 
settlers  eontiinied  to  congregate  at  the  Thom- 
as cabin,  except  one  Josiah  Stewart,  who  with 
his  family  had  returned  to  their  own  cabin.  On 
March  26th,  Inkpadutah  and  his  bloody  band 
appeared  at  the  Springfield  settlement.  They 
enticed  William  and  George  Wood  out  of  their 
store,  and  treacherously  shot  them  both,  and 
then  plundered  and  burned  the  store. 

Under  pretense  of  wanting  to  buy  a  hog,  they 
induced  Mr.  Stewart  to  walk  out  of  his  cabin 
into  an  ambush  where  he  was  killed  and  then 
murdered  the  wife  and  children,  except  one  boy, 
who  managed  to  hide.  The  settlers  gathered  at 
the  Thomas  house  were  eagerly  looking  every 
moment  for  the  return  of  the  messengers  with 
the  soldiers  from  Fort  Eidgely.  Little  Willie 
Thomas,  ten  years  of  age,  saw  a  man  coming 
down  the  road,  whom  he  took  to  be  Henry  Tretts, 
and  he  ran  to  the  house  saying  Henry  was  com- 
ing. The  people  rushed  out  to  meet  him.  It 
proved  to  be  a  ruse  to  get  the  settlers  out  of 
the  house.  An  Indian  dressed  as  a  white  man, 
pretended  to  be  coming  down  the  road.  As  soon 
as  the  whites  were  fairly  outside  the  door  a 
volley  from  a  dozen  Indian  rifles,  from  behind 
the  neighboring  trees,  was  poured  into  them. 
Little  Willie  fell  dead,  but  the  rest  all  got  back 
into  the  house  and  barricaded  the  door.  It  was  then 
found  that  Mr.  Thomas  had  been  shot  in  the 
wrist,  David  Carver  in  the  side,  and  Miss 
Swanger  in  the  shoulder.  The  savages  kept 
shooting  at  the  house,  and  the  whites  fired  back 
from  port  holes  made  between  the  logs.  The  fight 
continued  until  night,  when  the  Indians  gave 
up  the  battle  and  returned,  loaded  with  booty 
from  the  store,  to  their  camp  at  Heron  Lake. 
In  all  seven  persons  had  been  killed  and  three 
wounded    at  the    Springfield    settlement. 

The  very  day  this  attack  occurred  Captain 
Bee  and  his  command  left  Mr.  Slocum's  residence, 
in  Lincoln  Township.  After  the  most  toilsome 
march,  cutting  their  way  through  the  deep  snow, 
and  constantly  having  to  extricate  their  teams 
from  the  drifts,  wet  to  the  skin  from  the  melting 
snow  during  the  day,  their  clothes  frozen  stiff 
about  them  at  night,  they  arrived  on  the  night 
of  the  third  day,  at  a  point  on  the  Des  Moines 
eight  miles   north   of   Springfield.   Here   a   half 


breed  from  Traverse  Des  Sioux,  named  Joe 
Coursalle,  had  a  small  trading  post.  He  told 
them  that  Inkpadutah  had  wiped  out  the  settle- 
ments at  both  Spirit  Lake  and  Springfield,  and 
that  he  was  then  camped  at  Heron  Lake,  hav- 
ing in  his  possession  four  women  captives,  a 
large  number  of  horses,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  plunder.  Early  next  morning  Lieut.  Mur- 
ray with  23  men,  mounted  on  all  the  horses  and 
mules  available,  were  dispatched  ia  pursuit  of  the 
murderers.  They  found  the  camp  and  a  large 
amount  of  booty,  but  the  imps  of  the  evil  one 
had  fled,  dragging  with  them  the  poor  captives. 
The  soldiers  made  no  effort  at  further  pursuit, 
either  because  they  were  tired  out  and  thought 
further  chase  would  be  useless,  or  because  they 
were  afraid  to  encounter  so  desperate  a  foe. 
After  returning  to  the  main  command,  Lieut. 
Murray  was  dispatched,  on  March  30th,  with  a 
mounted  detachment  towards  Spirit  Lake,  to 
scout  for  Indians  and  bury  the  dead  in  that  set- 
tlement, while  Capt.  Bee,  with  the  rest  of  his 
command,    proceeded   to    Springfield. 

The  news  of  these  terrible  massacres  spread 
like  fire  through  all  the  settlements  of  southern 
Minnesota  and  northern  Iowa  and,  greatly  aug- 
menting in  terribleness  as  it  went,  created  a 
panic  of  fear  everywhere.  There  were  thousands 
of  Sioux  Indians  then  in  this  section  of  our 
territory,  and  bands  of  them  were  encamped  in 
almost  every  precinct  of  Blue  Earth  county. 
In  the  wild  excitement,  which  prevailed,  every- 
one of  these  were  under  suspicion,  though  in 
fact  wholly  innocent  and  even  ignorant  of  any 
hostility  whatever.  A  mile  or  two  northeast  of 
Madelia,  almost  touching  the  western  line  of 
Blue  Earth  County,  are  a  group  of  small  lakes 
with  some  timber.  Here  five  or  six  Indian  fam- 
ilies were  camped,  engaged  in  fishing,  oblivious 
of  any  hostile  intention,  near  a  cabin  occupied 
by  Theodore  Leisch  and  Philip  Schaffer.  In  the 
same  grove  a  little  to  the  north  lived  Mr.  Bisier 
and  family  and  north  of  him  Mr.  Boechler  and 
family.  A  few  more  settlers  lived,  also,  in  the 
near  vicinity.  Hearing  of  the  massacre  these 
people  became  uneasy  at  the  mere  presence  of 
Indians,  and  to  their  heated  imagination  every 
move  these  red  neighbors  made  was  sus- 
picious.    At  last   one   or  two   families   conclud- 


84 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAKTH  COUNTY. 


ed  to  take  refuge  at  the  home  of  Isaac  Slocum, 
whose  cabin  was  somewhat  larger  than  the  ordi- 
nary, and  had  a  group  of  log  buildings  about  it, 
consisting  of  a  blacksmith  shop,  granary  and 
barns.  It  was:  the  usual  stopping  place  on  the 
road  between  Springfield  and  Mankato,  and 
hence  was  the  place  where  news  from  the  outside 
world  and  especially  from  the  seat  of  trouble, 
would  be  first  heard.  This  movement  was  a  sig- 
nal for  a  stampede  of  all  settlers  around  these 
lakes,  and  along  the  Watonwan  near  Madelia, 
then  called  "Wacapa."  Most  of  these  gathered 
at  Slocum's  house  and  each  had  a  tale  of  dark 
suspicion  against  the  savages  camped  by  the 
lakes.  A  stockade  of  logs  was  built  around 
the  Slocum  house  and  guard  kept. 

Fortunately  a  couple  of  sleighs,  loaded  with 
groceries  and  provisions  for  the  Wood  Bros.' 
store  at  Jackson,  had  got  stuck  in  a  snow  bank 
near  Slocum-'s  house  shortly  before  the  Indian 
trouble,  and  were  still  stored  at  this  hospital 
home.  These  were  appropriated  by  the  settlers 
and,  with  the  beeves  killed,  kept  them  from  hun- 
ger. 

On  April  9th  Joseph  Cheffins  arrived  on  his 
way  to  Mankato  from  Jackson^  whence  he  had 
accompanied  the  military.  Fresh  from  the 
scenes  of  the  massacre,  his  vivid  description  of 
the  horrors  he  had  just  witnessed  at  Jackson 
and  Okoboji  did  not  tend  to  quiet  the  nerves 
of  the  settlers.  Excited  by  their  fears  they 
gave  exaggerated  accounts  of  the  conduct  of 
the  Indians  in  their  vicinity,  which  showed 
conclusively,  as  they  thought,  that  mischief 
was  brewing  and  that  an  attack  might  be 
expected  from  hundreds  of  savages  any  moment. 
A  most  urgent  appeal  for  immediate  help  was 
dispatched  to  Mankato  by  Mr.  Cheffins,  which 
was  delivered  the  following  night.  There  was 
great  excitement  at  the  county  seat  on  Mr. 
Cheffins  arrival.  It  was  the  first  real  account 
of  the  awful  tragedy,  which  had  reached  our 
county,  and  its  extent  and  the  details  of  its 
horrors  told  by  an  eye  witness  created  uni- 
versal fear  and  consternation.  A  large  dinner 
bell,  which  hung  in  a  frame  over  the  Mankato 
House,  was  rung  as  for  fire  to  call  the  people 
together.  A  mass  meeting  was  hastily  convened 
at    the    log    school    house,    where    an    anxious 


throng  of  people  soon  gathered.  Terror  and 
excitement  ran  high,  and  men,  women,  and 
children  came  rushing  to  hear  the  latest  news. 
Mr.  Cheffins  was  the  center  of  interest  and  he 
was  put  under  oath  by  John  A.  Willard,  as 
Notary  Public,  and  testified  in  detail  regarding 
the  massacres  at  Springfield  and  Spirit  Lake, 
and  told  how  the  settlers  around  Madelia  had 
been  driven  from  their  homes  by  the  hostile 
demonstrations  of  large  bands  of  Indians  in 
that  vicinity.  That  a  massacre  was  likely  to 
occur  any  day.  That  the  settlers  were  mostly 
gathered  at  Mr.  Slocum's  house  and  were  beg- 
ging for  help  as  the  savages  outnumbered  them 
ten  to  one,  and  were  well  armed.  Speeches 
were  made,  and  fifty  to  sixty  persons  volun- 
teered to  go  at  once  to  the  defense  of  the 
Watonwan  settlers.  These  volunteers  agreed  to 
report  at  eight  o'clock  next  morning  at  the 
Mankato  House  with  guns  and  ammunition  ready 
for  action.  A  messenger  was  also  dispatched 
on  a  mule  that  night  to  Fort  Snelling  to  request 
military  aid. 

When  morning  came  (Saturday,  April  11th) 
about  thirty-five  persons  answered  to  their  names, 
the  rest  failed  to  show  up  for  various  reasons. 
About  ten  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  companv  started 
on  foot  through  the  mud  aind  slush  of  melting 
snow.  They  were  a  motley  crowd,  armed  with 
rifles  and  shot  guns.  Some  had  powder  horns 
or  flasks  of  every  design  dangling  from  their 
necks.  Some  were  rigged  in  the  stvle  of  west- 
ern hunters,  with  bright  colored  shirts,  and  a 
belt  full  of  pistols  and  knives;  one  had  cut  his 
coat  away  after  the  style  of  the  dress  imiform 
of  an  old  country  soldier,  and  wore  a  sort  of 
military  hat  turned  up  in  front.  Besser  and 
Chism  were  the  only  two  mounted.  They  wore 
military  gloves  and  boots  and  had  bright  col- 
ored scarfs  tied  across  their  shoulders  and 
breasts.  While  hardly  any  of  them  had  much 
military  knowledge  or  discipline,  yet  they  were 
all  brave  men.  They  neglected  in  their  haste 
to  take  any  rations  or  blankets  and  hence  were 
ill  prepared  for  a  long  and  hard  campaign. 

When  the  Blue  Earth  bridge  was  reached 
the  company  halted  and  elected  the  following 
officers : 


sci-iooi-    Mou^e      zi  A  ^      M^oiSoiM     <-«Ke      ^<i<a         ro,er  C  H  O  F>  c  t^ 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


85 


Captain,  Dr.  Wm.  F.  Lewis. 
First   Lieutenant,   E.  D.   Brunei. 
Second    Lieutenant,    Frederick    Ayres. 
Orderly    Sergeant,    W.    S.    Sargent. 

The .  other   members    of    the    company    as    far 
as  we  could  learn  their  names  were : 

John  Hodgson. 

Emerson  Hodgson. 

Joseph   Hodgson. 

Charles   Barney. 

George   Peter   Hoerr. 

George   Becker. 

Uriah  Karmany. 

Byron  Comstock. 

John    C.   Jones. 

James    T.    Besser. 

Louis   Wagner. 

John    B.    Guthrie. 

Chism. 

Otto. 

Clinton    B.    Hensley     (Ed.    Mankato    Independent). 

Henry    Humphrey. 

C.    C.   Whitman. 

Perry    Franz. 

Stanley    Johnson. 

Stephan  Kissinger. 

Elisha  Hill. 

Jason    F.    Wickersham. 

George    Rose. 

Brewster. 

MciluUen. 

Herbert    N.    Bingham. 

Geo.   W.   Curtis. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  when  the  com- 
pany reached  the  log  house  of  W.  E.  Eobinson 
at  Crystal  Lake.  Here  the  few  settlers  of  the 
vicinity  had  gathered  for  mutual  protection 
and  built  them  a  rude  fort.  Thither  Calvin 
Webb  had  been  carried,  on  his  sick  bed,  and 
died  the  next  day.  Thence  he  was  borne  to  his 
burial  by  the  men  only,  all  armed  with  guns. 
The  Mankato  Company  had  intended  to  pass 
the  night  at  the  Eobinson  house,  but  soon  after 
their  arrival  Tom  Lameraux  returned  from  a 
visit  to  Sloeum's  place  with  the  alarming  news, 
that  some  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  decked  in 
war  paint,  had  just  been  holding  a  big  war 
dance  close  by  Slocums'  house,  and  the,  settlers 
there  were  expecting  to  be  attacked  any  moment. 
Captain  Lewis  then  called  for  Volunteers  to 
proceed  at  once.  Though  wet  and  tired  every 
man  stepped  into  line,  except  one,  who  had 
joined  them  at  South  Bend.  They  pressed 
hurriedly  on  over  the  ten  additional  miles  to 
Sloeum's  where  they  arrived  about  dusk.  Their 
coming  was  a  welcome  relief  to  the  terrified 
settlers.  The  Sloeum  residence  was  a  three 
story   log   structure   including   a   side   hill    base- 


ment.     The    settlers    had    been    busy    all    day 
building   log   breast   works   and   stockades   about 
the  house.     Guards  were  stationed  in  these  for- 
tifications all  night,  and,  when  not  so  employed, 
the  men   slept  on   the  floor   of  the  third  story, 
and   in   the   barns.      The   women   stayed   up   all 
night   to    bake   and    cook.      In    accordance    with 
the   plans    of   the   previous   night,    the    Mankato 
company  rose  early,  and  by  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning  had  eaten  their  breakfast,   and  started 
for  the  Indian  camp  by  the  Leisch  cabin,  four 
miles  away,  with  intent  to  surprise  and  capture 
the    savages.      Under    guidance    of    one    of    the 
settlers   they   reached   the   lak«s   at    early    dawn. 
As   they  were  hurrying   across   the   prairie   they 
had   noticed   in   the   dim   light   objects   hovering 
ahead   of   them,    on   the   horizon   line,    evidently 
Indian   spies.      Two    swift    runners    were    called 
for.      Whitman    and    Kissinger    volunteered    and 
dashed    ahead   like    deer,   but   the    Indians    were 
swifter     than     they.       On    reaching    the    nojost 
easterly  of  the  group  of  lakes,  the  company  was 
divided  into  three  squads.     Six  men  under  Lieut. 
Ayres  took  the  lake  on  the  east,  Lieut,  Bruner 
with  fifteen  men  followed  up  the  westerly  lake, 
while  Capt.  Lewis  with  the  main  body  marched 
through  the  timber  between  the  two  lakes.   This 
center    column    soon    came    upon    eight    teepees, 
but  all  deserted.     The  desertion  must  have  been 
very  recent  though,   for  the  fires   in   them  were 
burning    brightly    and    Indians    could    be    seen 
skulking   through   the    brush    and    behind    trees. 
I'tiree   Indians  attempted  to  cross   the  east  lakej 
on  a  couple  of  ponies,  but  the  ice  was  too  slip- 
pery and  the  ponies  fell,  so  they  retreated  again 
into  the  timber.     Lieut.  Ayres  and  his  six  men 
were   on   the   ice   of    the   lake   running   towards 
the    Indians.      Capt.    Lewis    noticed    the    peril 
they    were    in    from    such    an    exposed    position, 
and  signaled  them  to  join  the  main  column  in 
the  timber,  which  they  did  with  alacrity.     Fir- 
ing was  now  heard  on  the  left  wing.     Brunner's 
men  had  come  upon  a  number  of  Indians,  and 
both   sides   had  opened   fire.     Henry   Humphrey 
and  Chas.  Barney  could  speak  some   Sioux,  and 
they  called  out  to  the  Indians  that  they  did  not 
intend   to   do   them   any  harm   and  the   Indians 
stopped  firing.    But  Perry  Franz  and  one  or  two 
others   were   so  excited   and   officious,   that  they 


86 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAKTH  COUNTY. 


disregarded  all  orders  and  kept  blazing  at  the 
Indians.  Thereupon  the  savages  retreated  hur- 
riedly over  a  small  ridge  and  disappeared.  The 
whites  had  now  united  their  force  and  were 
discussing  the  advisability  of  following  the 
enemy,  when  the  latter  returned  largely  re-en- 
forced and  opened  a  brisk  fire  upon  them.  A 
ball  struck  Becker's  gun-stalk,  another  hit  a 
big  powder  Hask,  which  hung  from  the  neck 
of  Emerson  Hodgson  and  grazed  his  fingers  as 
it  glanced,  while  a  third  passed  through  the 
upturned  rim  of  Hensley's  cap.  The  whites 
retreated  a  few  steps  into  the  timber,  and  got 
beliind  trees,  and  for  about  half  an  hour  both 
sides  kept  up  a  hot  fire.  The  Indians  then 
retreated  across  a  small  opening  in  the  timber, 
where  a  grassy  swale  marked  the  outlet  of  one 
of  the  lakes,  into  a  vacant  house,  and  some 
thick  brush  beyond.  One  of  their  number  had 
been  shot  in  the  arm.  They  now  dared  the 
whites  to  come  after  them.  The  young  bucks 
stripped  to  their  breech  clouts  yelled  and  danced 
all  manner  of  antics  just  beyond  the  opening 
as  they  uttered  their  challenges.  The  whites, 
however,  feared  an  ambush  and  concluded  to 
return  to  Slocum's  for  more  ammunition  and 
re-enforcements.  The  retreat  almost  became  a 
route  as  they  ran  over  the  prairie,  strung  out 
in  disorder.  As  soon  as  the  whites  were  gone 
the  Indians  hurriedly  packed  their  effects  and 
left  for  the  north. 

The  excitement  now  was  at  its  height.  The 
settlers  in  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of 
the  county  gathered  into  Shelbyville.  Those 
living  a  little  further  down  on  the  Blue  Earth 
fortified  themselves  in  Mr.  Eeed's  house,  near 
the  present  village  of  Vernon  Center.  Those 
along  Perch  Creek  and  along  the  Watonwan, 
below  the  Slocum  neighborhood  fled  to  Garden 
City,  where  two  forts  were  built  one  about  Pol- 
som's  log  house  north  of  the  village  and  the 
other  on  the  south  of  the  river  by  Edson  Gerry's 
house.  Gerry  had  moved  his  first  claim  shanty 
from  the  village  and  put  it  up  near  his  other 
house.  The  space  between  the  two  houses  was 
now  closed  in  by  log  walls  and  port  holes  made 
in  them  and  in  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  Here 
an  amusing  incident  occurred,  though  at  the 
time   it   seemed   serious   enough   to    the   persons 


involved.  Two  or  three  miles  below  the  pre- 
sent village  of  Vernon  Center,  on  the  Blue 
Earth  river,  lived  Dr.  Arledge.  Just  below  the 
house  on  the  river  bottom  were  camped  a  few  In- 
dians making  maple  sugar.  When  the  doctor  heard 
of  the  massacres  he  and  his  family  were  greatly 
agitated  and  imagined  they  saw  signs  of  mis- 
chief in  the  Indian  camp.  They  wished  to  fiee 
to  Garden  City,  but  did  not  dare  expose  them- 
selves outside  the  cabin  for  fear  of  inviting 
an  attack.  The  son,  Alexander,  a  grown  up 
young  man,  finally  dressed  himself  in  a  blan- 
ket and,  thus  disguised,  mounted  on  a  pony 
and  armed  with  his  rifle,  he  hoped  to  pass  the 
Indian  camp  without  their  knowing  he  was  a 
white  man. 

The  previous  fall  Joseph  McClanahan  had 
located  a  claim  in  Shelby  township  and  then 
gone  back  to  Indiana.  On  this  particular  day 
he  was  returning  to  his  claim  and  had  reached 
Garden  City.  They  told  him  of  the  Indian 
Massacres  and  urged  him  to  stay  there  as  there 
were  Indians  all  about.  He  pretended  to  dis- 
believe the  whole  story,  and  thought  he  could 
get  to  his  claim  without  trouble.  The  snow 
was  still  deep  and  melting,  making  the  walking 
very  hard.  He  had  gone  about  two  miles  and 
a  half,  when  lo !  and  behold !  coming  down  the 
road  toward  him  full  tilt  was  a  blanketed 
Indian,  on  a  pony  and  waving  a  gun.  It  did 
not  take  McClanahan  but  a  very  small  fraction 
of  a  second  to  wheel  about  and  take  to  his 
heels.  It  was  a  fearful  race.  Young  Arledge 
(for  it  was  he)  hallooed  to  try  and  stop  him, 
but  all  McClanahan  heard  were  blood  curdling 
warhoops,  and  he  ran  all  the  faster.  For  two 
miles  he  -  sped  like  a  deer  over  that  terrible 
road  of  half  melted  snow  and  then  fell  in  a 
faint  completely  exhausted.  Young  Arlidge 
jumped  from  his  horse  and  rubbed  his  fore- 
head and  face  with  snow  to  restore  him  to  con- 
sciousness. In  his  semi-delirious  condition, 
McClanahan  imagined  he  felt  the  cold  steel 
of  the  scalping  knife  pass  around  his  head.  The 
men  building  the  fort  by  Gerry's  house  were  horror 
stricken  to  vritness  such  a  bold,  shocking  murder 
committed  before  their  eyes,  and  seizing  their 
guns  rushed  up  the  road  to  the  rescue.  Fortu- 
nately Arledge  managed  to  disclose  his  identity 


HISTOEY  OF  BLtJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


87 


before  they  fired.  McClanahan  was  so  overcome 
by  the  fright  and  exlaaustion  that  he  was  con- 
fined to  his  bed  for  some  days. 

The  country  was  in  a  delirium  of  excitement 
and  the  wildest  rumors  were  everywhere  afloat. 
The  Saturday  evening  after  the  Mankato  Com- 
pany left  for  the  Sloeum  neighborhood,  fleeing, 
settlers  began  pouring  into  South  Bend  and 
Mankato  each  vieing  with  the  other  in  sensa- 
tional tales.  The  walls  of  the  three  story  stone 
building  of  General  Leech  at  Mankato  were 
about  completed.  This  was  soon  transformed 
into  a  fort  by  barricading  with  stone  and  plank 
the  doors  and  windows,  and  cutting  loop  holes 
for  shooting.  A  quantity  of  big  stones  were 
carried  to  the  top,  to  hurl  down  on  any  assail- 
ant. This  building  and  the  log  school  house 
were  packed  with  refugees,  who  slept  in  heaps 
on  the  floors.  There  were  persistant  rumors 
that  there  had  been  a  desperate  battle  fought 
between  the  Mankato  company  and  the  Indians, 
and  that  many  had  been  killed  on  both  sides. 
Some  said  the  company  had  been  ambushed  and 
annihilated.  Later  in  the  night  the  report  came 
that  all  the  settlers  along  the  Watonwan  had 
been  massacred  and  that  Garden  City  had  been 
captured  and  burned.  It  seems  a  straw  stack  in 
that  vicinity  had  been  fired  to  light  some  refu- 
gees across  the  river.  Later  in  the  night  a 
settler  from  the  Watonwan  county  came  hur- 
rying into  Mankato  with  the  news,  that  the 
Indians  had  taken  Garden  City  and  that  he 
could  see  the  flames  of  the  burning  town.  That 
an  army  of  nine  hundred  savages,  all  well 
armed  were  on  the  way  to  attack  South  Bend 
and  Mankato  and  would  be  there  in  a  few 
hours.  The  town  was  soon  in  a  panic  of  fear. 
Front  street  was  lined  with  the  teams  of  fleeing 
settlers.  Men  hurried  from  house  to  house 
awakening  the  people  and  apprising  them  of 
the  danger.  The  women  and  children  cried. 
Nearly  all  who  had  teams  started  with  their 
families  for  St.  Peter.  One  man  offered  fifty 
dollars  for  a  team  to  carry  his  family  there. 
The  Mankato  House  was  the  headquarters  of 
the  town,  where  the  latest  and  most  reliable 
news  could  be  found.  Henry  Shaubut,  Wil- 
liam Bierbauer  and  many  others  discredited 
most  of   the   rumors,   and   urged   the  people   to 


keep  cool,  until  the  reports  were  verified.  A 
sort  of  reign  of  terror  prevailed  all  that  night 
and  few  people  slept  at  Mankato,  South  Bend 
or  Garden  City. 

Sunday  morning  a  company  of  thirty-eight 
volunteers  arrived  from  St.  Peter  under  Captain 
WilUam  B.  Dodd.  They  were  joined  by  Daniel 
Tyner  and  two  or  three  others  from  Mankato 
and  by  T.  M.  Pugh  and  others  from  South 
Bend,  and  proceeded  at  once  in  teams  to  re- 
enforce  the  Mankato  company  at  Slocums',  where 
they  arrived  late  that  afternoon.  Two  mounted 
men  were  sent  from  Garden  City  to  Mr.  Slo- 
com's  house  to  learn  the  news.  When  near  the 
house  some  of  the  young  men  fired  their  guns 
and  the  two  scouts  beat  a  hasty  retreat  and  re- 
ported that  the  Indians  had  taken  Slocum's 
house  and  murdered  all  the  settlers.  Most  of 
the  Garden  City  people  removed  to  Mankato 
during  this  Sunday.  On  Monday  the  Mankato 
and  St.  Peter  companies  scoured  the  valley  of 
the  Watonwan  in  quest  of  Indians  but  found 
none.  At  the  mouth  of  Perch  Creek  they  dis- 
covered the  recent  camping  place  of  a  chief 
called  Sintomnidutah.  He  and  his  band  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  camping  here.  They  found 
a  large  log  trough,  into  which  the  Indians  had 
gathered  the  maple  sap  at  their  sugar  making. 
On  it  were  a  pair  of  snow  shoes  pointing  south- 
east, a  small  bundle  of  bones  had  been  tied  to 
a  tree  above  them,  and  in  the  ashes  was  buried 
a  round  stone  painted  red.  The  message  was 
intended  to  read:  "AU-over-Eed  camped  here. 
The  food  being  exhausted,  he  has  gone  south- 
east to  look  for  game." 

The  next  day  a  company  of  thirty  or  forty 
volunteers  from  Traverse  des  Sioux  under 
George  McLeod  as  captain  having  gone  east  of 
Garden  City  came  upon  the  chief  in  a  valley  of 
the  Blue  Earth,  called  "Castle  Garden,"  and 
chased  him  and  his  band  back  across  the  Waton- 
wan. When  the  first  onslaught  was  made  upon 
them  the  Indians  ran  across  a  plowed  field.  So 
hot  was  the  pursuit  that  one  old  squaw  fell  ex- 
hausted, and  a  small,  half  starved  pony,  failing 
to  keep  up  the  pace,  was  abandoned.  The  route 
was,  also,  strewn  with  Indian  household  goods 
and  cooking  utensils,  which  the  panic  stricken 
redmen  had  thrown  away  in  their  flight.     Some 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


of  these  and  the  pony  the  doughty  white  war- 
riors carried  off  as  trophies  of  tlieir  victory. 

In  South  Bend  village  a  palisade  fort  made 
of  plank  and  logs  from  the  saw  mill^  was  con- 
structed around  the  house  of  John  Williams^ 
and  a  volunteer  company  organized  to  guard 
the  town. 

In  the  Judson  neighborhood  a  fort  was  built 
from  the  saw  logs  at  the  McNutt  mill,  just 
across  the  river  from  Judson  village.  A  volun- 
teer company  was  organized,  with  Mr.  Bean  of 
Nicollet  as  captain.  Two  lines  of  pickets  were 
maintained,  one  on  the  high  bluffs  overlooking 
the  river,  and  the  other  near  the  fort.  When 
doing  gTiard  duty  H.  Caywood  saw  a  blanketed 
Indian  skulking  through  the  brush  in  the  dim 
morning  light  and  promptly  put  a  bullet  through 
him.  The  shooting  created  a  panic  of  excite- 
ment in  the  fort  for  they  thought  surely  the 
savages  were  upon  them.  When  the  garrison 
had  plucked  up  enough  courage  to  go  and  look 
for  the  dead  Indian,  they  found  in  the  brush 
Caywood's  old  white  mare  wounded. 

About  six  miles  north  of  the  McNutt  fort  old 
cliief  Eed  Iron  was  camped  with  a  number  of 
his  braves  by  Swan  Lake.  Captain  Bean  led 
his  company  against  these  Indians  to  drive  them 
away.  When  near  the  village.  Gust  Tidland  and 
David  Dackins,  who  could  speak  some  Sioux, 
were  sent  ahead  to  confer  with  the  Indians. 
Eed  Iron  and  his  followers  disclaimed  any 
thought  of  hostility  to  .the  whites,  and  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  Spirit  Lake  murders.  If  their 
presence  was  disturbing  the  white  man  they 
would  depart.  In  a  few  days  they  withdrew 
to  their  reservation  and  the  settlers  breathed 
easier. 

The  settlers,  who  had  located  in  the  present 
tovm  of  Cambria,  also  had  some  exciting  exper- 
ience. The  Indians  who  had  been  attacked  by 
the  Mankato  company  near  Madelia,  passed 
through  this  settlement  on  the  night  of  the  12th 
of  April,  and  pitched  itheir  wigwams  on  the 
Little  Cottonwood,  ^about  two  miles  west  of  the 
Blue  Earth  county  line.  <  On  April  14th  a 
volunteer  company  of  thirty  or  forty  Welsh  and 
German  settlers,  under  the  leadership  of  Eev. 
Peter  S.  Davies,  met  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Lipp 
and    marched    against    them.      Near    the    Indian 


camp  stood  the  log  cabin  of  a  German  bachelor, 
named  J.  Brandt.  There  were  indications  that 
the  house  had  been  plundered,  but  Mr.  Brandt 
could  not  be  found.  Some  of  the  Germans  were 
inclined  to  attack  the  Indians  at  once,  but  cooler 
heads  saw  the  danger  of  such  a  proceeding.  The 
Indians  outnumbered  the  whites  nearly  two  to 
one,  and  were  well  armed  and  good  shots.  Only 
a  few  of  the  whites  had  good  rifles  and  many 
were  only  armed  with  pitchforks,  or  long  poles 
with  scythes  lashed  to  their  top.  John  S. 
Davis,  Samuel  D.  Shaw  and  J.  Fessenmeyer 
vvere  deputated  to  confer  with  the  Indians  and 
learn  their  intention.  The  rest  of  the  company 
lay  concealed  behind  a  long  wood  pile  and  in 
some  brush,  ready  in  case  of  any  emergency. 
As  a  signal  of  danger  the  deputation  were  to 
fire  a  gun.  The  Indians  declared  they  were 
friendly  and  peaceable  and  had  no  sympathy 
with  Inkpadutah  whatever.  While  the  confer- 
ence was  in  progress  Mr.  Fessenmeyer's  gun 
-srent  off  accidentally,  and  immediately  from  be- 
hind the  wood  pile  and  brush  leaped  about  forty 
pale  faces  and,  with  demoniac  yells,  came  rush- 
ing down  upon  the  Indian  village,  brandishing 
their  guns,  pitchforks  and  scythe-tipped  poles. 
The  surprised  savages,  bucks,  sqiiaws  and  pa- 
pooses, lit  out  for  the  tall  timber  as  fast  as  their 
moccasined  feet  could  carry  them.  It  took  the 
most  prompt  and  energetic  action  on  the  part 
of  the  three  deputies  to  stop  the  mad  charge 
and  restore  order.  The  Indians  assured  the 
v/hites  of  their  friendship  and  finally  agreed  to 
depart  for  their  agency. 

Two  days  later  the  body  of  Mr.  Brandt  was 
found  in  the  brush  back  of  his  cabin,  with  two 
bullet  holes  in  his  head,  evidently  having  been 
murdered  by  the  Indians,  who  had  an  old  grudge 
against  him.  It  was  fortunate  the  murder  was 
not  discovered  when  the  whites  met  the  Indians, 
else  more  serious  consequences  would  have  re- 
sulted. 

After  ^pending  three  or  four  days  on  the 
Watonwan  the  volunteer-  companies  from  Man- 
kato, St.  Peter  and  Traverse  returned  home. 
The  next  day  after  the  Mankato  company  reach- 
ed home  (April  18th),  a  young  man  brought 
v;ord  to  the  county  seat  that  Sintomnidutah's 
band    had    again    appeared    near    Madelia,    and 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


89 


had  killed  a  cow  and  committed  other  depreda- 
tions,  and  asking  immediate  aid.  It  may  be 
All-Over-Eed  did  not  appreciate  the  fun  of  be- 
ing chased  by  the  paleface  and  the  loss  of  his 
pony  and  household  goods,  or  perhaps  he  had 
not  had  any  meat  to  eat  since  he  picked  those 
few  bones  he  hung  on  a  tree  at  the  mouth  of 
Perch  Creek,  and  was  hungry.  The  Mankato 
company  was  just  getting  ready  to  return  to 
the  Watonwan  and  give  the  old  chief  another 
chase,  when  they  heard  the  blast  of  a  bugle 
north  of  town  and  saw  a  long  file  of  soldiers 
approaching  on  the  St.  Peter  road.  \\'ith  their 
bright  uniforms,  their  guns  glistening  in  the  sun, 
and  a  large  flag  leading  the  column,  they  pre- 
sented a  fine  appearance.  They  proved  to  be  the 
long  looked  for  regulars  from  Fort  Snelling, 
who  had  been  sent  for  the  week  before.  The)- 
were  in  command  of  a  Col.  Smith,  a  very  de- 
liberate and  crusty  old  soldier.  It  had  taken 
him  five  or  six  days  to  reach  ilankato  from 
Fort  Snelling,  and  Avhen  Dr.  Lewis  went  to 
tell  him  of  the  recent  call  for  help  from  the 
Watonwan  settlers,  he  gruffly  told  him  to  put 
the  request  in  writing.  After  camping  in  front 
of  the  Leach  building  until  the  following  Mon- 
day, the  colonel  led  his  force  of  160  men  to  the 
relief  of  the  Watonwan  settlers,  but  he  found 
no  Indians.  Perhaps  they  got  tired  of  waiting 
for  him.  The  military  tactics  of  that  day  were 
too  dilatory  and  cumbersome  for  Indian  fight- 
ing. All-Over-Eed  would  have  starved  to  death 
if  he  had  stayed  in  the  same  place,  until  the 
palefaces   got   ready   to   fight  him. 

When  the  excitement  was  at  its  height  it  was 
reported  at  Faribault,  Shakopee,  St.  Paul  and 
other  towns  that  Mankato  and  St.  Peter  had 
been  captured,  and  burned  by  a  horde  of 
Yankton  and  Sisseton  Sioux,  nine  hundred 
strong,  and  that  the  savages  were  sweeping 
down  the  valley,  killing  and  burning  every- 
thing before  them.  At  Faribault  General 
Jamoe  Shields  raised  a  ^'olunteer  army  to  go  to 
the  rescue,  but  dispatched  a  friendly  Indian 
rimner  to  verify  the  report,  while  he  was  getting 
ready.  The  Indian  returned  next  day  with 
dispatches  contradicting  the  rumor.  At  St. 
Paul  much  excitement  prevailed.  A  volunteer 
company    was    organized,    guards    stationed    and 


fortifications  made  ready  to  repel  the  expected 
attack. 

In  a  few  days  it  was  evident  that  there  was 
no  real  ground  for  such  a  scare.  Xone  of  the 
'Indians  showed  any  hostile  intention,  other  than 
Inkpadutah  and  his  few  followers.  These  mur- 
derers fled  to  the  Sioux  river,  in  South  Dakota, 
and  no  effort  was  ever  made  by  the  military  to 
pursue  or  punish  them.  The  whites  seemed 
perfectly  impotent  in  any  effort  to  apprehend 
an  Indian  on  the  plains.  The  red  devils  soon 
killed  in  a  brutal  manner  two  of  their  women 
captives,  Mrs.  Thacher  and  ilrs.  Xoble.  The 
other  two.  Miss  Gardner  and  ilrs.  ^larble,  were 
ransomed  by  some  -  Christian  Indians,  who  had 
been  sent  for  the  purpose  from  the  mission  sta- 
tion of  Drs.  Eiggs  and  Williamson,  and  restored 
to  their  friends.  The  government  tried  to  com- 
pel the  other  Indians  to  capture  Inkpadutah  and 
his  band,  by  refusing  to  pay  them  their  annuities 
until  they  delivered  up  these  murderers.  It 
was  a  foolish  and  unjust  move,  which  only  re- 
sulted in  mischief.  Little  Crow  and  a  number 
of  other  Indians  finally  undertook  the  task  and, 
after  an  absence  of  some  days,  returned  with  a 
fishy  story,  how  they  had  come  upon  the  bad 
Indians  by  a  certain  lake  and,  after  a  hard 
fight,  had  killed  a  number  of  them.  Though 
Vv'hoUy  preposterous  in  every  detail,  the  sti  n-y 
got  the  Indians  their  rations.  During  the  sum- 
mer a  son  of  Inkpadutah  ventured  to  visit  the 
Indians  at  the  agency.  His  presence  was  re- 
■vealed  to  the  military  and  he  was  killed,  when 
attempting  to  get  away.  No  other  member  of 
Inkpadutah's  cut-throat  gang  is  known  to  ha\e 
received  punishment.  The  people  .soon  returned 
to  their  homes  and  various  avocations  and,  be- 
fore long,  the  Indians  mingled  witli  the  settlers 
as  before,  and  the  late  unpleasantness  was  prac- 
tically forgotten.  Militia  companies,  however, 
were  formed  during  the  summer  at  Garden  City, 
and  on  the  Watonwan  near  Madelia;  and  guns 
and  accoutrements  were  furnished  J:hem  from  the 
territorial  armory.  At  Garden  City  an  armory 
hall  was  constructed  for  the  use  of  the  company. 

Between  the  Indian  scare,  the  unprecedented 
cold,  backward  season,  and  the  money  panic, 
the  year  1857  was  quite  unfavorable  to  much 
immigration  or  material  prosperity   of  any   sort. 


90 


HISTOKY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Blue  Earth  coimty,  however,  seems  to  have  re- 
ceived quite  an  addition  to  its  population  and 
to  have  made  substantial  progress,  in  spite  of 
the  untoward  conditions.  The  Minnesota  was 
high  and  the  traffic  on  the  river  was  very  brisk 
all  summer.  Boats  were  arriving  almost  daily 
at  the  Mankato  and  South  Bend  wharfs.  Some- 
times as  many  as  four  boats  arrived  at  the  for- 
mer place  in  one  day.  During  the  season  there 
were  293  boat  arrivals  at  St.  Paul  from  the 
Minnesota.  The  year  before  there  had  been  316 
arrivals.  The  boats  who  paid  Mankato  the  most 
frequent  visits  in  1857  were:  The  "Jennette 
Eoberts/'  "Isaac  Shelby,  Medora,"  "Prank  Steel" 
and  "Time  and  Tide,"  all  good  sized  boats.  At 
Mankato  the  big  three  story  stone  business  block, 
begun  by  General  Leach  the  previous  fall  was 
completed.  A  similar  stone  block  was  erected 
this  same  year  by  White  and  Marks.  These  two 
fine  buildings  were  for  many  years  the  most 
imposing  structures  at  the  county  seat.  About 
the  middle  of  May  a  Mankato  resident  found 
sixty-three  new  buildings  then  in  process  of  erec- 
tion. By  the  first  of  November  there  were  in 
Mankato  by  actual  count  90  business  houses,  in- 
cluding stores,  shops  and  offices.  A  good  steam 
saw  mill  had  been  started  here  the  year  before 
by  George  W.  Lay,  and  this  year  saw  the  erec- 
tion of  the  much  larger  steam  mill  of  A.  D. 
Seward,  Josiah  Keene  and  A.  N.  Dukes,  co- 
partners as  A.  D.  Seward  and  Co.  It  had  a 
forty  horse  power  engine,  two  upright  saws  and 
a  lath  and  shingle  mill  attached. 

On  the  13th  of  June,  1857,  was  issued  the 
first  number  of  the  "Mankato  Independent,"  the 
first  newspaper  in  Blue  Earth  County.  The 
proprietors,  Clinton  B.  Hensley  and  Prank  W. 
Gunning,  brought  their  printing  outfit  with 
them  from  Kokomo,  Indiana,  and  as  an  induce- 
ment $800.00  of  printing  was  subscribed  and 
paid  for  in  advance  by  Mankato  business  men. 
Mr.  Hensley  was  an  able  writer  and  his  paper 
was  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the  county.  The 
printing  office  was  located  first  in  a  small  frame 
building,  erected  for  the  purpose,  on  the  corner 
of  Walnut  and  Third  streets.  This  location 
soon  proved  unsatisfactory  and,  on  Oct.  1st,  the 
paper  was  moved  to  the  upstairs  of  a  new  store 
building,  just  completed  by  Messrs.  Hubbell  and 


Tinkcom,    where    the    Patterson    Wholesale    Gro- 
cery now  stands. 

By  August  1st,  1857,  there  were  tliree  stage 
lines  carrying  mail  and  passefigers  centered  at 
Mankato;  a  daily  line  to  St.  Paul  starting  at 
South  Bend,  on  which  the  fare  was  $7.00;  a 
tri-weekly  line  passing  through  South  Bend, 
Garden  City,  Vernon  and  Shelbyville  to  Blue 
Earth  City,  on  which  the  fare  was  $4.00;  and 
a  tri-weekly  line  passing  through  Tivoli  and 
Winnebago  Agency  and  thence  to  Owatonna,  on 
which  the  fare  was  $5.00.  On  July  38th,  1857, 
the  County  Commissioners  let  the  contract  for 
the  erection  of  a  county  building  on  the  court 
house  block  to  Prancis  Bunker  and  Isaac  N. 
Britton  for  $1,500.00.  It  was  to  be  30x34  feet 
and  constructed  of  stone  with  a  fireproof  stone 
vault  6x7  feet  in  the  rear.  At  the  same  time  a 
contract  for  building  a  board  fence  around'  the 
block  was  let  to  the  same  persons  for  $335.00. 

The  townsite  of  LeHillier  was  surveyed  and 
platted  in  1857  by  Noah  Armstrong,  William  J. 
McCaulay,  John  J).  McCaulay,  Chas.  A.  Chap- 
man, Ann  M.  E.  DeWitt,  Eobert  C.  Nichols, 
John  Wilson,  Sidney  B.  Hawley,  William  J. 
Sturgis,  Isaac  Day  and  George  W.  Nelson,  and 
a  two  story  stone  building  was  erected  by 
George  M.  Keenan  in  which  he  opened  a  hotel. 
This  ancient  land  mark  still  stands  a  little  be- 
yond the  west  end  of  the  Blue  Earth  bridge. 

Adjoining  this  up  the  Blue  Earth  another 
townsite  was  platted  by  Thos.  Eiley  and  Fred 
E.  Eoelofson  in  September,  1857,  called  West 
Le  Hillier.  In  June  of  the  same  year  West 
Mankato  was  laid  out  by  a  large  number  of 
proprietors,  most  of  whom  were  non-residents. 
The  company  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  Blue 
Earth. 

South  Bend,  also  was  in  a  most  flourishing 
condition.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  buildings 
were  constructed  this  year.  Among  these  was 
a  large  frame  hotel,  built  by  Matthew  Thomp- 
son. The  formal  opening  of  this  hostelry  was 
duly  celebrated  by  a  grand  ball,  held  on  Decem- 
ber 31,  1857.  S.  Abbott  &  Co.,  were  its  first 
proprietors. 

A  second  saw  mill  was  started  in  South  Bend 
this  year  owned  by  Eev.  Eich  Davis  and  John 
Williams.      The    other    mill    owned    by    D.    C. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


91 


Evans  and  W.  E.  Price,  had  added  a  run  of 
stone  for  grinding  corn,  which,  furnished  the 
settlers  of  the  vicinity  their  material  for  johnny 
cake  and  hasty  pudding.  About  June  1st,  1857, 
Daniel  Buck,  then  a  young  man  fresh  from  the 
hills  of  Center  New  York,  arrived  at  South 
Bend  and  opened  a  law  office.  On  the  4th  of 
June  the  village  held  a  big  celebration  in  honor 
of  the  beginning  of  the  survey  for  the  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  and  Big  Sioux  Eailroad.  The  first 
stake  was  set  with  due  ceremony  by  Judge  J. 
Brayton  of  Ohio  in  the  presence  of  a  great 
crowd  of  people.  J.  B.  Pish  was  at  the  head 
of  the  corps  of  engiaeers,  who  had  charge  of 
the  survey.  After  placing  the  stake  the  crowd 
repaired  to  the  banking  room  of  W.  J.  McCau- 
ley.  Paul  P.  Eckstrom,  the  foremost  mer- 
chant of  the  village,  presided  and  speeches  were 
made  by  Messers.  Bangs,  Eodgers,  Pish,  Buck, 
Ben.  McGiven,  and  J.  T..  Williams.  The  volun- 
teer company,  a  relic  of  the  recent  Inkpadutah 
war,  marched  through  the  streets  and  fired 
salutes,  and  the  festivities  closed  with  a  big 
oyster  supper  at  Norcott's  Hotel,  the  three  story 
log  building,  which  D.  C.  Evans  had  built. 
This  survey  was  on  the  line'  that  was  after- 
wards called  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Eail- 
way. 

So  full  of  promise  was  South  Bend  at  this 
time  that  Mr.  Eckstrom  platted  a  large  addi- 
tion thereto,  which  was  called  after  his  name. 
In  South  Bend  township  a  frame  church  was 
constructed  about  a  mile  west  of  Minneopa 
Palls,  by  the  "Zion"  Cal.  Meth.  society  of  that 
locality.  Judson  village  was  also  flourshing. 
It  Had  a  large  saw  mill  on  each  side  of  the 
river.  Cephas  S.  Terry  and  Thos.  E.  Coulson 
had  good  sized  stores,  and  there  were  a  number 
of  shops  and  residences  built  there  this  year. 
John  A.  Tidland  in  July  platted  a  large  addi- 
tion to  this  townsite. 

In  June  of  this  year  a  new  townsite  was 
laid  out  on  the  farm  of  Hiram  Yates,  a  Uttle 
south  of  Crystal  Lake.  The  proprietors  were 
John  A.  Willard,  E.  J.  Sibley,  Hiram  Yates 
and  Elias  D.  Bruner.  It  was  called  "Crystal 
Lake  City."  Though  a  number  of  persons  with 
push  and  capital  were  interested,  it  failed  to 
materialize    into    anything    more    than    a    paper 


city.  At  Garden  City  two  saw  mills  were  com- 
pleted this  year,  one  by  Messrs.  Dilly,  Warren 
and  Capwell,  and  the  other  by  S.  il.  Folsom, 
E.  P.  Evans  and  M.  B.  Boynton.  The  latter 
mill  was  provided  with  one  run  of  stones  for 
flour,  and  had  a  corn  sheUer,  corn  mill,  and 
shingle  mill  attached.  A  large  hotel  was  also 
erected  here  during  the  summer  by  Messrs. 
Folsom  and  Evans,  and  the  general  store  of 
Harrington  &  Cheney  had  been  supplemented 
by  one  or  two  others. 

Further  up  the  Watonwan,  by  Hoxsie  & 
Conklin's  mill,  David  P.  Hunt,  Neri  T.  Hox- 
sie and  J.  W.  Greenwood,  in  August,  1857, 
laid  out  a  town  called,  ''^Vatonwan,"  which 
made  the  third  city  platted  in  Garden  City 
Township.  Like  Crystal  Lake,  it  did  not  suc- 
ceed, and  in  February  1863  the  plat  was 
vacated.  A  post  office  was  established  here  this 
year  with  J.  H.  Greenwood  as  postmaster.  The 
Mill  soon  passed  into  the  hands  of  Warren, 
Greenwood  and  Shaubut,  who,  in  1861,  sold  it 
to  Butterfield  &  Wampler.  Chas.  P.  Butter- 
field  soon,  however,  became  sole  proprietor  and 
his  efficient  management  made  the  mill  quite 
famous  in  that  part  of  the  county  for  many 
years.  Between  the  mill,  post  ofliice,  church  and 
school  house  the  place  continued  a  local  center 
until  the  present  day. 

On  July  8th,  1857  two  new  Election  pre- 
cincts were  created  in  the  county,  one  desig- 
nated "Ceresco,"  after  a  town  of  that  name  in 
Wisconsin,  whence  the  Porters  and  some  others  of 
the  inhabitants  had  come,  and  the  other  "Vernon," 
after  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio,  the  old  home  of 
Col.  B.  P.  Smith,  B.  McCracken  and  others  of 
its  settlers.  Ceresco  precinct  comprised  the 
present  townships  of  Ceresco  and  Lincoln,  and 
its  first  officers  were:  Sheldon  P.  Barney,  Isaac 
Slocum  and  Benjamin  Pease,  and  the  first  elec- 
tion was  appointed  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
William  Wells.  Vernon  precinct  embraced  the 
present  township  of  that  name  and  its  first 
officers  were :  Judges  of  Election,  Horton  W. 
Nelson,  C.  C.  Mack  and  T.  B.  Northrup,  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace,  Benj.  McCracken,  at  whose 
house  the  first  election  was  appointed  to  be 
held.  Two  rival  townsites  were  started  this 
year   in   A'ernon  precinct.     One  was  located   on 


92 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


the  Blue  Earth  in  sections  thirty-three  and 
twenty-eight  and  ealled  "Montevideo.''  It  was 
never  platted,  as  a  misunderstanding  between 
the  proprietors,  Jonathan  Leavit,  Horton  W. 
Nelson  and  George  W.  Nelson,  soon  arose,  which 
lead  to  litigation  and  an  abandonment  of  the 
project  within  a  year.  Jonathan  and  Caleb 
Leavitt  and  Jacob  Taylor  built  a  sawmill  there, 
which  they  operated  for  a  year  and  then 
removed  it  to  Madelia,  and  Horton  W.  Nelson 
started  to  build  a  hotel.  In  those  days  a  mill 
and  a  hotel  were  deemed  indispensible  for  the 
proper  iDCginning  of  any  city. 

The  other  townsite  was  started  further  down 
the  river  on  section  26  by  the  "Blue  Earth 
Company."  This  organization  was  formed  at 
Mt.  Vernon,  Ohio,  with  Col.  B.  F.  Smith  and 
Benj.  McCracken  as  its  principal  promoters. 
In  June  1857  they  had  their  townsite  sur- 
veyed and  platted  by  il.  B.  Haynes.  A  saw- 
mill was  erected,  which  was  operated  for  some 
years  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Haynes.  Another 
mill  was  built  ten  years  later  by  Eeed  &  Mason, 
and  a  feed  mill  started  by  G.  W.  Doty.  A  post 
office  was  established  with  J.  P.  Dooley  as 
postmaster  and  a  store  opened  about  1858.  Col. 
Smith    also    built    a   hotel   there   the   same   year. 

At  Shelbyville  there  was  considerable  activ- 
ity. A  large  saw  mill  was  erected  there  in 
1857,  by  Henry  Stokes  and  J.  J.  Porter,  and 
a  portable  saw  mill  put  up  about  a  mile  from 
the  village  by  John  Swearingen.  A  large  hotel 
was  built  by  Tilton  0.  Allen  and  two  stores, 
two  blacksmith  shops,  a  cabinet  shop,  and  an 
M.  E.  Church  and  several  houses  were  also 
constructed. 

On  section  five  of  Shelby  another  town  was 
started  by  S.  M.  Polsom  and  others,  but 
nothing  came  of  it.  The .  plat  of  Mapleton 
townsite,  which  had  been  surveyed  the  previous 
July  on  the  line  between  the  present  townships 
of  Sterling  and  Mapleton,  was  not  made  until 
January,  1857.  It  was  signed  by  James  Cor- 
nell, Eobert  Taylor  and  John  Maund.  No 
improvements  were  ever  made  on  this  land  to 
give  it  an  urban  appearance,  and  it  soon  was 
jumped  for  claims.  Eobert  Taylor,  however,  in 
1857,  had  a  store,  post  office  and  hotel  in  his 
log  house  on  the  Maple.     A  little  further  down 


the  river  a  blacksmith  shop  was  started,  and  on 
the  same  stream  Stephen  and  Elijah  Middle- 
brook  operated  a  portable  saw  mill. 

Between  Lake  Wita  and  Lake  Washington  on 
section  20,  in  the  present  town  of  Jamestown, 
a  saw  mill  was  started  by  A.  F.  Howes,  which 
during  1857  was  quite  active.  It  stood  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  the  finest  black  walnut  groves 
in  the  country,  which  stretched  from  the  north 
end   of   Eagle   Lake  to   the   county   line. 

Another  saw  mill  was  started  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  county,  on  the  Little  Cotton- 
wood, by  David  P.  Davis.  Most  of  these  mills 
had  one  run  of  stones  attached  for  grinding 
corn.  The  milling  industry,  which  had  such 
a  fair  start  in  1857,  was  destined  to  grow  and 
for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  the 
chief  manufacturing  industry  of  the  county. 
Both  steam  and  watet  power  were  used  and, 
during  the  time  stated,  they  furnished  most 
of  the  lumber  and  flour  used  by  the  people. 
The  great  number  of  townsites  started  this  year 
marks  the  climax  of  this  craze  in  our  county. 
On  the  first  of  June  1857,  was  held  the  elec- 
tion of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion preparatory  to  the  admission  of  Minnesota 
as  a  State.  Dr.  W.  E.  McMahan  was  the  repre- 
sentative elected  from  Blue  Earth  County.  On 
October  13th  occurred  the  election  of  State  and 
County  officers,  when  Blue  Earth  cast  1,131 
votes.  Of  these  H.  H.  Sibley  the  Democratic 
nominee  received  594  and  Alexander  Eamsey, 
the  Republican  nominee  537.  Mankato  and 
Eice  Lake  were,  however,  the  only  two  pre- 
cincts that  gave  Democratic  majorities,  the 
other  eight  precincts  were  Eepublican.  J.  T. 
Williams  was  elected  Clerk  of  Court,  being  the 
only  successful  Eepublican  on  the  County  tick- 
et. E.  D.  Bruner  was  chosen  Probate  Judge, 
Stephen  Lamm,  Treasurer;  Daniel  T.  Bunker, 
Sheriff;  and  W.  S.  Sargent,  Register  of  Deeds. 
The  year  1857  notes  the  first  appearance  in 
Blue  Earth  County  of  the  grasshopper  scourge, 
vfhich  in  after  years  worked  such  disastrous 
havoc.  At  this  early  date,  however,  there  was 
not  ijiuch  to  destroy  except  a  few  gardens,  and 
the  pest  soon  disappeared.  But  the  pioneers  of  that 
day  had  other  pests  _  to  contend  with,  the  striped 
gopher,    the    pocket    gopher    and    the    blackbird 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COrXTY.  93 

were  then   a  plague   in   the   land.     The   myriad  the  skj'  black  with  their  aerial  maneuvers.    Corn 

sloughs,   with   their   tall   reeds   and   grasses,   had  and    potatoes    -svere    the    principal    crops    of    the 

been    ideal    nesting    places    for    blackbirds    for  early  settlers,  and  it  was  against  tlicse  that  the 

countless   ages    and    during   the   spring   and   fall  devastations    of    these   pests    were    directed,    both 

the  groves  were  musical   with   their   voices,   and  at  the  planting  and  harvesting. 


CHAPTER  XL 

EVENTS    OF    1858— THE    FIVE    MILLION 
LOAN    BILL— DIVISION    OP    COUNTY 
INTO    TOWNSHIPS. 


At  the  first  meeting  of  the  County  Commis- 
sioners for  1858  held  on  the  4th  of  January 
there  was  a  change  in  personnel  of  the  board  and, 
also,  in  its  policy  on  the  liquor  question.  Norman 
L.  Jackson  of  Shelby  had  been  elected  to  suc- 
ceed E.  Patterson,  and  Elijah  K.  Bangs  of 
South  Bend  was  chosen  to  fill  the  place  of  Matt- 
hew Thompson,  resigned.  This  left  Theron 
Parsons  as  the  only  member  of  the  old  board 
still  in  service.  Heretofore  the  board  had  refus- 
ed to  grant  liquor  licenses  and  Mr.  Parsons  was 
a  strong  teetotaler.  At  the  meeting  of  January 
6th  a  majority  of  the  board  voted  to  grant 
liquor  licenses,  and  Mr.  Parsons  at  once  handed 
in  his  resignation  in  writing,  giving  as  reason 
for  his  action,  the  determination  of  the  major- 
ity of  the  board  tO'  issue  such  licenses,  and  asked 
that  the  same  be  inserted  in  the  minutes  where 
they  stand  to  this  day.  On  January  8th  Sam- 
uel M.  Walker  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy 
thus  caused. 

The  winter  of  1857-8  was  remarkably  mild 
and  open,  which  was  greatly  appreciated  after 
the  extreme  rigor  of  the  three  former  winters. 
On  the  23nd  of  January  it  was  so  warm,  that 
the  editor  of  the  Mankato  Independent  sat  in 
his  office  writing  all  day  without  a  fire  and  with- 
out a  coat  or  vest.  The  rivers  broke  up  for 
a  time  and  on  January  25th  the  ferry  across 
the  Minnesota  at  Mankato  was  carried  away  by  the 
freshet.  The  first  steamer  did  not  arrive  at  Man- 
kato until  the  22nd  of  March,  but  that  was  the 
earliest  date  a  boat  was  ever  known  to  ascend  the 
Minnesota  before  or  after.  It  was  the  Medora, 
with   Capt.    Chas.   T.   Hinde  in  command.     The 


sound  of  her  whistle  was  heard  miles  down  the 
river,  and  the  entire  population  of  Mankato, 
men,  women  and  children,  were  ready  at  the 
wharf  to  greet  her  with  cheer  upon  cheer.  In 
a  few  hours  she  was  followed  by  the  second 
boat,  the  Jennette  Eoberts.  On  March  20th, 
1858  South  Bend  village  was  incorporated  with 
William  E.  Price  as  President,  Paul  Eckstrom 
as  Clerk  and  C.  Wliitford,  Dr.  Havens  and 
Joshua  Barnard  as  trustees.  The  same  month 
the  Legislature  passed  a  bill  to  incorporate  Man- 
kato as  a  village,  but  because  of  the  absence  of 
the  Governor,  it  failed  to  receive  his  signature  in 
time. 

Up  to  this  time  no  railroad  had  been  built 
in  the  State,  and  the  people  were  ready  to  do 
most  anything  to  secure  this  necessity  of  mod- 
ern civilization.  Early  in  March  a  bill  was 
passed  by  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  Gov- 
ernor to  issue  bonds,  in  an  amount  not  to  exceed 
$5,000,000.00,  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  rail- 
roads. The  bill,  however,  provided  that  the  mat- 
ter be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  before 
it  became  effective.  The  Mankato  Independent 
denounced  the  measure  as  a  fraud  from  the  start, 
and  waged  a  bitter  war  against  its  adoption  up 
to  the  special  election,  held  April  15th,  1858. 
As  a  result  Blue  Earth  County  cast  a  major- 
ity of  nearly  200  votes  against  the  bill  and  was 
the  only  county  in  the  State  to  give  an  adverse 
majority.  The  wisdom  of  this  action  became 
fully  apparent  shortly  afterwards. 

A  number  of  prominent  lawyers  began  to  lo- 
cate at  Mankato  in  the  winter  of  1857-8,  among 
whom   were   Willard   and   Barney,    Cramer   Burt 


95 


96 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


and  M.  S.  Willcinson.  On  March  14th,  1858,  a 
irumber  of  German  citizens  formed  a  company 
of  state  militia  at  Ulman'a  Hall  in  Mankato. 
Joseph  Guenther  was  elected  captain  and  served 
about  six  months,  when  Matthias  Ulman'  suc- 
ceeded him  in  command.  A  Turners'  Associa- 
tion was  also  organized  by  the  Germans  of  that 
town  about  the  same  time  with  the  following 
officers:  President,  Wm.  Bierbauer;  Vice-presi- 
dent, Jacob  PfafE;  First  Secretary,  Chas.  L. 
Marks;  Second  Secretary,  Henry  Hartmann; 
Treasurer,    M.    H.    Bergholtz;    Turnwart,    John 

C.  Haupt;  Tengwart,  C'has.  Heilborn;  Librarian, 
Joseph  Leibrack.  This  society  flourished  for 
many  years  and  was  the  first  and  only  one  of 
the  kind  formed  in  the   county. 

Wliile  a  number  -  of  school  districts  had  been 
formed  over  the  county  very  few  of  them  had 
begun  actual  work  for  want  of  funds,  but  taxes 
now  began  to  come  in.  Log  schools  hoiises  had 
been  erected  in  most  of  the  settlements  and  the 
people  were  anxious  to  begin  educational  work. 
On  January  28th,  1858,  the  County  Commis- 
sioners apportioned  the  school  money  as  follows : 

Name   of  District.  Xo.  No.   Scholars.  Amt. 

Shelbyville      ..". 11  62  $63.55 

Butternut   Valley    (No.    10) .  . .  .  7  28  28.70 

J.    J.    Lewis    (Sterling) 14  21  21. .53 

Judson       ■ 4  50  51.25 

Watonwan    City 15  16  16.40 

Garden    City     .' 10  58  59.45 

South    Benci 3  75  76.87 

Campbells    (Lime)    ■. 8  49  50.22 

Mill    Creek    (Minneopa) 16.  46  47. 15 

Mapleton    (Sterling)     5  55  56.37 

Mankato      1          870  276.75 

D.  P.   Davis    (No.    11    Cambria)  6  27  27.67 

Total     - 757  $775.81 

None  of  the  schools  received  the  money  thus 
apportioned  to  then}  for  all  of  it,  that  was  col- 
lected, was  appropriated  by  F.  Bunker,  the 
Sheriff,  and  his  bondsnien  finally  settled  with  the 
County  Board  by  paying  the  same  in  county 
orders,  which  were  not  worth  over  fifty  cents 
on   the    dollar. 

On  the  same  day  (January  38),  the  board 
redistricted  the  whole  county  (outside  the  re- 
servation), beginning  at  its  northeast  corner  and 
numbering  them  in  each  township  conseciitively 
westward  to  west  line  of  county,  thence  south- 
ward to  its   south  line,  and  thence   east  to  the 


east  line  of  Danville,  making  in  all  sixty-one 
school  districts. 

In  accordance  with  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
just  passed  requiring  counties  to  be  divided  into 
towns  instead  of  election  precincts,  the  Board  of 
County  Commissioners  on  April  6th,  1858,  pro- 
ceeded to  do  this  with  all  the  territory  outside 
the  Winnebago  reservation.  The  name  of  each 
election  precinct  was  applied  to  the  towns  in 
every  case,  but  as  there  were  more  townships  of 
land  than  election  precincts  a  few  new  names 
were  required.  The  names  given  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

Lime — Boundaries    same    as    at    present. 

Jamestown — Included  Jamestown  and  LeRay  ex- 
cept south  tier  of  sections. 

Mankato — Same  as  at  present  except  south  tier  of 
sections. 

South    Bend — Same,    except    south    tier    sections. 

Judson^Same   as   at  present. 

Butternut  Vallev — Included  Cambria  and  Butternut 
Valley. 

Ttitchfleld — Same    as   Lincoln. 

Watonwan — Same   as   Garden  City. 

Montevideo — Same    as    Vernon. 

Ceresco — Same    as    at    present. 

Otsego — Same   as   Pleasant  Mound. 

Liberty — Same    as    Shelby. 

Mapleton — Same   as    Sterling. 

Sherman — Same    as    Mapleton. 

Jackson — Same   as   Danville. 

At  this  meeting  a  petition  was  presented,  sign- 
ed by  eighty-two  residents  of  South  Bend,  re- 
questing the  range  line  between  36  and  27  to 
be  fixed  as  the  east  line  of  their  town,  instead 
of  the  Blue  Earth  River.  This  was  opposed  by 
Mankato  and  by  most  of  the  residents  of  the 
disputed  territory.  The  board  finally  by  a  vote 
of  two  to  one  fixed  the  center  of  the  Blue  Earth 
and  Le  Sueur  Rivers  as  the  east  boundary  of 
South  Bend. 

Some  of  the  names  given  to  the  towns  were 
not  satisfactory  and  on  April  16th,  1858,  the 
Commissioners  concluded  to  divide  the  whole 
county  including  the  Winnebago  Agency  into 
towns  and  rename  them  all;  The  only  change 
in  the  list  above  given  was  that  the  name  of 
Ritchfield  was  changed  to  Fox  Lake.  It  was 
intended  that  the  name  Fox  Lalce  should  be  ap- 
plied in  town  106  range  39,  as  it  was  selected  by 
John  and  Miles  Porter,  who  lived  there,  after 
their  old  home  in  Wisconsin,  while  Ceresco  was 
tc  be  applied  to  to-mi  107,  where  Isaac  Slocum 
resided  and  was  the  name  he  had  chosen  after 
the    Wisconsin   town    he    had    come   from.     But 


DANIEL    A.    DICKINSON. 


LEWIS    C.    BRANSON. 


MARTIN    J.    SEVERANCE. 


ERANKLIN    H.    WAITE. 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


the  Commissioners,  through  some  blunder,  got 
the  names  transposed  and  they  were  never  cor- 
rected. Another  change  in  the' list  was  that  the 
name  "Vernon"  was  substituted  for  "Monte- 
video." These  were  two  names  of  rival  town- 
sites  in  the  same  township,  ^  and  the  proprietors 
oC  each  were  anxious  to  have  the  name  of  their 
respective  city  applied  to  the  town,  and  Vernon 
won.  The  names  added  to  the  list  were  for  the 
townships  embraced  in  the  Indian  Agency  and 
were   as   follows : 

De   Soto — Now   Rapidan. 
Decoria — Same   as   at   present. 
Rice  Lake — Now   McPherson. 
Medo — Same  as  at  present. 
Winneshiek — Now    Beauford. 
Tecumseh — Now  Lyra. 

On  the  same  day  Lime  was  set  o££  from  Man- 
kato  as  an  independent  town.  Fox  Lake  was 
attached  to  Ceresco,  Otsego  to  Liberty,  and  later 
Jackson  was  attached  to  Mapleton,  and  Eice 
Lake  to  Mankato  for  administrative  purposes. 

The  people  were  still  agitating  the  removal  of 
the  Winnebagoes,  and  in  February  a  joint  re- 
solution to  that  effect  was  passed  by  both  houses 
of  the  Minnesota  Legislature  and  sent  to  Con- 
gress. 

In  April  of  this  year  (1858),  Moses  0.  Ben- 
nett laid  out  a  townsite  close  to  his  mill,  near 
the  center  of  the  east  half  of  section  25  of 
Mankato  Township,  which  he  called  Tivoli.  A 
Congregational  church  was  organized  through 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  Bennett  with  about  thirty 
members,  and  a  good  church  building  erected 
upon  a  "fine  plat  of  ground  specially  dedicated 
for  the  purpose,  and  which  is  now  used  for  the 
school  house  site.  The  church  was  organized 
in  winter  1857-8  by  Eev.  M.  N.  Adams.  Eev. 
E.  A.  Bumham,  the  father  of  Capt.  Fred  Burn- 
ham  the  noted  English  scout  of  South  Africa, 
used  to  preach  at  this  church  and  at  a  church 
in  Alma  City  for  a  number  of  years,  and  work- 
ed at  the  same  time  for  Mr.  Bennett  at  the 
mill.  He  was  a  young  man  then,  and  it  was 
while  living  at  Tivoli  that  he  went  down  to 
Sterling  and  was  married  on  July  3d,  1860, 
by  Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  to  Eebecca,  daughter  of 
William  Eussell  of  that  town;  and  it  was  at  a 
log   cabin   belonging   to   Mr.    Bennett,    that   Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Burnham  were  living  when  their  fam- 
ous son  was  bom. 

On  April  15th,  1858,  the  village,  or  rather 
"Town  of  Mankato"  as  it  was  designated,  held 
its  first  charter  election,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  governor  had  not  yet  signed  the  bill  of 
Incorporation.  The  following  officers  were  elec- 
ted: President,  Alpheus  F.  Hawley,;  Eecorder, 
David  Lamm,  Trustees,  S.  Hylan,  Wm.  Bier- 
bauer  and  Isaac  Marks.  The  bill  was  after- 
wards approved  by  the  Governor  on  June  11th, 
1858. 

It  seems  after  the  court  house  square  had  been 
fenced,  sonje  of  the  residents  in  the  vicinity 
found  it  convenient  to  turn  therein  their  hor- 
ses, cattle,  sheep  and  swine,  and  we  find  the 
County  Board  on  July  8th,  1858,  passing  a 
resolution  directing  the  sheriff  to  turn  all  such 
animals  out.  Prom  the  start  the  county  had 
been  "in  a  bad  way  financially,  as  there  were  so 
many  things  necessary,  and  but  little  taxable 
property.  County  orders  were  not  worth  over 
fifty  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  the  county  build- 
ings had  not  yet  been  fully  paid  for,  and  more 
were  badly  needed.  An  act  was  therefore  passed 
by  the  Legislature  and  approved  June  11, 
1858,  authorizing  a  loan  for  not  to  exceed 
$5,000  upon  bonds  drawing  12  per  cent  inter- 
est. As  the  County  Commissioners  were  legis- 
lated out  of  office  by  this  same  Legislature,  and 
a  Board  of  County  Supervisors  substituted  in 
their  place,  composed  of  the  Chairman  of  each 
town  board,  it  became  necessary  to  pass  a 
special  act,  continuing  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners  of  Blue  Earth  County  in  being 
until  September,  1858,  for  the  purpose  of  issu- 
ing the  bonds.  On  August  6th,  1858,  the  bonds 
were  issued  in  amounts  of  $500,  each  drawing 
twelve  per  cent  interest,  but  it  took  quite  a 
time  to  get  money  on  them,  as  the  country  had 
just  passed  through  a  severe  money  panic. 
These  were  the  first  bonds  ever  issued  by  the 
County. 

The  summer  of  1858  was  rather  wet  and 
the  navigation  of  the  Minnesota  was  good.  J. 
T.  Besser  kept  a  record  of  all  steamboat  arriv- 
als at  Mankato  during  the  season  with  names 
of   boats    and    dates    of   arrival,    which    we   still 


98 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


possess.     From  this  it  appears  that  the  names 
of  the  boats  and  number  of  arrivals  were: 
From   below: 

Medora     7 

Jennette    Roberts     27 

Time    &    Tide 20 

Franklin    Steel 35 

Isaac    Shelby     ; 16 

Freighter 14 

Wave      ..... ...;.... 8 

Minnesota 3 

Belfast     . . ... .; . . . . . ;....... 1 

Total      131 

From   above: 

Medora     2 

Jennette    Roberts 14 

Time    &    Tide 2 

Franklin     Steel     4 

Isaac    Shelby ; 9 

Freighter 11 

Wave      ...;.......' 4 

Minnesota      1 

Belfast 1 

Total    ,.....;,. 48 

Total  '  both    'ways  '. 179 

.Messrs.  Cleveland  and  Bntterfleld  bnilt  two 
flat  boats  at  M^nkato,  the  firgt  of  which,  was 
launched  on  September  18th  qf  this  year,  but 
the.  record  of  these  flat  boats  were  not  kept  by 
j..j-r.  Besser.  Mr.  Woloben  built  a  pleasure  boat 
for  the  "Mankato  Yacht  Club,"  which  was 
christened  "Kate"  and  launched  at  Lake  Crys- 
tal in  June.  This  boat  did  service  at  a  .big 
Independence  day  picnic,  held  in  the  grove  by 
Lake  Crystal  on  July  2nd.  On  September 
14th,  1858  was  held  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  County  Supervisors  cf  Blue  Earth 
County.     It  consisted  of  the   follov'ng  per^oiis: 

James    Shoemaker,    Mankato. 
Samuel   M.   Valker,   Mankato. 
Daniel     Campbell,    Lime. 
Timothy    Sullivan,    Jamestown. 
Lyman    Matthews,    South    Bend. 
James    A.    Wiswell,    Watonwan. 
Jasper    C.    Browning,    Vernon. 
James    Cornell,    Mapleton. 
David   Davi^,   Butternut   Valley. 
Robert   Patterson,   Judson. 
Rudolph    Crandall,   Liberty. 
Lucius   Dyer,   Jackson. 

,  Mr.  Walker  was  chosen  chairman  and  Wilr 
Ham  S.  Sargent,  clerk.  Heret^^forp  the  Eegis- 
ter  of  Deeds  had  been  the  Clorx  of  the  County 
Commissioners,  but  by  the  recent  act  tliC  Board 
was    authorized    to    select    another    person,    and 


ihe  name  of  the  office  was  changed  to  "Councj 
Audii-or."  PriJtieally  the  new  Boiirrl  consLsted 
of   seven  J-JepubJJcans   and  six  Democrats. 

There  were  still  some  who  wished  to  change 
their  township  namra  and  Messrs.  Crandall, 
Dyer  and  Browning  .were  appointed  a  committee 
to  consider  these  changes.  On  October  14th 
they  recommended  that  Jackson  be  changed  to 
"Danville,"  (a  name  suggested  by  Mr.  Dyer 
after  his  old  home  in  Vermont),  "Vernon"  to 
"Mt.  Vernon,"  "Otsego"  to  Willow  Creek"  and 
"Liberty"  to  "Shelby."  Most  of  these  changes 
became  necessary  because  the  names  had  been 
appropriated  by  other  towna  in  the  state.  The 
report  was  adopted  with  one  exception,  'Ver- 
non" was  changed  to  "Vernon  Center,"  as  both 
"Vernon"  and  "Mt.  Vernon"  had  already  been 
applied  to  other  towns  in  the  state. 

On  October  16th,  Joseph  Titus  was  appointed 
coroner  for  the  county.  The  rate  of  tax  for 
county  purposes  was  iixed  at  seven  and  one- 
half  -  per  cent,  and  at  the  same  meeting  Chas. 
A.  Chapman  was  hired  to  make  copies  of  all 
the  town  plats  in  the  county,  which  duty'  he 
performed   with   excellent  success. 

The  crops  of  1858  were  fairly  good  in  spite 
of  the  wet  season.  We  note  this  year  the  first 
known  raising  of  Amber  cane  in  the  county 
by  Eev.  Gunn  in  South  Bend  and  James  Miller 
in  Shelby.  It  was  generally  considered  by  the 
pioneers  that  Minnesota  was  too  cold  for  the 
production  of  apples.  S.  Titus  Mills  was 
among  the  first  to  demonstrate  that  this  fruit 
would  grow  in  this  climate.  He  had  an  orch- 
ard planted  on  his  farm  by  Mills  Lake  soon 
after  his  coming  there  in  1854.  Eobert  Good- 
year, also,  was  a  pioneer  in  apple  culture,  and 
he  did  much  to  stimulate  a  taste  for  horti- 
culture among  our  early  settlers. 

During  the  summer  of  1858  an  attempt  was 
made  to  start  an  educational  institution  at  Jud- 
son Village.  A  stock  company  was  formed  and 
$800.  raised,  which  was  applied  to  purchase 
a  frame  building  of  T.  E.  Coulson  and  a 
bright  young  Baptist  preacher,  Eev.  J.  E.  Ash, 
and  his  wife,  were  put  in  charge.  They  had 
a  number  of  scholars,  but  after  a  year  Eev. 
Ash  moved  to  Mankato  and  the  embryo  college 
failed,     A  number  of  private  high  schools  were. 


CHRISTIAN  CHURCH-SHELBY  NORWEGIAN  LUTHERAN  CHORCH-AMMrf  H.e.CHURCH-SHEl-BV 


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M.E.  CHURCH -AM eor 


SCHOOL  HOUSE  -  AMBOy 


THE  OLD  STONE  HOUSE  -So.3END 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


99 


also,  started  at  Maiikato  by  J.  E.  Beatty,  0.  0. 
Pitcher,  W.  L.  Coon,  and  others.  This  year 
Rev.  Jas.  Thompson,  whose  special  hobby  was 
education,  got  an  act  through  the  Legislature 
incorporating  the  "Southern  Minnesota  Uni- 
versity," and  in  September  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent; General  J.  E.  Tourtellotte,  Secretary,  and 
on  Nov.  10th  a  preparatory  department  was 
opened  at  Mankato  with  Rev:  Hugh  A.  McKel- 
vey  and  wife  as  teachers.  The  school  ran  for 
just  one  term  and  then  failed  for  want  of 
funds. 

Reports  from  twenty-three  public  schools  in 
the  county  showed  1,057  children  of  school  age, 
and  the  school  money  amounting  to  $2,387.98 
was  apportioned  to  them. 

On  Dee.  5th,  1858,  a  Baptist  church  was 
organized  at  Judson  and  at  the  same  time  and 
place  was  organized  the  "Minnesota  Valley  Bap- 
tist Association,"  to  embrace  Blue  Earth,  Nicol- 
let, Le  Sueur  and  Waseca  Counties. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  the  Farmers'  Bank 
of  Garden  City  was  started  by  J.  H.  Dawes. 
Another  bank  started  at  Mankato,  but  neither 
were  very  substantial  or  did  much  real  bank- 
ing business. 

On  September  18,  1858  the  Republican  Con- 
vention met  at  Mankato  and  as  list  of  dele- 
gates recalls  so  manv  prominent  old  settlers  we 
give  it  entire:  Mankato,  Cramer  Burt,  A.  D. 
Seward,  W.  W.  Clark,  P.  Wistar,  J.  C.  Haupt, 
H.  E.  L.  Gude  and  H.  DuBuison;  South  Bend, 
B.  Park  Dewey,  P.  Eckstrom  and  T.  M.  Pugh ; 
•Tudson,  Robert  Patterson,  Au?.  Tidland  and 
John  I.  Jones;  Butternut  Valley,  John  S. 
Davies,  David  J.  Davies  and  Daniel  L.  Williams-, 
Ceresco,  Isaac  Slocum,  James  Wilson  and  Dr. 
J.  0.  Tibil;  Vernon,  Col.  B.  P.  Smith,  James 
Oonnel  and  John  A.  Darling;  Watonwan,  Wil- 
liam Hanna,  A.  J.  Jewett  and  John  Dillev; 
Danville.  Lucius  Dver;  Sbelbyville,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Powell.  R.  Crandall  and  J.  P.  Stoek,  Maple- 
ton;  Rev.  J.  E.  Conrad,  Robt.  Tavlor  and 
John  Henderson.  At  the  election,  held  Octo- 
ber, 1858,  there  were  over  1.000  votes  cast  in 
tbe  county.  The  Republicans  won  bv  a  small 
marsrin  and  elected  about  half  of  the  countv 
officers.  To  show  the  increase  of  propertv  dur- 
ing first   five   years   of,  its  history   we   give   the 


assessed  valuation  of  each  year:  1853,  $5,000.00; 
1854,  $37,529.00;  1855,  $43,609.00;  1856, 
$141,377.44;  1857,  $310,659.00. 

On  January  5th,  1859,  Mankato  and  South" 
Bend  secured  daily  mail  service  to  St.  Paul 
for  the  first  time.  In  February,  1859,  there 
was  much  activity  among  the  militia  companies 
of  the  county.  The  Mankato  Company  received 
new  arms  and  uniforms,  and  the  streets  of 
Mankato  were  enlivened  by  frequent  drills  under 
Captain  Guenther.  The  Garden  City  Sharp- 
shooters re-organized  under  the  new  law,  with 
T.  E.  Potter  as  Captain,  and  having  sixty  mem- 
bers, rank  and  file.  On  March  2nd,  1859  the 
Mankato  Artillery  Company  was  organized  with 
the   following  officers: 

Captain,    James    Shoemaker. 
First    Lieutenant,    Sumner   Hylan. 
iSeeond    Lieutenant,    Jas.    B.    Hubbell. 
Third   Lieutenant,  Edwin   Bradley. 
First    Sargeant,    L.   D.    Patterson. 
Second  Sargeant,  Chas.  A.  Chapman. 
Third    Sargeant,    George    A.    Clark. 
Fourth   Sargeant,   Chas.  Mansfield. 
Ensign.   Joshua  Wolahen. 
First    Corporal,    Fred    C.    Roosevelt. 
Second  Corporal,  T.  C  Bevans. 
Third  Corporal,  G.  L.  Turner. 
Fourth   Corporal,  L.   C.   Johnson. 

The  rank  and  file  numbered  40  men.  During 
the  winter  large  public  meetings  were  held  at 
Mankato,  South  Bend  and  Le  Hillier  to  agitate 
the  matter  of  removing  the  Winnebagoes  from 
the  county,  and  strong  resolutions  were  sent  to 
Congress  asking  speedy  action.  The  cause  which 
incited  at  this  time  the  feeling  against  the 
Winnebagoes,  and  which  perhaps  stirred  up  the 
military  spirit  of  the  county',  was  the  shooting 
in  January,  1859,  at  the  Town  of  Danville,  of 
one  John  Bums  by  a  Winnebago.  Indian.  It 
seems  that  Burns  had  been  furnishing  the  In- 
dians on  the  quiet  a  little  "fire  water,"  and 
this  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  trouble. 

The  winter  of  1858-59  was  another  very 
mild  one.  The  rivers  broke  up  in  January  and 
again  about  the  middle  of  March.  On  the  24th 
of  l\Tarch  the  new  bridge  across  the  Blue  Earth 
at  Vernon  was  swept  away  by  the  freshet,  while 
the  two  new  bridges  at  Garden  City,  as  well  as 
the  one  at  Watonwan,  barely  escaped.  Some  of 
ilie  settlers  this  year  seeded  as  early  as  February 
and  had  good  crops.     On  February  10th,   1859, 


100 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


the  Board  of  Supervisors  appointed  John  A. 
Willard,  County  Attorney  at  a  salary  of  $300.00 
per  annum. 

At  the  town  elections  held  in  April,  1859, 
many  new  chairmen  of  Supervisors  were  elected 
and  these  met  as  a  new  Board  of  County  Sup- 
ervisors on  May  35th,  1859.  The  members  of 
tJiis  new  board  were: 

Lyman  Matthews,  chairman,   South  Bend. 
H.   K.    and   C.    S.   Dunscomb,   Mankato. 
Anthony  J.  Crisp,  Judson. 
George   Owens,   Butternut   Valley. 
John  M.  Mead,  Ceresco. 
Theodore    E.    Potter,    Watonwan. 
Thos.   S.  Hays,  Vernon   Center. 
Rudolph    Crandall,    Shelby. 
James    Cornell,    Mapleton. 
Timothy    Sullivan,    Jamestown. 
Lucius    Dyer,    Danville. 
Evans    Goodrich,   Lime. 

The  majority  of  this  board  being  Republi- 
cans, at  their  first  meeting  they  appointed  B. 
Parke  Dewey,  an  active  worker  in  that  party, 
and  a  young  attorney  of  promise,  as  County 
Attorney  in  place  of  Mr.  Willard  and  fixed  his 
salary  at  $200.00  a  year;  they  also  made  the 
"Mankato  Independent"  the  ofEicial  county  pa- 
per. On  June  1st  the  Independent  moved  its 
office  to  the  rear  of  the  second  story  of  the 
Tjeech  building.  Declaring  it  the  ofEicial  paper 
\!&s  not  a  mere  matter  of  form  but  rather  get- 
ting things  in  order  to  welcome  a  rival.  Poli- 
tics in  those  days  were  very  intense  and  bitter. 
Mr.  Hensley  when  he  first  Came  to  Mankato 
had  intended  to  run  his  paper  to  accord  with 
its  name  of  "Independent,"  but  the  suction  of 
the  political  current,  as  it  approached  the  great 
cataract  of  the  Civil  War  was  too  strong  for  a 
man  of  his  convictions  and  temperament.  He 
was  an  able,  forcible  writer  and  soon  made  his 
paper  ring  with  Republican  editorials.  The 
more  he  pleased  his  Republican  readers,  the  less 
his  paper  suited  his  Democratic  patrons.  The 
latter  concluded  after  their  defeat  in  the  election 
of  1858  that  if  their  party  was  to  maintain  its 
position  in  the  county,  it  must  have  an  organ 
of  its  own.  The  matter  was  discussed  by  a 
number  of  invited  Democratic  leaders  at  a 
m^eeting  held  at  Mankato.  Finally  they  suc- 
ceeded in  inducing  John  C.  Wise,  recent  editor 
of  the  "Superior  City  Chronicle,"  to  come  to 
Mankato    and    start    a   Democratic    paper.      He 


came  early  in  June  to  look  the  ground  over  and, 
being  favorably  impressed,  sent  at  once  for  his 
printing  outfit,  which  arrived  on  the  34th  of 
that  month  on  the  Jennette  Roberts.  This 
new  Journalistic  venture  was  christened  "The 
Mankato  Record"  and  its  first  issue,  dated  July 
5th,  1859,  appeared  on  the  afternoon  of  July 
4th,  1859,  when  a  big  celebration  was  booked,  at 
Mankato.  A  cold  rain  neccessitated  the  post- 
ponement of  the  celebration  to  the  next  day. 
The  New  Ulm  and  Mankato  bands,  the  Man- 
kato Rifles  under  Capt.  Guenther,  and  the 
Turner  Society  were  features  of  the  parade.  An 
oration  by  Senator  Wilkinson  and  a  picnic  din- 
ner in  the  grove  near  Warrens  Creek,  were  the 
tM'O  other  principal  events  of  the  day. 

The  celebration  gave  the  new  editor  a  good 
opportunity  to  meet  the  people  and  become  ac- 
quainted. The  Democrats  of  the  county  could 
not  have  made  a  better  selection  to  champion 
their  principles  than  John  C.  Wise.  Personally 
he  possessed  all  the  elements  of  a  popular  leader. 
Genial,  kind,  and  warm  hearted  he  made  a  host 
of  friends  among  his  opponents.  His  democratic 
ways  made  him  accessible  to  everybody,  no  mat- 
ter what  their  station  in  life  or  their  political 
views.  This  kept  him  in  touch  with  all  the 
people  of  the  county  and  the  events  of  their 
lives.  In  those  days  no  country  editor  could 
afford  to  keep  a  reporter,  but  Mr.  Wise  did  not 
need  any.  Everybody  reported  to  him.  He  was 
a  very  ready  and  able  writer,  and  his  wonderful 
knowledge  of  men  and  events  made  his  paper 
always  one  of  the  best  and  most  influential  of 
the  country  journals  of  the  state.  Hundreds  of 
Republicans  were  constantly  on  its  list  of  sub- 
scrihers. 

On  April  15th,  1859,  a  treaty  was  made  at 
Washington  with  representatives  of  the  Win- 
nebago Indians,  whereby  they  ceded  the  west 
two-thirds  of  their  reservation  in  Blue  Earth 
County  and  were  to  be  allotted  eighty  acre 
farms  in  severalty  on  the  balance  of  their  land. 
Owing  to  the  change  of  administration  and  the 
troublous  times,  which  soon  followed,  the  provis- 
ions of  the  treaty  were  never  consummated. 

Navigation  was  fairly  good  on  the  Minnesota 
this  year,  though  not  up  to  the  previous  year. 
The    Freighter,    which    arrived    at   Mankato,   on 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


10 1 


March  27thj  was  the  first  boat.  In.  the  latter 
part  of  June^  during  a  period  of  high  water, 
this  boat  ascended  the  Minnesota  with  intent  to 
get  into  Big  Stone  Lake  and,  passing  thence 
along  the  swale  which  connects  that  lake  with 
Lake  Traverse,  got  into  the  Eed  Eiver.  The 
scheme  might  have  succeeded,  but  the  crew  got 
drunk  at  New  Ulm,  and  before  they  sobered  off, 
the  freshet  was  over  and  their  boat  got  stuck 
in  the  mud  about  two  miles  below  the  Big  Stone 
outlet,  where  the  keel  remained  for  many  years 
to  commemorate  the  event.  In  all  there  were 
103  boat  arrivals  from  St.  Paul  and  twenty- 
nine  from  the  west,  total  131,  at  the  Mankato 
levee.  The  Franklia  Steel  made  nineteen 
of  these  from  St.  Paul  and  eleven  from  the 
west,  the  Favorite  forty-four  from  St.  Paul 
and  four  from  the  west,  and  the  Jennette  Eob- 
erts  31  from  St.  Paul  and  8  from  the  west. 
Besides  the  steamboats,  the  flat  boats,  built  by 
Cleveland  and  Butterfield,  called  the  "Minneopa" 
and  "Victor,"  were  operated  for  most  of  the 
season  during  low  water. 

From  newspaper  reports  of  this  year  we  learn 
that  Mankato  had  a  population  of  about  1,000. 
That  it  had  nineteen  stores,  five  hotels,  two 
saw  mills,  to  one  of  which  (Seward  Co.)  a  large 
grist  mill  was  attached  in  December,  five  re- 
hgious  societies,  (Presbyterian,  Catholic,  Metho- 
dist, Baptist  and  Universalist),  two  newspapers, 
one  or  two  brickyards  and  lime  kilns.  West 
Mankato  possessed  a  good  hotel  and  a  saw  mill. 
Le  Hillier  had  a  stone  hotel,  a  good  school,  a 
lyceum,  and  several  buildings.  South  Bend  had 
a  big  hotel,  two  saw  mills,  five  stores,  two  or 
three  religious  societies,  and  a  population  .of 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred, 
Judson  had  a  fine  saw  mill,  two  stores,  an  acad- 
emy, and  some  thirty  dwellings.  Garden  City 
had  a  good  hotel,  two  mills  (the  Yankee  mill 
having  three  riin  of  stones  and  capacity  for 
1,500  bushels  daily),  two  stores,  a  bank,  a  pub- 
lic hall,  an  armory,  a  post  office,  a  school  house, 
two  religious  societies,  and  a  population  of  about 
one  hundred  and  seventy.  Watonwan  had  a 
mill  and  a  good  hotel,  kept  by  D.  D.  Hunter. 
Vernon  had  two  or  three  stores,  a  hotel,  post 
office,  two  mills,  one  or  two  religious  societies, 
and  a  population  of  about  100.     Shelbyville  pos- 


sessed two  miUs,  three  stores,  hotel,  postoffice, 
an  M.  E.  church,  and  a  population  of  100, 
Mapleton  had  a  store  and  mill,  and  there  were 
mills  at  varioTjis  other  points  in  the  county,  and 
a  number  of  wooden  bridges  had  been  con- 
structed. This  is  only  a  birds  eye  glance  over 
the  county  and  is  not  intended  by  any  means  to 
cover  aU.  the  industries  of  any  village  in  detail. 

Prairie  fires  were  very  destructive  in  the  fall 
at  Shelby,  Danville  and  other  towns.  In  July, 
1860,  Wm.  J.  Dexter  of  Davis,  Smith  and  Dex- 
ter, proprietors  of  "Bank  of  Fox  Lake,  Wis.," 
and  of  "Farmers  Bank  of  Garden  City,  Minn.," 
opened  a  bank  at  Mankato. 

During  this  and  the  previous  summer  much 
interest  was  taken  in  Minneopa  Falls.  Artists 
from  St.  Paul,  St.  Anthony,  and  elsewhere  vis- 
ited it  and  made  pictures  of  it.  Picnic  parties 
from  St.  Peter,  Traverse,  Mankato  and  other 
points  resorted  to  it. 

A  military  company  was  organized  at  Win- 
nebago Agency  on  Aug.  2,  1859,  with  Dr.  Cole- 
man as  captain  and  Asa  White  as  first  lieu- 
tenant. Originally  there  were  thirty  members 
which  in  a  month  increased  to  forty-eight.  They 
were  equipped  with  MLonie  rifles  and  all  neces- 
sary accoutrements  from  the  state  armory.  On 
Aug.  3rd  and  4th  Major  CuUen  came  to  Man- 
kato and  paid  the  voli;inteeTS,  who  had  served 
in  the  defense  of  the  frontier  during  the  Inkpa- 
dutah  massacre.  Dr.  Lewis'  company  received 
about  $12.00  to  $13.00  apiece.  Congress  had 
appropriated  on  June  14,  1858,  $30,000.00,  but 
$1,163.81  had  been  used  in  expenses  of  in- 
vestigation of  causes  of  the  massacre.  The  bal- 
ance was  used  in  paying  claims  of  volunteer 
expeditions,  search  for,  and  ransom  of  female 
captives,  and  loss  of  property.  The  aggregate 
claims  reached  $46,232.62  and  of  these  $25,- 
114.91  were  approved  by  Major  CuUen,  and 
were  paid  pro  rata.  The  home  guard  com- 
panies did  not  receive  anything  for  their  ser- 
vices. 

On  October  7,  1859,  was  held  the  flrst  fair  in 
our  county.  The  place  was  the  farm  of  Miner 
Porter,  which  adjoined  the  village  of  South 
Bend.  Daniel  Buck,  afterward  Judge  of  Su- 
preme Court,  but  then  a  lawyer  and  postmaster 
at  South  Bend  was  the  orator  of  the  occasion. 


102 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  BAETH  COUNTY. 


Messrs.  Porter  and  Buck  were  rauch.  interested 
in  agricultural  and  horticultural  matters  and  it 
•vvas  mainly  through  their  efforts  that  the  Blue 
Earth  County  Agricultural  Society  was  organ- 
ized, and  this  year  its  first  fair  was  gotten  up. 

The  fall  election  of  1859  was  very  hotly  con- 
tested throughout  the  state.  The  fact  that  the 
two  great  parties  were  about  evenly  balanced  in  our 
commonwealth  and  were  sparring  for  every  ad- 
vantage preparatory  to  the  Presidential  cam- 
paign, gave  to  this  Minnesota  election  national 
interest.  Both  parties  sent  into  the  state  their 
best  speakers,  a  number  of  whom  spoke  at  Man- 
kato.  On  the  Eepublican  side  our  people  lis- 
tened to  Hon.  Frank  P.  Blair  of  Missouri,  Carl 
Schurz  of  Wisconsin,  and  Galusha  A.  Grow  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  fully  equal  to  these  imported 
orators,  were  our  own.  Gen.  J.  H.  Baker  and 
Morton  S.  Wilkiason.  On  the  Democratic  side 
Gov.  A.  P.  WiUard  of  Ind.,  Hon.  Chas.  H. 
Larabee  of  Wis.,  Gen.  James  Shields,  James  M. 
Cavauaugh,  Geo.  L.  Becker,  of  Minn.,  and  Mr. 
lioth  of  Wis.  The  Democrats  held  their  county 
convention  at  Besser's  hall  in  Garden  City.  The 
list  of  delegates  were:  Mankato,  Louis  Stroaker, 
M.  T.  Comstock,  S.  M.  Walker,  Isaac  Marks, 
James  Besser  and  Clements  Kron;  Jamestown, 
T.  Sullivan,  Solon  Webster  and  J.  Meagher; 
South  Bend,  Benj.  McGiven,  Geo.  M.  Keenan, 
Wm.  Hewitt  and  S.  Farnham;  Watonwan,  J. 
Daggett,  Jas.  A.  Wiswell,  J.  K.  Mead  and  J. 
K.  Capwell;  Shelby ville,  A.  D.  Pinkerton,  John 
Dimond  and  Wash.  Kaggerice;  Mapleton,  Moses 
Herman,  Benjamin  Corp  and  C.  T.  Francis; 
Danville,  Nick  Kremer,  J.  L.  Sampson  and  Jas. 
Shoemaker;  Judson,  David  Dackins,  T.  E.  Coul- 
son  and  B.  Comstock;  Butternut  Valley,  Samuel 
B.  Shaw,  Peter  McGivney  and  David  P.  Davis; 
Lime,  Evans  Goodrich,  Michael  Hund  and  Hiram 
J.  Fuller;  Vernon,  Nathan  Bass,  L.  F.  True 
and  S.  Higbee;  Ceresco,  John  Mitchell,  John 
Porter  and  A.  B.  Barney;  at  large,  Daniel  Buck 
and  J.  Travis  Eosser. 

At  the  election  which  occurred  Oct.  11,  1859, 
the  Eepublicans  were  victorious  and  for  the  first 
time  elected  their  entire  county  ticket.  D.  C. 
Evans  was  chosen  State  Senator;  Henry  Stock, 
Eepresentative;  Dan.  Tyner,  Sheriff;  J.  B.  Hub- 


bell,  Eegister  of  Deeds;  and  H.  DuBuisson, 
Treasurer.  The  total  vote  of  the  county  was 
1,294. 

In  December,  1859,  Morton  S.  Wilkinson  was 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate,  the  first 
and  only  resident  of  Blue  Earth  County  ever 
chosen  to  that  office. 

The  bar  of  Blue  Earth  County,  in  1859, 
contaiued  a  number  of  able  attorneys.  At  Man- 
kato were:  Wilkinson  &  Burt,  Willard  &  Bar- 
ney, Eosser  &  Lobdell  and  Tourtellotte  &  Pitcher ; 
South  Bend  had  Daniel  Buck  and  B.  Parke 
Dewey;  and  Garden  City  possessed  James  A. 
Wiswell  and  S.  B.  James.  In  those  days  the 
court  met  in  some  public  hall  at  Mankato.  Some- 
times in  what  was  known  as  "City  HaU"  and 
sometimes  in  a  hall  in  the  Leech  stone  building. 
In  spite  of  such  legal  talent  the  administration 
of  justice  had  its  humorous  side  in  those  prima- 
tive  days.  It  is  said  on  good  authority  that  one 
of  the  first  boards  of  County  Commissioners 
tried  a  divorce  case  and  rendered  a  judgment 
therein,  before  they  discovered  their  want  of 
jurisdiction.  Once  an  assault  and  battery  case 
was  tried  before  Squire  Pfaff  of  Mankato.  The 
evidence  was  overwhelming  against  the  defend- 
ant and  his  only  excuse  was  that  the  complain- 
ing witness  had  called  him  a  'liar."  After  an 
hour's  deliberation  the  jury  brought  in  the  ver- 
dict "guilty,  provided  the  court  will  assess  the 
fine  at  no  more  than  five  dollars."  The  attor- 
ney for  the  prosecution  objected  to  that  form  of 
verdict  and  the  jury  were  sent  back  to  correct 
it,  as  they  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  amount 
of  the  fine.  After  two  hours'  deliberation  they 
returned  into  the  court  with  the  verdict  of  "Not 
Guilty."  The  complaining  witness  happened  to 
be  a  German  and  the  jury  were  afraid  to  trust 
Squire  Pfaff  as  to  the  fine. 

A  man's  wife  ran  away  to  St.  Peter.  The 
husband  went  to  see  a  Mankato  justice,  who 
promptly  issued  a  writ  of  replevin,  and  armed 
with  this  legal  document  the  constable  brought 
her  home.  An  attorney  told  the  justice  after- 
wards that  he  could  not  replevy  a  human  being, 
"But"  retorted  the  Justice  "I  did  it."  Many 
interesting  reminiscences  are  told  of  our  pio- 
neer courts,  but  we  must  not  further  digress. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EVENTS  OF  1860  AND  1861— BEGINNING 
OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  AND  FIRST  EN- 
LISTMENTS. 


On  January  4,  I860,  all  of  town  108  range  35, 
except  south  tier  of  sections,  was  separated 
from  Jamestown  and  organized  into  a  town  by 
itself,  under  the  name  of  Lake.  On  the  same 
date  the  town  of  Mapleton  was  severed  from  the 
town  of  Sherman  and  made  an  independent 
town,  under  the  name  of  "Sterling,"  and  the 
name  of  the  town  of  Sherman  on  petition  chang- 
ed to  "Mapleton."  On  the  same  date,  also,  it 
appears  that  there  were  28  school  districts  in 
actual  existence  in  the  county,  in  which  there 
were  1,165  pupils. 

At  its  session  in  March,  1860,  the  Legislature 
abolished  the  Board  of  County  Supervisors  and 
went  back  to  the  old  plan  of  governing  counties 
by  Commissioners.  Accordingly,  at  a  special 
election  held  ia  Blue  Earth  County  on  April  3, 
1860,  the  following  Commissioners  were  elected : 
Chas.  Thompson,  Chairman;  Robert  Taylor,  W. 
H.  Blackmer,  J.  M.  Mead  and  R.  H.  Allen, 
all  Republicans,  and  on  June  6th,  1860,  this 
board  divided  the  county  into  five  commissioner 
districts   as   follows : 

No.  1,  Lime,  Lake  and  Jamestown. 

No.   2,   Mankato. 

No.  3,  South  Bend,  Judson  and  Butternut  Valley. 

No.  4,  Ceresco,  Watonwan,  Vernon  and  Fox  Lake. 

No.  5,   Shelby,  Sterling,  Mapleton   and  Danville. 

June  5th,  1860,  upon  motion  of  Mr.  Mead  the 
County  Commissioners  in  order  to  correct  the 
error  ia  naming  towns  106  and  107  in  range  39, 
named  the  former  "Fox  Lake"  and  the  latter 
"Ceresco"  and  thus  the  mistake  was  legally  cor- 
rected, but  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  never  done, 
for  the  old  blunder  continued  in  the  record 
books  of  the  county  and  finally  prevailed.  On 
June  8,  1860,  the  town  of  "Lake"  had  its  name 
changed   to   "Tivoli,"   and   on   September   5th  it 


was  again  changed  on  petition  to  "Le  Ray." 

The  winter  of  1859-60  was  rather  open,  ex- 
cept for  a  few  weeks  in  the  last  of  December 
and  first  part  of  January.  By  February  the 
snow  was  mostly  gone  and  some  seeding  was 
done  in  the  latter  part  of  February.  On  March 
10th  the  rivers  were  clear  of  ice.  On  March 
22  d  the  "Time  and  Tide"  arrived  at  Mankato 
and  South  Bend,  as  the  first  boat  of  the  season. 
As  there  had  not  been  much  snow  the  water  was 
quite  low,  and  navigation  poor  all  summer. 
The  larger  boats  could  only  reach  Mankato  a 
few  days  in  April,  and  again  for  three  or  four 
days  in  June.  A  few  of  the  smaller  boats, 
like  the  "Little  Dorrit,"  "Eloian"  and  "Albany," 
were  able  to  ascend  the  river,  except  for  a  short 
period  ia  mid  summer.  The  Albany  was  a 
new  boat  this  year  and  built  expressly  for  low 
water.  The  old  settlers  used  to  say  that  she 
only  needed  a  light  dew  to  run.  Mr.  Cleveland's 
two  barges  were,  also,  kept  in  constant  opera- 
tion and  did  good  service.  A  new  bridge  had 
been  finished  during  the  winter  at  Vernon,  and 
another  by  Mr.  McCarthy  over  the  Le  Sueur. 

In  March  a  large  black  bear  nearly  seven  feet 
in  length  was  killed  in  South  Bend  township  on 
the  Blue  Earth  and  deer  were  still  very  plenty 
in  the  woods.  The  fur  trade  of  those  days  was 
a  big  item  and  as  indicative  of  the  number  of 
wild  animals  still  found  ia  the  county,  the  one 
firm  of  White  &  Marks,  at  Mankato,  bought  and 
shipped  during  ten  days  in  April  the  following 
furs :  2,150  muskrats,  130  minks,  19  coon,  21 
beavers,  16  otters,  2  wolves,  total  value  $750.00. 
This  gives  some  faint  idea  of  what  the  fur 
trade  of  the  whole  county  would  amount  to  in 
a  whole  year.  Many  a  pioneer  depended  largely 
on  this  trade  for  much  of  his  living. 


103 


104  HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 

The   census   of   1860   showed   the   total   popu-  In   the   spring   of   this   year   the    Pikes    Peak 

lation  of  Blue  Earth  County  to  be  4,827,  farms  gold  fever  prevailed   and   a  number   of   persons 

491,    manufacturing   establishments    191.      Prom  in  our  county  vrere  effected.  Among  these  were 

the   census  taken  June  1st,   1860   the  following  1).    C.    Evans,    W.    H.    Shepard    and    others.    A 

table   regarding   the   population   of    Blue    Earth  few   weeks    experience    worked    a   complete   cure 

County  may  be  of  interest:  and  all  were  glad  to  return. 

Name  of  Towns          '  No.  Dwellings    No.  Families      Males       Females     Total  The   Indians    aS    USUal    in    those    days    managed 

CerescT*.^.^.'!"''.       60           I        llo       llo       230  *«  contribute  their  share  to  the  exciting  events 

Danville 40           38         90         67       157  of    the    period.      Early    in    the    sprine:    a    large 

Fox  Lake 18            16           32          37          69  j.        j!   ii,      a-                  j.          •     j.   ±1       /^i  • 

Jamestown 61            58         120       110       230  '^^^  V^^^J  °f  ^^  ^^°'^'^  ^ent  agamst  the   Chip- 

Judson 55           52        132       102       234  peways   on   the   upper   Mississippi,   and   returned 

Lime 64            61         133        100        233  :      ,/          .,,          /^         ,             j              , 

Mankato 404         376        830       731     1561  i^  J^^^y  With  a  few  scalps  and  seventeen  lodges' 

Mapleton 84          81        174       140       314  of    them    camped    where    north    Mankato    now 

Shelby 75            71         159        157        316  ^             i,      j     ^  iv,           -j.  t,   j  xi_  • 

South  Bend 115           97        238  ■     214       452  stands,  while  another  band  of  them  pitched  their 

Watonwan 93          93        209       184       393  teepees   below   Mankato.     For   several    days   and 

Vernon 108          104         24o        237        482  .   ,  ,     ,,               ,           ,, 

nights  the  people  at  the  county  seat  were  regaled 

Total 1,212      1,137     2,560    2,267    4,827  ^.ith  the  music  of  the  tom-tom  and  scalp  dance. 

At  Mankato  this  year  Warren's  Addition  was  Early  in  June  a  war  party  of  the  Chippeways 
platted,  a  large  stone  church  was  erected  by  the  thirsting  for  vengeance  appeared  on  .  the  scene 
Catholic  society,  and  a  number  of  new  stores  and  a  skirmish  occurred  near  South  Bend.  The 
and  manufacturing  enterprises  started.  In  July  squaws  and  papooses  when  the  foe  appeared  fled 
of  this  year  (1860)  Henry  Thoms  opened  at  to  the  cabins  of  the  settlers  for  protection  like  a 
Mankato  the  first  barbershop  in  the  county.  Pro-  covey  of  partridges  before  the  hawk, 
bably  after  this  the  typical  hirsute  aspect  of  This  year  claims  for  damages  resulting  from 
the  frontier  among  us  began  to  disappear.  the  Inkpadutah  war  were  proved  before  George 
About  April  1st,  the  Mankato  Hook  and  Lad-  L.  Becker  as  Commissioner  and  $16,679.97  paid, 
der  Co.,  was  organized  at  the  city  hall, — the  first  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  were  held  in  1860 
fire  company  in  the  county.  Among  its  first  at  Mankato,  Winnebago  Agency,  South  Bend, 
officers  were:  President,  Edward  E.  Parry,  Vice  Vernon  and  Butternut  Valley.  At  Mankato 
Pres.  Z.  Paddock;  Secy.,  0.  0.  Pitcher;  Treas.,  the  program  was  in  charge  of  the  new  fire  corn- 
Isaac  Marks;  Board  of  Directors,  James  Shoe-  pany,  which  appeared  on  the  occasion  in  its 
maker,  William  H.  Hodgson,  W.  Wycoff,  Jas.  B.  new  uniform  of  gray  shirts,  black  pantaloons, 
Hubbell  and  Edwin  Bradley.  patent  leather  belts,  and  blue  cloth  caps,  trim- 
In  July  1860,  the  Independent  and  the  med  with  gold  lace  and  letters.  Beside  the 
Pecord  were  both  changed  from  weekly  to  fire  company,  the  Mankato  Eifle  Company  under 
semi  weekly  papers.  In  October  M.  T.  C.  Capt.  Ulman  and  the  Artillery  Company  under 
Fowler  bought  of  Capt.  Joseph  Guenther,  the  Capt.-  Patterson  were  big  features  of  the  parade, 
building  called  Union  Hall  and  converted  it  in-  which  was  in  charge  of  Col.  Tourtellotte  as 
to  a  hotel  with  the  name  "Clifton  House."  Marshall,  Fred  C.  Eoosevelt,  as  Aid  and  Dan  H. 
At  South  Bend  the  building  of  a  steam  grist  Tyner  as  Assistant.  Attorney  Cramer  Burt 
mill,  then  the  largest  in  the  county,  by  McCauley  delivered  the  address.  At  Garden  City  Daniel 
and  McNamara  was  the  principal  event  of  the  Buck  and  General  James  H.  Baker  delivered  ad- 
year.     It  was  completed  by  October  and  did  a  dresses. 

flourishing  business  for   a  time.     Miner  ■  Porter  The   public   schools   of   the   county   were  now 

built   on   what  is   now   the   McConnell   farm    a  well  started.  Log  schoolhouses  were  the  universal 

summer     hotel     which     he     called     Minneopa  rule  in  village  and  country,  but  soon  good  work 

House.     It  was  surrounded  with  a  profusion  of  was   being   done   in   these   primitive   educational 

shrubbery,  trees  and  flowers  and  enclosed  by  an  edifices.    There   were    1085    children   reported  in 

artistic   fence  with  high   arching   gates.  the  public  schools  on  the  first  of  the  year,  be- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


105 


sides  the  large  number  attending  private  high 
schools.  In  June  of  this  year,  Ira  S.  Smith 
was  appointed  the  first  County  Superintendent, 
of  schools.  In  those  days  there  was  no  home- 
stead law,  and  the  settlers  had  made  all  their 
claims  under  the  preemption  act,  which  re- 
quired a  payment  of  $1.35  per  acre  to  the 
government.  In  July  1860  the  lands  in  Minne- 
sota were  forced  to  sale,  which  meant  that 
every  settler  must  pay  for  his  land  within  a 
given  time  or  lose  it.  This  produced  conster- 
nation among  all  the  settlers  as  all  were  very 
poor  and  interest  rates  were  exorbitant,  none 
less  than  12  per  cent  and  much  going  as  high 
as  25  per  cent.  On  the  24th  of  July,  1860,  the 
settlers  of  Blue  Earth  county  met  at  Mankato 
in  mass  convention,  to  protest  against  the  undue 
haste  of  the  government  in  crowding  the  pay- 
ment in  so  unseasonable  a  time,  but  it  did  not 
avail.  The  money  loaners  reaped  a  rich  harvest 
and  the  settlers  had  to  grin  and  bear  it  though 
a  number  of  them  in  the  end  lost  their  farms. 

While  the  election  of  M.  S.  Wilkinson  to  the 
U.  S.  Senate  lost  to  the  Bar  of  the  county  one 
of  its  most  brilliant  members,  the  coming  to 
Mankato  of  Judge  Franklin  H.  Waite  in  the 
fall  of  this  year,  kept  up  its  reputation.  For 
what  the  Judge  might  have  lacked  in  brillian- 
cy compared  to  Wilkinson,  he  more  than  made 
up  in  industry. 

On  October  2nd  and  3rd,  1860,  the  second 
county  fair  was  held  at  Garden  City.  Judge 
Flandrau  was  the  orator  of   the  occasion. 

PoHtics  this  year  was  at  a  white  heat  in  Blue 
Earth  County,  as  elsewhere  through  the  country. 
Republican  clubs,  Lincoln,  and  Wide  Awake 
Clubs,  and  Democratic  and  Douglass  Clubs  were 
organized  everywhere  and  liberty  poles  erected. 
The  people  were  wild  with  enthusiasm.  They 
argued,  debated,  orated,  sang  campaign  songs, 
built  log  cabins,  and  carried  fence  rails  on  their 
shoulders.  They  hoorahed  for  the  "Little  Giant" 
and  for  "Honest  Abe"  until  their  throats  were 
cracked.  The  Republicans  won  out  in  Blue  Earth 
County  electing  aU  their  candidates,  except  the 
state  senator  for  which  oSice  S.  F.  Barmey  was 
chosen  with  the  aid  of  Le  Sueur  County. 

In  November  of  this  year  the  VaUey  Stage 
Co.,   began   with   relay    of   horses,   to    carry   the 


mail  through  from  St.  Paul  to  Mankato  in  one 
day. 

The  river  closed  on  November  23nd,  when  the 
first  snow  fell.  Up  to  this  time  the  weather  had 
been  fine  and  farmers  were  able  to  plow.  Crops 
had  been  fairly  good  over  the  county,  but  prices 
were  very  low.  Wheat  only  brought  thirty  to 
thirty-five  cents  per  bushel,  pork  about  one  to 
two  cents  per  pound.  Owing  to  the  low  stage  of 
water  the  warehouses  in  South  Bend  and  Man- 
kato had  been  left  unemptied,  and  hence  buy- 
ers could  not  purchase  more.  The  winter  was 
quite  severe  with  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  which 
did  not  melt  until  the  first  week  in  April.  The 
resulting  fioods  were  the  highest  for  many  years. 
The  Jennette  Roberts  was  the  first  boat  on  April, 
10th,  1861. 

The  report  of  MaJ.  Mix  agent  of  the  Winne- 
bago Indians  for  the  year  1860  showed  the  total 
number  of  red  men  at  this  agency  to  be  about 
3,106,  or  nearly  400  families,  of  the  number 
706  were  females  and  878  children.  About  200 
resided  oflE  the  reservation,  mostly  in  Wisconsin. 
There  were  1,600  acres  of  land  cultivated  that 
year  by  the  Indians,  fourteen  families  of  them 
raised  enough  wheat  and  oats  .for  their  own 
use.  There  had  been  260  cases  of  small  pox 
among  them  during  the  year,  forty -three  of 
which  had  proved  fatal.  The  school  at  the 
agency  had  been  in  charge  of  Supt.  W.  E.  Cul- 
]en;  two  interpreters  had  been  employed;  118 
pupils  enrolled,  62  males  and  fifty-eight  females, 
F.nd  the  average  attendance  was  71  1-2.  The 
branches  taught  were  orthography,  reading,  writ- 
ing, arithmetic,  geography  and  grammar.  The 
girls  were  also  taught  house  work.  This  gives 
us  a  glimpse  of  Indian  Agency  life  in  Blue 
Earth  County.  Many  of  its  most  prominent 
features,  however,  were  not  incorporated  in  the 
report.  The  number  of  gallons  of  whisky  con- 
sumed, the  quarrels  between  themselves,  and 
between  them  and  the  whites,  the  stealing  from 
the  Indians  by  the  whites,  and  from  the  whites 
by  the  Indians,  the  filth  and  degradation  every- 
where. 

In  March,  1861,  the  Winnebago  Treaty  made  in 
April,  1859,  whereby  the  Indians  ceded  the  west 
four  townships  of  their  reservation  and  were  to 
be   alloted    an   eighty-acre   farm    to   each   family. 


106 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


was  ratified  by  the  senate.  General  J.  H.  Baker, 
Mr.  Walcott  of  Ind.  and  Mr.  Sample  of  111., 
were  appointed  to  make  the  allotment  of  the 
farms,  which  they  did  during  the  summer  of  this 
year.  It  was  found  that  there  were  650  persons 
entitled  to  farms  under  the  treaty.  The  num- 
ber of  acres  actually  assigned  to  the  Indians 
as  farms  were  45,787,  and  there  was  assigned 
for  the  use  of  the  Indians  besides  10,800 
acres  of  timber  land,  and  8,800  acres  of  prairie. 
This  only  took  up  four  townships  of  their  Keser- 
vation  in  all  and  left  six  townships  to  be  sold 
to  white  settlers,  four  and  two  thirds  of  which 
were  located  in  Blue  Earth  County.  Nothing 
further  was  done  in  the  matter,  as  the  delays 
incident  to  the  distraction  of  the  Civil  War,  to 
the  objection  of  the  Indians  to  such  a  radi- 
cal change  of  their  ancestral  rights  and  customs, 
and  to  the  protests  of  the  citizens,  who  wanted 
the  Indians  removed  all  together,  postponed 
action  until  the  great  Sioux  outbreak  of  the 
next  year  necessitated  the  abrogation  of  the 
whole  treaty. 

During  1861  the  agent's  report  showed  the  num- 
ber of  acres  cultivated  by  the  Winnebagoes  to  have 
been  675;  300  plowed  by  the  department  and 
475  by  the  Indians.  One  hundred  and  twelve 
acres  were  in  wheat,  forty-nine  in  oats,  440  acres 
in  corn,  twenty-two  in  potatoes  and  forty  acres 
in  beans.  There  were  129  pupils  in  the  Indian 
schools. 

The  election  of  Lincoln  and  the  consequent 
change  of  administration,  called  forth  a  wild 
scramble  for  office  among  the  Eepublicans.  D. 
C.  Evans  was  a  candidate  for  the  position  of 
Agent  of  the  Winnebagoes.  Being  a  Blue  Earth 
County  man,  where  the  Agency  was  located,  and 
having,  as  State  Senator,  done  valiant  service  for 
Senator  Wilkinson,  he  was  supposed  to  have  the 
inside  track,  but  he  and  all  the  other  candidates 
from  this  county  were  doomed  to  disappointment, 
and  St.  A.  D.  Balcombe  of  Winona  was  appoint- 
ed. Dr.  M.  R.  Wickersham  was  made  Indian 
physician.  J.  B.  Hubbell,  also,  succeeded  Henry 
Poster  as  trader  at  the  Agency.  Mr.  Poster, 
however,  removed  his  store  into  Mankato  town, 
just  outside  the  Agency  limits,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  business  until  the  departure  of  the 
Indians.     In  April,  1861,  Eev.  John  Kerns  the 


pioneer  M.  B.  preacher  of  the  county  was  ap- 
pointed receiver  of  the  U.  S.  Land  office  at  St. 
Peter. 

The  question  of  removing  the  county  seat 
from  Mankato  to  Garden  City  began  to  be  agi- 
tated by  some  of  the  citizens  of  the  latter  place 
and  a  bill  introduced  in  the  Legislature  this 
year  to  that  effect,  but  it  failed  of  passage. 

The  firing  on  Pt.  Sumpter,  which  heralded  the 
beginning  of  the  Civil  War,  created  a  profound 
sensation  in  Blue  Earth  County  as  elsewhere. 
On  April  14,  1861,  the  steamboat  Pavorite  pass- 
ed down  the  river,  with  80  officers  and  men  of 
the  regular  army  under  Major  Pemberton  from 
Pt.  Eidgely,  whence  they  had  been  ordered  south 
to  help  quell  the  rebellion.  They  were  nearly  all 
southern  men  and  during  the  short  time  the 
boat  stopped  at  Mankato,  the  people  were  greatlj 
disgusted  with  their  outspoken  secession  senti- 
ments. The  government  paid  the  Pavorite  $3,- 
500.00  for  transporting  these  secessionists  to  La 
Crosse,  and  as  much  more  to  carry  them  thence 
tc  Washington,  and  then,  almost  to  a  man, 
they  went  into  the  Confederate  army,  and  Major 
Pemberton  became  the  noted  rebel  general  of 
that  name. 

On  April  23,  1861,  a  company  was  enlisted 
at  Mankato  with  N.  W.  Dickerson  as  Captain, 
Chas.  Reynolds  as  first  Lieutenant  and  J.  E. 
Beatty  as  second  Lieutenant.  Sargeants,  1st,  B. 
P.  Dewey,  3nd,  Thos.  Quayle,  3rd,  Daniel  Ha- 
zen,  4th  S.  D.  Parsons;  Corporals,  1st,  H.  W. 
Lambert,  2nd,  William  H.  Fleining,  3rd  B.  P. 
Williams,  4th,  L.  N.  Holmes,  Bugler,  Ben  M. 
Hazen. 

Capt.  James  Cannon  who  had  belonged  to 
tlie  militia  in  New  York  acted  as  drilling  officer. 
$1,000.00  was  raised  by  subscription  for  the 
families  of  the  volunteers.  It  only  took  three 
days  to  raise  the  company.  About  seventy-five 
of  the  men  were  from  Mankato  -and  the  re- 
maining 25  came  from  Garden  City  and  Shelby. 
The  evening  before  the  departure  of  the  com- 
pany for  Port  Snelling  a  public  meeting  was 
held  at  Masonic  Hall,  Mankato,  to  bid  the  boys 
God  speed,  and  the  ladies  presented  them  with  a 
large  new  flag.  The  next  morning  (July  4th, 
1861)  the  company  formed  in  line  in  front  of 
the    Leech    building,    and    thence    marched    up 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


107 


Front  street  to  the  City  Hall  which  stood  about 
where  the  Hodson  &  Davy  implement  store  is 
now  located  where  they  were  met  by  a  big  pro- 
cession of  Sabbath  school  children  and  a  great 
crowd  of  men  and  women.  Preceded  by  the 
band  and  the  children  in  marching  order,  they 
were  escorted  on  their  way  to  Fort  Snelling 
as  far  as  where  the  Franklin  school  now  stands. 
Here  the  children  formed  open  ranks  and  sang 
while  the  soldiers  led  by  Capt.  Dickerson  mar- 
ched between  them.  A  few  parting  words  from 
the  good  old  pastor,  Eev.  Thompson,  closing  with 
a  prayer.  A  neat  copy  of  the  Bible  was  handed 
to  each  soldier.  Then  came  the  final  parting 
with  many  tears  from  father,  mother,  sister, 
brother,  sweetheart,  wife,  children  and  friends 
and  the  brave  boys  in  blue  were  off  to  the  war, 
many  of  them  never  to  return.  This  is  but 
typical  of  thousands  of  similar  scenes  all  over 
the  land  in  those  trying  days  of  the  great 
Civil  War.  We  of  today  hardly  imagine  the 
terrible    reality    of    those    trying    days. 

This  first  contingent  for  our  great  war 
failed  to  get  into  the  first  Minnesota  regiment, 
as  a  company,  but  a  number  of  individuals  en- 
listed in  it  by  joining  other  companies.  Others 
entered  the  service  later. 

Next  day  (April  16th)  the  Fanny  Harris 
arrived  from  Fort  Eidgely  with  Major  Thos. 
W.  Sherman  and  a  portion  of  his  command, 
the  balance  having  gone  on  foot  across  to  St. 
Peter.  They  were  also,  bound  for  southern  battle 
fields.  On  April  26th  the  Favorite  passed  down 
the  river  with  a  company  of  Artillery  in  com- 
mand of  Maj.  Morris  on  their  way  to  the  seat 
of  waf.  Hardly  30  men  were  now  left  at  Port 
Bidgely.  Perhaps  the  first  to  enlist  from  the 
county  was  Ed.  E.  Parry  who,  on  May  11, 
1861,  was  commissioned  1st  Lieutenant  in  11th 
Regiment,  Regular  Army.  George  Evans  of  Gar- 
den City  was  -probably  the  first  to  enlist  as  a  vol- 
unteer. He  happened  to  be  back  in  Boston  on 
a  visit  when  the  war  broke  out  and  at  once  joined 
the  1st  Massachusetts. 

At  Mankato  the  stars  and  stripes  was  hoisted 
over  both  the  Democratic  and  Eepublican  head- 
quarters, and  in  every  village  through  the 
county  Union  poles  were  raised  with  old  glory 
flying  from  their  tops.     Everywhere  Democrats 


and    Republicans,    men    and    women    were   fired 
with  patriotic  zeal  for  the  union. 

In  September  a  volunteer  cavalry  company 
under  Capt.  B.  F.  Smith,  which  had  been  re- 
cruited at  Vernon,  Garden  City  and  Shelby, 
tendered  its  services  to  the  g(Jvernor.  This  com- 
pany had  been  organized  in  the  Armory  at 
Garden  City  about  the  middle  of  May,  1861,  as 
a  home  guard.  Thirty-seven  members  were  en- 
rolled at  the  first  meeting  and  the  following  offi- 
cers chosen:  Captain  B.  F.  Smith,  1st  Lieut. 
Dr.  J.  W.  B.  Welcome,  2nd  Lieut.  Nathan  Bass; 
3rd  Lieut.  W.  H.  MiUer  of  Shelby;  Ensign  J. 
A.  Reed,  1st  Sargeant,  Edson  Gary,  2nd  Sar- 
gent, Marshall  T.  Fall;  3rd  Sargeant,  M.  T. 
Walbridge,  4th  Sargent,  T.  S.  Hayes;  1st  cor- 
poral, David  Hamlin,  2nd  Corporal  John  A. 
Darling;  3rd  Corporal  B.  A.  Cooper;  4th  Cor- 
poral E.  B.  Evans;  Bugler  George  Harriman; 
Secretary  William  H.  Hills.  About  the  first  of 
June  they  received  fifty  sabers,  belts,  holsters, 
pistols,  etc.,  from  the  state  arsenal  and  spent 
much   time   in    drilling. 

At  Garden  City  there  had  been  a  flourishing 
militia  company  since  the  Inkpadutah  war.  Its 
captain  at  this  time  was  one  Rice.  On  September 
28th  Mrs.  Potter  and  Mrs.  Ray  in  behalf  of 
the  ladies  of  Garden  City  presented  this  com- 
pany with  a  fine  silk  flag  in  anticipation  that 
their  proffered  service  to  their  country  would 
soon  be  accepted. 

On  June  15,  1861,  a  war  meeting  was  held  at 
Shelbyville  and  another  military  company  or- 
ganized, the  officers  of  which  were  Captain 
H.  W.  Oilman,  1st  Lieut.  W.  H.  Blackmer  ;  2nd 
Lieut.  A.  Miller;  3rd.  Lieut.  Daniel  Fagen; 
and  Orderly  Sargent  E.   S.  Knowles. 

On  June  3rd,  1861  the  first  session  of  the  U. 
S.  Court  was  held  at  Mankato  in  the  Masonic 
Hall.  J.  R.  Cleveland  was  appointed  its  first 
U.    S.    Marshall. 

Besides  the  furs  he  captured  the  pioneer  had 
another  important  source  of  revenue  in  the  gin- 
seng root.  The  women  and  children  claimed 
the  right  to  this  branch  of  industry  fully  more 
than  the  men.  In  those  good  old  days  it  was 
no  uncommon  sight  in  the  proper  season  of  the 
year,  to  see  bands  of  women  and  children  with 
h"^  tied  over  their  shoulders  and   armed  with 


108 


HISTOSY  OF  BLUE  EAUTH  COUNTY. 


hoes,  roaming  the  forests  in  quest  of  the  Chin- 
efe  drug.  In  1860,  83,000  pounds  were  gath- 
ered in  Blue  Earth  county,  which  at  eight 
cents  per  pound  netted  the  gatherers  $6,640. 

The  steamboat  trade  of  the  year  was  excel- 
lent. The  Minnesota  Packet  Company  put  upon 
the  river  two  of  the  largest  boats  that  had  yet 
navigated  it,  "The  City  Belle"  and  "The  Fanny 
Harris."  Among  the  other  boats  of  this  season 
were  the  Jennette  Eoberts,  Favorite, '  Eolian,  Al- 
bany  and   Frank   Steel. 

As  indicating  the  progress  of  the  country  in 
horticulture  it  may  be  noted  that  Kobert  Good- 
year, the  principal  gardener  of  that  day  had 
from  12,000  to  15,000  standard  apple  trees.  The 
County  Fair  this  year  was  held  at  South  Bend. 
In  the  early  part  of  the  winter  McCauley  and 
McNainara  leased  their  South  Bend  grist  mill  to 
a  Mr.  Pugh  of  Wisconsin,  and  took  a  lease  short- 
ly afterwards  from  the  "West  Mankato  Com- 
pany" of  the  steam  saw  mill  owned  by  them 
and  located  near  the  Blue  Earth  river  bridge. 

The  great  Civil  War  was  now  on  in  earnest 
and  the  music  of  the  fife  and  drum  resounded 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other.  The 
fathers  and  the  sons  were  enlisting  and  the  moth- 
ers and  daughters  were  busy  day  and  night  fit- 
ting out  the  soldiers  with  hundreds  of  things 
required  for  their  army  life".  The  whole  land 
was  ablaze  with  patriotism.  The  flag  was  every- 
where in  evidence.  Half  the  men  you  met  were 
dressed  in  uniforms.  Squads  of  men  were  drill- 
ing in  every  village  street,  and  every  country 
crossroad.  Even  the  school  children  were  in- 
fected with  the  war  spirit  and  everywhere 
played    soldiers. 

The  men  of  Col.  B.  F.  Smith's  Cavalry  Com- 
pany from  Vernon  were  mustered  in  on  Nov. 
8th,  1861.  Col.  Smith  himself  was  promoted 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  3rd  regiment.  Wil- 
liam Smith  was  chosen  1st  Lieutenant  and  Na- 
than Bass  2nd  Lieutenant.  At  Mankato  J.  B. 
Tourtellotte  raised  another  company,  called  the 
"Valley   Shooters." 

The  winter  of  1861-2  was  quite  severe  with 
much  snow.  Between  February  28th  and  March 
3rd,  one  of  the  heaviest  snow  storms  in  the 
history  of  the  country  occurred  and  the  land 
was   buried   beneath    mountain    drifts.      It   took 


days  for  companies  of  men  with  ox  teams,  snow 
plows  and  shovels  to  open  the  roads  for  travel. 
The  middle  of  April  1863  saw  in  every  river 
a  tremendous  flood,  and  the  bridges  all  over  the 
county  were  swept  away.  The  government  bridge 
over    the   Blue   Earth    at    Mankato    was    among 
the  rest,  and  no  bridge  was  left  on  this  river  in 
the  county.     The  bridges  on  the  Watonwan  suf- 
fered nearly  as  bad.     The  bridge  over  the  Le 
Sueur    on    the    Agency    road,    which    Mr.    Mc- 
Carty  had  mostly  built  at  his  own  expense,  was 
swept    away.      The    bridges    in    Butternut    Val- 
ley, Shelby  and  Sterling  were  mostly  destroyed. 
The  mills  of  the  county,  also,  suffered  severely. 
The  mill  of  Seward  &  Co.,  in  Mankato,  was  in 
water   to   the   roof.      The   Butterfield   mill   was 
swept  away  bodily,  with  the  warehouses,  wheat 
and  flour.   All  the  mills  were  greatly   damaged. 
Lyman   B.    Stillson   of    Shelbyville,   whose  home 
was    on    the    river    bank,    attempted    to    escape 
in  a  small  boat  with  his  wife  and  four  children. 
When  in  mid  stream  the  boat  was  capsized  by 
the  swift  current  and  three  of  the  children  were 
drowned,   and  the  father   and   mother   and  little 
babe  barely  escaped. 

Another  incident,  which  might  have  resulted 
tragically,  but  which  in  fact  had  a  ludicrous 
ending,  happened  in  the  same  locality  a  few  days 
later.  It  illustrates  how  close  together  some  times 
the  comical  and  serious  events  of  our  life  come. 
A  gentleman  of  Shelby  attempted  to  cross  the 
Blue  Earth  River  during  this  flood  in  a  dug 
out.  When  half  way  over  J;he  boat  upset  and 
the  man  swam  to  some  willows,  whose  tops 
emerged  a  few  feet  above  the  raging  waters. 
Despairing  of  help  he  divested  himself  of  his 
boots  and  all  his  clothing  and  hung  each  gar- 
ment on  the  clump  of  willows.  In  the  pocket 
of  his  pataloons  was  $25.00  in  gold.  He  then 
swam  to  the  bank  of  the  river  opposite  from  his 
home,  as  it  was  the  most  convenient  and  he 
hoped  to  find  a  boat  there  not  far  off.  He  had 
barely  gotten  to  shore  and  was  expelling  the 
water  from  his  nose,  eyes  and  ears  when 
down  the  river  came  a  monster  log  and  made 
straight  for  that  willow  bush  on  which 
hung  out  friend's  apparel  and  his  $25.00,  and 
in  a  few  seconds  the  bush,  clothes,  money, 
boots   and  all  disappeared  before  his  eyes  with 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY.  109 

the  current.  No  boat  could  be  found,  and  nei-  May  27,  1862,  the  ladies  of  Mankato  or- 
ther  the  cold  water  nor  the  cold  air  were  specially  ganized  a  soldiers  Aid  society,  with  Mrs.  Judge 
congenial  to  our  friend  in  his  Adam-like  cos-  Waite  as  president,  Mrs.  H.  Fowler,  Vice  Presi- 
tume.  He  finally  managed  to  reach  a  settler's  dent,  Mrs.  J.  E.  Cleveland,  See}',  and  j\rrs.  C. 
cabin  and  explained  his  embarrassing  predica-  A.  Chapman,  Treasurer.  On  June  5th  this  so- 
ment.  Here  he  obtained  some  clothing  and  ciety  elected  permanent  officers  as  follows:  Presi- 
help  to  reach  his  home.  '  dent,  Mrs.  D.  H.  Tyner;  Vice  Pres.,  Mrs.  A.  D. 
The  first  boat  to  reach  Mankato  this  year  Seward,  Secy,  Mrs.  W.  L.  Coon,  Treas.  Mrs. 
was  the  Albany  on  April  13.  There  was  a  C.  A.  Chapman.  Good  work  was  done  by  it 
good  stage  of  water  nearly  all  summer  and  the  to  help  the  soldiers.  On  July  1,  1862, 
boats  were  kept  busy.  The  arrivals  at  Mankato  the  first  daily  stage  between  Winona  and  Man- 
were,  as  follows:  kato    was    started    by    the    Burbanks    Company. 

From  Below  ^*  ^°°^  ^  ^^^  ^^^  ^  ^^^^  ^°  ^^^^  ^^®  *^^P'      ^^ 

Favorite    9  July  1863  we  note  that  from  Mankato  the  mail 

SieEoberts-:::::::::::::::::::::::;:::::;::  Is  left  for  winona  and  aiso  for  st.  Paui  every 

Clara   Hine    8  week  day  at  4  A.  M. ;  for  Blue  Earth  City  and 

Ari^r"''     2  intermediate    points    three    times    a    week    at    6 

G.  H.   Wilson 1  A.  M.,   and  for  New  Ulm  once  a  week.     Pour 

„  ,  J                                                                      gg  horse    stages    were    used    on    the    main    routes. 

_          '        '  There   were    two    or    three    other   routes    in    the 
J^rom   above: 

Jennette   Roberts    8  co™ty,  starting  from  other  points. 

Favorite    1  On  July  4,   1862    a  big   celebration  was  held 

Clara'^Hine '.'.'.'.'..'.'....'...................      1  ^^    ^^^    village    of    Judson.      Cannon    boomed, 

Pomeroy    1  processions  of  children  and  old  people  marched. 

J,  +  J                                                                       12  -A  picnic  dinner  and  addresses  from  Eevs.  Stine, 
„  ,  ,        .    1       ■  ■,  ,  T.  S.  Gunn  and  Jenkin  Jenkins  were  the  main- 
Period  'of  navigation  April  13  to  July  20.  P^^-^?  °^  ^^^  program. 

As   indicating    the    speed    of    the    boats    it    is  At    Point    Independence    on    Lake    Lura    in 

noted,    that    the    Pavorite    made    the    trip    from  Sterling   another  big  celebration   was  held   with 

St.    Paul    to    Mankato    in    19    hours    including  music    and    orations,    and    a    big   picnic    dinner 

stoppages,  and  returned  in  twelve  hours.     Com-  served   by  the  ladies   of   Sterling   and   Mapleton 

petition    between    the    boats    cut    the    passenger  to   some   five   hundred  people.      At   Tivoli   Hon. 

rate  to   St.   Paul  to  fifty  cents  for  a  few  days  J-  J-  Thornton  spoke  to  an  immense  crowd  and 

in    June.      By    July    over     62,000    bushels    of  a  dinner  was  served.     At  Mankato  Eev.   Smith 

wheat    was    carried    by    them    from     Mankato  orated.     The    Saxhorn    band    and    the    Sunday 

alone.     The  usual  rate  was  five  cents  per  bushel.  School  children  were  features  of  the  parade. 

The    passage    of   the    Homestead    Act    greatly  The  patriotic  spirit  was  intense  in  the  land  in 

stimulated   immigration   to   our   county  in    spite  those  days  of  the  great  war.     During  the  latter 

of  the  drain  of  the  Civil  war.     In  June  of  this  part  of  July  and  the  first  part  of  August,  1862, 

year  a  great  many  settlers   located  in  Danville,  there   was   great   activity   in   fevery  tovni   in   the 

'    Mapleton,    Sterling,    Ceresco,    Lincoln    and   But-  county  to  recruit  men   for  the  war  to   fill   the 

ternut   Valley.     About    seventy   homestead    loca-  quotas    called    for    by    the    government.    T.    S. 

tions  were  made  on  Willow  Creek  in  our  county  Slaughter,  Jerome  Dane,  John  E.  Eoberts,  Gen- 

during  the  spring  and  summer.  eral    James    H.    Baker    and    many    others    were 

In  April,  1862,  Henry  Shaubut,  J.  C.  Eausch  holding    war    meeitings    in    nearly    every    school 

and  Col.  S.  D.  Shaw  were  appointed  to  appraise  house  and  church  in  the  county,   and  hundreds 

the  school  lands  of  the  county,  which  duty  they  of  men  were  enlisted  for  the  7th,   8th   and   9th 

performed    during   the   summer.  Minnesota   regiments. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  GEEAT  SIOIJX  MASSACEE  OP  1862- 

THB  MANKATO  AND  SOUTH  BEND 

COMPANIES    AT    NEW   TJLM. 


On  August  15th  1862  most  of  the  re- 
cruits from  Blue  Earth  County  left  their  place 
of  rendezvous,  Mankato,  for  Ft.  Snelling.  So  en- 
grossed were  the  people  everywhere  in  the 
great  war  that  they  never  thought  of  any  peril 
at  their  own  doors.  They  did  not  realize, 
when  the  soldiers,  and  the  able  bodied  men  of 
every  community  and  all  the  implements  of 
war,  were  being  sent  to  the  southland  to  save 
the  Union,  that  they  were  leaving  their  own 
homes  defenseless  in  the  presence  of  a  terrible 
danger.  The  Sioux  Indians  had  been  rest- 
less for  some  time.  The  encroachments  of  civil- 
ization on  barbarism  is  ever  attended  with  fric- 
tion. To  see  their  lands  being  appropriated 
by  the  whites  and  themselves  being  driven  out 
naturally  stirred  up  their  envy  and  hatred. 
Then  the  advantages  which  a  stronger  race  is 
sure  to  take  of  the  weaker  one  fell  to  their  lot 
in  the  greed  and  dishonesty  of  the  trader,  the 
whisky  vendor,  and  the  gambler.  Then  the 
government  did  not  live  up  to  its  promises, 
so  that  the  Indian  was  not  receiving  the  annui- 
ties due  him,  partly  through  the   dishonesty   of 


have  been  taken  away,  to  wreck  their  vengeance, 
regain  their  ancestral  home,  and  reap  a  wonder- 
ful booty,  (for  to  the  Indian  the  abodes  of  the 
whites  were  full  of  good  things).  Under  the 
circumstances  it  needed  but  a  spark  to  cause 
explosion,  and  on  August  17th,  1862,  that 
was  furnished.  Half  a  dozen  hot  headed 
young  bucks,  while  at  Acton,  Meeker  county 
got  into  a  quarrel  with  a  whisky  trader  and 
shot  him  and  two  or  three  of  his  family  and 
returned  that  night  to  their  relatives  and  friends 
on  the  agency.  A  hurried  council  of  the  lower 
Sioux  bands  was  called  at  midnight,  and  early 
next  morning  the  awful  massacre  began.  Before 
noon  the  small  village  of  government  officials 
and  traders  designated  the  "Lower  Agency," 
had  been  sacked  and  burned  and  its  inhabi- 
tants butchered,  and  Captain  Marsh  with  half 
the  little  Et.  Eidgely  garrison  had  been  anni- 
hilated in  an  ambush,  and  before  the  sun  had 
set  on  that  awful  day  the  carnage  had  spread 
over  the  country  for  many  miles. 

The   story  of  the  massacre  is  not  within  the 
scope   of   this   history   except   in    so    far   as   the 


agents,   and  partly  through  careless   delays.   The  same   pertains   to   Blue  Earth   County, 
payment  due  the   Sioux  in  June  1862  had  not         The  first  news   of  the  outbreak  reached   New 

been   received    on    August    18th    and    the    delav  Ulm  a  little  after  the  noon  hour  through  some 

had    caused    the    Indians    great    suffering    and  refugees.     William  W.  Paddock  happened  to  be 

hardships.       With    hundreds    of    ugly    savages,  there    at    the   time    and,    finding    a    Erenchman 

whose    chief    glory    was    war,    massed    upon    an  going  to  St.   Paul  with  an  extra  pony,  he  rode 

agency,   all   armed   with   guns   and   ammunition,  with  him   as   far  as   Nicollet,   thence  walked   to 

to  the  use  of  which  they  had  been  trained  from  the    farm    of    Evan    Bowen,    afterwards    sheriff 

their  youth,  ill  disposed  towards  the  whites  and  of    our    county.      Mr.    Bowen    hitched    his    team 

with    an    opportunity    now,    that    all    defenses  to    a   wagon    and    drove   Mr.    Paddock   through 

111 


112 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


.Tudson  and  South  Bend  to  Mankato  with  the 
first  report.  The  news  was  so  startling  that 
many  at  iirst  would  not  believe  it.  Then  there 
had  been  so  many  false  rumors  of  Indian  out- 
breaks that  people  were  the  more  skeptical. 
Soon  after  Mr.  Paddock  had  brought  the  re- 
port to  Mankato  the  fire  bell  was  rung  and  a 
public  meeting  was  held  to  discuss  the  situa- 
tion. When  the  ISTew  Ulm  people  realized  from 
the  fleeing  settlers  the  reality  and  extent  of  the 
massacre,  they  dispatched  three  of  their  citi- 
zens in  a  light  wagon  to  Mankato  for  help, 
where  they  arrived  late  in  the  evening,  and 
made  their  report  to  the  meeting.  As  many 
still  doubted  for  want  of  definite  information, 
it  was  decided  to  send  five  or  six  men  to  New 
Ulm  to  learn  more  of  the  particulars.  Samuel 
Tate  and-  three  or  four  others  started  soon 
after  midnight.  At  day  break  James  Shoe- 
maker and  Dr.  McMahan  followed  in  a  buggy. 
When  the  latter  had  gone  just  beyond  Crisp's 
store  in  Judson,  they  saw  some  persons  on  horse- 
back coming  toward  them  at  full  gallop  and 
waving  their  arms.  Fearing  they  might,  be 
Indians  Mr.  Shoemaker  and  the  doctor  turned 
back  and  drove  at  full  speed ,  to  Crisp's  store. 
The  party  proved  to  be  Sam  Tate  and  his  com- 
panions. Near  the  Big  Cottonwood  they  had 
met  some  refugees  who  had  told  them  harrow- 
ing tales  of  what  they  had  just  seen  and  that 
the  Indians  were  coming  close  at,  hand  killing 
and  burning ,  all  before  them.  Mr.  Tate  and  his 
companions,  were  panic  stricken,  and  were  re- 
turning to  Mankato  as  fast  as  their  horses  could 
take  them. . 

A  company  had  been  partially  recruited 
Monday  .night  at  Mankato,  Tuesday  as  one 
report  after  another  reached  our  county  seat, 
bringing  more  and  more  details  of  the  dreadful 
tragedy,  the  people  became  thoroughly  scared 
and  began  to  realize  how  desperate  the  situation 
was.  All  labor  ceased  and.  the  anxiety  was  in- 
tense. Men  and  women  gathered  in  groups  to 
discuss  the  awful  situation  and  to  hear  the  latest 
loports.  This  was  so  all  over  the  county.  The 
farmers  deserted  their  harvest  fields  and  gathered, 
with  their  families  into  some  one  cabin  in 
the  neighborhood  for  protection,  others  hurried, 
to  tlie  nearest  village  to  learn  the  latest  news. 


At  Mankato  the  day  was  spent  in  recruiting 
men  for  the  company  to  send  to  the  aid  of  New 
Ulm,  and  in  gathering  guns  and  ammunition. 
In  the'  evening  another  mass  meeting  was  held 
at  Higgins  Hall  and  the  organization  of  the 
volunteer  company  perfected.  The  momentous 
question  was  whether  this  company  should  go 
to  New  Ulm  or  stay  to  protect  Mankato.  Many 
advocated  the  latter  course,  claiming  that  their 
first  duty  was  to  protect  their  own  families.  The 
Winnebagoes  were  close  to  their  doors  and 
Tv^ere  holding  war  dances  and  on  the  point  of 
joining  the  Sioux  in  the  outbreak.  Every  hour 
^\■as  bringing  fresh  rumors  of  the  strange  be- 
ll a\'ior  of  this  tribe.  Then  there  was  noth- 
ing to  prevent  the .  Sioux  from  passing  by 
New  Ulm  after  getting  the  armed  men  shut  in 
there,  and  fall  upon  the  defenseless  women  aijd 
children  of  Mankato  and  South  Bend.  On  the 
other  hand  B.  P.  Freeman,  John  F.  Meagher, 
William  Bierbauer  and  others  argued,  that  if 
all  the  towns  simply  attempted  to  withstand 
ihe  Indians  singly,  they  would  be  attacked  one 
by  one,  and  all  would  perish.  That  singly 
no  town  could  stand  such  a  force,  and  that  thb 
only  way  the  whites  could  hope  to  check  the 
onslaught  of  the  savages  was  to  mass  their 
strength  against  them,  and  that  New  Ulm,  as 
the  first  frontier  town,  was  logically  the  strate- 
gic point,,  which  the  whites  must  hold  .  at  any 
cost.  Fortunately  for  our  county  and  the  state 
the  latter  argument  prevailed,  and  the  majority 
voted  to  proceed  next  morning  to  New  Ubn. 

It  was  determined  to  start  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  but  about  midnight  the  mill 
of  Seward  &  Co.  took  fire.  The  clang  of  the 
fire  bell  frightened  the  people  greatly  for  every- 
body thought  that  the  Indians  had  come.  The 
men  rushed  for  their  guns,  the  women-  and 
children  cried  in  their  terror  and,  even  when  it 
was  discovered  that  the  alarm  was  due  to  the 
mill  being  on  fire,  the  people  were  afraid  to 
go  to  it,  suspecting  that  the  fire  had  been  set 
by  the  Indians  as  a  ruse  to  draw  them  away 
from  their  homes  into  an  ambush.  So  the  mill 
burned  to  the  ground  with  out  much  effort 
having  been  made  to  save  it.  There  was  not 
much  sleep  that  night  and  by  morning  many  of 
the    people    were    too    exhausted    to    take    the 


oE>  M flpT-STfoiv  &c e-t oo U. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


113 


early  start  for  New  Ulm,  and  some,  because 
of  the  pleadings  of  their  terrified  families,  gave 
up  going.  Capt.  Bierbauer  and  most  of  the 
company  started  soon  after  daybreak.  Two  or 
three  hours  later  John  F.  Meaghsr,  0.  0.  Pit- 
cher and  others  followed,  riding  as  far  as  South 
Bend  with  the  three  New  Ulm  delegates,  who 
had  come  for  help  the  day  before,  and  thence 
to  New  Ulm  in  a  wagon  with  Morris  Lewis 
of  Cambria.  The  roster  of  the  Mankato  com- 
pany was  as  follows: 

Wm.   Bierbauer,   captain. 
John  F.  Meagher,  first  lieutenant. 
Henry  Ruegg,   second   lieutenant. 
James    Shoemaker,    commissary    sergeant. 
J.    C.    Haup,    orderly    sergeant. 
Henry   Vahle,    second   orderly   sergeant. 
Samuel    D.    ShaWj    third    sergeant. 
Leonard    Johnson,    fourth    sergeant. 
Chas.  Heilborn,  first  corporal. 
E.  P.  Freeman,  second  corporal. 
Petei    Krost,   third    corporal. 
Benjamin     Stannard,    fourth     corporal. 
James   R.    McMahan,    surgeon. 

Privates : 

Andrews,   George. 
Andrews,   W.    T. 
Andrus,   Truman    F. 
Andrews,  F.  M. 
Ash,  F.   M. 
Ash,  Rev.   J.   R. 
Burgess,   J.    C. 
Bennett,    Chas. 
Burns,  Patrick. 
Bigler,  Jacob. 
Bierbauer,   Jacob. 
Blatt,   Philip. 
Bandy,  T.  B. 
Bowles,   James. 
Clough,  M. 
Cheney,  W.  H. 
Cheney,    B.    F. 
Cheney,    John    W. 
Canfield,   David    A. 
Collins,   A.    M. 
Coffin,  B.  Y. 
Chilos,    John    C. 
Dole,    Benedict. 
Davis,   Thos.   Y. 
Fassatt,   John. 
Freundle,  Adam. 
Fitterer,    Theodore. 
Godfried,   Chester. 
Gray,  George. 
Haas,  Joseph. 
Heinze,   Chas. 
Houghton,   Newell   E. 
Hamlin,    Micheal. 
Hunt,  C.  N. 
Jefferson,  Adam. 
Jones,   John    C. 
Judge,  H.  L. 
Koek,  E.  J. 
iCron,    Clements. 
T.auer,   Wm. 
Lilley,  Geo. 


Long,   Wm. 
Lee,   Lars. 
McMurtie.    Hugh. 
Jlorris,  Wm. 
Moser,    Frank. 
Mycue,  Elijah  J. 
ISTicholson,    John. 
Nicholson,   Wm.   A, 
Oberle,    Xavier. 
Osterwald,   H. 
Power,    John. 
Pfaff,   Peter. 
PhilippSj    Anton. 
Porter,   Geo.  W. 
Porter,    C.    L. 
Porter,  Dan.  W. 
Plushy,   John. 
Patches,    David. 
Roberts,  Geo.  A. 
Reif,    Emanuel. 
Roos,    George. 
Roos,   Chris.- 
Reiger,   Thos. 
Rockey,  W.  fl. 
Soleate,    Geo. 
Smith,  Rev.   A.   G. 
Shaw.  C.  B. 
Shields,    John. 
Tyler,    Aaron. 
Tonner,    Sarvais. 
Taylor,    S.    B. 
Tyner,  Daniel  H. 
Trask,    J.    W. 
T^lman,  Peter. 
\'pigel,   Chas. 
^'an    Patten,   Alfred   S. 
\\  agoner,   Oscar  F. 
Wiscaver.    John. 
Wood,  Alexander. 
White,    Asa. 
Wigley,    Richard. 


Many  of  above  did  not  join  the  company  un- 
til they  reached  New  Ulm.  Nearly  all  such 
were  from  elsewhere  in  the  county  than  Man- 
kato, and  some  were  members  of  the  South 
Bend  company,  who  had  stayed  at  New  Ulm, 
v,hen  their  company  left,  and  then  joined  the 
Mankato  company.  A  few  members  of  the 
Mankato  company  returned  with  the  South 
Bend  company  before  the  battle  and  their 
names  dropped  from  the  roll.  Of  this  number 
were  Henry  Shaubut  and  0.  0.  Pitcher;  others, 
like  Father  Sommereizen  never  joined.  The  good 
priest  remained  during  the  whole  seige  minis- 
tering the  consolations  of  religion  to  the  sick, 
the  wounded,  the  dying,  and  the  bereaved. 

Another  company  \\as  formed  at  South  Bend, 
which  on  this  same  Wednesday  (Aug.  20)  fol- 
lowed the  Mankato  company  to  New  Ulm.  The 
roster  of  this  company  has  been  lost  and  we 
can  only  give  a  partial  list  of  its  members,  from 
the  memory  of  two  or  three  survivors. 

John  Zimmerman,  captain. 
D.    C.   Evans,   first   lieutenant. 
Jehile    Cheney,    second   lieutenant. 

Some  other  members : 


Daniel    Buck. 
John  R.   Roberts. 
Wm.    J.    Thomas. 
Ehen    P.    Davis. 
Wm.    Jones. 
Hugh  H.  Edwards. 
Paul    Eckstrom. 
Wm.   J.   :\IcCauley. 
jMiner    Porter. 
David  P.  Davis. 
Edwin   Parnell. 
John   S.   Davis. 
George    Gilley. 
Joshua  Wigley. 
Herman    Hegle. 
John    C.    Jones. 
David   T.   Davis. 
John   S.   Jones. 
Hugh  Edwards. 
J.   W.   Trask. 
Peterson. 
•T.    Fessemeyer. 
Morris    Lewis. 
Lewis   D.  Lewis. 
Lars   Lee. 
Owen   Edwards. 


Sleepier. 
Wm.  D.  Jones. 
David  S.  Davis. 
Samuel    Foster. 
Rben  P.  Davis. 
Jonas    Mohr. 
Chas.    Tidland. 
Richard   Wigley. 
Wm.    R.    Lewis. 
Wm.   E.   Davis. 
James  Morgan. 
J.   W.    Trask. 
Alfred    S.    Van    Patten. 
David   Thomas. 
Edward    Dackins. 
Benton   T.   Foster. 
David   P.   Davis,   Jr. 
Wm.    J.    Jones. 
William    Edwards. 
Richard  Thomas. 
Peter  Bandy. 
Wm.   P.  Jones. 
David   J.   Davies,   Jr. 
Rev.   Jenkin   Jenkins. 
James   Edwards. 


Seventy-three  men  in  all.  Many  of  above 
wore  not  residents  of  South  Bend  but  joined 
the  company  in  Cambria  and  at  New  Ulm,  hav- 
ing gone  there  independently. 

The  arrival  of  these  two  companies  with  two 
other  large  companies,   one  from   St.   Peter   and 


114 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  BAETH  COUNTY. 


the  other  from  Le  Sueur,  besides  a  large  number 
of  others,  who  came  singly  and  in  small  groups 
from  Blue  Earth,  Brown  and  Nicollet  Counties 
gave  New  Ulm  an  army  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  to  four  hundred  armed  men,  who  under 
the  generalship  of  Judge  Plandrau,  were  sys- 
tematically disposed  so  as  to  make  an  efEective 
defense  of  the  town. 

A  few  Indians  had  attacked  the  town  Tues- 
day afternoon,  but  luckily  Sheriff  Boardman  of 
Nicollet  County  with  sixteen  well  armed  follow- 
ers arrived  just  in  time  to  help  the  New  Ulm 
people  repulse  this  first  attack.  The  main  at- 
tack was  now  expected  every  liour,  but  did  not 
come,  and  the  delay  puzzled  the  whites.  The 
South  Bend  company  became  uneasy  for  fear 
that  the  Indians  had  passed  by  New  Ulm  and, 
having  formed  a  junction  with  the  Winnebagoes, 
were  now  perhaps  butchering  their  women  and 
children,  whom  they  had  left  at  home  almost 
defenseless.  They  accordingly  on  .Thursday 
afternoon  returned  home.  The  Mankato,  St. 
Peter  and  Le  Sueur  companies  remained  and 
at  last  on  Saturday  (Aug.  23rd)  the  critical 
point  in  the  Sioux  war  was  reached.  Heretofore 
most  of  Little  Crow's  army  had  been  scattered 
over  the  country,  killing  and  plundering  the 
settlers.  But  at  last  all  west  of  New  Ulm  had 
been  completely  devastated  and  Little  Crow  was 
able  to  concentrate  his  warriors  into  an  army 
four  or  five  hundred  strong,  and  march  them 
against  the  fii-st  important  village  of  the  pale 
face.  Could  he  take  it,  was  the  crucial  question 
of  that  day,  upon  the  answer  to  which  depended 
^he  fate  of  most  of  the  valley  below.  The  battle 
began  soon  after  9  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  and 
raged  all  day  until  nightfall.  The  whites  had 
concentrated  their  entire  force  within  the  four 
center  blocks  of  town,  building  barricades  ac- 
cross  the  streets  and  alleys  with  lumber,  wood 
and  boxes,  while  all  the  buildings  outside  ihis 
fortification,  192  in  all,  had  been  burned  by 
the  Indians  or  the  whites.  From  first  to  last 
the  Mankato  company  rendered  efficient  service. 
Time  and  again  they  repulsed  the  charges 
inade  by  the  savage  foe.  In  one  of  these  onsets 
Newell  Houghton  of  Winnebago  Agency  was  kill- 
ed. Wm.  Nickolson  of  Cambria  was,  also,  killed 
and  Benton   T.   Foster  of  Judson  was  mortally 


woujided,  and  died  two  days  later.  Among  the 
iyounded  were:  Geo.  Andrews,  F.  M.  Andrews, 
Patrick  Burns,  Adam  Freundle,  Theodore  Fit- 
tt-rer,  and  John  Fassatt. 

Discouraged  by  their  many  repulses  and  find- 
ing the  whites  better  fortified  than  ever,  and 
fearning  from  their  scouts  that  there  was  a 
great  army  under  General  Sibley  coming  against 
them,  the  Indians  raised  the  seige  Sunday  mom- 
ing  and  retreated  up  the  valley.  The  whites  at 
first  were  puzzled  by  this  move  on  the  part  of 
the  savages  and  thought  it  might  be  a  merf 
ruse  to  draw  them  away  from  their  fortifica- 
tions. 

Let  us  now  return  to  Blue  Earth  county.  On 
Tuesday  and  Wednesday  (Aug.  19th  and  20th) 
the  farmers  all  over  the  county  abandoned 
their  partly  harvested  fields,  their  stock  and 
their  homes  and  fled  with  their  families  to 
South  Bend,  Mankato,  Garden  City,  Vernon 
or  Shelbyville,  "Puring  the  week  a  few  of  the 
armed  men  with  guns,  would  steal  back  home  to 
look  after  the  stock  or  to  get  some  food  or  cloth- 
ing for  the  family.  Otherwise  the  whole  country 
was  deserted  and  the  villages  were  crowded  with 
refugees.  In  some  cases  a  neighborhood  of  a 
dozen  families  would  crowd  themselves  into  one 
little  log  cabin.  At  South  Bend  rude  barricades 
v/ere  constructed  about  the  center  of  town  and 
the  stone  grist  mill,  the  hotel,  and  every 
other  building  packed  with  the  families  of  the 
fleeing  settlers.  The  men  were  all  pressed  into 
service  as  guards  and  armed  with  such  weapons 
as  could  be  found.  Those  without  guns 
were  provided  with  axes  or  s.cythes.  At  Garden 
City,  Vernon  and  Shelbyville  companies  of  home 
guards  were  formed  and  means  taken  for  de- 
fense. At  Garden  City  a  meeting  was  called  the 
Tuesday  morning  after  the  outbreak  and  it  was 
determined  to  send  a  squad  of  ten  mounted  vol- 
unteers to  New  Ulm  to  ascertain  the  truth  about 
the  matter.  The  party  consisted  of  Bd.  Potter, 
who  was  made  captain,  L.  S.  Terry,  Sherman 
Finch,  C.  C.  Wasburn,  Bliphalet  Smith,  and  five 
others.  They  reached  New  Ulm  late  that  aft- 
ernoon just  after  the  first  attack  on  the  town. 
The  sight  of  the  many  mutilated  dead,  seven- 
teen in  one  room,  brought  in  from  the  country, 
convinced  them   of   the  seriousness   of  the  situ- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


115 


ation.  The  village  was  in  the  wildest  ■  excite- 
ment all  night.  In  the  morning  the  guards 
would  not  permit  our  party  to  leave  town.  After 
consulting  with  those  in  authority  two  of  their 
number  were  finally  permitted  to  carry  back 
the  report  to  Garden  City,  but  they  were  not 
oven  permitted  an  escort  across  the  Big  Cotton- 
wood. Messrs.  Terry  and  Smith  were  the  two 
chosen  for  the  dangerous  mission.  They  reached 
Garden  City  by  noon  and  the  report  they 
brought  of  what  they  had  seen  and  heard  in- 
duced many  of  the  people  of  Garden  City, 
Vernon  and  Shelby ville  to  leave  the  country. 

On  Saturday,  Aug.  23rd,  the  smoke  of  the 
burning  buildings  at  Xew  Ulm  could  be  plain- 
ly seen  miles  away,  and  everybody  thought  the 
town  had  been  taken  and  was  being  burned  by 
the  Indians.  This  created  a  panic  at  Garden 
City,  and  elsewhere  and  the  main  retreat  be- 
gan. The  place  of  rendezvous  was  on  the  site 
of  Old  Mapleton  where  a  great  camp  was 
formed  of  all  the  people  in  the  south  half  of  the 
county.  They  did  not  all  get  to  the  rendezvous 
at  once,  but  the  people  of  one  neighborhood 
would  first  flee  in  the  morning  to  that  next  to 
them  on  the  east  or  south,  while  those  to  the 
west  and  north  would  occupy  their  deserted 
homes  by  night. 

On  Tuesday,  Aug.  19th,  a  company  had  been 
recruited  from  Garden  City,  Vernon,  Shelby- 
ville  and  Winnebago  City,  of  which  H.  W.  Holly 
of  the  latter  place  was  made  Captain  and  Dr. 
Welcome  of  Garden  City  Ist  Lieutenant.  M.  B. 
Eaynes  and  Noble  G.  Boot  of  Vernon  were  mem- 
bers, but  we  have  not  been  able  to  learn  the  names 
of  the  others.  Each  provided  himself  with  a  gun 
of  some  sort  and  a  horse  and  all  met  on  Wed- 
nesday at  Winnebago  City.  Thence  they  started 
early  the  next  morning  upon  a  scouting  expedi- 
tion to  the  west  camping  the  first  night  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  present  village  of  Sherburne, 
turning  thence  nortlicast  they  reached  Madelia 
Friday  night,  where  the  people  had  built  a  good 
stockade.  Next  day  they  saw  the  smoke  of  the 
burning  of  New  Ulm.  By  the  time  they 
reached  Garden  City  they  found  it  entirely  de- 
serted. 

Passing  on  to  Vernon  they  found  its  inhabi- 
tants   gone    but    the    rearmost    portion    of    the 


Garden  City  refugees  had  taken  their  place  and 
were  occupying  their  homes.  Many  of  the  peo- 
ple did  not  stop  at  the  big  gathering  place  at 
Old  Mapleton  but  passed  on,  some  to  Albert  Lea, 
some  to  Owatonna,  and  others  to  Iowa  and  Wis- 
consin. The  great  bulk  of  the  inhabitants  how- 
ever, did  not  go  further  than  this  rendezvous. 
A  stirring  and  picturesque  scene  was  this  great 
camp,  especially  towards  evening.  The  wagons 
had  been  arranged  in  a  great  circle  and  inside 
big  camp  fires  were  built  for  cooking  and 
warmth  around  Avhich  were  congregated  the  men, 
women  and  children.  The  great  herds  of  cattle 
belonging  to  many  households,  agitated  by  the 
strange  surroundings,  kept  up  a  constant  bellow- 
ing. The  news  of  the  evacuation  of  New  Ulm 
came  nearly  creating  a  panic  among  our  refu-. 
gees.  A  meeting  of  the  men  was  held  at  which 
the  question  of  fieeing  the  country  was  warmly 
discussed.  Finally  MaJ.  E.  P.  Evans  volunteered 
to  drive  to  Mankato,  learn  the  exact  situaition 
and  bring  back  report  at  once.  This  was  done, 
and  the  ^Major's  report  was  so  favorable,  (the 
Indians  had  retreated  from  New  Ulm ;  Sibley 
with  a  big  army  was  at  St.  Peter  starting 
west  against  the  foe;  Dane's  company  was 
stationed  at  Lake  Crystal;)  that  most  of  the 
settlers  returned  to  their  homes. 

At  Mankato  every  man  was  mustered  into 
service  and  pickets  kept  stationed  around  the 
town  in  every  direction.  The  three  story  stone' 
liuildings  of  Leech  and  White  and'  Marks  were 
well  fortified  by  nailing  four  inch  oak  planks 
over  the  windows  and  cutting  loop  holes  for 
shooting,  barricades  were  built  across  the  streets 
and  along  the  levee  with  cordwood,  salt  barrels, 
dvygoods  boxes,  logs  and  planks.  On  Friday 
afternoon  (Aug.  23)  company  E  of  the  9th 
Minnesota,  108  men,  who  had  left  Mankato 
just  one  week  before  to  enlist  at  Ft.  Snelling, 
returned.  They  had  sealed  order,  which  when 
opened  directed  them  to  seize  at  once  all  the 
horses  they  needed  from  the  people.  This  they 
did  and  there  was  a  lively  time  between  them 
and  all  owners   of  horseflesh  that   afternoon. 

Hon.  T.  M.  Pugh  nf  South  Bend  was  driving 
down  Front  street  in  a  buggy  behind  a  fine 
horse  and  his  best  girl  was  sitting  beside  him. 
Jim  Hoosier  and  two  or  three  other  soldier  boys 


116 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


he  knew  stepped  out  into  the  street  to  greet 
him,  and  before  Mr.  Pugh  realized  what  was 
up,  the  horse  was  slipped  out  of  its  harness  and 
gone  before  his  astonished  gaze,  while  he  still  sat 
in  the  buggy  holding  the  lines.  Some  managed 
to  hide  their  horses  in  the  woods  and  brush, 
but  the  soldiers  soon  found  enough  to  supply 
their  need.  Their  -orders,  also,  directed  them 
to  take  all  the  food,  feed,  and  other  things 
necessary  and  give  the  owners  receipts  therefore. 
This  was  a  military  necessity  as  the  company 
had  been  rushed  back  without  any  supplies. 

As  it  was  rumored  that  the  Indians  were  burn- 
ing houses  west  of  Lake  Crystal,  Lieut.  Eoberts 
and  forty-eight  mounted  men  were  dispatched 
thither  that  afternoon.  They  camped  in  a  va- 
•  cant  house  on  the  south  shore  of  the  lake  for 
three  or  four  days. 

On  this  same  Saturday  occurred  as  we  have 
seen  the  battle  of  Kew  Ulm.  In  the  afternoon 
the  smoke  of  the  burning  town  could  be  seen 
from  the  northwest  portion  of  the  County,  and 
by  night  the  glare  of  the  fire  against  the  sky 
was  plainly  visible  from  South  Bend,  Mankato 
and  even  St.  Clair  and  Mapleton.  It  created 
consternation  everywhere  for  it  was  supposed 
that  the  Indians  had  captured  the  town  and 
were  burning  it.  It  was  a  night  that  our  old 
settlers  will  never  forget.  The  excitement,  the 
terror  and  the  grief  beggars  description,  for  al- 
most every  family  had  some  relative  or  friend 
among  the  defenders  of  iSTew  Ulm,  and  every- 
body expected  the  savage  horde  would  attack 
them  before  morning. 

At  the  Winnebago  Agency  the  excitement 
among  the  Indians  and  the  whites  had  been 
intense  since  the  outbreak  occurred.  A  number 
of  the  Winnebagoes  with  Little  Priest,  one  of 
their  chiefs,  were  visiting  the  Sioux,  when  the 
massacre  started,  and  there  was  strong  suspicion 
that  they  took  some  hand  in  it.  They  returned 
Wednesday  morning  and  were  chased  through 
Cambria  and  Butternut  Valley  by  Wm.  E.  Lew- 
is, Lewis  D.  Lewis,  James  Morgan  and  one  or  two 
others,  but  finally  reached  the  Agency  that  day, 
and  greatly  added  to  the  agitation  by  their  re- 
ports. Secret  councils  were  held  almost  con- 
tinually to  which  no  white  men  were  admitted. 
Some  of  the  older  chiefs,  who  had  friends  among 


the  whites,  advised  them  to  send  their  families 
away,  as  the  young  men  were  strongly  inclined 
TO  Join  the  Sioux.  Everything  boded  mischief. 
They  had  organized  a  Soldier  Lodge,  which  met 
in  a  large  wigwam  ma4e  of  mats  weaved  from 
rushes.  Meetings  were  held  here  almost  con- 
stantly, and  none  of  the  whites  or  half  breeds 
were  permitted  to  enter.  The  traders,  Messrs. 
Hubbell  and  Hawley,  on  Thursday  moming, 
upon  the  advise,  of  chief  Baptiste,  sent  their 
families  to  Owatonna.  On  Friday,  Aug.  32nd, 
Mr.  Hubbell  was  dispatched  by  Mr.  Balcombe, 
llie  agent,  to  Wilton  to  get  a  company  of  citi- 
zens to  come  to  the  agency  to  help  keep  the 
peace.  Col.  Ide  and  a  few  others  drove  back  at 
once  with  Mr.  Hubbell.  Others  followed  next 
morning  until  a  company  of  forty  or  fifty 
were  gathered  there  which  had  some  quieting  ef- 
fect on  the  Indians.  Soon  after  the  evacuation  of 
New  Ulm  Capt.  Edgerton  arrived  at  the  Agency 
with  a  large  company  of  volunteers  and  the 
Wilton  men  returned  home.  Most  of  the  Winne- 
bago chiefs  and  headmen,  such  as  Baptiste,  Big 
Bear,  Co-No-Hutta-Kaw,  Little  Decoria,  Tall 
Decoria,  Young  Frenchman  and  others  remained 
faithful  to  the  whites,  but  some  of  the  chiefs, 
like  Little  Priest,  Winneshiek,  and  Short  Wing 
and  a  large  number  of  young  bucks  were  strong- 
ly inclined  to  join  the  Sioux,  and  undoubtedly 
would  have  done  so,  had  the  latter  been  success- 
ful at  Few  Ulm. 

On  Sunday,  Aug.  24th,  Mankato  and  South 
Bend  were  put  under  marshall  law,  with  Depu- 
ty U.  S.  Marshall  G.  K.  Cleveland  in  command, 
assisted  by  A.  N.  Dukes  and  J.  J.  Porter  as 
deputies.  To  stop  the  men  from  running  away 
and  leaving  the  country  defenseless,  no  one  was 
permitted  to  pass  the  guard  line  without  a  pass. 
F^our,  meat,  cattle,  potatoes  and  all  food  com- 
modities were  seized  where  ever  found  without 
pay  to  feed  the  people.  The  right  of  private 
property  had  to  give  way  before  the  right  of 
public  necessity. 

The  same  Sunday  morning  (Aug.  24)  Lieut. 
Eoberts  dispatched  James  Hoosier,  at  his  own 
request,  to  learn  the  condition  of  things  at  New 
Ulm.  He  arrived  there  safely  just  after  the 
departure  of  the  Indians.  A  company  of  seven- 
ty-four men  from  St.  Peter,  under  Capt.  E.  St. 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


117 


Julian  Cox,  and  another  company  of  forty-eight 
men  from  Henderson,  under  Lieut.  Adam  Buck 
arrived  there,  also,  about  noon.  As  there  were 
only  four  blocks  of  the  town  left  in  which  to 
shelter  about  2,000  people,  and  the  food  supply 
was  almost  exhausted,  it  was  determined  to  evac- 
uate the  place  next  morning  and  take  the  peo- 
ple to  South  Bend  and  Mankato,  where  they 
could  be  fed  and  have  more  room.  Hon.  H.  A. 
Swift  and  Mr.  Ackerman  of  St.  Peter  arrived 
at  Mankato  at  noon  with  the  first  message  of 
the  evacuation.  They  were  soon  followed  by 
l)r.  McMahan,  who  had  been  dispatched  ahead 
to  prepare  a  place  for  the  fifty-two  wounded 
persons  from  New  Ulm.  With  the  aid  of  A.  N. 
Dukes  and  C.  K.  Cleveland  the  American 
House  was  secured  for  a  hospital  and  hastily  put 
in  order  for  the  purpose.  All  the  people  at  New 
Ulm  were  notified  Sunday  afternoon  to  be 
ready  by  next  morning  to  start  for  Mankato. 
Every  team  in  town  was  put  in  requisition. 
Contrary  to  instructions  the  people  piled  all 
manner  of  household  goods  into  the  wagons, 
until  there  was  no  room  for  half  the  women  and 
children,  consequently  the  officers  in  charge 
were  obliged  next  morning  to  dump  from  the  wag- 
ons trunks,  feather  beds,  furniture  and  all  manner 
of  goods  into  the  street  to  make  room  for  the 
sick,  the  wounded  and  those  who  could  not 
walk.  The  road  for  two  or  three  miles  out 
of  town  was  strewn  with  household  effects 
thrown  from  the  overloaded  wagons.  Before 
the  expedition  started  all  the  stores  were 
thrown  open  and  everybody  invited  to  take  what- 
ever they  wished,  as  it  was  supposed  the  Indians 
would  return  and  plunder  all  as  soon  as  the 
whites  were  gone.  A  number  of  the  volunteers 
loaded  themselves  with  these  goods  and  after- 
wards becoming  tired  had  to  throw  them  away 
on  the  march.  There  were  153  wagons  and 
about  2,000  people  in  line.  All  the  able- 
bodied  men  marched  under  arms  in  their  re- 
spective companies,  some  in  front,  some  along 
the  sides  and  some  in  the  rear  to  guard 
the  long  train  of  non-combatants.  Since  both 
South  Bend  and  Mankato  were  already  crowded 
With  refugees  from  the  surrounding  country,  it 
was  no  small  matter  to  find  food  and  shelter  for 
2,000  more.     Cattle  were  killed  at  South  Bend 


and  ilankato  and  the  meat  cooked  in  large 
kettles  over  camp  fires.  Barrels  of  flour  were 
converted  into  bread  by  the  women.  It  was  late 
in  the  afternoon  before  the  tired,  hungry  mul- 
titude arrived. 

The  rear  Guard,  consisting  of  the  companies 
of  Lieutenants  Cox  and  Buck  and  acting  Lieu- 
tenant J.  B.  Swan,  halted  for  the  night  at 
C'risp's  store  (where  now  stands  the  residence 
of  Joseph  Roberts)  in  Judson  to  guard  the  rear 
in  case  the  Indians  should  follow  the  retreat.  It 
was  a  very  dark,  rainy,  cold  night.  About  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning  one  of  the  sentries  no- 
ticed some  object  move  in  front  of  him  in  the 
tall  grass.  He  challenged  it,  but  instead  of  an- 
swering, it  came  straight  toward  him.  He  raised 
his  gun  and  pulled  the  trigger  but  the  rain  had 
dampened  the  cap  so  it  did  not  fire.  A  weak, 
trembling  feminine  voice  fell  on  his  ear  beg- 
ging him  not  to  shoot.  It  proved  to  be  a  poor 
\\oman,  Mrs.  Harrington  by  name,  who  eight 
days  before  had  fled  from  her  home  on  the 
Big  Cottonwood,  west  of  N^ew  Ulm,  with  a  num- 
ber of  neighbors.  The  little  company  had  been 
overtaken  in  the  road  by  a  band  of  Indians  and 
nearly  all  murdered.  Mrs.  Harrington  had 
jumped  from  the  wagon,  with  her  little  babe,  a 
year  old  boy,  in  her  arms.  An  Indian  bullet 
passed  through  her  little  child's  hand,  which 
v/as  resting  on  her  shoulder,  and  lodged  in  her 
own  body.  She  ran  into  the  brush  and  hid. 
Even  the  little  babe  was  conscious  of  danger  and 
kept  as  still  as  a  mouse,  though  its  little  hand 
had  been  terribly  lacerated  by  the  cruel  bullet. 
The  Indians  failed  to  find  her.  Since  then  she 
had  spent  the  days  hiding  in  bushes  and  swamps 
and  the  nights  in  wandering  over  the  prairies 
trying  to  find  some  white  settlement.  She  had 
subsisted  on  roots,  berries  and  raw  vegetables. 
Tliis  Monday  night  weak  from  hunger,  loss 
oi  blood  and  pain,  wet  and  shivering  with  the 
rain  and  the  cold,  and  her  clothes  almost  in 
shreds,  her  feet  cut  by  the  grass,  and  her  baby 
sick  and  nearly  dead  from  hunger  and  exposure, 
she  had  seen  the  camp  fires  and  determined  to 
approach  them  rather  than  perish  in  the  slough, 
though  she  imagined  they  belonged  to  the  In- 
dians. Her  joy,  when  she  discovered  they  were 
white  men  was  most  touching.     The  men  kindly 


118 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


cared  for  her  and  her  babe,  and  next  morning 
took  them  to  the  hospital  at  Mankato,  and  there 
the  glad  husband  who  happened  to  have  been 
east  when   the   massacre   occurred,   found   them. 

The  governor  now  commissioned  Judge  Plan- 
drau  to  the  command  of  all  the  militia  organiza- 
tions in  Blue  Earth  County  and  points  south 
and  west  with  headquarters  at  South  Bend.  His 
principal  office  was  in  the  hotel  there.  Commis- 
saries were  maintained  at  South  Bend,  Mankato 
and  St.  Peter  to  feed  the  hundreds  of  fugitives 
there  gathered.  A.  N.  Dukes  was  quarter  mas- 
ter for  the  first  two  or  three  weeks  and  after 
])is  promotion  to  the  rank  of  Captain,  D.  H. 
Tyner  was  appointed  with  B.  D.  Pay  as  assistant 
in  Mankato,  and  Geo.  Owens  in  South  Bend. 
Threshing  crews  were  formed,  who  went  out  and 
threshed  the  stacks  of  grain,  without  asking  the 
farmers  leave,  for  all  was  under  martial  law.  The 
grain  thus  secured  was  ground  into  flour  to  feed 
the  people.  There  were  some,  even  in  such  try- 
ing circumstances,  who  took  advantage  of  the 
indulgence  and  generosity  of  the  people  as  an 
occasion  to  gratify  their  thieving  propensities. 
Silverware  and  other  articles  were  stolen  from 
hotels,  and  private  homes  by  some  dishonest 
miscreants,  while  others  ventured  back  to  jSTew 
Ulm  at  the  peril  of  their  lives  and  carried  away 
wagon  loads  of  the  goods  scattered  by  the  road- 
side, but  which  did  not  belong  to  them.  These 
instances  of  looting  of  property,  however,  were 
rare,  though  the  confusion  which  then  pre- 
vailed  afforded   everj'   opportunity. 

On  Tuesday  (Aug.  36th)  while  Capt.  Dane's 
company  were  still  encamped  at  the  Eobinson 
house  near  the  outlet  of  Lake  Crystal  they  dis- 
covered a  wagon  drawn  by  oxen  coming  from  the 
west  near  Buffalo  Grove.  A  detachment  of 
soldiers  mounted  their  horses  and  went  out  to 
meet  it.  The  occupants  proved  to  be  refugees 
from  Lake  Shetec,  Messrs.  Everett,  Hatch  and 
Bently  and  a  Mrs.  Meyer  and  her  four  children. 
Mrs.  Meyer  had  been  carried  from  her  home, 
on  ■  her  sick  bed,  and  when  opposite  Few  Ulm 
the  previous  Saturday  her  husband  ventured 
into  town  to  procure  help,  and,  being  hemmed 
in  by  the  Indians,  had  failed  to  get  out.  After 
waiting  a  whole  day  for  him  the  party  concluded 
he    must    have    been '  killed,    and    proceeded    on 


their  journey  towards  South  Bend.  They  had 
reached  Buffalo  Grove,  when  they  saw  the  sol- 
diers coming  toward  them  on  horseback,  and 
took  them  at  once  to  be  Indians.  Hatch  and 
Bentley  left  the  wagon  and  ran  to  the  lake, 
where  they  hid  in  the  grass.  Mr.  Everett  had 
been  severely  wounded  by  the  Indians  and  could 
not  walk  and  Mrs.  Meyers  was  too  sick  to  rise 
from  her  bed,  so  the  two  with  the  children  were 
left  in  the  wagon.  The  fright  threw  the  womaa 
into  convulsions  and  it  was  some  time  before 
she  and  the  two  men  in  the  slough  could  be 
made  to  realize  that  the  soldiers  were  not  In- 
dians, but  white  men.  Mr.  Hatch  was  also  bad- 
ly wounded,  though  he  was  able  to  walk.  AU 
were  taken  at  once  to  the  hospital  at  Man- 
kato, where  Mrs.  Meyers  died  the  next  day.  The 
terrible  hardships  she  had  undergone  proved 
too  much  for  her  enfeebled  health. 

On  Friday,  Aug.  29th,  Dane's  company  was 
ordered  from  Lake  Crystal  to  New  Uhn,  which 
had  been  deserted  since  Monday.  The  town 
presented  a  most  dreary  and  desolate  appear- 
ance. The  houses  were  all  burnt,  except  a  few 
in  the  center.  The  streets  were  littered  from 
end  to  end  with  household  goods  and  furni- 
ture, and  here  and  there  were  the  bloated  car- 
casses of  some  fifty  or  sixty  "horses  and  cattle, 
which  had  been  killed  in  the  fight,  emiting  a 
horrible  stench.  The  barricades  were,  still 
standing  across  the  streets,  except  at  one  place, 
where  they  had  been  thrown  down  to  permit 
the  besieged  people  to  escape.  Within  these  for- 
tifications little  mounds  of  earth  dotted  the  streets 
thick,  under  which  in  shallow  graves  lay  the 
dead.  The  few  buildings  left  had  been  all  loop- 
holed  for  musketrj',  and  both  barricades  and 
buildings 'were  splintered  and  riddled  with  bul- 
lets. Everywhere  were  evidences  of  the  desper- 
ate conflict  of  Saturday  and  it  was  several  days 
before  the  soldiers  could  restore  the  town  to 
order. 

In  the  mean  time  Gen.  Sibley  had  occupied 
Ft.  Eidgley  with  an  army  of  1500  to  1600 
men.  But  they  were  all  raw  recruits,  who  had 
received  no  military  training,  and  armed  for 
the  most  part  with  rejected  muskets,  which 
the  government  had  sent  north  to  be  used  in 
drilling    new    volunteers.      On    September    2nd, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


119 


1862j  occurred  the  battle  of  Birch  Cooley,  when 
a  burial  detachment,  which  Gen.  Sibley  had 
sent  out,  was  attacked  by  an  overwhelming 
force  of  Indians  about  twelve  miles  west  of 
Ft.  Eidgely,  but  managed  to  hold  their  own  in 
a  terrible  struggle,  until  relieved  by  re-enforce- 
ments from  the  fort.  On  the  very  day  of 
this  battle  a  skulking  band  of  eight  Indians 
killed  some  settlers  near  the  present  village  of 
Courtland  in  Nicollet  county  and  crossing  the 
Minnesota  passed  stealthily  through  the  north- 
western corner  of  Cambria  township.  Eben  P. 
Davies,  the  son  of  David  P.  Davis,  then  residing 
on  the  Little  Cottonwood  in  section  nineteen 
of  Cambria,  had  just  put  a  span  of  colts  into 
a  pasture  and  was  returning  along  the  side  of 
the  fence,  when  he  came  upon  an  Indian  lying 
in  the  grass.  The  Indian  jumped  up  and  made 
a  grab  for  Eben's  shoulder,  but  the  latter  dodged 
and  ran  for  home.  The  Indian  followed  him 
a  short  distance,  and  then  fired,  the  ball  pass- 
ing through  Eben's  left  arm  between  the  wrist 
and  the  elbow.  A  stampede  of  the  settlers, 
who  had  just  returned  to  their  homes  a  few 
days  before,  was  prevented  by  the  timely  arrival  in 
the  neighborhood  of  a  company  of  the  twenty- 
fifth  Wisconsin,  which  was  on  its  way  to  New 
Ulm.  It  tarried  over  night  in  Cambria  to  pro- 
tect the  settlers  and  aid  them  in  searching  for 
the  Indians.  No  trace  of  the  latter  could  be 
discovered,  nor  of  Mr.  Davis'  two  colts,  which 
Eben  had  put  into  the  pasture.  The  next  day 
Col.  Flandrau  sent  Capt.  Rogers'  company  to 
New  Ulm  to  relieve  Capt.  Dane's  company,  and 
the  latter  was  stationed  at  Crisp's  store  in 
Judson.  Why  they  were  not  stationed  in  the 
^ore  westerly  settlement  of  Cambria,  or  But- 
ternut Valley  as  it  was  then  called,  is  not 
apparent. 

The  people  of  that  neighborhood  were  accus- 
tomed to  gather  for  mutual  protection  each 
night  at  the  home  of  James  Morgan,  which 
stood  across  the  highway  from  the  school  house 
of  District  No.  eleven.  Tuesday  night,  Sep- 
tember 9th,  just  one  week  after  Eben  P.  Davis 
was  shot,  most  of  the  families  concluded  to 
stay  at  home,  as  the  soldiers  that  very  day  had 
made  a  thorough  search  of  the  town  and  had 
found    no    trace     of    Indians.       A     few     came 


together  as  usual.  These  were  the  families  of 
David  P.  Davis,  James  Edwards,  Lewis  D. 
Lewis  and  Richard  Morgan;  twenty-two  per- 
sons, between  men,  women  and  children.  David 
Price  and  family  had  come  with  their  neighbor, 
James  Edwards,  but  at  the  invitation  of  Thos. 
Y.  Davis,  they  went  to  spend  the  night  with 
him.  His  house  (the  present  residence  of 
Rev.  Thos.  E.  Hughes)  stood  only  about  fifty 
rods  to  the  north,  on  the  other  side  of  a  little 
knoll.  A  number  of  the  men  gathered  at 
James  Morgan's  house  early  in  the "  evening  to 
talk  over  the  news.  Among  others  were  John 
S.  Jones,  David  J.  Davis,  and  Henry  'Hughes. 
The  latter  spoke  of  an  adventure  he  had  just 
been  through  in  looking  for  his  cow  on  Cambria 
Creek  near  his  cabin,  a  suspicious  noise  in  the 
brush,  as  of  persons  moving  away  from  him  as 
he  entered  them  in  the  dusk  to  look  for  the 
cow.  Wm.  Edwards  told  of  seeing  some  men 
that  afternoon  down  by  the  Minnesota,  whom 
he  was  certain  were  Indians.  Not  much  atten- 
tion was  paid  to  these  reports,  as  such  stories 
were  much  in  vogue  in  those  days,  for  nearly 
every  object  a  person  then  saw  assumed  the 
appearance  of  an  Indian  warrior.  Except  the 
twenty-two  before  mentioned  all  the  rest  of  the 
neighbors  soon  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

Next  morning,  September  10th,  at  break  of 
day  the  people  at  James  ^Morgans'  house  were 
awakened  by  the  furious  barking  of  dogs.  Mr. 
Morgans  opened  the  front,  door  and  saw  some 
person  in  the  road  in  front  of  the  house  with 
a  dog  barking  viciously  at  his  heels.  The 
party  seemed  to  be  dressed  like  a  white  man 
and  had  a  straw  hat  on  his  head,  but  as  he 
turned  to  look  at  the  dog,  Mr.  Morgans  recog- 
nized him  to  be  an  Indian,  and  called  the  atten- 
tion of  Lewis  D.  Lewis,  who  had  stepped  to 
his  side,  to  him.  Mr.  Lewis  raised  his  right 
hand  to  shield  his  eyes  as  he  peered  in  the 
direction  pointed  by  Morgans.  Suddenly  a  bul- 
let struck  his  hand,  passing  through  its  entire 
breadth  a  little  above  the  knuckles  and  strik- 
ing against  his  forehead,  fell  to  the  floor.  His 
hand  had  saved  his  brain.  Another  bullet  came 
\»._izzing  through  a  window,  but  though  the 
room  was  full  of  people,  it  passed  between  them 
doing    no    harm.       James     Edwards    had    just 


120 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY, 


risen  from  the  floor,  where  he  had  been  sleep- 
ing, to  reach  for  his  gun,  when  a  third  ball 
came  through  another  window,  hitting  him  in 
the  neck,  severing  the  jugular  vein.  Without 
a  word  he  fell  dead  across  his  bed  on  the  floor, 
his  blood  spirting  over  all  near  him.  The  other 
men  had  now  secured  their  guns  and  opened 
a  brisk  fire  on  the  Indians  and  they  quickly 
retreated  into  a  cornfield  across  the  road.  D.  P, 
Davis,  Jr.,  thinks  he  hit  one  of  them  as  he 
leaped  the  fence,  but  no  marks  of  blood  or 
otherwise  could  be  found.  As  soon  as  the 
Indians  were  driven  ofE,  John  P.  and  Henry  P. 
Davis  started  for  camp  Crisp,  six  miles  away, 
lor  help.  Wm.  Edwards  and  D.  P.  Davis,  Jr. 
followed  in  a  short  time  on  the  same  errand. 
Miss  Mary  Morgans,  taking  one  of  her  brother's 
youngest  children  in  her  arms,  started,  also,  for 
the  camp.  The  others  stayed  in  the  house  for 
a  time,  and  kept  watch  from  the  second  story  win- 
dows. David  P.  Davis  had  been  stacking  grain 
the  day  before  and  had  left  his  horses  in  the 
pasture,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  west  of  Mor- 
gan's house,  over  night.  Not  long  after  the 
attack  a  number  of  Indians  were  observed  chas- 
ing the  horses.  They  soon  corraled  them  in  a 
corner  of  the  field,  where  they  had  made  a  pen 
with  the  wagons  used  in  stacking.  The  Indians 
now  congregated  on  a  high  knoll  on  the  Daniel 
P.  Davis  farm  to  reconnoiter.  There  were  about 
fifteen  of  them.  After  a  short  consultation  the 
four  mounted  on  the  horses  they  had  just  caught 
and  two  on  foot  started  down  the  hill  eastward, 
in  the  direction  of  the  Morgans  house.  Three 
or  four  went  south,  where  they  stole  Eev.  Jen- 
kin  Jenkin's  horses,  and  the  rest  passed  beyond 
the    hill   to    the    west. 

The  occupants  of  the  Morgans  house,  seeing 
a  portion  of  the  Indians  coming  straight  toward 
them,  concluded  -they  were  bent  on  another 
attack,  and,  as  there  were  now  only  three  men 
left  with  the  women  and  children,  all  fled  from 
the  house.  D.  P.  Davis  Sr.  hid  in  the  corn- 
field, James  Morgan  in  some  stacks  of  grain, 
the  rest  ran  down  a  small  gully  towards  Cam- 
bria Creek.  When  about  twenty  rods  west  of 
the  house  the  two  Indians  on  foot  turned  to  the 
left,  into  Thos.  Y.  Davis'  field;  the  four  mount- 
ed evidently  to  avoid  the  Morgans  house,  turned 


to  the  right  into  Henry  Hughes'  field,  and 
passed  down  a  branch  of  the  same  gully  just 
mentioned  and  barely  missed  the  women  and 
children,  who  had  just  reached  a  clump  of 
bushes  at  the  junction,  when  the  Indians 
passed  within  a  few  feet  of  them.  Lewis  D. 
Lewis,  being  unable  to  staunch  the  fiow  of 
blood  from  his  hand,  had  left  the  house  about 
fifteen  minutes  before  to  try  and  reach  Dane's 
camp  at  the  Crisp  store  to  secure  medical  aid. 
When  nearing  Bennett's  Creek,  about  a  mile 
away,  he  saw  the  Indians  coming  after  him  on 
the  road  at  full  gallop.  He  ran  and  threw 
himself  into  a  clump  of  bushes  near  by.  He 
found  himself  lying  on  the  ground  within  a 
foot  or  two  of  a  monster  prairie  snake.  Lewis 
concluded  to  trust  the  snake,  however,  rather 
than  the  Indians  and  so  lay  motionless  until 
the  Sioux  were  gone;  nor  did  his  snakeship  ob- 
ject to  his  den  being  made  a  city  of  refuge. 

The  two  Indians,  who  had  turned  into  Thos. 
Y.  Davis'  field,  went  straight  for  his  horses, 
which  had  been  staked  out  to  grass  by  the 
house.  Mr.  Davis  thought  they  were  soldiers, 
as  they  were  dressed  as  whitemen,  and  ran  out 
to  stop  them  from  taking  his  horses,  but  when 
he  got  close  to  them  he  perceived  they  wepe 
Indians.  They  had  laid  down  their  guns  to 
catch  the  horses  and  therefore  could  not'  shoot 
him.  He  turned  quickly  and  ran  to  James 
Morgans  house  for  help.  To  his  surprise  the 
place  seemed  deserted  and  no  one  answered  his 
rap.  The  front  door  was  locked  so  he  went  to 
the  back  door.  Here  the  steps  were  covered 
with  blood  and  a  glance  through  the  half  open 
door  revealed  the  bedding  on  the  floor  in  the 
wildest  confusion  and  soaked  with  blood,  pools 
of  blood,  also,  on  the  floor,  and  spirts  of  blood 
dripping  from  the  walls.  Mr.  Davis  did  not 
tarry  long  near  this  chamber  of  blood,  but  made 
the  swiftest  run  he  ever  made  before  or  since, 
to  the  log  cabin  of  one  John  Shield's,  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  down  the  road.  Mr.  Shields 
was  sick  in  bed,  but  sickness  in  those  days  was 
no  excuse,  and  he  and  his  family  promptly 
joined  Mr.  Davis  in  an  expedition  into  the 
woods  of  Cambria  Creek.  Emerging  from  the 
brush  into  the  Mankato  road  about  a  mile 
below,  they  saw  not  more  than  ten  rods  ahead 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


121 


of  them  the  four  Indians,  mounted  on  the  D. 
P.  Davis  horses.  The  Indians  glanced  bacK 
over  their  shoulders  at  them  but  did  not  stop. 
Half  a  mile  further  on  \Vm.  P.  Jones,  Hugh 
li.  William,  Stephen  and  David  Walters  and 
Thos.  D.  Lloyd  were  approaching  the  Mankato 
road  from  Lloyd's  house,  in  a  wagon  half  filled 
with  household  goods  drawn  by  oxen.  The 
Indians  caught  sight  of  them  and  charged  them 
full  gallop,  whooping  and  brandishing  their 
weapons.  The  men  scattered  into  the  adjoin- 
ing cornfield  except  Stephen  Walters,  who 
mounted  on  a  fleet  mare  belonging  to  Hugh 
Wiinams,  attempted  to  out  run  the  foe,  which 
he  might  have  easily  done,  but  the  savages  dis- 
conserted  him  by  their  yelling  and  he  jumped 
from  his  mare  and  ran  into  the  brush.  The 
Indians  caught  the  mare  and  substituted  her 
for  the  poorest  of  the  four  horses  they  had  and 
after  plundering  the  wagon  of  such  things  as 
they  wanted,  they  passed  on  down  the  road 
towards    Mankato. 

Leaving  them  for  the  present  let  us  return 
again  to  the  upper  end  of  the  settlement.  David 
J.  Davis'  log  cabin  then  stood  in  section  seven- 
teen of  Cambria,  at  the  foot  of  the  steep  blufi, 
which  skirts  the  Minnesota  river  bottom.  A 
path  led  up  this  bluff,  back  of  the  house  to  the 
table  land  above,  where  was  a  cornfield.  At 
day  break,  this  morning,  Mr.  Davis'  eighteen 
year  old  son,  Thomas,  went  up  the  path  to  see 
if  there  were  cattle  in  the  corn.  Just  at  the 
top  he  met  two  Indians  face  to  face  and  turned 
to  flee,  but  they  shot  him  in  the  back,  through 
the  heart.  The  father  yet  in  bed  heard  the 
shot  and  the  piercing  shriek*  of  his  son.  He 
rushed  to  the  door  half  clad  just  in  time  to 
see  his  son  fall  and  the  two  Indians  standing 
at  the  top  of  the  bluff.  Mr.  Davis  seized  his 
ax  while  his  oldest  son,  David,  who  was  an 
excellent  shot,  took  his  trusty  rifle  and  gather- 
ing his  other  eight  motherless  children,  most 
of  whom  were  "quite  small,  he  fled  with  them 
on  the  bluff  watching,  but  not  daring  to-  follow 
from  respect  to  David's  rifle.  Thus  they  hasten- 
ed on  through  the  tail  grass,  dripping  with  the 
cold  morning  dew,  thinly  clad  and  chilled  to  the 
bone,  a  distance  of  six  miles  to  Camp  Crisp, 
warning  all  the   people  they  met.    The  weather 


was  now  getting  quite  chilly  night  and  morning, 
but  none  of  the  settlers  that  morning  had  time 
to  think  of  wraps,  but  all  fled  just  as  they  were, 
many   only  half   clad. 

John  P.  Davis,  whom  we  mentioned  leaving 
James  Morgans'  house,  had  caught  on  Bermett's 
Creek  on  old  horse  belonging  to  Eiehard  Morgans, 
and  thus  had  been  enabled  to  reach  the  soldier's 
camp  ten  or  flfteen  minutes  ahead  of  David  J. 
Davis  and  children,  whom  he  had  passed  on  the 
road.  That  morning  Eiehard  Wigley,  Wm.  J. 
Eoberts,  and  John  C.  Jones  had  left  camp  Crisp 
with  a  threshing  machine.  On  the  knoll  on  the 
west  side  of  Jonas  Mohr's  farm,  in  section 
36,  (now  owned  by  Mrs.  Eiehard  Jones),  they 
met  David  J.  Davis  and  John  P.  Davis  and 
other  fugitives  with  news  of  the  attack.  John 
C.  Jones  had  gone  on  an  errand  to  the  house 
of  Morris  Lewis  about  half  a  mile  away  from  the 
road,  leaving  his  partners,  Eoberts  and  Wig- 
ley  with  the  machine,  waiting  on  the  knoll  for 
his  return,  and  talking  with  the  fugitives  as 
they  came.  Mr.  Mohr  came  up  the  road  looking 
for  his  horses.  After  talking  a  few  minutes 
about  the  awful  happenings  of  the  morning  he 
started  up  the  road  to  the  west.  In  the  slough 
west  of  the  knoll  J.  W.  Trask  and  John  Page 
were  making  hay.  Suddenly  seven  men  on  horse 
back  were  seen  coming  down  the  road  full 
speed.  As  they  wore  straw  hats  and  citizens 
clothes,  the  people  were  in  doubt  whether  they 
were  white  fugitives  or  Indians.  One  of  them 
turned  aside  to  pursue  Mr.  Trask  and  they 
were  then  known  to  be  Indians.  Mr.  Trask 
ran  and  jumped  over  a  fence.  The  Indian 
fired  at  him  hitting  him  in  the  wrist  and  then 
hurried  back  to  join  his  companions.  The  other 
six  Indians  made  straight  for  the  machine. 
Wigley  and  Eoberts  were  unarmed  and  ran  to 
hide  in  some  sugar  cane  near  by.  Mohr  had  a 
Sharps  rifle,  and  was  a  flne  shot,  but  he  ran 
back  and  passed  the  machine  without  firing, 
evidently  trying  to  get  home  to  protect  his  fam- 
ily. One  Indian  followed  him  past  the  ma- 
chine, and  Slohr,  seeing  that  he  would  soon  over- 
take him,  wheeled  about  to  shoot,  but  the  In- 
dian's gun  went  off  first,  the  ball  penetrating 
Mohr's  forehead.  He  fell  over  backward  and  soon 
expired.  In  the  meantime  the  other  Indians  cut 


122 


HISTOEY  OF  BLtTB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


the  hajness  ofE  of  one  of  Eoberts'  best  horses 
and  took  it  in  place  of  one  of  the  poorest  they 
had.  Seeing  a  company  of  soldiers  coming  up 
the  road  at  full  speed,  the  Indians  fled  in  hot 
haste  for  the  woods  near  by.  Four  of  them,  in 
passing  down  the  ravine  near  Morris  Lewis' 
house,  barely  missed  meeting  Mr.  Lewis  and 
family,  David  A.  Davis  and  family  and  David 
.J.  Thomas  who  were  coming  with  teams  toward 
the  road.  The  other  three  passed  down  the 
ravine  by  Geo.  Owens'  house,  and  Mr.  Owens 
and  his  children  scarcely  had  time  to  get  out 
of  their  way  into  the  brush  and  corn  beside 
the  path. 

Let  us  again  return  to  the  western  end  of  the 
settlement.  Early  this  same  morning  John  S. 
Jones  (Prairie),  living  on  the  northwest  quar- 
ter of  section  33  bid  his  wife  and  six  children 
good-bye  to  go  and  help  John  Jones  (Indiana) 
stack  grain.  In  passing  the  westerly  foot  of 
tJie  big  knoll  on  the  Daniel  P.  Davis  farm,  near 
Avhere  the  road  from  the  south  then  met  the 
east  and  west  road  from  Horeb  church,  on  the 
John  Eees  farm,  he  was  killed  and  scalped.  He 
was  a  brave  and  powerful  man,  and  the  grass 
around  him  bore  evidence  of  a  desperate  strug- 
gle. His  pitch  fork  was  bent  and  bloody. 
Whether  he  slew  or  wounded  any  of  his  murder- 
ers will  never  be  loiown.  About  an  hour  laterj 
as  John  Jones  (India"'"-a)  was  busy  stacking  on 
his  farm,  about  eight  rods  west  of  the  Blue 
Earth  County  line,  and  John  B.  Shaw  was  pitch- 
ing to  him  from  the  load,  a  number  of  Indians 
came  out  of  the  brush  near  by,  jumped  over  the 
fence  and  rushed  towards  the  two  men,  firing 
their  guns.  Mr.  Jones  leaped  from  the  butt  of 
a  stack,  and  then  broke  for  a  point  of  timber 
near  by,  the  Indians  chasing  after  him  and 
shooting.  This  was  the  last  seen  of  poor  Jones 
alive.  The  following  spring,  (April  6th,  1863) 
when  D.  P.  Davis  was  burning  his  meadow 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  west  of  Horeb  church  his 
bones  were  found  in  the  edge  of  a  slough.  His 
shoe  was  found  caught  in  the  fence,  where  he 
evidently  had  crossed  into  the  meadow  in  haste. 
Whether  he  was  mortally  wounded  when  run- 
ning for  the  brusli  and  had  fled  to  this  spot, 
a  distance  of  two  miles,  before  he  fell  exhausted 
ur  whether  he  met  other  Indians  near  where  he 
crossed  the  D.  P.  Davis  fence,  which  wan  with- 


in a  few  feet  of  where  John  S.  Jones  had  met 
Ids  death  an  hour  or  two  before,  will  never  be 
known.  While  the  Indians  were  chasing  Mr. 
Jones,  Mr.  Shaw  laid  down  on  top  of  the  load  to 
iivoid  the  bullets  and  the  horses  becoming  scar- 
ed ran  with  him  across  a  part  of  the  field  and 
until  stopped  by  a  fence  in  the  edge  of  the 
timber.  Mr.  Shaw,  seeing  the  coast  was  clear, 
slipped  down  from  the  load  and  getting  into 
Die  brush  escaped.  Evan  Jones  was  out  in  the 
field  loading  when  he  saw  the  Indians  after  his 
father,  and  fleeing  out  upon  the  prairie,  hid 
in  the  sloughs  and  could  not  be  found  for  some 
two  weeks.  His  relatives  and  neighbors  search- 
ed everywhere  for  him,  and  he  often  saw  them 
fj-om  his  hiding  places,  but  always  imagined 
them  to  be  Indians.  His  excitable  temperament 
and  the  hardships  he  endured  almost  unsettled 
his  reason.  He  was  finally  run  down  by  a 
volunteer  company  and  restored  to  his  friends. 

David  Price  and  family  went  home  early  from 
1'hos.  T.  Davis'  home  on  that  eventful  morn- 
ing and  finding  that  their  neighbor,  James  Ed- 
wards and  family  did  not  return  by  nine  o'clock 
A.  M.,  Mr.  Price  went  up  to  Morgans'  house  to 
see  what  was  the  matter.  To  his  amazement 
he  found  the  teams  and  wagons  about  the  house 
just  as  they  had  been  left  the  night  before,  but 
not  a  person  in  sight,  and  no  response  to  his 
knocking  at  the  door.  On  looking  in  through  a 
window  he  saw  that  the  beds  and  floor  were 
covered  with  blood.  In  a  corner  of  the  room 
a  quilt  seemed  to  have  been  spread  over  some- 
thing. Entering  by  the  back  door  he  lift- 
ed a  corner  of  this  quilt,  when  to  his  horror 
he  discovered  the  body  of  his  murdered  neigh- 
bor, Edwards.  Lie  imagined  an  Indian  hid  in 
every  corner  of  the  room  and  expected  every 
nioment  to  feel  the  sting  of  the  bullets.  Beating 
a  hasty  retreat,  he  started  on  the  run  for  the 
residence  of  Thos.  Y.  Davis,  where  he  h.id  pars- 
ed the  night,  but  before  he  had  gone  more  than 
a  few  rods  he  saw  four  men  and  two  women 
hurrj'ing  down  the  road  on  foot.  They  proved 
to  be  Eev.  Jenkin  Jenkins  and  wife,  David 
Morris  and  wife,  and  Geo.  and  Neal  Porter.  He 
joined  them  and  induced  them  to  go  with  him 
to  get  his  family.  All  the  men  had  their  guns. 
At  Price's  house  the  women  and  children  were 
put   into    Price's  wagon,   which   stood   with  the 


HISTOEY  OP  BLtTE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


123 


oxen  already  Mtelied  to  it  at  the  door,  and  they 
started  for  Camp  Crisp.  They  had  barely  gotten 
out  of  the  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Minnesota, 
known  as  the  "Little  Prairie,"  when  the  seven 
Indians,  who  had  shot  Mohr  and  Trask,  came 
across  it.  On  reachuig  the  Mankato  and  New 
I'lm  road  about  a  mile  away  on  the  upland,  they 
met  the  first  detachment  of  Dane's  company. 
When  they  first  saw  them  coming  on  the  road, 
urging  their  horses  to  their  utmost  speed, 
they  took  them  for  Indians,  and  prepared  to 
make  as  good  a  fight  for  their  lives  as  they 
could.  Their  Joy  when  they  proved  to  be  sol- 
diers may  well  be  imagined. 

Fifty  rods  southwest  of  the  James  Morgans 
house  stood  the  log  cabin  of  Henry  Hughes. 
Mr.  Hughes  and  his  family  were  at  home  at- 
tending to  their  usual  duties  on  this  fateful 
10th  of  September,  unconscious  of  the  danger 
all  about  them.  Prom  their  hiding  place  in  the 
woods  of  Cambria  Creek  the  fugitives  from  Mr. 
Morgans'  house  could  see  the  Indians  passing 
back  and  forth  not  far  from  the  cabin.  Finally 
Eichard  Morgans  ventured  over  to  warn  them. 
The  old  man  was  bareheaded,  barefooted  and 
without  a  coat,  and  a  pitchfork  was  his  only 
weapon.  Soon  after  the  Hughes  family  had 
been  gathered  into  the  brush  of  Cambria  Creek, 
with  the  refugees  from  the  James  Morgans  house, 
the  first  detachment  of  soldiers  arrived.  When 
the  cowering  fugitives  heard  the  noise  of  the 
horses  hoofs  coming  towards  them  over  the 
prairie,  shaking  the  ground  with  their  furious 
speed,  they  thought  they  were  Indians  and 
scattered  further  into  the  timber,  but  the  assur- 
ing calls  of  the  soldiers,  many  of  whom  had 
relatives  among  the  fugitives,  soon  brought  all 
back  rejoicing.  Just  across  the  creek  three 
mounted  Indians  were  discovered  coming  down 
the  road  a  little  over  half  a  mile  away.  The 
soldiers  at  once  gave  chase  firing  after  them, 
but  the  Indians  made  good  their  escape  into 
the  timber  of  the  Little  Cottonwood,  three  quar- 
ters of  a  mUe  beyond,  though  one  of  them  drop- 
ped his  blanket  in  the  haste  of  his  flight.  Three 
detachments  of  Dane's  company  were  sent  after 
the  Indians,  between  twenty-five  and  thirty  in 
number,  and  drove  them  far  into  the  west, 
along  the  prairies  between  the  Little  and  Big 
Cottonwood  rivers. 


The    casualities   of   the   morning   on    the   part 
of   the  whites  were  five   settlers  killed   and   two 


wounded    and    about 


horses    stolen.       The 


bodies  of  the  murdered  men  except  that  of  John 
Jones,  (Indiana)  which  could  not  then  be  found, 
were  gathered  and  buried  in  Jerusalem  Ceme- 
tery that  afternoon.  The  surviving  settlers 
now  deserted  their  homes  again  for  many  weeks, 
staying  in  the  vicinity  of  Camp  Crisp  and 
South  Bend. 

On  September  20tli,  186-2  tweuty-two  inhabi- 
tants of  tlie  town  enlisted  for  tliirty  days  as  a 
militia  company,  under  the  name  of  "Butter- 
nut Valley  Guards."  Their  muster  roll  was  as 
follows : 

Captain,    George    ^\'.    Porter, 
First   Lieutenant,  James   Morgan. 
Second   Lieutenant,   Wm.    P.    Jones. 


Privates : 

Bavis,    David   A. 
Davis,  Tlios.  Y. 
Jenkins,  Eev.   Jenkin. 
Jenkins,    ^Ym.   E. 
Lewis,  Morris. 
Lloyd,  Thos.  B. 
Morris,    David. 
Owens,    George. 
Price,   David. 
Shields,  John. 


Shields,    Wm. 
Thomas,    David. 
Thomas,  Kice. 
Thomas,   Thos. 
^\'alters,   David. 
\\  alters,   Stephen. 
Williams,    David    J. 
\VilIiams,   Wm.  J. 
\Mlli;ims,    Hugh    E. 


The  company  were  stationed  at  what  was 
known  in  those  days  as  the  "Big  Barn"  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  David  E.  Bowen  in  the 
center  of  section  twenty-eight  of  Cambria.  Here 
they  built  a  fort  of  logs  and  earth.  The  state 
furnished  the  company  with  arms,  ammunition 
and  rations  and  they  rendered  good  service  in 
protecting  the  frontier,  caring  for  the  stock 
and  property  left  on  the  deserted  farms,  and 
cutting  hay  for  winter.  In  spite  of  the  hard- 
ships, perils  and  death  about  them  this  company 
did  not  lack  of  much  enjoyment  and  fun. 
There  were  warm  discussions  of  national  and 
local  questions,  there  were  many  quarrels,  prac- 
tical jokes  and  Indian  scares  all  mingled  to- 
gether. Such  is  the  buoyancy  of  human  nature 
that  even  in  the  hour  of  calamity  it  will  find 
crumbs  of  humor.  So  the  settlers  of  Blue 
Earth  county  amid  all  troubles  and  trials  of 
the  Indian  massacre  found  opportunities  for 
mirth  and  merry  making,  and  even  to  this  day 
they  enjoy  narrating  the  many  comical  incidents 
of  the  good  old  time  when  they  fought  the  In- 
dians. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"JIANKATO     HOME     GUAEDS"— SUREEN- 

DEE  AND  TEIAL  OF  THE  INDIANS— 

THE   HANGING  AT  MANKATO. 


August  31st,  1862,  Wm.  Bierbauer  raised  a 
militia  company  -which  was  styled  "Frontier 
Eangers."  They  were  furnished  by  the  state  with 
Springfield  rifles,  ammunition,  blankets,  shoes, 
etc.,  and  for  forty  days  did  service  at  Mankato, 
South  Bend,  and  Madelia.  The  roster  was  as 
follows : 

William  Bierbauer,  Captain. 

J.   E.   Potter,   First   Lieutenant. 

James    Shoemaker,    Second    Lieutenant. 

Samuel   D.    Shaw,   First   Sergeant. 

H.   S.   L^'tle,   Second   Sergeant. 

H.   C.   Ives,   Third   Sergeant. 

Hubert    Brules,    First    Corporal. 

H.  D.  Orvis,  Second  Corporal. 

Privates : 


Andrus,  AV.  P. 
Eruner,   Andrew. 
Burgmeister,    H. 
Britton,  F.   D. 
Curtis,   B.   I. 
Chamberlain,  J.  H. 
Carr,  J.  G. 
Douglass,  Fred. 
Davies,  Daniel  P. 
Fowler,  F.  H. 
Foster,  Lawrence. 
Gessel,  Jacob. 
Griffin,  D.  S. 
Hassel,   Frederick. 
Hensley,   C.   B. 
Haas,   Joseph. 
Hudson,  J. 
Keenan,  Geo.  M. 


Loring,   John  F. 
Leich,    Theodore. 
Mattox,  Geo.  W. 
ilallov,    L.    W. 
Jlarston,    W.    S. 
Xic'holson,  John. 
Oberly,    Xavier. 
Porter,  E.  D.  B. 
Pichesrowce,    George. 
Pierce,  Parker. 
Pierce,  Geo. 
Seward,   A.   D. 
Sabbath,  George. 
Tate,  Samuel. 
Vogle,   Charles. 
AAhite,   S.   D. 
Whiten,    Luther. 
Waite,    Sydney   L. 


On  September  14th,  1862,  "The  Mankato 
Home  Guards"  were  organized  with  John  P. 
3'Ieagher  as  captain.  The  service  done  by  this 
company  was  confined  to  Mankato  and  vicinity, 
and  in  fun  they  applied  to  themselves  the  sob- 
riquet of  "Bread  Eaters."  Its  roster  was  as 
follows : 

John  F.  Meagher,  Captain. 
Charles    Heilborn,    First    Lieutenant. 
Benjamin  Hotaling,   Second  Lieutenant. 
S.-    F.    Barney,    Orderly    Sergeant. 
Adam     Jefferson,     Second     Sergeant. 
George    Maxfield,    Third    Sergeant. 
Z.    Paddock,    Fourth    Sergeant. 


il.    T.    C.    Flower,   Fifth    Sergeant. 
J.    F.    Williams,   First    Corporal. 
G.     S.     Meacham,     Second     Corporal. 
Jl.    Ullraan,    Third    Corporal. 
J.    C.    Haupt,    Fourth    Coi"poral. 
Ambrose    Lorenz,    Fifth    Corporal. 
Leo    Lamm,    Sixth    Corporal. 
AVilliam   McGuinness,   Seventh   Corporal. 
John  Froiset,  Eighth  Corporal. 

Privates: 


Ames,    Charles. 
Androski,   Rudolph. 
Ballard,    Columbus. 
Branson,    Lewis. 
Brown,   Samuel  D. 
Burrill,   J. 
Brink,    Samuel. 
Berghoff,    Wm. 
Burrill,  X. 
Britton,  I.  N, 
Burgess,   J.    L. 
Bunker,   F. 
Bigler,  Jacob. 
Boegen,   Henry. 
Copp,    Julius. 
Chapman,    C.    A. 
Durkee,   Benjamin. 
Dunscomb,  C.   S. 
Draher,    John. 
Draher,   John,  Jr. 
Fowler,    Henry. 
Frenzel,    Peter. 
Funek,   Wm.   F. 
Garlinger,    J  tike. 
Goodwin,   John. 
Gunning,    Frank    M. 
Hodgson,   Wm.   A. 
Hoerr,  Peter. 
Hoffman,   George. 
Hoffel,  Peter. 
Hartman,  J.  H. 
.Jaeobshagen,    E. 
Johnson,   P.   K. 


Jones,    John    D. 
Kron.    Clements. 
Kauffer,   H.   B. 
Kohler,   B. 
Kellogg,   L.   T. 
Kraus,   Joseph. 
Lorenz,    John. 
Lamb,   David. 
Lees,    .John. 
Lailin,   ilartin. 
Lamm,   Stephen. 
Lentz,   Peter. 
Lerlroch,   Jacob. 
Lambrecht,  August. 
Leader,   Charles. 
More,   J.    H. 
iloher,    Henrv. 
McDowall,    Allen, 
iloreland,  Basil. 
Moser,    Frank. 
Jlargaff,    August. 
Maxfield,    George,    .Jr. 
Mills,   Minard. 
Oberly,    Frank. 
Parsons.   L. 
Pierce,   T.   T. 
Peart,   Thos. 
Preal,   F. 
Phillips,    Antoine. 
Pease,  F.  L. 
Parratt,   Wm.  A. 
Roberts.   Geo.   A. 
Roos,    George. 


Companies  for  home  protection  were  also 
organized  at  Garden  C'ity,  Vernon,  and  Shelby- 
ville,  but  no  rosters  of  them  were  kept.  On 
Sept.  11,  A.  N.  Dukes,  was  promoted  from  the 
position  of  quartermaster  to  the  command  of 
the  post  of  ilankato  and  South  Bend  with  the 
rank  of  Captain.  On  September  21,  John  Arm- 
strong, who  lived   just  over   the   county  line   in 


125 


126 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Linden  township,  was  killed  by  a  prowling  band 
of  Indians  while  picking  plums  near  his  house. 
His  murder  caused  another  scare  among  the 
settlers  at  Madelia  and  vicinity  and  Capt.  Bier- 
bauer's  company  was  dispatched  to  their  protec- 
tion. 

On  September  23,  Col.  Sibley  with  1500 
men  met  Little  Crow  with  800  braves  at  Wood 
Lake, ,  three  miles  east  of  the  ford  of  Yellow 
Medicine  river.  It  was  the  first  real  test  of 
strength  between  the  white  men  and  the  red 
men  and  was  decisive  of  the  war.  The  Indians 
fled  leaving  thirty  of  their  dead  on  the  field. 
The  whites  lost  only  four  killed.  The  victory 
broke  the  courage  of  the  Indians  and  made 
Sibley  a  Brigadier  General.  Soon  after  this 
battle  the  christian  and  friendly  Indians  who 
had  opposed  the  war,  managed  to  get  nearly 
all  the  captive  women  and  children  away  from 
the  hostile  bands  and  delivered  them  to  the 
whites  at  Camp  Release.  There  were  ninety- 
one  whites,  and  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
half  breeds  rescued  at  this  camp.  The  friendly 
Indians  also  surrendered  themselves  and  among 
them  many,  who  had  taken  more  or  less  part 
in  the  massacre.  Others  were  captured.  In 
all  about  two  thousand  Indians  and  half  breeds 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  whites.  Little  Crow 
and  most  of  the  hostile  bands  fled  into  Dakota 
and  thence  eventually  into  the  British  posses- 
sions, where  they  remained,  and  whence  for  a 
number  of  years  they  kept  up  a  predatory  war 
against  the  whites. 

Among  those  who  had  surrendered  or  been 
captured,  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  were 
suspected  of  having  been  implicated  in  the  mas- 
sacre. These  Gen.  Sibley  caused  to  be  arrested 
and  put  in  chains  and  a  military  court  was 
created  to  try  them  at  once.  This  court  was 
composed  of  Col.  Wm.  Crooks,  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment,  Col.  Wm.  E.  Marshall  of  the  Seventh 
Regiment,  Captain  Grant  and  Baily  of  the  Sixth 
Regiment  and  Lieut.  Olin  of  the  Third  Eegi- 
ment.  The  court  began  its  labors  at  Camp 
Eelease  on  September  30,  and  after  convicting 
twenty-one  adjourned  until  October  16th  to 
allow  time  for  more  Indians  to  be  brought  in. 
After  disposing  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
cases,  the  Camp  and  Commission  on  Oct.  33rd 


moved  to  the  Lower  Agency.  Of  the  425 
arrested  and  tried,  321  were'  convicted  and  of 
these,  303  were  sentenced  to  be  hung  and  the 
remaining  eighteen  to  various  terms  of  impris- 
onment. The  horrible  mutilations  of  the  dead, 
the  fiendish  torture  and  outrages  inflicted  upon 
the  innocent  women  and  children  and  the  bru- 
tal treatment  of  the  poor  captives  had  so  exas- 
perated the  whites  that  they  thirsted  for  ven- 
geance. With  the  awful  scenes  they  had  wit- 
nessed fresh  in  their  minds,  it  was  impossible 
for  white  men  then  to  judge  an  Indian  impar- 
tially. The  summary  haste  of  the  trials  (from 
twenty  to  forty-two  cases  being  disposed  of 
in  a  day),  and  the  fact  that  no  Indian  was 
given  an  opportunity  to  make  any  defense  or 
even  to  know  what  he  was  accused  of,  made  the 
proceedings  of  this  tribunal  much  of  a  farce. 
Our  modern  courts  spend  twice  to  five  times 
as  long  trying  one  murderer  than  that  court 
spent  trying  425.  Many  of  the  convictions 
were  secured  on  the  sole  testimony  of  a  colored 
man  named,  Godfrey,  who  had  joined  the  Indi- 
ans'and  married  a  squaw  and  by  his  own  con- 
fession was  one  of  the  worst  murderers .  and 
villians  among  them  all,,  and  whose  own  neck 
was  to  be  saved  in  consideration  of  his  testi- 
mony against  the  Indians.  The  otl^er  convic- 
tions were  obtained  by  some  woman  or  child 
picking  out  this  or  that  Indian  and  saying  "he 
killed  my  husband,"  "he  killed  my  parents." 
They  doubtless  thought  so,  but  as  a  matter  of 
fact  he  may  have  looked  like  him,  for  to  a 
stranger  all  Indians  look  much  alike.  Doubt- 
less among  the  Indians  convicted  there  were 
many  who  were  guilty,  but  there  is  no  question, 
but  that  there  were  many,  also,  who  were  inno- 
cent. Most  of  the  guilty  ones  did  not  dare  sur- 
render themselves  to  the  whites,  but  fled  with 
Little  Crow  into  the  far  Korthwest. 

On  November  7,  1862,  the  military  Commis- 
sion having  finished  its  duties,  those  acquitted, 
with  the  squaws  and  papooses,  were  sent  to 
Ft.  Snelling,  where  they  were  kept  all  winter, 
except  forty  or  fifty  squaws,  who  went  with 
those  adjudged  guilty  as  cooks.  The  convicted 
ones  were  chained  together  and  loaded  into 
wagons  and  brought  to  camp  Lincoln,  which 
was  located  on  the  flat  land  in  West  Mankato 


wS(tl^,ig£ss»'^ 

1 

JiUBL'^"-~^~ 

1 

Jl^ii 

i 

u 

sterling, 
Horcb,' 


HOKCB    CM    CMORCM 


BLUE  eflRTH    R1U6B 


»■     ■SAUeM    CO(\iSRe«AT10N*L  CHllRtM-CAfOBmfl 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


127 


lying  between  Front  Street  and  the  mound  in 
Sibley  Park.  At  New  Ulm  a  mob  rushed  upon 
the  Indians  with  clubs  and  stones  and.  in  spite 
of  the  guards,  a  number  of  the  Indians  were 
injured.  The  German  women,  whose  relatives 
had  been  murdered,  were  especially  furious. 
Many  of  the  settlers  of  Butternut  Valley,  Jnd- 
son.  South  Bend  and  other  parts  of  the  county 
were  employed  with  their  teams  in  transport- 
ing these  convicts.  The  army  and  Indians 
made  a  train  nearly  two  miles  long. 

It  was  General  Sibley's  intention  to  have  the 
303  sentenced  to  be  hung  executed  at  once,  but 
the  religious  sentiment  of  the  east  was  so  shock- 
ed by  the  idea  of  hanging  so  many  human  be- 
ings at  once,  especially  in  view  of  the  provocation 
they  had  for  the  outbreak,  that  President  Lin- 
coln was  induced  to  interfere  and  ordered  that 
none  be  executed  until  he  had  approved  their 
sentence.  General  John  Pope,  who  had  been  put 
in  command  of  the  Sioux  Campaign,  telegraphed 
back  the  names  of  the  condemned  Indians,  a 
message  which  cost  the  government  $400.00. 
President  Lincoln  replied  by  requesting  that  all 
the  evidence  upon  which  the  Indians  had  been 
condemned  be  forwarded  to  him  by  mail.  On 
receipt  of  the  evidence  the  President  turned  it 
over  to  Geo.  C.  Whiting  and  Francis  H.  Buggies, 
two  of  his  clerks,  with .  instructions  to  examine 
it  and  select  forty  of  the  worst  ones.  This  they 
did,  and  on  Dec.  6th,  1862,  the  President  pigned 
an  order  approving  the  sentence  imposed  on 
these  forty  and  fixing  Friday  Dec.  19th,  1862, 
as  the  day  for  the  execution.,  The  list  thus  se- 
lected by  President  Lincoln  and  the  crimes  for 
which  they  were  convicted  were  as  follows: 

(1).  0-ta-kla  (alias  Godfrey),  A  negro  en- 
gaged extensively  in  the  massacre,  but  on  ac- 
count of  turning  states'  evidence  his  sentence  is 
commuted  to  ten  years  in  prison. 

(3).  Te-he-hdo-ne-cha  (One  who  Forbids 
His  House)  Taking  wlilte  woman  prisoner  and 
ravishing  her;  and  being  otherwise  engaged  in 
the  massacre. 

(3.)  Ta-zoo  alias  Plan-doo-ta  (Ecd  Otter) 
Jl^urder  of  Patwell   and  ravishing  a  "\oung  girl. 

(4).  Wy-a-tah-to-wah  (His  Peoplo)  Partici- 
pated in  murder  of  Patwell. 

(5).     Hin-han-shoon-ko-yas-ma-ne     (One    who 


walks  clothed  in  an  Owl's  tail.)  Jlurder  of 
Alexander  Hunter  and  taking  jMrs.  Hunter  pris- 
oner. 

(6).  Maz-za-boom-doo  (Iron  Blower)  Mur- 
der   of   an    old   man    and   two    children. 

(r).  Wa-pa-doo-tah  (Red  Leaf).  Shot  a 
white  man.  (He  was  an  old  man,  admitted  he 
shot  at  the  man  through  a  window,  but  did  not 
think  he  killed  him.  He  also  admitted  he  was 
wounded  at  Battle  of  New  LHm). 

(8).  Wa-he-hua  (]\Ieaning  of  name  un- 
known). Murder.  (He  claimed  the  witness  lied, 
that  he  did  not  kill  anybody,  that  if  he  had 
killed  any  white  man  he  would  have  fled  with 
Little   Crow.) 

(9).  Qua-ma-ne  (Tinkling  Walker),  Mur- 
der of  two  persons.  (Convicted  on  testimony  of 
two  German  boys.  He  claimed  the  bo3's  were 
jiiistaken  as  he  was  not  at  the  place  at  all.) 

(10).  Ta-tah-me-ma  (Round  Wind),  Miwdcr 
and  capture  of  women  and  children.  (He  was 
an  old  man,  a  brother-in-law  of  the  well  known 
Joseph  Renville.  He  had  been  the  public  crier 
for  Little  Crow  before  and  during  the  massacre, 
but  after  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake  joined  the  In- 
dians opposed  to  the  massacre,  and  was  their 
public  crier  at  Camp  Release,  when  the  cap- 
tives were  delivered  up.  He  was  the  only  one 
of  the  forty,  who  had  been  at  all  in  the  habit  of 
attending  Protestant  worship  and  on  the  Sabbath 
before  he  knew  that  he  was  one  of  those  to  be 
hung,  he  had  professed  repentence  and  faith 
in  Christ  and  been  baptized  by  Dr.  Williamson. 
He  had  been  convicted  on  the  testimony  of  two 
Gorman  boys,  who  said  they  saw  him  kill  their 
mother.  He  strenuously  denied  the  accusation. 
Dr.  Williamson  took  up  his  case  and  on  inves- 
tigation showed  conclusively  that  the  bo^'s  were 
mistaken,  for  on  the  very  day  their  mother  was 
killed  Round  Wind  was  many  miles  away  help- 
ing some  whites  to  escape.  Dr.  Williamson  sent 
this  evidence  at  once  to  President  Lincoln  and 
a  few  hours  before  the  execution  he  telegraphed 
a  reprieve.  The  old  man  always  attributed 
hi's  rescue  from  the  gallows  as  a  direct  interven- 
tion of  Providence). 

(11).  Rda-in-Yan-ka  (Rattling  Runner), 
Participated  actively  in  the  New  Ulm  battle. 
(He    denied    the    charge    but    admitted    he    was 


128 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


opposed  to  the  delivery  of  the  captives  to  the 
friendly   Indians) . 

(12).  Do-wan-sa  (The  Singer).  Murder  of 
a  woman  in  the  Swan  Lake  neighhorhood  and 
an  attempt  to  ravish  her  daughter,  who  was 
Icilled  by  another  Indian  before  he  could  accom- 
plish his  purpose.  (He  admitted  being  present 
and  that  two  men  and  two  women  were  killed 
by  his  companions  in  his  presence,  but  denied 
he  took  any  part). 

(13).  Ha-pan  (Second  Child,  if  a  Son). 
Participated  in  murder  of  Patwell  and  took 
Miss  Williams  prisoner.  (Admitted  he  was  pres- 
ent when  Patwell  was  killed,  but  claimed  an- 
other Indian  did  the  killing.  Admitted  he  took 
Miss   Williams  as   a  prisoner.) 

(14).  Shoon-ka-ska  (White  Dog)  Leader  in 
the  ambush  at  Lower  Agency  ferry,  when  Capt. 
Marsh  and  half  his  command  were  murdered. 
(He  claims  his  action  on  this  occasion  was  mis- 
understood by  the  whites.  That  he  was  for 
peace  and  did  not  give  the  signal  for  the  In- 
dians to  fire  on  Capt.  Marsh  and  his  men.) 

(15).  Toon-kan-e-chah-tay-ma-ne.  (One  who 
Walks  by  his  Grandfather).  Murder  of  a  man 
in  a  wagon  and  participating  otherwise  in  the 
massacre.  (Claimed  the  killing  in  question  was 
done  by  another  Indian  and  that  the  only 
wrong  he  did  was  to  take  a  blanket  from  one  of 
the  stores  at  the  Lower  Agency.) 

(16).  E-tay-doo-tah  (Bed  Pace),  Murder 
of  Mr.  Divoll  and  seven  other  white  persons  on 
North  side  of  the  Minnesota,  and  also  the  mur- 
der of  another  man  and  woman.  (Denied  the 
charge  but  admitted  being  present  when  murders 
were  committed.) 

(17).  Am-da-cha  (Broken  to  Pieces)  Tak- 
ing David  Faribault  prisoner  and  killing  two 
persons  at  his  house.  (Admitted  he  went  with 
hostile  Indians  and  shot  his  gun  off  twice,  but 
did  not  think  he  killed  anyone.  Took  some 
goods  from   Forbes   store.) 

(18).  Hay-pe-dan  (Third  Child,  if  a  Son) 
Cut  Mrs.  Thieler  with  tomahawk  and  engaged 
in  Massacre.  (Admitted  being  in  three  of  the 
battles  and  firing  his  gun  six  times,  that  he 
captured  a  woman  and  two  children,  and  that 
he  stole  two  horses.) 

(19).  Mah-pe-o-ke-ni-jin,   (Who  stands  on  the 


Cloud)  Usually  called  "Cut  Nose"  from  a  dis- 
figurement of  his  nasal  organ  by  an  accident. 
Murder  of  Antoine  Young  and  a  white  man  and 
woman.  He  denied  the  charge  but  admitted 
to  have  fired  his  gun  a  few  times.  It  was  after- 
vrards  proven  that  this  old  villain  had  killed 
nineteen  women  and  children  in  a  wagon  by 
braining  them  with  his  tomahawk.) 

(20).  Henry  Milord,  a  half  breed,  partici- 
pating in  the  murder  of  a  man  and  woman.  (He 
was  a  bright  young  man,  who  had  been  brought 
up  at  the  home  of  General  Sibley.  He  claimed 
he  was  forced  to  go  with  the  hostiles  to  save 
his  own  life.  Admitted  he  fired  his  gun  at  a 
Avoman,  but  did   not  think  he  killed  her.) 

(21).  Chas-kay-dan  (The  first  born,  if  a 
son).  Shooting  and  cutting  a  woman  with  child. 
(Admitted  being  at  Lower  Agency  when  mas- 
sacre was  in  progress.  That  he  went  to  Eed- 
Vv'ood  with  a  friend  and  on  the  way  they  met 
Mr.  Gleason  and  J\Irs.  Wakefield  and  her  child- 
ren, that  his  friend  shot  Gleason  and  that  he 
saved   Mrs.   Wakefield   and  children.) 

(22).  Baptiste  Campbell,  a  half  breed,  mur- 
der of  man  and  woman.  (He  was  a  son  of 
Scott  Campbell,  who  for  many  years  was  Sioux 
interpreter  at  Fort  Snelling  and  a  brother  of  John 
Campbell,  who  was  later  hanged  at  Mankato 
for  the  Jewett  murder.  He  claimed  to  have 
been  forced  into  the  massacre  by  the  soldier's 
lodge,  but  did  not  know  that  he  had  killed  any- 
body, though  he  had  fired  hi^  gun  a  few  times 
in  two  or  three  of  the  battles.) 

(23).  Ta-ta-ka-gay  (Windmaker)  Murder  of 
Amos  W.  Huggins.  (He  was  only  seventeen  or 
eighteen  years  old,  grandson  of  Sacred  Walker, 
who  took  care  of  Mrs.  Josephine  Huggins  and 
her  children  during  their  captivity.  Claimed 
another  Indian  induced  him  to  go  with  him  to 
Huggins  house.  This  other  Indian  shot  Mr. 
Huggins  and  had  escaped  with  Little  Crow,  but 
he  admitted  firing  off  his  gun  in  the  air.  The 
probability,  however,  is  that  the  other  Indian 
was  the  most  guilty,  and  that  Windmaker  died 
for  his  indiscretion  in  being  in  bad  company.) 

(24).  Hay-pink-pa  (The  Tip  of  the  Horn) 
Murder  of  Stewart  B.  Garvie.  (He  had  boasted 
before  the  hostile  Indians  in  the  presence  of 
Godfrey  that  he  had  killed  ilr.  Garvie  with  a  bow 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


129 


and  arrow.  He  claimed  he  had  lied  about  it  in 
order  to  throw  off  suspicion  that  he  was  friendly 
to  the  whites.  The  fact  that  Garvie  had  not 
been  shot  by  an  arrow  at  all  confirmed  his 
statement,  and  he  probably  was  innocent  of  the 
charge,  and  was  hung  simply  because  he  lied. 
Having  a  conscience  free  from  guilt  he  trusted 
the  Great  Spirit  to  save  him  in  the  other  world). 

(25).  Hypolite  Auge,  a  half  breed,  murder 
cf  white  man  and  woman.  (He  claimed  to 
have  been  a  clerk  in  one  of  the  stores  for  a  year 
previous  to  the  outbreak,  that  when  the  out- 
break occurred  the  full  bloods  were  very  sus- 
picious of  all  the  half  breeds,  that  they  were 
favorable  to  the  whites  and  that  to  save  their 
own  scalps  they  had  to  pretend  to  be  hostile, 
which  was  doubtless  true.  That  he  had  fired 
at  the  body  of  a  dead  man  in  order  to  tell  the 
'Indians  he  had  shot  a  white  man.) 

(26).  Na-pa-shue  (One  Who  Does  Not  Flee) 
boasted  he  had  killed  nineteen  persons.  (Claimed 
he  was  forced  into  the  war,  but  did  not  kill 
any-one.) 

(27).  "\Ya-kan-tan-ka  (Great  Spirit)  murder 
of  white  man.  (Claimed  he  was  present  when 
some  white  men  were  killed,  but  he  did  not  kill 
any,  that  the  witness  lied  about  him.) 

(38).  Toon-kan-ko-yag-e-na-jin  (One  who 
Stands  Clothed  with  his  Grandfather.)  Mur- 
der of  white  man  at  Big  Woods.  (Admitted 
being  in  battle  of  Birch  Cooley  and  battle  of 
Hutchinson,  but  did  not  know  that  he  killed 
anyone.) 

(29).  Ma-ka-te-na-jin  (One  who  stands  on 
the  Earth)  Jlurder  near  Xew  Ulm.  (Was  an  old 
man.  Admitted  he  was  at  Battle  of  Xew  Ulm, 
but  claimed  he  had  not  used  a  gun  for  years,  and 
had  not  killed  anyone.  His  two  sons  had  been 
killed  in  the  war.) 

(30).  Pa-za-koo-tay-ma-ne  (One  who  walks 
prepared  to  Shoot)  Participated  in  the  murder  of 
eight  white  men.  (Said  he  was  out  with  a  war 
party  against  the  Chippeway  when  outbreak  oc- 
curred, and  that  it  was  over  when  he  got  back. 
That  the  commiss'oners  misunderstood  him;  he 
Ciifl  not  kill  any  white  man.  When  commissioners 
asked  him  if  he  was  in  a  war  party  and  had 
fired  a  gun  and  he  answered  "Yes"  he  meant 
against  the  Chippeway  and  not  the  whites.) 


(31).  Ta-ta-hde-dan  (Wind  Comes  Home) 
;\lurder  at  Beaver  Creek  and  capturing  white 
woman.  (Said  the  men  of  Eice  Creek  were  au- 
thors of  the  outbreak  and  he  opposed  it;  denied 
the  charge  against  him.) 

(32).  Wa-she-choon  (Frenchman  or  White 
roan)  ilurder  of  LeButt's  son.  (He  was  a  full 
blooded  white  boy  only  sixteen  years  old,  but 
his  white  origin  was  not  known  at  the  time  of 
the  hanging.  He  had  been  bom  at  a  lumber 
camp  upon  the  llississippi,  and  his  parents  had 
both  died  soon  thereafter.  Left  thus  an  orphan 
l)abe  in  a  lumber  camp  he  was  given  to  a  squaw, 
who  had  brought  him  up  as  her  own  boy,  among 
the  Indians.  He  said  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  killing  of  white  people,  that  he  was  to  die 
for  no  crime,  and  was  very  much  affected.  The 
Indians  afterwards  admitted  that  he  was  inno- 
cent and  his  case  was  a  sad  one.) 

(33).  A-e-cha-ga  (To  grow  Upon)  Murder 
of  an  old  man  and  two  girls.  (Made  no  confession 
or  denial.) 

(34.)  Ha-ta-pin-koo  (Voice  that  Appears 
Coming)  Murder  of  man  at  Green  Lake.  (Said 
he  had  no  gun,  but  that  he  had  hit  a  man  with  a 
hatchet  after  another  Indian  had  shot  him.) 

(35).  Chay-tan-hoon-ka.  (The  Parent  Hawk) 
Murder  at  Beaver  Creek  (Said  he  was  down  at 
Ft.  Eidgely  and  at  Beaver  Creek  and  took  some 
horses,  but  did  not  kill  anybody.) 

(36).-  Chan-ka-hda  (Near  the  Woods)  Pres- 
ent when  Patwell  was  killed,  and  saved  Mary 
Anderson  from  death,  after  she  had  been  woun- 
ded, and  took  her  prisoner.  (Admitted  he  took 
Mary  Anderson,  but  it  was  to  save  her  from  be- 
ing killed  by  another  Indian,  who  had  shot  her; 
thought  it  hard  that  he  should  be  hanged  for 
a  good  deed.) 

(37).  Hda-hin-day  (To  Make  a  Eattling 
Noise  Suddenly)  Murder  of  two  children. 
(Claimed  he  was  north  at  time  of  outbreak, 
and  did  not  return  until  it  was  over.  Ad- 
mitted he  was  at  battle 'of  Wood  Lake,  but  said 
tlie  charge  against  him  was  entirely  false.) 

(38).  0-ya-tay-a-koo  (The  coming  People) 
Murder  of  Patwell.  Admitted  he  was  with  the 
parties  who  killed  Patwell,  but  denied  the  charge 
of  striking  him  with  his  hatchet.) 

(39).     Ma-hoo-way-ma    (He    comes    for    Me) 


130 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Murder  at  Travelers  Home.  (Admitted  being  out 
in  one  of  the  raids  towards  the  Big  Woods,  and 
that  he  struck  a  woman  with  his  tomahawk, 
who  had  been  killed  by  another  Indian,  but 
declared  he  had  killed  none;  was  himself 
v/ounded.) 

(40).  Wa-kin-yan-wa  (Little  Thunder)  Par- 
ticipating in  murder  near  Travelers  Home  of  old 
man,  two  girls  and  two  boys.  (Denied  the  charge, 
said  he  was  accused  of  killing  Coursall's  child, 
but  the  child  was  now  living,  he  had  done  noth- 
ing worthy   of  death.) 

On  receipt  of  the  order  for  execution  prepa- 
rations were  made  at  once  to  carry  it  into  effect. 
It  was  discovered  soon  that  there  was  not 
enough  rope  in  Mankato  of  suitable  size  and  qual- 
ity and  that  it  could  not  be  gotten  by  the  19th, 
so  a  request  -fras  telegraphed  to  the  President 
for  a  postponement  of  the  execution  for  one 
week,  which  was  granted. 

Let  us  now  return  in  our  history  three  or 
four  weeks.  About  Oct.  10th,  1863,  the  35th 
Wis.,  was  sent  to  Mankato  and  its  colonel,  M. 
Montgomery,  succeeded  Judge  Plandrau  in  com- 
mand of  the  military  district  of  Southern  Min- 
nesota, with  headquarters  at  Mankato.  In  about 
three  weeks  he  and  his  regiment  were  ordered 
South,  and  Col.  Stephen  Miller,  of  the  7th 
Minn.,  was  appointed  in  his  place. 

The  people  of  Blue  Earth  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties expected  that  Gen.  Sibley  would  hang  the 
303  sentenced  to  death  immediately  and  the 
delay  made  them  very  impatient.  About  the , 
last  of  November,  while  the  Indians  were  still 
confined  at  Camp  Lincoln  a  number  of  Mankato 
citizens  with  a  few  from  New  Ulm  and  other 
adjoining  towns  formed  themselves  into  a  vigi- 
lance committee,  and  one  night  started  out  with 
intent  to  have  the  vengeance  of  the  law  inflicted-, 
forthwith.  The  authorities  had  discovered  their 
design  and  when  they  reached  the  west  side  of 
the  Van  Brunt  slough,  they  suddenly  found 
themselves  surrounded  by  a  cordon  of  bayonets. 
Their  ardor  for  hanging  Indians  took  a  very 
great  and  sudden  chill  and  as  soon  as  the  oppor- 
tunity offered  all  made  haste  to  reach  their 
respective  homes.  On  Dec.  3rd,  a  public  meeting 
convened  to  urge  thfe  speedy  execution  of  the 
Indians  and  resolutions  were  adopted  to  that  ef- 


Early  in  December  the  Indians  were  removed 
from  Camp  Lincoln  to  log  buildings  that  had 
been  constructed  for  them,  between  the  Leech 
stone  building  and  the  frame  building,  which 
then  occupied  the  location  of  Fred  Kron's  pres- 
ent store. 

The  original  ordei"  for  the  execution  was 
signed  by  Col.  Miller  at  St.  Paul  on  Dee.  17th 
and  brought  to  Mankato  by  a  special  courier,  . 
who  arrived  about  midnight.  Copies  were  im- 
mediately printed  at  the  Record  Office  by  Mr. 
J.  C.  Wise,  which  were  distributed  the  next 
morning  to  the  various  military  posts  in  south- 
western Minnesota.     It  read  as  follows: 

SPECIAL    ORDER   NO.    11. 

HEADQUARTERS    INDIAN   POST,   MANKATO,   DEC. 

17th,   1862. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  having  directed 
the  execution  of  thirty-nine  of  the  Sioux  Indians  and 
halfbreed  prisoners  in  my  charge,  on  Friday,  the 
26th  instant,  he  having  postponed  the  time  from  the 
igth  instant,  said  execution  will  be  carried  into  ef- 
fect in  front  of  the  Indian  prison  at  this  place  on 
that  day  at  10  o'clock  A.  M.  The  executive  also 
enjoins  that  no  others  of  the  prisoners  he  allowed 
to  escape,  and  that  they  be  protected  for  the  future 
disposition  of  the  Government;  and  these  orders  will 
be  executed  by  the  military  force  at  my  disposal  with 
utmost  fidelity. 

The  aid  of  all  good  citizens  is  invoked  to  maintain 
the  Jaw  and  constitutional  authority  of  the  land  on 
that  occasion.  The  State  of  Minnesota  must  not,  in 
addition  to  the  terrible  wrongs  and  outrages  inflicted 
upon  her  by  the  murderous  savages,  suffer,  if  pos- 
sible, still  more  fatally,  in  her  prosperity  and  reputa- 
tion, at  the  hands  of  a  few  of  our  misguided,  though 
deeply    Injured    fellow   citizens. 

STEPHEN  MILLER, 
Col.   7th  Minn.  Regt.  Vol. 
Commanding    Post. 

On  December  33nd,  the  Post  Adjutant,  J.  K. 
Arnold  issued  an  order  forbidding  the  sale  or 
giving  away  of  any  intoxicating  liquors  to  any 
soldier  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  of  Mankato, 
and  another  order  of  the  same  date  requesting 
Col.  B.  P.  Smith  of  Mankato,  Major  W.  H. 
Dike  of  Faribault,  Hon.  Henry  A.  Swift  and 
H.  W.  Lamberton  of  St.  Peter,  Edwin  Bradley 
and  E.  H.  Dike  of  Mankato  and  Reuben  Butters 
of  Kasota,  with  such  other  good  citizens  as  they 
might  select,  to  act  as  mounted  citizen  marshalls . 
on  Friday  the  36th  inst..  Col.  B.  F.  Smith  as - 
chief  and  the  others  as  assistants. 

On  this  same  date,  Monday,  Dec.  33nd,  with 
the  aid  of  Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs,  Maj.  Joseph  E. 
Brown   and   others,   the  39   condemned  men  in- 


m STORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


131 


from  the  other  Indians,  and  removed  to  the 
rear  room  of  the  lower  floor  of  the  Leech  huild- 
ing,  where  thereafter  they  were  kept  apart  from 
the  other  Indians  under  special  guard.  Here  at 
2  :30  P.  M.  of  this  same  Monday  they  were  visi- 
ted by  Col.  Miller  and  his  stafE,  and  their  sen- 
tence and  order  for  execution  read  to  them,  Eev. 
Eiggs,  acting  as  interpreter.  Col.  Miller  then 
spoke  to  them  in  substance  as  follows : 

"The  commanding  officer  at  this  place  has 
called  to  speak  to  you  upon  a  very  serious  sub- 
ject this  afternoon.  Your  Great  Father  at 
"Washington,  after  carefully  reading  what  the 
witnesses  have  testified  in  you.r  several  trials,  has 
come  to  the  conclusion,  that  you  each  have  been 
guilty  of  wantonly  and  wickedly  murdering  his 
white  children;  and  for  this  reason  has  direc- 
ted that  you  each  be  hanged  by  the  neck  until 
you  are  dead,  on  next  Friday,  and  that  order 
will  be  carried  into  effect  on  that  day,  at  ten 
o'clock  in  the  forenoon.  Good  ministers,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  are  here,  from  amongst 
whom  each  of  you  can  select  your  spiritual  ad- 
visor, who  will  be  permitted  to  commune  with 
you  constantly  during  the  four  days  that  you  are 
yet  to  live."  The  Colonel  also  instructed  Eev. 
Eiggs,  to  tell  them  that  they  had  sinned  so  against 
their  fellowmen  that  there  is  no  hope  for  clem- 
ency, except  in  the  mercy  of  God,  through  the 
merits  of-  the  Blessed  Eedeemer,  and  that  he 
earnestly  exhort  them  to  apply  to  that  as  their 
only  remaining  source  of  consolation. 

The  occasion,  says  John  C.  "Wise,  who  was  a 
personal  witness  and  to  Avhom  we  are  indebted 
for  many  of  the  facts,  was  one  of  much  solem- 
nity. With  the  stoicism  characteristic  of  their 
race,  the  Indians  betrayed  not  the  least  emotion, 
but  sat  composedly,  half  of  them  smoking  their 
pipes,  during  the  entire  interview.  They  lis- 
tened attentively  and  grunted  their  approval  at 
the  end  of  each  sentence.  Some  of  the  half 
breeds  could  not  wholly  conceal  their  nervousness. 
Thirty-two  selected  Father  Eavaux  as  their 
spiritual  advisor  and  eight  chose  Dr.  "Williamson. 
Dr.  Eiggs,  because  of  his  position  as  government 
interpreter  could  not  be  selected.  Tuesday,  Dec. 
23rd,  they  extemporized  a  wild  song  and  dance, 
vrhich  performance  was  ^ery  wierd  and  solemn. 
'A'ednesday  afternoon  each  was  permitted  to  see 


two  or  three  of  his  friends  and  relatives  from 
the  main  prison  in  order  to  bid  them  a  final 
adieu.  The  interviews  are  described  as  very 
sad  and  affecting.  Each  had  messages  to  send  to 
their  absent  relatives.  Those  who  liad  wives  and 
children  were  affected  to  tears  when  sending 
messages  to  them.  In  most  cases  the  children 
nx're  counseled  to  become  Christians  and  to  a 
life  of  good  feeling  towards  the  whites.  In  shak- 
ing hands  with  Eed  Iron  and  Akipee,  Tazoo 
said :  "Last  summer  3'ou  were  both  opposed  to  the 
massacre,  you  lived  in  constant  apprehension  of 
an  attack  from  those  who  were  determined  on 
an  extermination  of  the  whites.  Many  taunts, 
insults  and  threats  were  heaped  upon  you  and 
your  families,  but  you  continued  firm  in  your 
friendship  to  the  paleface  and  counseled  peace. 
"We  now  see  the  wisdom  of  your  words."  Some 
were  wholly  overcome  by  their  feeling  at  the  final 
parting,  while  others  put  on  an  air  of  indif- 
ference. A  great  many  wrote  letters  to  their 
relatives  and  friends  which  they  sent  by  Father 
Eavaux,  Dr.  Williamson  or  Eev.  Eiggs.  The 
following  letter  was  ■\\Titten  by  Eev.  Eiggs  at  the 
dictation  of  one  of  the  Indians  and  in  his  exact 
words  and   might  do  credit  to   any  white  man : 

XA'abaslia,  you  have  deceived  me.  You  told  me 
that  if  we  followed  the  advice  of  Gen.  Sibley,  and 
give  ourselves  up  to  the  whites,  all  would  be  well, 
no  innocent  man  would  be  injured.  I  have  not  killed, 
wounded  or  injured  a  white  man,  or  any  white  per- 
son. I  have  not  participated  in  the  plunder  of  their 
property;  and  yet  today  I  am  set  apart  for  execution 
and  must  die  in  a  few  days,  while  men  who  are 
guilty  remain  in  prison,  lly  wife  is  your  daughter, 
my  children  are  your  grandchildren.  I  leave  them  all 
in  your  care  and  under  your  protection.  Do  not  let 
them  suffer,  and  when  my  children  are  grown  up 
>let  them  know  that  their  father  died  because  he 
.followed  the  advice  of  his  chief,  and  without  hav- 
ing the  blood  of  a.  white  man  to  answer  for  to  the 
Great  Spirit. 

My  wife  and  children  are  dear  to  me.  Let  them 
not  grieve  for  me.  Let  them  remember  that  the 
brave  should  be  prepared  to  meet  death,  and  I  will 
do    so    as    becomes    a    Dakota. 

Your    son-in-law, 

RDA-IN-YAN-KA. 

In  response  to  a  petition  signed  by  many  citi- 
zens requesting  that  all  saloons  he  closed  for 
three  days,  including  the  day  of  the  execuBon 
the  day  before  and  the  day  after,  Col.  ]\Tiller 
on  Wednesday  issued  an  order  declaring  martial 
law  over  all  the  territory  within  a  radius  of 
ten    miles    of   his   headquarters,    and    prohibiting 


132 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


the  sale,  gift  or  use  of  any  intoxicating  liquors, 
iacluding  wines,  beer  and  malt  liquors,  within 
that  territory  between  the  hours  of  three  o'clock 
A.  M.  of  Thursday,  the  25th  of  Dec,  and,  11 
o'clock  P.  M.,  of  Saturday,  Dec.  27th,  1862, 
which  was  rigorously  and  effectively  enforced. 

On  Dec.  23rd  and  21th  a  detachment  of  men 
under  Col.  Marshall  were  employed  constructing 
the  gallows.  B.  D.  Pay  as  deputy  sheriff  as- 
sisted in  this  work.  It  was  built  on  the  levee 
directly  across  the  street  from  the  front  door 
of  the  Leech  building,  about  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  what  is  now  known  as  Lot  18  of  Wil- 
lard  and  Barney's  Exchange,  its  northern  side 
projecting  probably  a  little  onto  the  southeast 
corner  of  Lot  19  and  its  eastern  side  may  have 
projected  into  the  street  two  or  three-  feet.  It 
was  made  of  heavy,  square,  white  oak  timbers, 
and  was  twenty-four  feet  square.  There  were 
eight  upright  posts,  each  a  foot  square  and  14 
feet  high,  one  at  each  corner  and  one  in  the  cen- 
ter of  each  side,  set  into  sills  below,-  and  into 
plates  a  foot  square  above.  A  series  of  ten  not- 
ches were  cut  in  the  upper  edges  of  each  of  the 
four  plates,  making  notched  places  for  forty 
ropes  in  all,  the  notches  being  made  to  avoid 
any  sharp  strain  on  the  ropes.  This  frame  work 
was  strongly  mortised  and  pinned  together  and 
looked  like  the  frame  of  an  old-fashioned  barn, 
without  rafters.  In  the  center  of  the  enclosure 
thus  formed  a  large  heavy  timber  was  set  firm- 
ly into  the  ground,  like  a  post,  twenty  feet  high, 
the  upper  half  of  which  was  rounded  and  smoothed 
and  a  little  smaller  than  the  lower  half.  A  ring 
fitted  loosely  about  this  rounded  portion  of  the 
post,  which  could  be  moved  readily  up  and  down 
it.  This  was  first  made  of  iron,  but  that  not 
being  strong  enough,  a  piece  of  stout  cable  was 
substituted.  A  strongly  framed  platform  in  the 
shape  of  a  side  walk  about  three  to  four  feet 
wide  and  lying  half  within  and  half  without  the 
upright  timbers,  ran  around  the  whole  struc- 
ture, a  plank  of  the  covering  being  left  out  at 
the  place  where  each  of  the  eight  posts  projected 
tlirough  it.  This  platform  was  so  constructed 
that  it  could  be  moved  up  and  down  on  these-^ 
outside  posts.  To  this  platform  eight  ropes 
were  fastened  which  centered  and  were  attached 
at  their  other  end  to  the  ring  about  the  center 


post.  The  whole  was  so  adjusted  that  when  the 
I'ing  was  at  the  top  of  the  center  post  the  plat- 
form was  suspended  about  five  to  six  feet  above 
the  ground.  To  hold  the  ring  in  place,  a  strong 
rope  was  attached  to  it  and  passed  over  the  top 
of  the  center  post,  and  then  brought  down  and 
securely  fastened  at  its  foot.  The  cutting  of  this 
rope  would  loosen  the  ring,  and  the  whole  plat- 
form would  drop  of  its  own  weight  at  once. 
Forty  to  fifty  soldiers  were  marched  a  few  times 
on  the  platform  to  test  it.  On  Christmas  day 
Col.  Miller  issued  the  following  order  as  to  the 
execution : 

GENERAL  ORDER  NO.  23. 

HEADQUARTERS    INDIAN    POST,    MANKATO,    Dec. 

25th,    1862. 

First:  The  officer  of  the  day  and  officer  of  the 
guard  will  be  relieved  respectively  by  Capt.  Burt  and 
Lieut.  Carter  at  8:30  o'clock  A.  M.  tomorrow.  The 
present  guard  to  continue  on  duty  until  relieved  in 
the  afternoon,  Capt.  Burt  to  direct  that  his  detail 
be   furnished  with   breakfast. 

Second:  Capt.  G.  D.  Redfield,  provost  marshal,  will 
promptly  exclude  all  persons  from  the  room  of  the 
sentenced  convicts  at  7  o'clock,  and  having  them  un- 
manacled,  with  pinioned  arms,  and  ready  for  execu- 
tion, will  pass  them  through  the  guard  room,  and 
deliver  them  at  the  gallows  to  the  officer  of  the  day 
(Capt.  Burt)  for  execution.  He  will  see  that  the 
staples  and  manacles  are  preserved  for  future  use. 
And  that  the  prisoner  "Godfrey"  is  duly  returned 
to  the  old  prison.  Lieut.  Carter,  as  officer  of  the 
guard,  will  at  9  o'clock  close  the  door  of  the  guard 
house,  open  the  communicating  door  with  the  prison, 
allow  no  person  except  his  guard  to  enter,  and  with 
the  two  reliefs,  (who  for  the  moment  will  stack 
their  arms)  will,  under  the  direction  of  Capt.  Red- 
field,  conduct  the  convicts  to  the  scaffold,  between 
the  two  files  of  soldiers,  which  will  be  stationed  on 
the  route. 

Third:  The  officer  of  the  day,  Capt.  Burt,  will 
receive  the  convicts  at  the  scaffold  and  supervise 
and  conduct  the  execution.  For  this  purpose  he  will 
detail  eight  men,  one  to  each  section  of  the  platform, 
to  act  as  executioners,  and  two  men  with  axes  to 
be  ready  for  any  emergency.  When  all  is  ready, 
he  will  give  the  order  to  Maj.  J,  R.  Brown,  signal 
oft'icer,  who  will  beat  three  distinct  taps  upon  the 
drum.  At  the  third  stroke,  Wm.  J.  Duly,  (mounted 
scout)  will  cut  the  rope.  After  the  execution  the 
officer  of  the  day  will,  with  his  detail,  collect  all 
ropes  and  small  fixtures  of  the  occasion  and  deposit 
them  carefully  at  these  headquarters.  He  will  of 
course,  have  all  the  ropes  and  necessary  fixtures  ad- 
justed   previous    to   the    execution. 

Fourth:  Drs.  Seignorette  and  Finch  will  examine 
the  bodies  and  communicate  the  death  of  the  pris- 
oners to  the  officer  of  the  day. 

Fifth:  Four  teams  containing  shovels  will  be  fur- 
nished by  quartermaster  Cutter,  in  which  the  bodies 
win  be  deposited  by  Capt.  Burt's  company  (R.  Minn. 
7th),  previous  to  which  they  will  stack  arms,  and 
will,   without   their   arms,   act   as   a   burial   party. 

Sixth:  The  wagons  containing,  the  remains  and  the 
above  burial  party  will  proceed  under  an  armed  es- 
cort, which  will  be  provided,  and  enter  the  bodies  of 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


133 


the  executed  men.  The  whole  to  be  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Col.  Marshall.  By  order  of  the 
Colonel    commanding. 

J.   K.    ARNOLD, 
Post   Adjutant. 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  same  Christmas,  the 
squaws,  who  were  acting  as  cooks,  were  permitted 
to  bid  goodbye  to  the  condemned  men,  among 
whom  a  number  had  relatives.  Though  the 
parting  was  sad,  there  was  not  so  much  demon- 
stration of  grief  as  the  day  before,  for  an  In- 
dian thinks  it  very  unmanly  to  show  emotion 
before  a  woman.  Father  Ravaux  and  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson remained  with  the  condemned  men  all 
this  last  night.  Father  Ravaux  was  assisted  by 
Father  Sommereisen.  Thirty-three  of  the  con- 
victs, including  the  three  half  breeds,  were  bap- 
tised into  the  Catholic  faith,  and  three,  besides 
Round  Wind  who  was  pardoned,  into  the  Pro- 
testant faith.  The  other  two  refused  baptism. 
The  good  priests  and  Dr.  Willamson  worked  hard 
and  faithfully.  The  three  half  breeds  were 
under  20  years  old  and  dressed  like  white 
men,  the  rest  wore  the  Indian  garb  and  were 
mostly  young  men,  though  a  few  were  old  and 
grey  haired.  The  White  boy  was  counted  among 
the  full  bloods  as  he  was  a  Sioux  in  speech,  dress 
and  habits,  having  been  so  brought  up  from 
babyhood,  and  though  his  features  were  Caucas- 
sian  no  one  then  suspected  his  real  origin. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th,  they  sang  their 
death  song  in  Dakota,  Tazoo  leading,  which  was 
very  exciting.  At  7:30  A.  M.,  all  persons  were 
excluded,  except  those  needed  to  prepare  them 
for  execution.  Maj  Brown  and  Capt.  Redfield 
superintended  the  affair.  Their  irons  were 
Imocked  ofE  and  thedr  arms  pinioned,  elbows 
behind  and  wrists  in  front  about  six  inches  apart. 
I'his  took  until  9  o'clock.  They  went  around 
sliaking  hands  with  the  soldiers  and  bidding 
them  good  bye.  They  were  then  put  in  a  row 
around  the  room  standing  and  chanting  in  the 
mean  time  one  of  their  wild,  mournful  melo- 
dies. They  were  then  permitted  to  sit  with 
their  backs  to  the  wall  a  few  minutes  while 
Father  Ravaux  came  in  and  read  them  a  prayer 
in  Dakotah.  He  then  spoke  to  them,  Baptiste 
Campbell  acting  as  interpreter.  The  earnest 
words  of  the  priest  affected  them  to  tears.  Dr. 
Williamson,  also,  had  a  short  heart  to  heart  talk 


with  them.  Caps  made  from  some  unbleached 
muslin,  found  in  their  possession  when  captured, 
were  now  put  on  their  heads,  but  drawn  down 
only  to  the  forehead.  While  Father  Ravaux  was 
still  talking  to  them  Capt.  Redfield  entered  the 
prison  chamber  and  whispered  to  him  that  all 
was  ready.  He  communicated  the  fact  to  Henry 
Millord,  one  of  the  halfbreeds,  and  he  repeated 
it  to  the  others.  Instantly  all  were  on  their 
feet  and  forming  in  single  file,  they  marched 
quickly  through  the  intervening  room  to  the 
front  door,  headed  Isy  Capt.  Redfield.  Thence 
they  passed  between  two  rows  of  soldiers  directly 
across  the  street  to  the  gallows,  followed  by  the 
gTiards,  who  had  stacked  arms,  and  the  reporters. 

As  soon  as  they  caught  sight  of  the  gallows, 
they  began  singing  their  death  dirge,  keeping 
step  to  the  music.  Still  following  the  lead  of 
Capt.  Redfield,  they  ascended  the  steps  to  the 
platform  of  the  gallows  and  were  ranged  in  their 
places  by  eight  soldiers,  two  for  each  section  of 
the  gallows.  After  adjusting  the  nooses  and  pull- 
ing down  the  muslin  caps,  or  sacks,  over  their 
faces,  the  soldiers  walked  down  from  the  plat- 
form. In  the  meantime  the  Indians  kept  up  con- 
tinuously their  singing  and  dancing  and  some 
managed  to  clasp  each  other's  hands.  Their  chant 
mainly  consisted  of  the  simple  repetition  in  Da- 
kotah of  "This  is  me."  It  was  a  wild,  gruesome, 
.impressive  scene.  Thirty  human  beings,  all  but 
three  dressed  in  Indian  costumes,  ranged  round 
the  four  squares  of  the  gallows  on  an  elevated 
platform,  with  ropes  round  their  necks,  dancing 
and  chanting  a  wierd,  fantastic   dirge. 

At  the  foot  of  the  center  post  stood  Capt. 
Duly  with  a  sharp  ax,  ready  to  cut  the  rope, 
which  held  the  ring  from  which  the  platform 
hung.  The  Captain's  wife  and  children  had  been 
butchered  by  the  savages  at  Lake  Shetec,  and 
he  had  asked  the  privilege  of  this  important  duty 
on  the  execution  program.  David  J.  Davis  of 
Cambria,  whose  son  had  been  killed,  offered 
Capt.  Duly  $5»00  if  he  would  resign  the  position 
in  his  favor,  but  he  refused. 

Facing  the  four  sides  of  the  gallows  in  battle 
fcrray  were  the  military.  Two  companies  of  the 
9th  Reg.,  161  men,  occupied  the  side  toward  the 
river,  and  three  companies  of  the  6th  Heg.,  300 
men,  the  side  toward  Front  street,  both  in  com- 


134 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


mand  of  Col.  Wilkin.  On  the  North  were  425 
men  of  the  10th  Reg.  tinder  Col.  J.  H.  Baker, 
while  on  the  south  side  were  425  men  of  the 
7th  Eeg.  in  command  of  Lieut.  Col.  Marshall. 
Back  of  the  infantry  to  the  north  and  south  were 
drawn  up  three  companies  of  the  1st  Eeg.,  moun- 
ted Eangers,  (273  men)  in  command  of  Maj. 
Buell,  while  Capt.  White's  mounted  men  (35 
in  number)  performed  patrol  duty.  In  all  1419 
soldiers  were  on  the  ground.  For  a  portion  of 
the  time  one  company  of  the  7th  and  one  com- 
pany of  the  lOth  were  detailed  under  Lieut. 
Col.  Jennison  to  guard  the  prison  yard.  Be- 
yond the  military  wefs  the  populace,  a  great 
and  motly  throng  of  men,  women  and  children, 
who  had  gathered  into  Mankato  from  a  radius 
of  fifty  miles  in  their  lumber  wagons  drawn  by 
oxen.  Many  had  been  on  the  road  all  night.  The 
weather  was  remarkably  fine.  There  was  scarcely 
any  snow  and  the  day  was  so  warm  that  people 
went  about  in  their  shirt  sleeves.  In'  those  days 
the  bed  of  the  Minnesota  river  was  situated 
about  where  the  western  two-thirds  of  the  Saul- 
paugh  Hotel  now  stands,  and  the  scafEold  stood 
so  near  its  bank  that  there  was  hardly  room 
for  one  line  of  soldiers.  As  the  river  was 
low  there  was  a  long  sand  bank  in  front  of  the 
levee.  This  was  covered  with  spectators,  and  so 
was  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  which  then 
was  no  further  than  the  east  end  of  the  present 
bridge. 

An  artist  from  St.  Paul  attempted  to  make  a 
photograph  of  the  scene  from  an  outside  stairway, 
which  led  to  the  second  story  of  John  J.  Shau- 
but's  store,  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Block 
.14,  but  the  cameras  of  that  day  were  not  well 
adapted  for  outside  exposures,  and  the  picture 
was  very  indistinct  and  blurred  and  none  of 
them  can  now  be  found.  More  successful  was 
the  picture  made  by  a  special  artist  of  Prank 
Leslie's  magazine,  prepared  from  pencil  sketches 
drawn  on  the  spot.  As  he  could  only  draw  a 
few  of  the  main  features  of  the  "scene,  and  had 
to  fill  in  all  the  details  from  imagination,  the 
picture  is  far  from  being  accurate  as  to  such  de- 
tails. The  late  John  C.  Wise  had  this  picture 
lithographed  in  colors  and  it  is  now  the  only 
pictorial  presentation  of  the  event.  Harper's 
weekly  had  a  special  artist  on  the  ground,  too, 


but  his  sketches  were  not  as  accurate  as  that 
of  the  Leslie  artist.  At  10 :16  A.  M.,  everything 
being  ready,  Capt.  Burt  waved  his  sword  as  a 
signal  to  Maj.  Brown,  who  gave  three  distinct 
taps  on  his  drurh.  At  the  last  tap  the  props, 
which  had  been  put  under  the  platform  as  a  pre- 
caution against  accident,  were  knocked  down  and 
Captain  Duly,  then  took  his  revenge.  Through 
nervousness  he  failed  on  the  first  stroke,  but 
a  second  blow  of  his  ax  severed  the  rope,  and  the 
platform  fell  with  a  crash.  The  doleful  sound 
of  the  death  dirge  suddenly  ceased  and  in  its 
stead  a  great  shout  of  exultation,  rose  from  the 
spectators.  This  shout  was  started  by  a  young 
soldier  lad,  whose  father,  mother,  brothers  and 
sisters  had  been  butchered  by  one  of  these  very 
Indians.  Pointing  his  finger  straight  at  the 
convulsing  body  of  this  Indian  he  gave  vent  to 
a  shout  of  triumph,  which  was  caught  up  by 
the  crowd.  Cut  Nose,  being  a  heavy  person, 
.snapped  his  rope  and  fell  partly  down  the  river 
bank,  but  his  neck  was  broken  and  he  was  dead 
when  picked  up,  still  the  soldiers  ran  him  up 
with  a  new  rope.  In  twenty  minutes  the  doctors 
pronounced  all  dead,  and  the  four  teams  de- 
tailed for  the  purpose,  drove  to  the  scafEold, 
and  the  bodies  were  cut  down  and  conveyed  to 
their  burial.  A  long  wide  trench  had  been  dug 
in  the  gravel  bed  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
levee  between  Front  street  and  the  river.  Here 
they  were  interred  by  Capt.  Burke's  company, 
who  acted  as  a  burial  party.  The  interment, 
however,  proved  of  little  value  as  the  bodies 
were  all  exhumed  that  night  and  carried  oil  for 
dissection  by  various  doctors  of  Southern  Minne- 
sota. The  execution  passed  off  without  the  least 
disturbance.  Though  the  feeling  against  the  other 
condemned  Indians  was  most  intense,  the  vast 
throng  behaved  vnth  perfect  order  and  decorum. 
On  December  20th,  1862,  six  days  before  the 
'.'.locution  of  the  Indians,  Chas.  B.  Hensley,  the 
talented  young  editor  of  the  "Mankato  Inde- 
pendent," died.  His  constitution  had  never  been 
robust.  Soon  after  the  Sioux  outbreak  he  Join- 
ed a  company  of  volunteers,  who  went  with  Gen- 
eral Sibley  against  the  hostile  bands.  The  hard- 
ships and  exposures  of  the  expedition  gave  him 
a  hard  cold,  and  he  returned  home  sick,  and 
quickly   grew  worse  until  the  end.     The  winter 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


135 


of  1863-3  was  open  and  very  mild,  which  prov- 
ed a  great  boon  to  the  settlers  and  their  stock 
ior  the  Indian  trouble  had  given  very  little  op- 
portunity to  prepare  for  winter. 

Among  the  condemned  Indians  were  many 
who  had  heard  the  teachings  of  the  christian  re- 
ligion for  some  years.  Two  of  their  number  were 
professed  Christians  and  members  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liamson's church.  Their  names  were  Robert 
Hopkins  Chaskay  and  Peter  Big  Tire.  Neither 
were  guilty  of  the  charge  of  murdering  the 
whites.  In  fact  Eobert  Hopkins  had  been  one 
of  the  most  active  wSh  John  Other  Day  in  res- 
cuing Dr.  Williamson  and  his  family  and  the 
other  white  settlers  at  the  Upper  Agency.  When 
it  was  found  that  he  was  among  the  303  con- 
demned to  be  hanged,  the  whites,  whom  he  had 
rescued  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  made  a  most 
vigorous  protest,  which  was  sent  to  President 
Lincoln,  and  Miss  Sarah  J.  Williamson  wrote  the 
president  a  personal  letter  in  his  behalf.  As  a 
result  he  was  promptly  pardoned.  But  he  and 
Peter  Big  Fire  had  started  a  work  among  theii- 
fellow  prisoners,  which  they  counted  more  im- 
portant than  their  liberty.  Under  their  lead 
a  wonderful  spiritual  revival  was  started  among 
the  convicts.  In  their  defeat  by  the  whites  the 
Indians  seemed  to  regard  their  Gods  as  also 
defeated,  and  all  their  old  superstition  ov^j 
thrown.  Their  pride  was  broken  and  their  con- 
fidence in  themselves  gone.  The  white  man's 
civilization  appealed  to  them  as  something  worth 
having.  It  made  him  so  superior  to  the  Indian  in 
power  and  in  wealth.  The  God  who  gave  him 
such  mysterious  advantages  over  the  red  man 
must  be  the  great  God,  and  they  would  worship 
him,  too,  and  become  like'  the  white  man.  They 
became  anxious  to  hear  about  the  Christ  religion. 
On  the  Sunday  after  the  execution  Eev.  Riggs 
preached  to  the  prisoners  in  the  prison  yard. 
Three  hundred  dusky  warriors,  heavily  laden  with 
chains,  standing  in  that  open  court,  in  the 
freshly  fallen  snow,  listening  intently  to  the 
preachers'  words,  is  a  picture  worthy  of  a 
great  artist.  Dr.  Williamson  walked  from  his 
home  in  St.  Peter  once  or  twice  a  week  all  winter 
to  preach  to  them.  The  Pond  brothers,  Samuel 
W.  and  Gideon  H.,  came  up  from  Shakopee  to 
speak  to  them  a  few  times.  Eev.  Hicks,  the  Pres- 


byterian minister  at  Mankato,  addressed  them 
two  or  tlii-ee  times.  Through  the  work  of  these 
good  missionaries  and  especially  through  the  ef- 
foi-ts  of  Eobert  Hopkins  and  Peter  Big  Fire, 
the  revival  continued  to  grow,  until  in  February 
it  culminated  in  a  regular  Pentecostal  time, 
and  Dr.  Williamson,  Rev.  G.  H.  Pond  and  Eev. 
Hicks  baptised  and  received  into  church  mem- 
biTship  nearly  three  hundred  of  them  in  one 
day. 

This  Feb.  3,  1863,  was  a  day  long  to  be  re- 
membered in  the  annals  of  the  Dakotas,  as  the 
day  when  they  renounced  savagery  and  enlisted 
under  the  banner  of  the  cross.  A  most  solemn 
and  impressive  service  it  was  when  each  dusky 
warrior  arose  in  response  to  his  name,  and  ad- 
vancing, confessed  his  sin,  swore  allegiance  to 
the  King  of  Heaven  and  with  uplifted  hand 
and  bowed  head  received  the  ordinance  of  Bap- 
tism. As  the  ministering  missionary  was  famil- 
iar with  the  past  life  of  each  candidate,  he 
could  give  each  a  charge  suited  to  his  needs. 
Instead  of  idle  story  telling,  gambling  and 
heathen  dances,  these  wild  men  of  the  plains 
spent  the  whole  winter  in  listening  to  the  word 
of  God,  in  confessing  sin,  in  prayer  and  exhor- 
tation and  in  singing  hymns.  Mankato  is  noted 
in  Sioux  history  not  so  much  as  the  place  of 
hanging  as  the  place  of  the  new  life,  where  a 
nation  was  born  anew  in  a  day. 

That  their  conversion  was  genuine,  their  after 
lives  fully  attest.  Among  them  was  Eev.  Arte- 
iiias  Ehnameni,  for  many  years  the  able  and  de- 
voted pastor  of  the  Santee  Church.  Among  them 
also  was  the  father  of  Dr.  Charles  H.  Eastman, 
the  noted  author  and  preacher,  who  after  his 
release  went  in  quest  of  his  son  to  the  wilds  of 
western  Canada  and  sent  him  to  college.  The 
many  Christian  homes  they  founded,  the  churches 
they  established  and  the  consecrated  lives  they 
led  all  testify  to  the  magnitude  and  thoroughness 
of  the  Spirit's  work  at  the  Mankato  prison. 
Their  log  Jail  was  transformed  into  a  school 
room,  and  books  were  in  great  demand.  Before 
spring  most  of  these  condemned  men  had  learned 
to  read  and  write.  The  revival  spread  to  the 
camp  at  Ft.  Snelling  and  many  were  there 
converted.  This  wonderful  spiritual  awakening 
in  the  Mankato  prison  is  unique  in  Indian  his- 


136 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


tory.  It  originated  largely  among  themselves. 
It  affected  nearly  every  one  of  the  three  hundred 
prisoners,  and  the  sudden  and  marvelous  trans- 
lormation  it  worked  in  the  thought  and  lives 
of  these  savages  v^as  in  their  picturesque  lan- 
guage "a  great  mystery/'  indeed. 

The  people  generally,  even  at  Mankato,  were 
not  aware  of  the  tremendous  change,  which  had 
taken  place  in  the  hearts  of  the  captives,  and 
so  great  was  the  prejudice  against  any  Indian, 
that  all  their  manifestations  of  conversion  were 
looked  upon  as  hypocrisy. 

To  show  how  we  of  the  Caucasiaii  race,  with 
all  our  boasted  civilization,  are  not  far  re- 
moved from  barbarism,  with  its  thirst  for  blood, 
and  revenge,  when  some  great  provocation  comes 
to  test  us,  one  has  but  to  notice  the  uncharitable 
conduct  of  many  of  our  best  people  toward  the 
Indian  in  those  days.  Too  often  the  spirit 
of  revenge  drove  out  the  spirit  of  Christ.  The 
liouse  of  Eepresentatives  of  the  State  of  Minne- 
sota, in  January,  1863,  passed,  with  only  one  dis- 
senting vote,  a  resolution  requesting  President 
Ijincoln  to  hang  all  the  balance  of  the  con- 
demned Indians  at  once,  but  the  resolution  hap- 
pily failed  of  final  passage.  Then  so  sane  a  man 
as  Col.  Pratt  of  St.  Peter,  because  the  good  peo- 
ple of  Boston  and  Philadelphia  had  dared  to 
protest  against  the  hanging  of  all  the  Indiajis, 
had  a  petition  signed  by  3,000  persons  asking 
congress  to  locate  the  Sioux  upon  Boston  Com- 
mon and  the  Winnebagoes  in  the  parks  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  sent  the  same  to  Congress.  Mr.  Wisa 
of  the  "Eecord,"  much  to  his  credit,  denounced 
the  foolish  act  roundly  and  other  editors  of  the 
State  did  the  same.  Men  who  knew  the  Indian 
character  best,  and  whose  Christian  sympathies 
were  broad,  like  Dr.  Williamson,  Eev.  Eiggs, 
Father  Eavaux  and  Bishop  Whipple,  were  ready 
to  see  the  good  there  was  in  the  Indian  and  give 
him  credit  for  it. 


The  Indians  were  kept  in  chains,  until  their 
limbs  were  badly  chafed.  Eev.  Eiggs  was  able  to 
get  the  chains  removed  for  a  short  time  to  let 
their  sores  heal,  but  such  were  the  fears  of  the 
people,  that  the  military  were  obliged  soon  to 
restore  them.  To  men  always  used  to  the  free- 
dom of  the  open  air,  the ,  constant  close  con- 
finement of  so  many  of  them  in  such  a  small 
pen  began  to  tell  on  their  health.  During  the 
last  part  of  the  winter  thirteen  of  them  died.  On 
x\pril  22nd,  1863,  they  left  Mankato  on  the 
steamboat  Favorite  and  were  taken  to  Davenport, 
Iowa.  There  were  in  the  party  270  condemned 
Indians,  forty-eight  uneondenmed  and  fifteen,  to 
twenty  squaws.  As  they  were  passing  Ft.  Snel- 
ling,  where  their  wives  and  children  and  com- 
rades were  confined,  they  sang  in  their  native 
tongue  one  of  their  favorite  hymns  to  the  tune  of 
"Old  Hundred": 

"Jehovah,    have    mercy    upon    me 
For    thy    own    mercy    sake, 
Thy   loving  kindness   is   very   great 
Therefore  place  me  in  thy  heart,"  etc. 

Their  departure  from  Mankato  was  the  last 
seen  of  the  great  Sioux  nation  in  any  numbers  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  A  few  of  the  hostiles  made 
two  or  three  raids  thereto,  but  the  land  that 
heretofore  had  known  them  as  a  nation,  time  im- 
memorial, henceforth  knew  them  no  more,  nor 
did  hardly  one  of  them  see  its  face  again  for- 
ever. 

At  Davenport  they  were  confined  in  a  military 
prison  until  the  spring  of  1866,  when  their  sen- 
tences were  all  revoked.  But  in  the  meantime 
about  one  third  of  them  had  died  because  of  their 
confinement.  The  remnant  were  talten  to  the  new 
Sioux  Agency  in  a  barren  district  of  Nebraska. 
Most  of  them  however,  renounced  Agency  life 
and  government  annuities  and  took  claims  in 
South  Dakota,  and  adopted  the  ways  of  white 
men,  and  there  many  of  their  descendants  still 
live  on  farms  leading  worthy   Christian  lives. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LEGISLATIVE    AID     FOE     SETTLEES- 
EVENTS  OP  1863  AND  1864. 


Immediately  after  the  great  massacre  the  gov-  of  the  districts  held  their  elections,  but  some  neg- 

crnor   convened   the    State    Legislature    in    extra  lected  so  to  do. 

f^ession.  On  September  26th,  1862,  a  bill  was  The  roster  of  the  Shelby  company  has  been 
passed  appropriating  $25,000.00  for  the  relief  preserved.  The  captain  received  his  commission 
of  the  refugees,  hundreds  of  whom  were  widows  on  Febr.  7th,  1863,  but  the  company  was  not 
and  orphans,  and  others,  who  had  lost  their  mustered  in  until  the  forenoon  of  June  8th, 
all,  were  also,  wholly  destitute.  On  the  29th  1863,  when  a  big  dinner  was  served  in  the  door 
of  September  1862,  a  Militia  Act  was  passed  by  yard  of  Nathaniel  Stevens  to  all  the  members, 
the  same  Legislature,  which  required  every  able  According  to  the  roster  there  were  seven  lumber- 
bodied  male  between  the  ages  of  18  years  and  men,  one  artist,  one  mechanic  and  forty-three 
45  years,  with  certain  necessary  exceptions,  to  farmers  in  the  company.  The  muster  roll  with 
be  listed  in  military  companies  for  the  defence  age  and  rank  was  as  follows : 
of  the  frontier.     These  lists  were  to  be  filed  with  ^S<^ 

.,       ~        ,       jT,  -,    ■,  1,1        -I    ,         Phineas     Lattin,     Captain 32 

the  County  Auditors,  and  it  was  made  the  duty     xilton  0.  Allen,  First  Lieutenant 29 

of  the   County   Commissioners   to    divide   their   re-      Albert    M.    Stevens^    Second    Lieutenant 32 

..  J.  .    ,  ....  T    ■   ■  John   T.    Shank,    First   iScrgeant 39 

spective     counties     into     military     divisions,     con-       Enoch    Marsh,    Second    Sergeant 28 

forming  as   near   as   possible   to   township   lines,     i-i<-orge  Boler,  Third  Sergeant 33 

•L     T    •  .  ,       J.  T     J         1     i_      Robert    Shannon,    Fourth    Sergeant 43 

each    division    to    form    a    company    and    to    elect      j^mes    Lattimer,    First    Corporal 37 

by    ballot     its     captain,     lieutenants     and     subor-       Jfsse    Thomas,    Second    Corporal 33 

T      ,         ™.  ,,  .  „.  ,       ,  Jesse    JLack,    Third    Corporal 28 

dmate    officers,    all     superior     officers     to     be    ap-       ^ath.    Stevens,    Fourth    Corporal 39 

pointed  by  the  governor.  In  accordance  with  this     ^-   M.   Nash,   Fifth   Corjioral 34 

1,1  T7,     ,,       ^         ,  -r  -.o^o        H.    A.    Tiffanv,    Sixth    Corporal 25 

inue     Earth      County     was      on      January,      1863,       Wm.    Butterfield,    Seventh    Corpora! 35 

divided  by  its  county  board  into  twelve  military     John   Bare,    Eighth    Corporal 33 

districts  numbered  as  follows:  Privates: 

Age 

No.  1.     Mankato.  Andrews,    O     A 23 

-.J  Andrews,    Warren     31 

JNO.  2.      South    Bend.  Affolter,    Rudolph     43 

No.  3.      Judson.  Arlidge,    Alexander 26 

■,-,  ^       -r>  Austin    Patrick     — 

JN  0.         4.     Butternut  Valley.  Bagley,    Alvah    W 24 

No.        5.     Watonwan  and  Pox'  Lake.  c^'^'^'^^Pd  "  ™'    ^ ^ 

No.  _      6.     Vernon    and    Ceresco.  Buckmister,    George'   ..............................  2^ 

No.  7.      Shelby    and    Otsego.  Baumgardner,    John     38 

HT  n       „.     ,.  ^  Case,     E.     L 46 

JNo.  8.      sterling.  Case,    Henry    R 36 

No.  9.      Mapleton.  Chapman,     Darius     N 40 

vr„  in        -r.  -11  Childs,    B.     P — 

JNo.        10.      Danville  Ci-andall,    Arthur    20 

No.      11.     Le  Eay  and  Jamestown.  Crandall,    Wm 31 

•vTn        io      T-  Cooper,     Geo.    W 24 

JNo.        12.     Lime.  Darling,   L   J 30 

Darling,    J.    A — 

January  28th,  1863,  was  designated  as  the  day     Day,    Pardon   B 44 

for  each  district  to  meet  and  elect  officers.  Most     Dimo'nd,  °  John 35 

137 


133                                        HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 

Age  In    March,    dictrict    No.    9    (Mapleton)    was 

Farley,  ^en^am'in' ''['.[[['.'.['. '^V^y^V^'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  ^  divided  in  tlie  center,  the  east  half  attached  to 

Gere,  'nsIsoii    43  Danville,    and    the    west   half    to    Sterling,    and 

H eSan^"  G^eorge  ■•.;■.•.:;;•.■.■.;;;::::;;::::::;::;;::  39  district  x\ o.  3  ( judson)  was  divided  and  the  west 

Hupt,   W.   H 34  half   attached  to  Butternut  Valley   and  the  east 

Khlnf'     "^iorlee '. '  ^   30  ^^^^    *"    8°^*^^^    ^^^^-       ^^    February    1862    Con- 
Marsh,' Geo.    W —  gress   passed    an    act    appropriating    $300,000   to 

Aiii^^^'  /"   ^ 43  indemnify   persons   damaged   by   the    Sioux   War 

Miller'    Tobias    32  and   appointed   Cyrus  Aldrich   of   Minnesota,  J. 

Purdy,  Daniel  18  j,_    p^^.^^^.    ^^    Wisconsin   and   A.    S.    White   of 

Purdy,     Solomon     ■^o 

Roberts,    Stephen    S 36  Indiana  as  commissioners  to  pass  on  the  claims. 

Eoss,    Milton    -  Q^    Pebruary    28,    1863,    the    County    Board 

Stevens,    Levi    —  •'          '                                         •" 

Taylor,   C.  L —  vacated  the  old  townsites  of  "Crystal  Lake  City," 

True"^' Benedior'^'^ ':'.'/".'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.  ^  "Mapleton ^    and   Watonwan    City."      March   14, 

Woodman,   Sylvester    43  1863,  a  new  mail  route  was  established  to  run 

Young,  G.  G —  horn   Mankato    by   way   of   Madelia    and   Sioux 

The  rosters  of  the  other  companies  are  lost.  Falls  to  Ft.  Randall  Dakota  Territory. 
A  list  of  the  officers  has  been  kept  in  a  few  About  January  1,  1863,  a  secert  society  called 
eases.  The  principal  ofEicers  were  for  instance  "Knights  of  the  Forest"  was  organized  at  a 
at  Vernon  Center:  Lucius  Terry,  Capt.,  Theodore  law  office  in  Block  14  of  Mankato.  Its  pur- 
Sowers,  1st  Lieut.,  F.  C.  Mickerson,  2nd  Lieut.;  pose  was  to  have  both  Sioux  and  Winnebago 
at  Sterling,  H.  Miller,  Captain;  at  South  Bend,  Indians  removed  from  Minnesota.  Sublodges 
Capt.,  B.  Y.  Coffin,  1st  Lieut.  D.  D.  Evans,  were  organized  at  Garden  City  and  Meridan 
2nd  Lieut.  Edward  Jones;,  at  Butternut  Valley,  and  perhaps  elsewhere.  Through  the  work  of 
Captain,  Jenkins  Williams,  1st  Lieut.  David  J.  this  society  and  the  persistant  clamor  of  the 
Williams,  2nd  Lieut.  David  J.  Davis,  Jr.  at  Man-  people  all  over  the  state,  congress  was  finally 
krtto  there  were  two  companies,  one  composed  induced  during  February  and  March  1863,  to 
wholly  of  Germans  of  which  Wm.  Bierbauer  was  at  pass  acts  for  the  removal  of  both  tribes  from 
first  Captain,  but  in  June,  when  Mr.  Bierbauer  was  Minnesota  to  Nebraska  and  South  Dakota.  We 
promoted  to  be  major  of  the  Regiment,  J.  C.  have  already  detailed  the  circumstances  of  the 
Haupt  became  captain,  Phillip  Hodapp,  1st  departure  of  the  Sioux.  A  number  of  the 
Lieut,  and  J.  Wm.  Hoerr  2nd  Lieutenant.  The  friendly  Sioux,  though,  were  permitted  to  locate 
officers  of  the  other  Mankato  company  were:  upon  claims  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  vill- 
Captain,  J.  W.  Batchelder,  1st  Lieut.  B.  F.  age  of  Morton.  On  April  25,  1863,  two  days 
Hotaling,  2nd  Lieutenant  Daniel  Haire.  The  after  the  departure  of  the  Sioux,  the  Winne- 
Danville  and  east  Mapleton  company  did  not  bagoes  were  officially  notified  by  their  agent, 
elect  officers  until  the  fall,  when  Nelson  Gray  in  a  council  convened  for  the  purpose,  of  the 
was  made   captain.  decision  of  the  government,  to  remove  them  to  a 

The   regiment   composed   of   the   various    com-  new  agency  west  of  the  Missouri.     These  Indians 

panics    in    Blue    Earth    County    was    designated  were  much  opposed  to  the  removal,   and  held  a 

20th    Regt.    Minnesota    State    Militia.      B.     F.  number  of  councils  to  discuss  the  matter  and  to 

Smith  was  appointed  Colonel,  and  Henry   Shau-  express   their    disapproval.      Baptiste   Lassallieur, 

but,  Lieut.   Colonel.  The  companies  were  drilled  their   head  chief,   said  he  had   seen  the  country 

every  few  days  and  there  were  one  or  two  drills  and  that  it  was   cold   and  barren,  without  tim- 

of   the    whole    regiment    at    Mankato.      In    Sep-  ber  and  not  fit  for  habitation.     They  blamed  old 

tember  of  this  year  D.  C.  Evans  of  South  Bend  Chief   Winneshiek    for    his   persistant   opposition 

was   commissioned  Brigadier   General   of  Militia,  to    the    recent    treaty,  •  which    gave    them   eighty 

Between    the    regular    soldiers    and    the    militia  acres   of   land   in   severalty.      On   May   3,  about 

companies  the  county  presented  for  two  or  three  forty   of   them  attended   by   one   Marcus  Moore 

years  a  very  military  appearance.^  went    to    Wilton,    where    Judge    Donaldson  was 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


139 


holding  a  term  of  court,  and  applied  for  Natur- 
alization papers,  with  intent  to  file  on  claims. 
The  judge  refused  their  application  and  the 
people  had  Moore  arrested.  Chief  Winneshiek 
with  200  to  300  followers  concluded  to  rebel, 
and  retiring  to  Lake  Elj'sian  defied  the  authori- 
ties. This  old  chief  was  a  strong  character 
and  the  leader  of  the  conservation  party  in  the 
tribe,  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  every  inno- 
vation of  civilized  life,  unless  it  may  be  whiskey. 
He  always  went  clothed  in  Indian  garb  and 
generally  carried  an  old  spear  rather  than  a 
gun.  Because  of  his  opposition  to  everything 
pertaining  to  civilization  he  had  been  deposed 
from  the  head  chieftainship. 

The  dishonesty  of  the  whites,  both  in  the 
distribution  of  government  annuities  and  in 
sale  of  goods  by  traders,  had  much  to  do  with 
fostering  this  ugly  feeling  among  the  Indians. 
It  seems  that  in  the  distribution  of  the  last 
goods  sent  by  the  government  to  this  county  for 
•the  Winnebagoes,  1,420  blankets  had  been  sent, 
but  only  500  were  delivered  to  the  Indians; 
1150  yards  of  blue  cloth  sent,  only  275  yards 
delivered;  990  yards  of  gray  cloth  sent,  only 
330  yards  delivered;  2756  yards  of  plaid  linsey 
sent,  none  delivered;  28601^  yards  of  cloth 
sent,  none  delivered;  foiir  dozen  plaid  wool 
shawls  sent,  none  delivered;  three  dozen  extra 
blanket  shawls  sent,  none  delivered.  The  goods 
not  delivered  were  estimated  as  worth  $10,000. 
A  citizen  of  Mankato  told  the  writer  of  finding 
a  line  bolt  of  blue  cloth  above  mentioned  in  an 
attic  or  shed  and  running  a  knife  through  it, 
so  the  thief  might  not  profit  by  his  theft.  The 
authorities  were  not  the  only  ones  to  blame, 
but  many  of  the  employees  and  others  thought 
it  no  sin  to  steal  from  Indians.  This  is  but 
a  sample  of  what  was  being  done  at  every  Agency 
and  at  most  every  payment. 

Justus  C.  Eamsey,  brother  of  governor  Eam- 
sey,  was  appointed  by  the  government  as  agent 
for  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes.  A  camp 
was  formed  to  receive  them  on  the  river  bank, 
just  back  of  the  Hubbard  Mill  in  Mankato, 
which  was  designated  "Camp  Porter,"  in  honor 
of  John  J.  Porter,  who  had  been  most  active 
m  their  removal.  The  first  installment  of  these 
Indians  arrived  on' May  5,  and  numbered  about 
100. 


The  next  day  (ila}-  6)  the  'Winnebagoes  under 
Chief  Winneshiek,  killed  two  tSioux  spies,  who 
had  come  to  visit  them  at  Lake  Elysian,  and 
mutilated  their  bodies  in  a  shocking  manner. 
Another  Sioux,  who  had  married  a  A\'innebago 
squaw  and  had  lived  with  the  tribe  all  winter, 
left  them  saying  he  was  going  to  tell  the  Sioux. 
They  followed  him  to  the  Agency  and  Idlled 
him,  also,  and  dismembered  his  body  in  a  most 
horrible  manner.  They  cut  out  his  tongue  and 
hung  it  on  a  pole,  because  he  had  said  he  would 
tell  the  Sioux.  Another  took  his  scalp  and 
stretched  it  on  a  hoop  attached  to  a  pole, 
another  took  his  head,  another  an  arm.  etc.  The 
chief  Little  Priest  cut  off  his  finger  nails  with 
strips  of  skin  attached  and  tied  them  about  his 
ov/n  wrists.  A  party  of  about  twenty  young  bucks 
decked  in  paint  and  feathers,  with  virreaths  of 
weeds  and  grass  on  their  heads,  brought  the 
two  Sioux  scalps  and  the  tongue,  adorned  with 
gay  ribbons  and  fastened  on  poles,  to  JIankato 
with  them  and  paraded  along  main  and  Front 
streets  yelling  and  hooting  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  half  a  dozen  Indian  drums.  This  was 
done  to  curry  favor  with  the  M'hites  and  make 
them  think  they  were  the  enemies  of  the  Sioux. 

By  May  9  the  number  of  the  Winnebagoes 
at  Camp  Porter  had  increased  to  over  800.  On 
this  date  a  company  of  soldiers  were  sent  after 
chief  Winneshiek  and  his  party.  On  this  date, 
also,  the  first  detachment  of  the  Indians  took 
their  departure  from  Mankato;  405  embark- 
ing on  the  steamer  Pomeroy  and  355  on  the 
Eolian.  On  the  first  boat  the  war  party  with 
the  two  Sioux  scalps  embarked.  They  sat  in 
a  circle  on  the  upper  deck  with  the  two  scalps 
hung  on  poles  in  the  center,  pounding  on  their 
tomtoms  and  chanting  a  wild  war  song,  their 
half  naked  bodies  besmeared  with  mud  and 
paint  and  their  long  unkempt  hair  full  of  grease 
and  long  feathers,  a  very  picture  of  savagery, 
and  thus  they  passed  down  the  river.  A  great 
contrast  were  they  to  the  conduct  of  the  con- 
Terted  Sioux. 

On  May  10,  1863,  338  more  Winnebagoes 
departed  on  the  Pomeroy,  and  on  the  14  of  May 
about  three  hundred  of  Winneshiek's  band  left 
on  the  same  boat.  The  balance  of  the  tribe 
left  in  wagons  on  May  17  for  St.  Peter,  where 
they  took  a  boat.     At  Mankato  there  was  much 


140 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


rejoicing  over  their  departure;  cannons  were 
fired  and  flags  raised. 

Thus  the  last  Indian  left  Blue  Earth  county 
and  a  new  era  dawned  upon  its  history.  Here- 
tofore with  six-  townships  and  a  half  of  its 
Tery  best  territory  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians 
the  county's  growth  had  been  seriously  stunted, 
but  now  that  this  great  hampering  stone  of 
savagery  was  removed  its  progress  and  prosperity 
were  assured.  Settlers  began  rushing  into  this 
rich  vacant  land  at  once,  even  before  the  govern- 
ment had  time  to  bring  it  to  market. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1862-3  ^  com- 
panies of  soldiers  were  stationed  over  the  county. 
At  Mankato  a  number  of  companies  were  main- 
tained, because  of  the  Sioux  prisoners.  At  South 
Bend  one  or  two  companies  were  kept.  At 
Tivoli  Company  B  of  the  7th  Minn.,  Capt.  Cur- 
tis was  stationed  as  protection  against  the  Win- 
nebagoes.  At  Judson  village  was  Captain  Dane's 
company  (E  of  the  9th).  At  Garden  City  a 
company  of  the  10th,  at  Vernon  another  com- 
pany of  the  10th,  and  at  Horeb  church,  in  the 
present  town  of  Cambria  a  portion  of  Company 
K  of  9th  Minn.  Early  in  April  company  B 
of  the  9th  was  sent  from  Judson  to  St.  Peter 
and  thence  to.  Hutchinson,  while  company  D 
of  the  9th  took  their  place  at  Judson.  This 
company  was  noted  for  its  skill  in  fort  building. 
At  Judson  they  constructed  a  very  vmique  sod 
fort  the  remains  of  which  may  still  be  seen  about 
eighty  rods  northeast  of  the  Railway  station, 
tiudge  Lorin  Cray  was  a  member  of  this  com- 
pany. About  midsummer  the  fort  was  aban- 
.  doned,  and  the  company  sent  to  Martin  County. 
Captain  Sullivan's  company,  also  constructed 
an  excellent  pallisade  fort*  at  Vernon. 

In  the  spring  of  1863  Gen.  Sibley  began 
concentrating  the  troops  at  Camp  Pope,  about 
twenty-five  miles  west  of  Ft.  Ridgely,  prepara- 
tory to  a  campaign  against  the  hostile  Sioux 
in  Dakota,  and  during  April  and  May  most  of 
the  soldiers  in  Blue  Earth  County  were  sent 
hither.  Mankato  was  made  the  base  of  military 
supplies  and  several  hundred  wagon  loads  of 
goods  were  brought  there  at  once  from  the  var- 
ious military  depots  in  the  valley.  The  summer 
was  spent  by  Gen.  Sibley  in  a  formidable  expedi- 
tion against  the  hostile  Sioux  through  Dakota  to 


tlie  Missouri  River.  Other  than  impressing  the 
Indian  with  the  thought  of  how  big  a  war  party 
the  paleface  could  get  up,  it  did  not  accomplish 
much. 

Marauding  bands  of  Indians  made  their 
appearance  throughout  the  settlements,  very 
early  in  the  spring.  On  April  16,  1863,  a  small 
Scandinavian  settlement  on  the  south  branch 
of  the  Watonwan,  twenty-one  miles  beyond  Made- 
lia,  was  raided  by  them,  and  Ole  Erickson,  a 
member  of  Co.  E,  ^th,  Minn.,  Christopher  Gil- 
brantson  (a  boy  twelve  years  old),  Gilbrand 
Palmer,  Gabriel  Erlingren  and  Ole  Palmerson 
were  killed;  and  Jas.  Small  of  Co.  E,  7th 
Minn.,  Mrs.  Torgeson,  Simeon  Roland,  wife 
and  a  child  were  wounded.  All  summer  long 
Indians  would  be  seen  every  other  day,  here 
and  there  along  the  frontier,  and  every  little 
while  some  settler  would  be  killed  or  his  horses 
stolen,  and  the  whole  country  was  kept  in  ,  a 
ferment  of  fear  and  excitement  continually, 
A  line  of  military  posts  were  maintained  along 
the  frontier  from  Ft.  Ridgely  to  the  Iowa  line, 
and  scouts  kept  daily  going  back  and  forth 
between  the  posts.  But  all  did  not  avail,  for 
the  skulking  savages  would  crawl  easily  through 
these  lini's,  hiding  in  the  brush  and  tall  grass. 
Every  day  or  two  some  one  saw,  or  thought  ho 
saw,  (which  was  just  as  good),  Indians  here 
and  there  in  Blue  Earth  County.  In  Lime 
town,  Jamestown,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Blue 
Earth,  in  LeEay,  in  Ceresco,  at  Vernon,  in 
Cambria,  South  Bend,  Shelby  and  elsewhere 
Indians  were  reported  during  the  summer  and 
the  militia  were  kept  busy.  So  unsettled  were 
matters  that  very  little  farming  was  done  in  the 
County. 

When  on  one  of  these  raids  Little  Crow  was 
shot  and  killed  on  July  3,  1863,  near  HuiJiin- 
son,  but  this  did  not  effect  the  raids,  for  the 
Indians  are  not  dependent  upon  chiefs.  It  wa? 
a  squad  of  Blue  Earth  County  boys  belonging 
to  Co.  E,  9th  Minn.,  stationed  at  Hutchinson, 
who  went  after  the  body  of  Little  Crow. 

About  the  middle  of  June  1863  E.  P.  Evans 
of  Garden  City,  C.  A.  Warner  of  Chaska  anS 
jMr.  Thomas  of  Washington  were  appointed 
appraisers  of  the  Winnebago  lands.  By  the  fw- 
visions    of    Law,    179    of    the    334    sections  in 


I'VPTiST  Mission  Chorck 
MftNKAVortuP. 


CHOKCH-UeCORiO 


0(f6  TMd  T@g«)(J^i^O[?)a  ^  6^^(s^&^(aT©s«^[6)(l(S@(^B^ 


a>l5T  N253 'THe«0FFmflNfiC«O0l.-«fl«KiPTOtV»R^ 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


141 


ir  county  were  to  be  sold  on  bids,  leaving- 
fty-five  sections  for  preemption.  The  em-.- 
rants  continued  to  pour  into  the  hmd  froiu 
II  sides.  Some  had  houses  ready  built  on 
leir  wagons,  which  they  occupied,  while  Ijreak- 
ig  the  land.  The  houses,  which  had  been  left 
t  the  Agency,  were  all  quickly  taken  possession 
f,  as  were,  also,  the  log  cabins,  which  had  been 
acated  by  the  chiefs  and  halfbreeds. 
The  settlers  of  Medo,  at  a  picnic  held  in  a 
rove  on  the  banks  of  the  Little  Cobb,  on  July. 
,  1863,  began  to  take  steps  to  organize  a 
3wn.  It  was  decided  at  first  to  call  the  town 
Oak  Grove,"  but  it  was  discovered  that  there 
fas  a  town  of  that  name  already  in  the  State. 
)n  August  21,  this  name  was  changed  to  "Cam- 
ridge."  Again  it  was  discovered  that  this 
lame,  also,  had  been  appropriated,  and  hence, 
fhen  on  Sept.  2,  1863,  the  County  Commis- 
ioners  came  to  formally  organize  the  town,  its 
Id  Indian  name  of  "Medo"  (small  potatoes) 
ras  again  adopted.  On  the  same  date  the  old 
own  of  Eice  Lake  was  organized  imder  the 
[ame  of  MeClellan  (after  Gen.  i^IcClellan). 
The  first  election  in  Medo  was  held  Sept.  19, 
,863,  at  the  cabin  of  Hiram  Stratton,  when  the 
ollowing  persons  were  chosen  its  first  super- 
isors:  A.  W.  Barron,  Chairman,  S.  B.  Stebbins 
nd  A.  Bagley  with  Hiram  Stratton  as  Clerk, 
^he  first  election  for  the  town  of  MeClellan  was 
leld  on  the  same  date  at  the  residence  of  Lucius 
)yer,  when  the  following  persons  -n-ere  elected : 
Supervisors,  Asa  White,  J.  Y.  Colwell  and 
jucius  Dyer;  Clerk,  Henry  Foster;  Treasurer, 
I.  0.  Bartlett;  Assessor,  Chas.  Manaige;  Jus- 
ices  J.  L.  Alexander  and  J.  W.  Colwell,  Con- 
tables  Aaron  Foyles  and  Alexander  Payer.  At 
he  same  time  the  two  towns  were  made  the 
3th  Militia  District  and  each  a  separate  school 
listrict.  At  the  general  election  held  ?s^ovember  3, 
'ledo  cast  10  votes,  8  Eepublican  and  two  Demo- 
ratic;  and  ^MeClellan  28  votes,  15  Democratic 
nd  13  Eepublican.  The  total  vote  of  the 
ounty  was  1,139.  Our  County  went  Eepublican 
y  about  250  majority,  but  the  great  fight  was 
n  the  Legislative  candidates.  Blue  Earth  and 
je  Sueur  Counties  being  then  united  as  one 
•legislative  District.  The  Democrats  won,  J.  J. 
'orter  defeating   B.   Y.    Coffin   for   the   senate, 


and  Jas.  A.  Wiswell  and  colleagues  being  chosen 
Eepresentatives. 

The  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  govern- 
ment to  pass  on  the  claims  for  damages  by 
reason  of  the  Sioux  massacre  met  at  ilankato 
from  the  16th  to  the  24tli  of  July,  186:5.  In 
all  2940  claims  were  filed,  amounting  to  $2,600,- 
000  and  of  these  $1,3:)0,000  were  allowed.  As 
the  appropriation  was  only  $200,000,  and  all 
expenses  had  to  be  paid  out  of  this,  including 
a  salary  of  $2500  to  each  Commissioner,  and 
the  friendly  Indians  had  to  be  given  quite  a 
slice  from  it,  the  percentage  paid  to  the  claim- 
ants was  quite  small,  and  from  fifteen  to 
twenty-five  per  cent  of  this  had  to  be  paid  to 
attorneys  for  collecting  it.  The  great  bulk  of 
tiie  settlers  who  were  real  sufferers,  i-eceivcd  but 
small  compensation  for  their  losses.  Some  few 
doubtless,  whose  claims  were  overstrong,  may 
have  gotten  more  than  they  desen-ed,  but  not 
so  with  the  great  majority.  For  while  the  meek 
may  inherit  the  earth,  they  are  not  always  so 
sure  of  getting  their  share  of  government  boun- 
ties   of    political    preferments. 

Fourth  of  July  celebrations  were  held  this 
year  at  Shelbyville,  Crystal  Lake  and  elsewhere. 
The  Shelbyville  one  was  most  prominent  with 
Judge  ^Yilcox,  J.  S.  Bachckler,  Eev.  J.  C.  Con- 
rad  and   Eev.   Eichardson   as  speech   makers. 

An  open  winter  and  dry  summer  were  not 
favorable  to  a  good  stage  of  water  in  the  river, 
and  navigation  was  not  as  good  as  the  year 
before.  The  Jcnnette  Eoberts  was  the  first 
boat  on  April  3,  and  she  was  met  at  the  Man- 
kato  levee  by  over  1,000  soldiers  anrl  citizens, 
who  gvivc  her  a  royal  welcome,  their  cheers  ei'ho- 
ing  far  among  the  hills.  The  main  traffic  was 
the  transportation  of  troops  and  military  sup- 
plies. Over  60,000  bushels  of  wheat  were  car- 
ried from  Mankato  alone.  The  Flora  was  a 
new  boat  in  the  trade  this  year. 

Since  the  death  of  ~SIt.  Hensley  in  December, 
1S62,  the  Independent  had  been  without  an 
editor.  ^Ir.  Gunning  was  a  good  printer,  but 
not  adapted  for  editorial  work.  John  IST.  Hall, 
who  was  then  a  very  prominent  and  active 
leader  in  the  Eepublican  party,  did  most  of  the 
work.  In  July,  1863  the  paper  was  sold  to 
Chas.    H.    Slocum,    who    changed    its    name    to 


142 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


"The  Union"  and  published  his  first  issue  under 
date  of  July   17,   1863. 

The  last  of  May  of  this  same  year  Mr.  Wise 
of  the  "Record"  purchased  of  the  Baptist  So- 
ciety a  frame  building  they  had  been  using 
as  a  church  in  block  twelve,  Mankato,  which 
he  occupied  with  his  paper  about  the  first  of 
June.  This  location  has  ever  since  been  the 
home  of  "The  Eecord"  and  its  successor  "The 
Review." 

In  the  spring  of  1863,  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple of  Mankato  and  vicinity  began  agitating  the 
establishment  •  of  a  parochial  school,  and  a 
society  was  organized,  which  by  midsummer,  had 
a  membership  of  nmety.  The  initiation  fee 
was  $2.00  and  the  tuition  price  fixed  at  $3.50 
a  year.  Through  the  untiring  efforts  of  Father 
Sommereisen  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame  of 
Milwaukee,  Wis.,  were  induced  to  open  a  school 
that  fall  at  Mankato.  A  portion  of  the  church 
was    fitted    up    for    the    purpose. 

So  far  the  Protestants  had  no  regular  church 
building  in  Mankato.  This  year  the  Presby- 
terians began  to  urge  earnestly  the  building 
cf  a  church  edifice,  and  purchased  the  lot 
now  occupied  by  the  Security  Flats  for  the 
purpose. 

This  year  Bierbauer  and  Eockey  purchased 
the  South  Bend  Flour  mill  and  also  the  large 
sawmill  on  the  Bhie  Earth  in  West  Mankato, 
the  machineries  of  which  they  removed  to 
buildings  they  had  erected  for  the  purpose  on 
the  corner  of  Front  and  Eock  streets,  in  Man- 
kato, where  they  conducted  an  extensive  milling 
business   for   years. 

On  June  24th,  1863,  the  Mapleton  steam  saw 
mill  of  Middlebrook  Bros,  was  burned,  leav- 
ing that  section  of  the  county  destitute  of  all 
mill  privileges.  On  Aug.  1st,  1863,  Wm.  H. 
Blackmer  of  Shelljyville  was  appointed  deputy 
Provost  Marshall  for  Blue  Earth  County  and 
on  his  enlisting  in  the  army  a  month  later 
J.  T.  Williams  was  made  his  successor. 

At  this  time  the  great  civil  war  was  calling 
for  every  efl'ort  to  save  the  Union.  On  the 
return  of  Gen.  Sibley  in  September,  1863,  the 
government  ordered  the  7th,  9th,  and  10th, 
Jlinn.,  Eegiments  South.  There  was  gloom  and 
sorrow   in   many   a   home   over   the   parting   and, 


not  only  because  of  the  danger  of  southern 
battlefields  to  which  the  boys  were  going,  but 
also,  because  of  the  danger  to  helpless  wife  and 
children,  and  aged  parents  left  at  home,  ex- 
posed to  the  raids  of  the  hundreds  of  skulking 
savages,  still  on  the  war  path. 

On  Sept.  30th,  the  ladies  of  Mankato  pre- 
pared a  big  banquet  for  the  soldiers  before 
their  departure.  But  the  government  was  not 
satisfied  with  sending  these  regiments  into  the 
smoke  of  the  great  conflict  but  more  men  were 
called  for,  and  the  dread  specter  of  those  days, 
the  draft,  was  hovering  over  every  home,  where 
there  was  a  man  or  boy  left.  War  meetings  were 
held  again  this  fall  in  every  neighborhood  through 
the  county,  and  the  towns  whose  quotas  of  enlist- 
ed men  were  not  full,  were  making  every  effort 
to  fill  them  and  escape  the  draft.  Doctors  and 
lawyers  agreed  to  give  their  services  free,  mer- 
chants offered  barrels  of  flour  to  the  families  of 
such  as  would  enlist.  High  School  boys  banded 
themselves  to  saw  wood  for  the  soldiers  famil- 
ies. There  were  many  enlistments  made  over 
the  county,  most  of  whom  went  into  the  second 
Eeg.   Minn.,  Cavalry. 

Until  late  in  the  fall  the  government  had 
sent  no  supplies  to  the  new  Winnebago  and 
Sioux  reservations,  far  out  on  the  Missouri, 
and  they  had  no  food  for  the  winter.  James 
B.  Hubbell  of  Mankato  took  the  contract, 
and  about  the  first  of  November,  1863,  he 
started  with  a  long  train  of  supplies.  The  per- 
ils of  winter  storms  and  hostile  Indians  was  so 
great,  that  many  belonging  to  the  military 
escort  and  teamsters  furnished  by  the  govern- 
raent.  mutinied  near  Crystal  Lake.  The  burrs 
were,  taken  off  the  wagon  wheels  at  night  and 
hid,  and  many  men  deserted.  Mr.  Hubbell,  with 
his  wonted  push  and  energy,  got  a  number  of 
Blue  Earth  County  farmers  to  help  him  and 
in  spite  of  every  obstacle  delivered  the  supplies 
at  their  destination,  an  almost  incredible  feat. 
The  adventures  of  this  expedition  read  like  a 
romance,  but  are  outside  this  history.  It  is 
said  the  contractor  received  nine  cents  a  pound 
for  the  transportation,  amounting  to  about 
$54,000.00.  The  expedition  made  the  distance 
of  280  miles  in  eighteen  days. 

In    1862,    Blue   Earth    County    produced   73,- 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


143 


511  bushels  of  wheat,  6,355  bushels  of  rye,  2,- 
G41-  bushels  of  barley,  60,889  bushels  of  oats, 
1,563  bushels  of  buckwheat,  101,423  bushels 
of  com  and  57,145  bushels  of  potatoes. 

In  February,  1864,  J.  A.  Wiswell  had  a  bill 
enacted  by  the  Legislature  changing  the  name 
of  the  town  of  Watonwan  to  "Garden  City.'^ 
A  bill  was,  also,  passed  authorizing  Blue  Earth 
County  to  vote  on  the  proposition  to  issue  bonds 
to  build  the  following  bridges:  $6,000.00  over 
Blue  Earth  at  Mankato,  $1,300.00  at  Garden 
City,  $1,200.00  at  Vernon,  $1,500.00  over  the 
Le  Sueur  on  Agency  road.  At  the  special  elec- 
tion in  April  the  measure  was  defeated  by  a 
vote  of   382   to   306. 

The  Legislature  had,  also,  authorized  Man- 
kato to  issue  $10,000.00  in  bonds  to  build  a 
new  school  house  and  the  bonds  were  voted  on 
April  2nd,  1864.  During  the  winter  of  1863-4 
there  was  much  excitement  over  the  alleged 
discovery  of  coal  on  the  Big  Cottonwood  by 
Prof.  Eames,  a  geologist  from  Indiana.  Th's  in 
the  summer  of  18'64,  brought  on  an  epidemic  of 
coal  discoveries   in   Blue   Earth    County. 

There  was,  also,  much  talk  in  our  county,  and 
especially  in  Mankato,  regarding  the  "St.  Paul 
and  Sioux  City,"  and  the  "Winona  and  St. 
Peter"  railways.  During  the  summer  survey- 
ing parties  of  these  railways  were  at  work  in 
the  county. 

In  March,  1864,  the  County  Commissioners 
attached  the  south  tier  of  sections  in  Town 
lOS,  Range  twenty-five  to  LoEay  and  the  south 
tier  of  sections  in  town  108,  range  twenty-six  to 
Mankato,  and  in  May  the  South  tier  of  sections 
in  Town  108,  Eange  twenty-seven  were  attached 
to  South  Bend  and  Mankato.  On  May  2nd, 
1864,  David  Wilcox  was  appointed  county  Sup- 
erintendent of  schools  at  a  salary  of  $200.00 
a  year. 

The  winter  of  1863-4,  after  a  few  weeks  of 
severe  weather  during  the  holidays  broke  up 
early  and  some  seeding  was  done  in  February. 
A?  there  was  but  little  snow  or  rain  the  river 
was  rather  low.  The  first  boat  at  Mankato  was 
the  Jeanette  Eoberts  on  April  16th.  A  new  boat 
called  "Mankato"  was  put  on  the  Jlinnesota 
late  this  year.  The  citizens  of  the  county  seat 
were  so  pleased  with  the  compliment  done  them 


in  the  matter  of  name,  that  they  presented  the 
boat  next  spring  with  a  new  $30.00  flag.  The 
Eockey  and  Bierbauer  new  steam  fiour  mill  be- 
gan  operations   in  April. 

On  January  15th,  1864,  J.  T.  WilHams  re- 
signed as  County  Treasurer  and  E.  D.  B.  Por- 
ter was  appointed  in  his  stead,  and  on  March 
2fith  J.  J.  Lewis  of  Sterling  was  appointed 
County  Commissioner  in  place  of  Xelson  Gray, 
who  resigned.  During  May  and  June  there  was 
a   great  immigration  into  the  Winnebago   lands. 

In  June,  1864,  occurred  the  disastrous  battle 
of  Guntown,  Miss.,  in  which  the  9th  Minnesota 
suffered  severelj^,  causing  great  gloom  and  sor- 
row in  many  a  Blue  Earth  County  home  as 
two  or  three  of  its  companies  had  been  largely 
recruited    there. 

With  the  opening  of  spring  in  1864,  the  In- 
dians began  their  raids  into  the  settlements, 
mostl)'  for  the  purpose  of  stealing  horses.  The 
friendly  Indians  laid  much  of  the  blame  of  these 
continued  hostilities  to  false  reports  circulated 
among  the  Warring  bands  by  a  certain  Indian 
named  Enoch,  to  the  effect  that  the  whites 
had  hung  all  the  Indian  prisoners.  That  the 
woods  in  the  vicinity  of  Mankato  were  full 
of  their  skeletons.  This  so  exasperated  their 
relatives  among  the  hostiles  that  they  made  these 
raids  in  quest  of  revenge.  On  May  18th,  1864, 
a  hostile  band  raided  a  Settlement  near  Ma- 
delia  and  killed  a  boy  named  Jorgenson,  and 
wounded  a  soldier.  On  May  31st  a  man  named 
Dodge  discovered  an  Indian  in  the  woods  near 
his  home  in  South  Bend,  and  with  half  a  dozen 
soldiers  of  Company  M.  2nd  Cav.,  then  stationed 
at  South  Bend  village,  he  went  in  search  and 
found  him  seated  on  a  log  smoking  and  one  of 
the  soldiers  (a  half  breed  Chippeway)  shot  and 
killed  him.  Almost  ever\'  week  during  the 
whole  summer  Indians  were  seen  here  and 
there  along  the  frontier  and  a  number  of  whites 
and  Indians  were  killed. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  Thurs- 
day, August  11th,  1864,  ISToble  G.  Eoot,  with  his 
two  sons,  Edward,  aged  13  years,  and  Isaac  S., 
11  years  years  old,  was  in  his  field  in  section 
four  of  Shelby  stacking  some  oats.  Two  In- 
dians suddendly  emerged  from  the  timber  near 
by  and  were  upon  him  before  he  was  aware  of 


144 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


their  presence.  The  main  purpose  of  the  In- 
dians was  to  steal  his  horses,  hnt  Mr.  Eoot  was 
a  brave  man  and  faced  the  foe  in  defence  of  his 
property.  One  of  the  Indians  immediately  shot 
him  in  the  breast  inflicting  a  mortal  wound.  See- 
ing their  father  fall,  the  two  boys  slipped  down 
from  the  load  and  ran  for  the  brush.  One  of 
the  Indians  fired  after  them  and  hit  Edward  in 
tlie  shoulder  making  a  painful,  but  not  very  ser- 
ious wound.  The  savages  then  cut  the  horses 
loose  from  the  wagon  and  mounting  them  hur- 
ried off  to  the  west.  Edward  now  came  back  to 
his  father,  whom  he  found  still  alive  and  con- 
scious, procured  water  for  him  and  watched  be- 
side him  for  an  hour  or  two,  until  he  died. 
Other  members  of  the  family  rushed  off  to  the 
neighbors  for  help.  In  the  meantime  the  two  In- 
dians crossed  to  the  west  side  of  the  Blue  Earth 
and  were  joined  by  five  or  six  others.  On  the 
knoll  of  the  old  cemetery  near  the  center  of 
section  six  of  Shelby  they  found  some  horses 
grazing,  and,  by  means  of  a  long  rope  held  at 
either  end  by  the  two  mounted  Indians,  they 
drove  them  toward  a  fence  to  coral  them.  On  the 
forty  acres  just  west  of  the  cemetery  Jesse 
Mack,  James  H.  Hindman  and  Cornelius  Pox 
were  loading  some  loose  grain,  the  former  on 
the  load  and  the  two  latter  on  the  ground 
pitching.  The  Indians  discovering  they  had  a 
span  of  horses,  started  for  them  at  once.  The 
whites  saw  them  coming  and  Hindman  climbed 
upon  the  load,  but  before  Fox  could  do  so. 
Mack  had  prodded  the  team  to  a  gallop,  so  he 
clung  to  the  rear.  It  was  a  mad  race  across 
the  field  toward  Willow  Creek.  In  crossing  a 
dead  furrow  Mr.  Hindman  was  thrown  clear  off 
the  load.  He  picked  himself  up  quickly  still 
clinging  to  his  pitchfork  and  started  to  run, 
but  when  he  got  the  dirt  out  of .  his  eyes,  he 
saw  that  he  was  going  towards  the  Indians.  It 
did  not  take  him-  long  to  change  his  direction, 
but  the  Indians  paid  no  attention  to  him,  as 
they  were  after  the  horses.  Mr.  Mack  finally 
won  the  race  and  hid  his  horses  in  a  grove  by 
Oliver  Mather's  house.  He  procured  there  Wm. 
McQueen's  gun,  with  which  to  defend  himself 
and  team.  The  Indians  in  their  chase  after 
Jesse  Mack  discovered  some- horses  tied  around 
the  house  of   Gustavus   McCollum  on  the  south 


of  northwest  quarter  of  section  13  of  Pleasaiit' 
Mound,  on  west  side  of  Willow  Creek.  A  num- 
ber of  neighbors  were  gathered  there  for  a  so- 
cial time  and  a  supper.  When  the  Indians  ap- 
l)eared  on  the  scene  there  was  a  great  scattering. 
Jesse  Thomas  got  hold  of  an  old  rusty  rifle,  which 
would  not  go  off,  and  by  flourishing  it  managed  to 
scare  away  the  Indians,  while  he  and  his  wife 
mounted  their  own  horses  and  rode  away.  The  In- ' 
dians  managed  to  secure  two  or  three  horses  here 
and  hurried  off  to  the  south.  About  a  mile  up  Wil- 
low Creek  they  spied  Chas.  C.  Mack,  usually 
called  "Squire  Mack,"  the  father  of  Jesse  Mack, 
cutting  hay  along  the  west  bank  of  a  small 
branch  of  the  creek,  near  the  west  line  of  sec- 
tion 23,  with  a  span  of  horses  and  a  mower. 
Before  he  was  aware  the  foe  were  upon  him  and 
shot  him  dead.  The  Hindman  children,  who 
witnessed  the  tragedy  from  a  distance,  said  the 
Squire  had  quite  a  quarrel  with  the  Indians  be- 
fore he  was  shot.  The  horses  ran  a  few  rods 
until  the  mower  was  broken  and  then  were  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians.  Each  Indian  being  now 
supplied,  with  a  horse  they  galloped  off  to  the 
west.  When  they  reached  Mr.  Hindman's  house 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  section  27  of  Pleasant 
Mound,  they  stopped  and  broke  into  it  just  as 
the  children  escaped  by  a  back  door  and  hid  in 
a  slough  near  by.  Mrs.  Hindman  had  not  re- 
turned from  the  McCollum  quilting  party.  The 
Indians  ransacked  the  house  from  cellar  to  gar- 
ret ;  carried  out  the  feather  beds  and  emptied 
them  in  the  yard;  the  flour  they  threw  out  with 
the  feathers.  They  took  the  works  out  of  the 
clock  and  carried  them  off  as  jewelry.  They 
also  appropriated  whatever  suited  their  fancy, 
and   destroyed  most  of  what  they  left. 

Mr.  Hindman,  whom  we  left  making  rapid 
progress  from  the  Mack  field  after  being  thrown 
from  the  load  am'ong  the  blood  thirsty  savages,' 
fled  into  the  brush  of  Willow  Creek.  After 
following  the  head  of  the  stream  in  the  direction 
of  his  home  about  half  a  mile  he  ventured  up 
on  the  bank,  where  there  was  a  little  clearing. 
There  looking  straight  at  him  and  only  a  few 
rods  away  were  those  same  Indians.  Hindman 
was  too  much  astonished  and  out  of  breath  to  ■ 
run  so  he  and  the  Indians  stood  facing  each 
other.      One   of   the   savages    drew   a  big   knife- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


145 


and  came  straight  towards  him.  He  still  had 
his  pitchfork  and  promptly  brought  it  to  a  charg- 
ing position.  When  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
fork  tines  the  Indian  halted  and  he  and  Hind- 
man  looked  each  other  in  the  eye  for  a  few 
moments.  The  Indian  did  not  like  the  looks  of 
the  pitchfork  and  concluded  to  retreat  and  Hind- 
man  came  to  the  same  conclusion  and  after  he 
had  gotten  an  opportunity  to  start  it  did  not 
take  him  long  to  leave  that  neighborhood.  He 
lied  down  the  creek  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Mack, 
where  he  found  his  own  pony,  which  he  had  rid- 
den there  that  morning.  Mounting  him  he  made 
all  speed  to  his  home  which  he  reached  after 
sundown.  He  found  the  house  deserted  and 
plundered.  Eemounting  his  pony  he  started 
full  speed  down  the  road  for  the  McCollum  home. 
When  he  had  gone  a  little  ways  his  pony  looked 
sharply  to  one  side  and  neighed.  Hindman 
peered  in  the  direction  indicated  through  the 
twilight  and  there  not  over  300  feet  away  were 
those  Indians  again.  It  is  needless  to  say  tha.4 
the  pony  did  not  have  time  to  either  neigh  or 
look  sideways  again  for  many  miles. 

Proceeding  westward  they  next  broke  into  the 
home  of  Esv.  tsaac  Gardiner,  a  preacher  of  the 
United- Brethren  church,  who  lived  on  the  north- 
east quarter  of  section  20.  Gardiner  and  his 
family  fled  from  the  house  on  the  approach  of 
the  Indians  and  escaped  southward.  The  In- 
dians carried  off  with  them  a  lot  of  good  cloth- 
ing they  found  here  and  continued  their  re- 
treat westward. 

The  excitement  in  Shelby,  Pleasant  Mound 
and  Vernon  that  night  was  intense.  The  set- 
tlers everywhere  deserted  their  homes.  Some 
fled  to  Shelbyville;  others  to  "Vernon,  where  there 
was  a  good  stockade  built  around  the  Smith  Ho- 
tel, while  others  still  gathered  at  Mr.  Harriman's 
log  house  midway  between  the  two  villages. 
Early  next  morning  the  Shelby  militia  under 
Capt.  Phineas  Lattin,  mounted  and  armed  with 
condemned  government  muskets,  started  in  pur- 
suit of  the  Indians.  They  found  the  body  of 
Squire  Mack  and  sent  it  back  to  Vernon.  They, 
also,  found  the  Hindman  children,  hiding  in 
the  slough  hack  of  their  pillaged  home, 
where   they  had   passed   the   night.      From   here 


westward  by  Eev.  Gardiner's  house  and  beyond 
the  west  line  of  the  county,  it  was  easy  to  fol- 
low the  trail,  as  it  was  strewn  with  pillows, 
quilts  and  articles  of  clothing,  which  the  sav- 
ages had  dropped  by  the  way.  But  far  out  in 
Watonwan  County  the  trail  was  lost  and,  after 
continuing  the  pursuit  beyond  where  St.  James 
now  stands,  the  militia  returned.  This  same 
day  messengers  were  sent  to  Mankato  and  to 
Fort  Eidgely  with  news  of  the  outrage.  Capt. 
Smith  with  a  squad  of  eight  men  of  Second 
cavalry  were  dispatched  from  the  fort  at  once. 
It  is  claimed  Capt.  Smith  came  up  with  the 
Indians  late  in  the  afternoon  and  had  a  brush 
with  them;  but  they  hid  in  the  tall  grass  of 
a  lake.  As  there  were  eight  of  them,  the  cap- 
tain concluded  that  discretion  was  the  best  part 
of  valor,  so  let  them  go. 

Friday  evening  B.  D.  Pay  was  dispatched  to 
St.  Paul  as  a  special  envoy  to  Gov.  Miller  for 
military  aid.  This  same  Friday  evening  Major 
Ed.  Bradley  left  Mankato  with  a  company  of 
mounted  militia,  who  pursued  after  the  Indians 
about  125  miles,  but  failed  to  overtake  them. 
In  response  to  Mr.  Pay's  appeal  Gov.  Miller 
dispatched  twenty  men  of  Company  K,  second 
Cavalry  and  twenty  men  of  Brackett's  Battalion 
from  Fort  Snelling  to  aid  in  the  pursuit,  but 
the  Indians  had  made  good  their  escape  into  the 
Dakota  plains  long  before  their  arrival. 

Immediately  after  this  raid  companies  of 
minute  men  were  organized  all  over  the  county. 
At  Mankato  A.  M.  Collins  was  made  captain, 
.1.  C  Haupt  first  lieutenant  and  W.  J.  Duly, 
second  lieutenant  of  such  a  company.  At  Ver- 
non a  company  of  twenty-two  men  was  organized 
with  A.  D.  Mason  second  lieutenant.  At  Shel- 
byville a  lilce  company  was  formed  and  at  Gar- 
den City.  Major  Evans  suggested  the  idea  of 
getting  twenty-five  negro  hounds  to  hunt  the 
Indians  with. 

On  the  38th  of  August,  1864,  the  men  who 
had  enlisted  from  Blue  Earth  County  in  Com- 
pany C,  11th  Minn.,  Vol.,  rendezvoused  at  Man- 
kato preparatory  to  their  departure  for  Ft. 
Snelling  to  enlist.  T.  E.  Potter  of  Garden 
City  was  made  their  Captain  and  James  Can- 
non of  Mankato-  second  Lieutenant. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


CLOSING   EVENTS   OF  1864— MURDEE  OF 
THE  JEWETT  FAMILY. 


During  the  summer  of  1864  Silas  Kenworthy  of    a    great    educational   university    at    Mankato, 

and  his  sons-in-law,  H.  Mendenhall  and  Jas.  B.  had  built  him  a  large  frame  house  on  the  brow 

Swan,  began  the  erection  on  the  Blue  Earth  of  of '  the    high    bluff    overlooking   the    present    St. 

the    famous    Eapidan    Mill.      About    the    same  Joseph's  hospital  in  Mankato.     Here  he  opened 

time  C.  P.  Cook,  a  nursery  man  of  Garden  City,  a  3'oung  ladies'  seminary  on  November  1st,  1864. 

purchased   a  tract   of  land   with   a   water  power  It   was    called    ''Woodland    Seminary,"   and   mo- 

thereon  lower   down   on  the  Blue   Earth.      Here  deled   after  the  plan   of  Mt.   Holyoke  seminary, 

he  laid  out  a  townsite   called   "Eapidan,"   after  The  instructors  were  Miss  Angle  Crosby,  assistant, 

a   stream   in   Virginia    just    then    prominent   in  who    was    an    experienced    teacher,    fine    singer, 

the   operations    of    the    Army    of    the    Potomac,  good   housekeeper   and   manager;   Miss   Eliza  W. 

Thither  he   removed   much    of   his   nursery   late  Huggins   and  her  sister   Nannie,   who   had   both 

that  fall.     During  the  same  fall  a  saw  and  grist  been    in    mission    work    among    the    Sioux    and 

mill  was   fitted   up   and   put   into   operation   by  were  fine  teachers,   and  Miss  Belden,  the  music 

Aaron  Hilton  at  Winnebago  Agency.  teacher.     The  curriculum  included  besides  Eng- 

September  21st,  1864,  the  Sunday  schools  of  lish,  German  and  French,  and  the  tuition  ranged 
the  county  held  a  big  picnic  on  the  banks  of  from  $7.50  to  $13.50  per  term.  The  parlor  was 
Loon  Lake.  On  October  25th  the  first  teachers'  seated  and  desked  for  .about  forty  pupils,  the 
institute  was  held  at  the  Farmers'  Hall  in  Gar-  next  room  had  a  piano  and  was  devoted  to 
den  City,  at  which  addresses  were  made  by  Eev.  music  study.  There  were  about  twenty-five 
Jas.  Thomson,  E.  D.  B.  Porter  and  J.  G.  boarding  pupils  and  eight  or  ten  day  scholars 
Craver.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  a  list  of  in  attendance.  Each  girl  boarder  brought  her 
those  present  at  this  first  public  school  insti-  own  food  and  was  required  to  do  one  hour's 
tute,  which  is  as  follows :  Eev.  Jas.  Thomson,  work  each  day,  and  for  that  purpose  the  school 
Eev.  I.  Case,  E.  D.  B.  Porter,  Jas.  Miller,  S.  was  systematically  divided.  Two  girls  were 
C.  Clark,  Dr.  Welcome,  Lem.  Crane,  Calvin  to  prepare  breakfast,  getting  up  at  4:30  A.  M., 
Ellis,  J.  Bookwalter,  J.  E.  Edsell,  Edwin  so  the  morning  meal  could  be  served  promptly 
Craven,  Carrie  Pease,  Clara  JMcKenney,  H.  at  six  o'clock  each  morning;  two  were  to  clear 
Libbie  Millet,  Ella  Clark,  Emma  Smith,  Eliza-  the  table  and  wash  the  breakfast  dishes,  one 
beth  Friend,  Eliza  A.  Barney,  Mary  E.  Jones,  was  to  spend  her  hour  sweeping  and  dusting, 
Nettie  Hanna,  Annie  Patterson,  Carrie  Burgess,  two  prepared  dinner  and  two  washed  the  dishes 
Jennette  Conklin,  Florence  Evans,  Vernette  after  that  meal,  etc.  Father  Thomson  was  a 
Cram,  Anna  Parks,  Hattie  Eew,  Emily  Folsom,  Puritan  of  the  Puritans.  He  got  up  regularly 
Sarah  A.  Conklin,  Isabella  S.  Burgess,  Stella  at  3:30  A.  M.,  winter  and  summer,  and  all 
Sullivan,  Prudence  Degraff,  Amanda  Gail,  Addie  were  to  rise  at  5 :30  A.  M.  After  breakfast  a 
Gail,  Julia  Marvin,  Jennie  Marvin,  Ella  Wei-  half  hour  was  devoted  to  morning  worship, 
come,  A.  C.  Barney,  Secretary,  and  David  Wil-  The  girls  published  a  paper  called  the  'TVood- 
eox,  President.  land  Lighthouse,"  which  was  issued  every  two 
Father  Thomson,  whose  hobby  ever  since  he  weeks.  Miss  Huggins!  health  failing,  she  re- 
came  to   Minnesota  had  been  the  establishment  signed  after  the  first  term,   and  was   succeeded 

147 


148 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


by  Miss  Martha  T.  Eiggs,  daughter  of  the  noted 
missionary.  A  few  of  the  girls,  who  attended 
this  old-time  seminary  are  among  the  honored 
matrons  of  the  county,  and  love  to  tell  of  the 
good  old  days  when  they  attended  Woodland 
Seminary.  After  about  a  year  and  a  half 
Father  Thomson  was  obliged  to  abandon  this 
educational  project,  because  of  the  lack  of  funds 
and  the  failing  health  of  his  wife,  and  Wood- 
land Seminary  was  no  more.  The  old  building 
still  stands  on  the  brow  of  the  blufE,  now  almost 
a  ruin. 

This  year  (1864)  we  note  the  first  recorded 
attempt  to  manufacture  sorghum  in  the  coun- 
ty by  A.  J.  Crisp  of  Judson.  Doubtless, 
others  had  started  the  industry  before  this,  for 
in  the  early  sixties  it  became  quite  common  over 
the  county. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  the  grasshoppers  made 
their  appearance  in  large  numbers  in  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Cambria,  devouring  all  the  late 
crops. 

The  political  situation  in  the  fall  of  1864  was 
as  interesting  as  usual.  There  was  a  warm 
contest  in  the  Eepublican  primaries  over  the 
nomination  for  District  Judge  between  Sherman 
Finch  of  Mankato  and  Horace  Austin  of  St. 
Peter.  •  The  convention  was  held  at  St.  Peter 
and  Mr.  Austin  won  by  one  vote,  and  was 
elected  that  fall  over  Judge  Branson,  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee.  The  Eepublicans  were  again 
successful  in  Blue  Earth  County.  The  news  of 
the  re-election  of  President  Lincoln  gave  the 
Eepublicans  great  cause  for  rejoicing.  The  girls 
of  Woodland  Seminary,  being  great  admirers 
of  the  War  President,  celebrated  the  event  by  a 
grand  illumination  of  their  building,  which 
because  of  the  conspicuous  situation,  was  quite 
effective. 

Senator  Wilkinson  in  his  distribution  of  gov- 
ernment patronage  had  made  many  enemies  in 
his  own  party.  Not  one  in  ten  of  the  various 
applicants  for  office  could  receive  appointments 
and  the  nine  unsuccessful  ones  felt  ugly  towards 
him.  Then  the  Senator,  in  spite  of  his  great 
ability  and  integritj^,  had  one  very  vulnerable 
point.  He  was  addicted  to  intemperate  hab- 
its, which  drove  from  him  the  support  of 
many    of    the    best   people    of    his    party.      The 


result  was  that  he  failed  of  re-election,  and  a 
man  of  very  mediocre  ability  succeeded  him. 

Among  the  other  events  of  1864  was  the 
building  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  which  was 
first  occupied  on  November  37th,  when  the  first 
sermon  in  it  was  preached  by  Father  Thomson. 

On  March  2nd,  1865,  Mr.  L.  C.  Harrington, 
then  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  secured  the 
passage  of  a  bill  changing  the  name  of  the 
town  of  "McClelan"  to  "McPherson,"  in  honor 
of  the  noted  Union  General  of  the  Civil  War, 
and  also  changing  the  name  of  "De  Soto"  to 
"Eapidan."  The  town  of  McClelan,  being  set- 
tled largely  by  people  of  the  Democratic  faith, 
made  a  vigorous  objection  to  the  change,  but  it 
availed  not.  The  Eepublicans  were  in  the  ma- 
jority, and  party  spirit  ran  high  in  those  days. 
During  the  winter  Capt.  Hugh  G.  Owens  was 
busy  recruiting  a  company  for  Heavy  Artillery 
service  in  the  war.  In  February,  1865,  this 
company  was  mustered  in,  as   Company  F. 

On  February  24,  1865,  the  first  medical  so- 
ciety was  organized  at  the  Mankato  House  by 
the  physicians  of  Blue  Earth  and  adjoining 
counties.      The    officers    selected    were: 

President,   Dr.  W.   E.   McMahan   of  Mankato. 

Vice-President,  Dr.  A.  W.  Daniels  of  St. 
Peter. 

Secretary,  Dr.  Wm.   Frisbie  of  Mankato. 

Corresponding  Secretaries,  Drs.  Weschke  of 
New  Ulm,  and  J.  W.  B.  Welcome  of  Garden 
City. 

Comniittee  on  Constitution  and  Bylaws,  Drs. 
La  Dow  of  St.  Peter,  Frisbie  and  Zenopolski 
of  Mankato,  Welcome  of  Garden  City,  and  Fran- 
cis   of    Sterling. 

The  winter  of  1864-5  was  quite  mild,  with 
hardly  any  snow  until  March,  when  there  was 
quite  a  fall.  Between  the  snow  and  copious 
rains  the  navigation  of  the  Minnesota  was 
quite  good  in  the  spring  and  sunamer  of  1865. 
The  Mollie  Mohler  and  Julia  entered  the  river 
as  new  boats.  Other  boats  engaged  were  the 
Albany,  Mankato,  Ariel,  Stella  Whipple,  Lans- 
ing, General  Sheridan  and  others.  These  boats 
brought  up  on  their  first  trips  over  fifty  wagon 
loads  of  goods  for  Garden  City,  Vernon,  Shel- 
byville  and  other  towns  along  the  Blue  Earth, 
which  required  mnch  teaming.     The  boats  car- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


149 


ried  back  with  them  over  145,000  bushels  of 
wheat   from    Mankato   alone. 

The  public  school  teachers  of  Blue  Earth 
county  held  another  meeting  of  their  new  as- 
sociation at  Mankato  on  April  19th,  1865,  when 
the    following    officers    were    elected : 

President,    Prof.    J.    G.    Craven. 

Vice-Presidents,  E«v.  Thos.  Marshall  and  Jas. 
A.   Wiswell. 

Recording   Secretary,   Miss   Carrie   Pease. 

Cor.   Secretary,   Miss   J.   A.   Parsons. 

Treasurer,   Miss  M.   E.   Walker. 

Editor,  D.  Wilcox. 

Associate  Editors,  E.  Middlebrook,  M.  P. 
Hathaway,  Miss  E.  L.  Miller,  Miss  Anna 
Jenkins,  Miss  A.  M.  Crosby  and  Miss  A.  Per- 
rin.  About  thirty  or  forty  teachers  were  in 
attendance. 

Andrew  J.  Jewett  had  for  a  number  of 
years  been  a  prominent  citizen  of  Garden 
City,  where  for  a  time  he  had  held  the  posi- 
tion of  Postmaster.  He  was  very  active  and 
energetic  both  in  the  local  politics  of  the 
county  and  in  business.  The  previous  sum- 
mer he  had  purchased  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  thirty-three  in  Eapidan,  built  there- 
on a  neat  log  house,  and  was  living  there  with 
his  wife,  Harriet  Jewett,  their  two  year  old 
son,  William,  and  Mr.  Jewett's  parents,  Mark 
Jewett  aged  seventy-three  and  Susan  Jewett 
aged  sixty-three,  the  latter  being  an  invalid. 
With  the  family  working  at  this  time  was  a 
young  man  twenty  years  old  named  Chas. 
Taylor,  a  relative  of  the  Jewett's,  whose  father, 
Moses  Taylor,  had  been  killed  by  a  horse 
kick  the  year  before,  and  whose  widowed 
mother  lived  on  the  claim  across  the  road 
from  S.  T.  Mills  in  Garden  City.  Mr.  Jewett 
was  now  about  thirty-two  years  old  and  Mrs. 
Jewett  about  thirty,  both  in  the  prime  of  life. 
Mr.  Jewett  had  a  friend  in  the  army,  Mar- 
shall T.  Fall,  3nd  Lieut,  of  Co.  B,  Brackett's 
Battalion  of  Cavalry,  who,  about  the  first  of 
April,  1865,  sent  Mr.  Jewett  some  $500.00 
in  money  to  pay  for  a  farm  he  had  bid  off 
for  him  at  the  second  sale  of  the  Winnebago 
lands,  which  payment  it  was  expected  would 
be  demanded  soon.  It  seems  that  in  Com- 
pany A  of  the  same  regiment  was  a  half  breed 


Sioux,  named  John  L.  Campbell,  a  brother 
of  Baptiste  Campbell,  one  of  the  thirty-eight 
Indians  hung  at  Mankato  in  1862.  He  had 
got  well  acquainted  with  Lieut.  Fall,  having 
occupied  the  same  tent,  and  knew  of  his  send- 
ing the  money  to  Mr.  Jewett  and  where  the 
latter  was  living  in  Blue  Earth  County.  He 
had  always  borne  a  hard  reputation  and  was 
accused  of  two  or  three  murders  among  the 
Indians.  Soon  after  Lieut.  Fall  had  sent  the 
money,  Campbell  deserted  and  came  back  to 
Minnesota.  He  repaired  immediately  to  Ft. 
Ridgely  and  thence  went  west,  where  he  met 
among  the  hostile  bands  some  of  his  old 
Indian  and  half  breed  friends.  Five  of  these 
he  induced  to  join  him  in  a  raid  into  Blue 
Earth  County,  pretending  he  wished  to  avenge 
the  death  of  his  brother,  and  also  holding  out 
prospects  of  rich  booty  in  horses  and  goods. 
The  success  of  former  raids,  which  had  been 
made  into  the  same  locality,  was  also  pointed 
out.  Stealing  cautiously  by  the  lines  of  mili- 
tary posts,  they  arrived  near  the  Jewett  home 
on  the  evening  of  May  1st,  1865.  The  next 
morning  at  about  half  past  six  o'clock  while 
the  family  were  eating  breakfast,  the  Indians 
came  upon  them  suddenly  through  the  east 
door  of  the  cabin.  There  was  another  door  at 
the  North  end  of  the  cabin,  and  Mrs.  Jewett 
snatched  up  her  little  boy  and  dashed  out 
through  this  door,  followed  by  her  husband. 
Some  of  the  Indians  fired  upon  them  and 
]iursued  them.  Mr.  lewett  fell  within  four 
rods  of  the  house  with  a  bullet  through  ids 
breast.  The  wound  was  not  necessarily  fatal, 
but  an  Indian  immediately  struck  him  with 
his  tomahawk  over  the  right  eye  fracturing  his 
skull  and  killing  him  instantly.  His  wife 
fell  dead  in  the  path  about  eight  rods  from 
the  house  with  a  bullet  near  the  heart.  The 
little  child  was  struck  a  severe  blow  on  the 
head  and  left  on  the  ground  for  dead,  ten 
feet  from  its  mother.  Twenty  rods  north  of 
the  house,  in  a  small  ravine  in  the  timber, 
Chas.  Tyler  was  chopping.  Him  they  shot 
dead  through  the  breast  with  a  ball,  a  buckshot, 
and  an  arrow.  Mark  Jewett,  the  old  gentle- 
man had  apparently  just  pushed  his  chair 
back  from  the  table  when  he  was   shot  in   the 


150 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


forehead^  the  ball  coming  out  near  the  crown. 
An  Indian  had  then  dealt  him  two  terrible 
blows  with  his  tomahawk,  one  cut,  a  gash  five 
inches  long,  extending  from  the  top  of  the 
head  to  near  the  right  ear,  the  second  gash, 
about  an  inch  forward  of  the  other  was  about 
three  inches  long.  Mrs.  Jewett,  St.,  had  been 
tomahawked  in  bed.  One  of  the  savages  had 
struck  her  with  the  back  of  his  tomahawk  on 
the  forehead  and  nose  smashing  that  part  of 
her  head  in,  and  on  top  of  her  head,  and  on 
the  right  of  her  forehead  were  two  fright- 
ful gashes  made  by  the  blade  of  the  tomahawk. 
She  must  have  been  killed  instantly.  The  In- 
dians then  plundered  the  house  and  took  a 
horse,  which  Jewett  owned,  and  John  Camp- 
bell  secured  the  money. 

Taking  the  horse  and  other  booty  with  them 
the  Indians  went  diagonally  across  the  Rapi- 
dan  prairie  in  a  northeasterly  direction  and 
entered  the  Le  Sueur  timber  just  north  of  a 
little  ravine  on  the  Gilbert  Webster  land  in 
section  eleven,  where  they  built  a  fire  and 
cooked  their  dinner.  They  were  seen,  when 
passing  over  the  prairie,  by  a  son  of  H.  C. 
Eberhart  while  herding  sheep  and  it  may  be 
by  one  or  two  other  persons. 

Having  no  further  use  for  his  associates, 
Campbell  left  after  dinner  and  took  the  road 
for  Mankato,  evidently  intending  to  go  to  his 
mother's  home  at  Traverse  Des  Sioux.  His 
main  object  evidently  had  been  to  secure  the  money 
and  he  used  his  five  Indian  comrades  merely 
as  tools  to  help  secure  the  booty,  and  to  hide 
his  crime,  for  he  thought  the  whites,  when 
they  discovered  the  deed,  would  naturally  at- 
tribute it  to  these,  five  hostiles.  Why  he  in- 
duced his  fellow  Indians  to  make  the  timber 
and  bluffs  of  the  Le  Sueur  back  of  Mankato 
their  hiding  place,  or  under  .  what  pretext  he 
left  them  will  never  be  known.  Certainly  no 
better  hiding  place  could  be  found  in  the 
county,  and  moreover  it  was  admirably  situa- 
ted for  carrying  out  the  pretended  objects 
of  the  expedition,  to  attack  Mankato  and  steal 
horses.  It  is  quite  likely  that  the  plan  de- 
termined upon  between  Campbell  and  the 
other  Indians  was  for  him  to  go  to  Mankato 
as   a   white   man,    unarmed,    and    thus    spy    out 


the  best  way  to  make  the  attack  and,  also, 
learn  where  there  were  horses  to  steal.  Wheth- 
er Campbell  had  any  thought  of  carrying 
out  such  designs  may  well  be  doubted.  It 
probably  was  only  a  way  of  getting  rid  of  his 
Indian  allies,  now  that  his  purpose  with  them 
had  been  accomplished.  How  his  plans  were 
foiled  we  shall  see  later. 

Mr.  Harlow,  a  neighbor  of  Jewett  heard  the 
firing  about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  but 
thought  nothing  of  it  at  the  time.  About  two 
hours  later  he  went  over  to  Jewett's  home  to  bor- 
row a  wagon.  As  he  approached  the  house  he  came 
upon  Mrs.  Jewett  lying  dead  in  the  path  and 
a  few  feet  from  her  lay  the  child  unconscious, 
but  breathing.  Nearer  the  house,  but  to  one 
side  lay  A.  J.  Jewett  dead.  In  the  house  a 
fearful  sight  greeted  him.  The  elder  Jewett, 
lying  in  his  blood  on  the  floor  with  his  brains 
oozing  from  the  gashes  in  his  head,  but  still 
alive.  The  elder  Mrs.  Jewett  lying  on  the  bed 
all  covered  with  blood  and  her  head  and 
face  smashed  beyond  recognization.  The  table 
set  for  breakfast,  the  chairs  upturned,  the 
chests,  trunks,  bureaus,  cupboards  and  beds 
broken  open,  ransacked  and  contents  scattered 
over  the  floor.  The  upstairs  rooms  showing 
llie    same    ransacking    and    confusion. 

Mr.  Harlow  did  not  tarry  long  amid  these 
scenes  of  horror  and  death,  but  ran  and  told 
a  Mr.  Burgess,  and  a  messenger  was  dispatched 
immediately  to  Garden  City,  four  or  five  miles 
away,  with  news  of  the  awful  tragedy.  Maj- 
or E.  P.  Evans  was  a  brother  of  the  elder 
Mrs.  Jewett  and,  with  a  number  of  Garden 
City  citizens,  he  repaired  at  once  to  the  Jew- 
ett home,  and  the  dead  and  wounded  were 
carried  to  Garden  City.  The  elder  Mr.  Jewett 
recovered  consciousness  for  a  short  time  the 
next  morning.  He  said  there  were  five  or  six 
Indians,  in  Indian  costume,  with  guns  and 
bows  and  arrows.  He  tried  to  tell  more  but 
could  not  be  understood.  He  died  on  this 
second  day.  The  child  however,  recovered 
and  is  now  a  resident  of  Mankato.  B.  D.  Pay 
v/ho  was  then  in  the  livery  business  at  Man- 
kato, was  returning  home  that  morning  of 
May  2nd,  from  Sterling,  whither  he  had  taken 
the   Goff  family.     When   passing  not  far  from 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


151 


the  Jewett  claim  he  met  J.  T.  Williams  and 
T.  M.  Pugh  ia  a  buggy  and  shortly  after  this 
they  were  told  of  the  murder.  Turning  back 
they .  overtook  Mr.  Pay  and  informed  him  and 
then  Williams  having  the  swiftest  horse  hur- 
ried ahead  to  carry  the  news  to  Mankato. 
When  Mr.  Pay  got  near  the  north  line  of  Ea- 
pidan  he  saw,  some  distance  aiiead  of  him 
in  the  road,  a  man  walking  towards  Mankato, 
but  he  soon  disappeared  behind  a  spur  of  tim- 
ber. As  he  was  descending  the  hill  towards 
John  A.  Jones  he  saw  the  man  again  walking 
through  the  woods  parallel  with  the  road. 
When  Campbell  (for  it  was  he)  reached  John 
A.  Jones'  cabin,  he  turned  in  and  asked  for 
a  glass  of  water.  While  Mr.  Jones  was  after 
a  fresh  supply  from  a  nearby  spring,  0.  W. 
Dodge  rode  up  to  inquire  if  the  Mankato 
Company  had  just  passed,  and  was  telling 
Campbell  of  the  murder,  and  on  Jones  return 
was  relating  the  facts  to  him,  also,  when  Camp- 
bell suddenly  started  down  the  road  without  wait- 
ing for  his  glass  of  water.  This  singular  conduct, 
coupled  with  the  fact  that  he  was  three- 
fourths  Sioux  and  a  stranger  aroused  Mr. 
Jones'  suspicion  and  he  communicated  the 
same  to  Dodge  and  advised  him  to  arrest  him 
and  take  him  to  Mankato.  Dodge  turned 
back  and  putting  spurs  to  his  horse  soon  over- 
took Campbell  and,  after  asking  him  a  few 
questions,  and  receiving  evasive  answers,  drew 
his  revolver  and  put  him  under  arrest  and 
brought  him  to  Mankato.  He  was  taken  to 
the  Clifton  House,  where  a  crowd  soon  gath- 
ered and  began  plying  him  with  questions. 
He  claimed  his  named  was  Pelky,  that  he 
was  a  halfbreed  Winnebago  and  had  been 
working  for  some  farmer.  Isaac  Marks  knew 
him  well,  however,  and  told  the  people  so. 
That  his  real  name  was  John  Campbell,  and 
that  his  mother  lived  at  Traverse  des  Sioux, 
and  that  he  was  a  bad  rascal.  Campbell  de- 
nied all  this  strenuously,  and  was  such  a  good 
talker  and  appeared  to  be  so  straight  for- 
ward, that  the  people  were  inclined  to  believe 
him  at  first.  He  called  Mr.  Flower  and  Mr. 
Pay  to  one  side  and  told  them  he  would  show 
them  some  Indians  if  they  would  go  with  him. 
He   was    finally    lodged    in    the    county    jail    to 


await  developments.  Deputy  sheriff,  John  Lor- 
ing,  in  the  excitement,  neglected  to  search  him 
when  putting  him  in  the  cell. 

A  few  Mankato  citizens  began  investigating 
some  of  Campbell's  stories  and  found  many  of 
ithem  contradictory  and  false.  That  night 
a  few  persons  took  him  out  of  the  jail,  put  a 
noose  about  his  neck  and  tried  by  torture  to 
force  confession  out  of  him,  but  it  did  not 
avail,  as  his  Indian  nature  was  proof  against 
any  torture  that  might  be  applied.  They  then 
searched  his  clothing  and  found  in  his  pocket 
a  lady's  white  handkerchief,  with  the  corner, 
where  the  initial  of  the  name  would  naturally 
be,  cut  off  and  the  towel  still  wet  and  having 
some  blood  on  it.  A  piece  of  soap,  a  pair  of 
Chippeway  moccasins,  a  plug  of  tobacco,  an 
old  Jackknife  and  $5.00  in  greenbacks  were 
also,  found.  It  was  also  discovered  that  he  had 
two  pairs  of  ladies  white  wool  hose  on  his  feet, 
and  a  pair  of  gents  shoes  that  were  not  the 
best  fit.  They  also  discovered  that  he  had  on 
a  broadcloth  coat  and  a  pair  of  new  pants. 
These  items  of  clothing  were  made  into  a  bun- 
dle and  sent  that  night  by  the  hand  of  B.  D. 
Pay  to  Garden  City  to  be  inspected  by  the 
relatives  of  the  Jewett  family.  Mr.  Pay  stop- 
ped first  at  the  Tyler  home  at  the  outlet  ol 
Mills  Lake.  Eva  Tyler,  sister  of  the  young 
man  who  had  just  been  murdered  with  the 
Jewetts,  had  been  working  for  the  Jewetts 
until  two  days  before,  and  was  very  familiar 
with  their  clothing.  She  described  the  coat 
before  seeing  it  and  her  description  tallied  ex- 
actly, even  to  a  certain  small  triangular  rent 
ou  the  sleeve,  which  has  been  darned,  and 
when  the  coat  was  shown  her  she  identified 
it  at  once  as  the  one  her  uncle,  Julius  Jewett, 
had  brought  with  him  from  Boston  and  given 
to  his  father,  the  elder  Jewett.  She  also  rec- 
ognized the  pants  as  the  same  her  uncle  had 
bought  at  Slocum's  store  in  Garden  City  and 
given  to  his  father  but  which  he  had  never 
^','orn.  The  stockings  she  identified  as  exactly  like 
what  Grandma  Jewett  wore,  the  shoes  were 
just  like  the  pair  her  uncle,  A.  J.  Jewett,  wore, 
and  the  towel  exactly  like  one  of  the  Jewett 
towels,  but  she  remembered  no  special  marks  on 
these  articles.     Mr.  Pay  then  went  on  to  Garden 


152 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


City  where  Mrs.  E.  P.  Evans  identified  both  coat 
and  shoes  and  Mrs.  Benjamin  Evans  recognized 
the  coat,  shoes,  and  both  pairs  of  stockings. 
Andrew  had  been  over  to  their  house  the  Sun- 
day before  and  she  had  joked  him  about  wear- 
ing his  brother's  coat  and  having  such  square 
shoes.  The  pants  she,  also,  identified  as  the 
new  pair  bought  for  Jewett,  Sr.,  and  the  stock- 
ings belonged  to  Grandma  Jewett,  one  pair  of 
which,  Mrs.  Evans  recognized  as  having  been 
knit  by  the  old  lady,  when  on  a  visit  to  her  home. 
The  clothing  having  been  positively  identified  as 
belonging  to  the  Jewett  family,  Mr.  Pay  returned 
to  Mankato  by  morning  with  his  report.  During 
this  same  night,  while  Pay  was  at  Garden  City, 
Peter  Kelley,  a  frontierman,  arrived  at  Man- 
kato from  Eed  Wood  and  said  Louis  Eoberts, 
the  old  Sioux  trader  and  steamboat  man,  had 
sent  word  that  Scott  Campbell,  a  halfbreed 
Sioux  trapper,  had  told  him,  that  his  brother, 
John  Campbell,  was  heading  a  marauding  band 
of  Indians  to  steal  horses  and  attack  Mankato 
and  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  them.  Kelly  knew 
John  Campbell  well  and  was  at  once  taken  to 
the  jail  and  immediately  identified  him.  Camp- 
bell now  saw  he  could  not  hide  his  identity  any 
longer  and  admitted  that  he  was  John  Campbell 
and  not  Pelky,  and  that  Scott  Campbell  was  his 
brother  and  that  his  mother  lived  at  Traverse 
des  Sioux,  near  Myrick's  store.  Next  morning 
when  he  found  that  the  clothing  too  had  been 
identified  he  told  a  new  story  to  the  effect,  that 
he  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  a  band  of  In- 
dians, while  out  near  Pt.  Wadsworth,  on  the 
Dakota  line.  He  said  there  were  nine  bands  of 
them,  and  he  gave  the  number  and  leader  of 
each  band.  That  they  came  down  to  the  Blue 
Earth  river  the  day  before.  That  about  noon 
that  day  near  the  Jones'  ford  on  the  Blue 
Earth  a  number  of  Indians,  who  had  been  away 
from  the  rest  since  the  night  before,  took  his 
own  clothes  away  from  him  and  gave  him  in- 
stead the  clothes  he  had  on.  That  these  In- 
dians were  now  hiding  in  the  woods  of  the  Le 
Sueur  back  of  Mankato.  That  he  had  managed 
that  afternoon  to  escape  from  them,  but  knew 
nothing  of  any  murder. 

The    excitement    at    Mankato,     Garden     City 
and  all  over  the  county  was  now  intense.     The 


identification  of  the  clothing  and  the  contradic- 
tory statements  made  by  Campbell  made  it  cer- 
tain to  everybody  that  he  was  one  of  the  mur- 
derers. Early  Wednesday  morning  the  people 
from  Garden  City,  South  Bend  and  all  the 
surrounding  country  came  pouring  into  Mankato 
until  a  crowd  of  800  men  had  gathered  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Mankato  House  and  the  jail  and 
it  was  evident  from  the  temper  of  the  mob  that 
there  was  to  be  a  lynching.  Speeches  were  made 
by  Daniel  Buck,  J.  A.  Willard,  Eev.  Adams  and 
others  on  the  street  corners.  Some  advised 
strongly  against  lynching  and  wanted  the  law 
to  take  its  course  in  the  matter,  others  made 
fiery  speeches  in  favor  of  hanging  the  murderer 
at  once.  He  had  showed  no  mercy  to  the 
Jewett  family,  why  should  any  be  shown  him? 
These  sentiments  seemed  to  please  the  great  ma- 
jority and  cries  of,  "Hang  the  villain."  "Get 
the  rope  ready"  were  heard  everywhere.  There 
was  a  general  impression  among  the  people 
at  that  time  that  Gen.  Sibley  sympathized  with 
the  Indians,  and  fears  were  entertained  that, 
when  he  heard  of  the  arrest  of  Campbell,  he 
would  send  the  military  and  take  him  to  Pt. 
Snelling  or  elsewhere  and  that  there  was  a 
chance  of  his  escaping  the  gallows  like  most  of 
•the  other  condemned  Indians.  Col.  B.  P.  Smith, 
who  was  in  command  of  the  militia  of  Blue 
Earth  County,  in  a  speech  declared  he  would 
not  tolerate  any  lynching.  That  the  accused 
must  be  regularly  tried  and  convicted  of  murder 
by  a  jury  before  he  could  be  hanged.  The 
crowd  would  brook  no  delay  and  were  afraid 
Gen.  Sibley's  soldiers  would  appear  on  the 
scene  any  moment  and  carry  off  the  prisoner.  As 
a  compromise  it  was  suggested  to  give  him  a 
jury  trial  at  once.  A  meeting  of  the  citizens 
was  called  to  convene  on  the  Court  House  block 
immediately  after  dinner.  There  was  an  im- 
mense concourse  present.  A  court  was  improv- 
ished  with  S.  F.  Barney  as  Judge,  J.  A.  Willard 
prosecuting  attorney,  and  0.  0.  Pitcher  attor- 
ney for  the  defendant.  A  jury  -was  chosen 
composed  of  the  following  persons:  E.  K.  Bangs, 
Edward  Nickerson,  N.  Woloben,  D.  S.  Law, 
Abel  Keene,  Wm.  Funk,  A.  Tyler,  Chas.  Wag- 
ner, A.  T.  Noble,  J.  C.  Haupt,  A.  Thompson 
and  E.  H.  Smith.     The  session  was  held  in  the 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COTTNTY. 


153 


open  air  about  where  the  present  county  court 
house  stands.  The  prisoner  was  brought  be- 
fore his  tribunal  and  plead  "Not  Guilty." 
His  statement  in  brief  was  as  follows: 
He  knew  nothing  of  the  killing  of  the  Jew- 
etts.  He  had  been  taken  prisoner  on  the  Sioux 
Coteau  by  hostile  Indians  and  compelled  to 
go  with  them.  That  they  came  down  and  cross- 
ed the  Blue  Earth  River  about  three  miles 
above  the  ford  of  J.  A.  Jones  on  Monday  night 
(May  1),  a  party  of  16  in  all,  where  they  camp- 
ed all  night.  At  daybreak  on  Tuesday  (May 
2nd)  three  Indians  started  down  the  river,  five 
of  them  went  in  the  direction  of  where  a  mill  is 
being  built  on  the  river,  and  the  remaining  seven 
started  in  an  easterly  direction  towards  the  prairie. 
That  he  got  away  from  them  and  came  down 
the  river  to  Jones'  ford,  which  he  reached  in 
the  afternoon.  Before  he  could  get  across, 
the  seven  Indians,  who  had  gone  east  towards  the 
Eapidan  prairie,  came  upon  him  and  gave  him 
a  pair  of  pants,  a  coat  and  a  pair  of  shoes, 
which  they  compelled  him  to  put  on.  It  was  a 
halfbreed  named  Henry  Roy,  who  gave  him  the 
pants  and  coat  and  a  brother  of  standing  Buf- 
falo the  shoes.  Roy  was  the  only  halfbreed 
among  them.  There  are  nine  different  bands, 
numbering  five  to  sixteen  in  each  band,  all 
headed  for  the  Blue  Earth  river  with  intent  to 
attack  Mankato  from  the  rear  and  to  steal 
horses.  They  made  him  do  all  their  work  and  used 
him  badly,  and  Tuesday  morning  was  the  first 
opportunity  he  had  to  escape.  They  had  been 
eight  days  on  the  way.  Had  not  heard  of  tli& 
murder  until  Dodge  told  him  of  it  yesterday. 
He  had  enlisted  in  Co.  D,  3rd  Minn.  Infantry, 
and  afterwards  in  Co.  A  Braekett's  Battalion, 
and  had  served  nearly  three  years  in  all.  Ad- 
mitted he  had  deserted  from  the  army  and  was 
trying  to  get  to  Traverse  des  Sioux.  He  knew 
ihe  clothing  must  have  been  stolen  by  the  In- 
dians. 

The  prosecution  showed  the  conflicting  state- 
ments Campbell  had  made.  The  night  before 
he  had  not  seen  an  Indian  for  over  a  year,  that 
his  name  was  Pelky,  and  that  he  was  a  half 
brother  of  John  Pelky  of  Winnebago  Agency, 
that  he  had  clerked  for  H.  M.  Rice  and  others 
at   Long    Prairie,    and    many    other    statements, 


which  were  false  in  every  particular.  The 
clothes  were  fully  identified  as  belonging  to  the 
murdered  family.  The  Judge  charged  the  jury 
directing  them  to  give  the  prisoner  the  bene- 
fit of  every  reasonable  doubt.  The  jury  then 
retired  and  in  half  an  hour  brought  in  a  ver- 
dict of  guilty,  with  a  recommendation  that  the 
prisoner  be  tried  again  at  the  regular  term  of 
the  District  Court,  which  would  convene  in 
about  two  weeks.  Mr.  Bangs  as  foreman  of  the 
Jury  made  a  strong  plea  for  the  recommenda- 
tion. 

The  crowd  had  the  rope  with  them  ready, 
and  had  waited  thus  long  with  much  impatience. 
There  was,  however,  a  respectable  minority, 
who  were  in  favor  of  the  recommendation  and 
opposed  to  lynching.  They  tried  to  hold  the 
others  in  check.  But  the  personal  friends  of 
Mr.  Jewett,  and  especially  those  who  had  been 
out  and  witnessed  the  horrors  of  the  murder, 
were  furious  for  immediate  vengeance  and  with 
shouts  of,  "Hang  him,"  from  hundreds  of 
throats  they  made  a  rush  for  the  prisoner  and 
began  dragging  him  toward  a  basswood  tree, 
which  had  a  convenient  limb,  and  which  stood 
near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  courthouse 
square.  The  friends  of  law  and  order  grabbed 
the  prisoner,  also,  to  take  him  to  the  jail.  There 
was  a  wild  tumultuous  time  for  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes,  one  party  pulling  and  struggling  to 
get  Campbell  towards  the  jail  and  the  other 
party  dragging  and  pushing  towards  the  tree 
about  300  feet  away.  It  was  a  fierce  struggle 
between  determined  men.  Guns,  revolvers  and 
knives  were  drawn.  For  a  time  it  looked  like 
bloodshed  between  the  two  factions.  The  hang- 
ing party,  being  the  most  numerous,  were  finally 
successful,  and  seeing  that  resistance  was  useless 
tlie  law  and  order  party  desisted  for  fear  of  a 
worse  riot.  A  wagon  belonging  to  Geo.  Lam- 
berton  of  Garden  City  stood  near  by.  This 
was  run  under  the  tree,  the  prisoner  hustled  in- 
to it,  a  rope  adjusted  about  his  neck,  the  other 
end  tied  to  the  limb  above,  and  the  wagon 
pulled  away.  In  their  haste  they  had  forgotten 
to  tie  the  culprits  hands  and  he  grabbed  the 
rope  above  his  head  and  began  to  call  lustily 
for  a  priest.  The  wagon  was  pushed  back  un- 
der  the   poor   wretch.      Father    Sommereisen    el- 


154 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


bowed  his  way  through  the  crowd  and  climbing 
into  the  wagon  requested  a  few  minutes  to  talk 
and  pray  with  liim.  This  was  reluctantly 
granted  and  the  good  father  employed  the  mo- 
ments given  him  in  prayer  and  religious  con- 
verse with  the  doomed  man^,  speaking  with  him 
in  French.  His  hands  having  been  securely 
pinioned  and  the  time  having  expired,  the  wagon 
was  again  pulled  from  under  the  victim  and  he 
was  hanged. 

In  about  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  Dr.  Zeno- 
polsky  pronounced  him  dead.  Father  Sommerei- 
sen  took  the  body,  and  in  accordance  vrith 
Campbeirs  last  request,  sent  it  to  his  mother  at 
Traverse  des  Sioux  for  burial. 

The  murderer  had  also  told  the  worthy  fath- 
er where  to  find  a  roll  of  money,  which  he  had 
hid  in  the  bedding  of  his  bunk  at  the  jail.  About 
$470  was  found,  evidently  the  booty  for  which 
he  had  committed  the  awful  murders,  and  which 
finally  brought  him  to  his  terrible  doom. 

This  was  the  first  and  only  instance  of  lynch- 
ing in  Blue  Earth  County,  and  that  there 
was  great  provocation,  which  in  those  days  of 
blood,  seemed  to  demand  speedy  punishment  for 
so  heinous  and  horrible  a  crime,  must  be  ad- 
mitted. Yet  the  ends  of  justice  would  have  been 
much  better  served  if  the  recommendation  of 
the  jury  had  been  heeded. 

While  these  scenes  were  being  enacted  on  the 
Court  House  square  quite  a  difEerent  scene  was 
transpiring  in  the  Presbyterian  church  just  one 
block  away.  Here  on  this  very  day  a  synod  of 
that  denomination  was  being  held,  and  in  it 
another  halfbreed  Sioux  was  being  ordained  to 
the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  This  was 
Eev.  John  B.  Eenville,  who  from  that  day  to 
this  has  been  a  faithful,  consistent  follower  of 
the  Christ,  and  an  earnest  able  preacher  of  his 
gospel.  At  the  opening  of  the  synod,  Monday 
night,  Dr.  Williamson  in  his  sermon  had  dwelt 
at  some  length  upon  the  wrongs  done  to  the 
Indians.  His  words  were  true  and  well  meant, 
but,  as  it  happened,  inopportune.  The  next 
morning  occurred  the  Jewett  murders,  followed  by 
the  arrest  of  John  Campbell,  and  on  Wednesday 
the  excited  populace  thronged  the  streets  of  Man- 
kato  thirsting  for  vengeance.  Garbled  extracts 
of  the  sermon  were  talked   over  by  the  rabble 


and  false  reports  circulated  to  the  effect  that  the 
Indians,  who  murdered  the  Jewetts,  had  come 
down  from  Dakota  with  Dr.  Williamson.  All 
manner  of  wild  and  lying  rumors  about  the  good 
old  man  were  told  upon  the  street,  and 
the  mob  were  beginning  to  cry  that  they 
would  hang  Dr.  Williamson,  too.  Before  din- 
ner a  committee  of  three  prominent  Mankato 
citizens  went  to  the  church,  and  calling  the  good 
old  missionary  to  the  door,  explained  the  sit- 
uation, and  advised  him  to  leave  town  at  once. 
The  grapd,  innocent,  kind  hearted  old  doc- 
tor thanked  the  committee,  left  the  meeting 
and  mounting  his  pony  hurried  to  his  home  at 
St.   Peter. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  murder 
Major  Evans  organized  a  mounted  posse  at 
Garden  City  to  pursue  the  Indians.  Joseph  Dil- 
ley,  G«o.  Heaton  and  Mr.  Travis  were  members. 
They  found  where  they  had  crossed  the  Maple 
liver,  and  where  they  had  cooked  one  or  two 
meals.  An  Indian  blanket,  a  buffalo  roTae,  and 
some  flour  were  found  on  the  trail.  The  posse 
camped  that  Tuesday  night  on  the  trail.  The 
next  morning  they  found  where  the  Indians  had 
crossed  the  Le  Sueur  and  two  or  three  of  them 
had  gone  down  the  river  and  the  others  up  the 
stream.  So  rugged  and  wild  was  the  country 
and  so  dense  the  forest,  brush  and  vines  that 
further  pursuit  on  horseback  was  impossible  be- 
sides being  foolhardy,  and  the  company  returned 
home.  Mr.  Stratton  and  other  settlers  of  Eapi- 
dan  engaged  to  some  extent,  also,  in  the  search. 
Within  an  hour  after  the  news  reached  Mankato 
on  Tuesday  afternoon,  Maj.  Clark  started  for 
Garden  City  with  twenty  mounted  men,  and 
picketed  the  road  from  the  village  to  Eush 
Lake  all  night.  Militia  men  from  South  Bend, 
formed  a  line  of  pickets  from  Le  Huillier  to 
join  Maj.  Clark's  line.  Lieut.  Mason,  in  com- 
mand of  the  Vernon  Militia,  established  a  pick- 
et line  from  Vernon  Center  to  Garden  City. 
The  Militia  of  Sterling  and  Mapleton  formed 
a  long  skirmish  line  and  combed  the  timber 
and  brush  bordering  the  Maple  river  almost 
to  its  mouth. 

Saturday,  May  6th,  a  detachment  of  Company 
F,  2nd  Cavalry  in  command  of  a  sergeant,  went 
from  Mankato  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians.  They 

\ 


^  ^  ST.CLAIR.GOODTHUNDeR'"'«>BeLLei'ietD--  1 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


155 


followed  the  trail  from  near  the  Jewett  home 
across  the  Maple  and  a  strip  of  Prairie  between 
it  and  the  Mouth  of  the  Big  Cobb.  The  remains 
of  a  cow  and  sheep  were  discovered  which  the 
Indians  had  killed  for  food.  The  soldiers  camp- 
ed on  the  trail  Saturday  night,  and  Sunday 
morning  they  discovered  the  Indian  camp 
on  the  Le  Sueur  river  about  two  miles 
from  their  own.  Continuing  the  pursuit  up 
tJie  Le  Sueur  through  the  rough  land  and  dense 
forest  and  brush  one  soldier,  named  James  Jol- 
ley,  who  was  a  little  in  advance  of  his  com- 
rades, saw  an  Indian,  who  shot  at  him.  He  re- 
turned the  fire  and  the  Indian  apparently  fell. 
When  the  spot  was  reached  a  large  pack  of 
cooked  meat  was  found  but  no  Indian.  He  pro- 
bably had  merely  dropped  to  the  ground  to 
avoid  the  bullets  and  sneaked  away.  The  trail 
■H'as  followed  about  two  hours  up  along  the  river 
bank.  When  searching  for  it  in  a  bend  of  the 
river,  the  soldiers  were  fired  upon  from  the  op- 
posite bank.  They  returned  the  fire  and  saw 
a  number  of  Indians  skulking  behind  trees. 
The  Indians  fired  another  volley  and  this  time 
a  ball  hit  James  JoUey  in  the  left  breast,  just 
above  the  heart.  He  fell  from  his  horse  and 
raising  himself  partly  from  the  ground,  said, 
"Boys,  I  am  shot,"  and  then  fell  back  dead. 
The  soldiers  now  withdrew  from  their  exposed 
position  to  a  nearby  thicket  and  the  Indians 
fled  further  up  the  river.  The  death  of  their 
comrade  discouraged  the  soldiers  and,  picking 
up  his  body,  they  strapped  it  upon  his  horse  and 
brought  it  back  to  Mankato. 

This  same  day  a  company  of  volunteers  from 
Mankato  and  Winnebago  Agency  were  picketed 
along  the  Mankato  and  Agency  Eoad.  They 
heard  the  firing  down  the  Le  Sueur  between  the 
soldiers  and  Indians  and  knew  from  the  sound 
that  the  latter  were  coming  towards  them.  Some 
of  them  got  scared  and  left,  and  the  savages  passed 
up  through  their  line.  Just  across  the  Le  Sueur 
on  the  Agency  road  was  the  cabin  of  A.  Mc- 
Carthy. Mrs.  George  Bennett  with  her  ten 
year  old  son,  Frank  York,  had  brought  some 
food  to  the  McCarthy  house  for  the  volunteers. 
B.  D.  Pay  had  been  to  the  Agency  with  a 
message  from  Judge  Buck,  and  on  his  return 
wanted  to  know   where   a   certain   squad,   which 


had  been  stationed  near  ]\leCarthy's  place,  was. 
The  York  boy  had  mounted  one  of  the  horses 
belonging  to  the  men  and  was  riding  it  around. 
He  offered  to  guide  jMr.  Pay  and  started  along 
a  path,  which  led  east  of  the  house  through 
some  brush  to  a  tract  of  lo-w  land.  When  descend- 
ing a  short  hill  to  this  valley,  they  saw  a  man, 
dressed  like  a  white  man,  walking  through 
some  brush  and,  mistaking  him  for  one  of  the 
militia.  Mr.  Pay  hollered  to  him  to  come  up 
there.  The  man  answered  in  English  with  a 
French  accent  and  as  he  turned  Pay  saw 
he  was  an  Indian  or  halfbreed  and  wheeled  his 
horse  round  and  galloped  back.  The  Indians 
fired  a  volley  at  them  and  the  boy's  horse  fell 
dead.  The  boy,  after  falling  with  his  horse, 
jumped  up  and  ran  back  some  twenty  rods  to 
the  house  and  at  the  door  fell  into  his  moth- 
er's arms  and  expired.  A  charge  of  buckshot 
had  passed  through  his  body. 

It  was  now  getting  towards  dusk  and  further 
pursuit  was  abandoned  that  night.  The  Indians, 
disappointed  and  mystified  by  the  failure  of 
Campbell  to  return  and,  knowing  that  their 
biding  place  had  been  discovered,  concluded  it 
was  high  time  for  them  to  escape.  To  this  end 
tliey  tried  on  Monday  night.  May  8th,  to  secure 
some  horses. 

On  this  evening  H.  C.  Howard,  who  resided 
on  his  farm  on  the  south  bank  of  Loon 
Lake,  took  his  family  to  Garden  City,  where 
there  was  a  log  fort  for  safety.  A  young  man 
named  Eobert  Johnson,  from  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
was  staying  with  the  Howards  at  this  time.  He 
came  with  them  to  Garden  City,  but  not  being 
able  to  find  any  place  to  sleep,  except  on  the 
fioor,  he  concluded  to  return  to  the  Howard 
home,  as  he  did  not  think  there  were  any  In- 
dians around  any  way.  When  he  reached  the 
house  he  was  surprised  to  find  the  cattle  running 
loose  in  the  door  yard.  He,  also,  heard  the 
colt  in  the  stable  call  for  its  mother,  who  an- 
swered it  from  down  by  the  lake  shore.  Some- 
thing was  wrong,  for  everything  had  been 
safely  shut  up  when  they  left.  It  was  a  moon- 
light night.  He  went  into  the  house  and  got 
his  gun,  and  then  went  to  the  barn  and  let  the 
colt  out.  It  seemed  greatly  excited  and  scared 
and  kept  close  to  Johnson,  as  he  walked  through 


156 


HISTORY  OP  BLtJE  EARTH  COtTNTY. 


the  grove  toward  where  he  could  still  hear 
the  mare  whining  for  the  colt.  When  he  got  to 
a  little  rise  of  ground,  where  he  could  see  down 
tlie  lake  front,  he  saw  a  man  trying  to  lead  tlin 
mare  over  a  ditch  or  small  creek.  She  was  un- 
willing to  go  and  pulling  back.  Without  realizing 
ills  danger  Johnson  walked  straight  toward  the 
man  and  shouted  to  him.  The  Indian  (for  such 
he  proved  to  be,)  seeing  Johnson's  gun,  dropped 
the  halter  and  ran  behind  an  oak  tree  about  fifty 
feet  away.  Johnson  jumped  on  the  mare  and, 
as  he  started  back,  he  glanced  behind  toward 
the  tree  and  saw  the  barrel  of  a  gun,  pointed 
toward  him,  glisten  in  the  moonlight.  He  rais- 
ed his  own  gun  instantly,  and  the  Indian  and 
he  fired  simultaneously.  Two  or  three  other 
Indians,  who  were  hiding  behind  trees,  also 
fired  at  him,  and  one  bullet  struck  his  hand. 
Mounted  on  the  frightened  mare  it  did  not  take 
Johnson  long  to  get  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
Indian  guns,  nor  did  he  stop  until  in  Garden 
C'ity.  It  was  now  midnight,  but  the  news  he 
brought  soon  woke  up  the  people  and  there  was 
much  excitement.  As  there  were  two  or  three  fam- 
ilies staying  at  their  homes  that  night  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Loon  Lake,  it  was  feared  they  might  be 
murdered.  A  mounted  posse  composed  of  H.  C. 
Howard,  E.  P.  Evans  and  three  or  four  others 
volunteered  to  go  to  their  rescue  at  once.  They 
found  them  safe  and  unmolested,  the  Indians 
having  retreated  from  the  Howard  farm  east- 
ward to  the  Blue  Earth  river  timber.  The  same 
night  the  Indians  attempted  to  steal  the  horses 
of  Carl  Just  in  Rapidan,  but  before  they  reached 
the  barn  their  presence  was  discovered  by  two 
fierce  dogs.  The  appearance  of  Mr.  Just  with 
a  gun  together  with  the  angi-y  barking  of  the 
dogs  finally  scared  the  tliieves  away.  This 
same  Monday,  Major  Clark,  with  a  large  posse 
from  Mankato,  had  been  scouring  the  woods 
of  the  Le  Sueur  in  the  vicinity  of  where  Mr. 
JoUey  was  shot.  The  Indians  saw  that  mat- 
ters were  getting  critical  and  that  the  sooner 
they  got  away  the  better  for  them.  Two  of 
them  managed  to  steal  a  couple  of  horses  in 
Shelby  township  and  by  daybreak  Tuesday  they 
started  across  the  vast  prairies  for  their  fast- 
nesses in  the  far  off  Turtle  Mountains.     They 


had  no  fear  but  they  could  elude  the  white  sol- 
diers, stationed  in  the  frontier  forts  and  there- 
fore journeyed  leisurely.  But  since  they  came 
down  to  the  settlements,  something  had  hap- 
pened that  they  did  not  know  about.  For  three 
years  it  had  been  clearly  demonstrated,  that  a 
line  of  forts  along  the  frontier  with  a  squad  of 
soldiers,  galloping  on  their  horses  back  and 
forth  between  them,  about  once  a  day,  was  no 
protection  whatever  from  Indian  raids.  The 
wily  savages  could  crawl  undetected  under  the 
very  shadow  of  these  fortresses. 

Maj.  Joseph  R.  Brown,  Gen.  Sibley  and  Maj. 
Robert  D.  Rose  had  in  their  charge  a  large 
number  of  friendly  Indians  and  halfbreeds  and 
appreciated  fully  their  value  as  scouts  in  hunting 
other  Indians.  After  repeated  recommendations, 
the  government  at  last  gave  heed  to  their  advice. 
Accordingly  in  the  Fall  of  1864  Major  Brown 
was  authorized  to  enlist  as  many  of  these  In- 
dians as  he  saw  fit  into  the  government  service. 
Joseph  Renville  was  appointed  chief  of  scouts 
under  Maj.  Brown,  and  was  to  make  monthly 
reports  to  Maj.  R.  D.  Rose,  a  commandant  of 
Ft.  Wadsworth.  In  the  spring  of  1865  a 
number  of  lines  of  these  scouts  were  put  along 
the  frontier.  One  of  these  extended  from  the 
Shyenne  River  to  the  James  river  and  had  seven 
stations  in  it,  each  station  having  from  twelve 
to  fifteen  scouts  in  it.  At  one  of  these  stations, 
was  a  scout,  who  was  thereafter  called;  "One 
Armed  Jim,"  and  the  incident  which  gave  him 
the  name  is  connected  with  the  Jewett  murder. 
About  the  17th,  of  May,  1865,  Jim  mountd  his 
pony  and  started  on  a  scouting  trip  after  din- 
ner. It  was  a  bright  clear  day  with  a  gentle 
breeze  from  the  south  east.  He  had  only  gone 
n  mile  or  two  from  camp,  when  his  pony  began 
to  act  strangely.  Jim  at  once  concluded  that 
there  must  be  literally,  "something  in  the  wind." 
Tethering  his  pony  behind  a  small  knoll  and 
plaiting  a  wreath  of  grass  for  his  own  head,  he 
crawled  cautiously  to  the  top  and  scanned  the 
prairies  carefully  for  a  time  toward  the  south 
east  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  He  soon 
caught  sight  of  small  herds  of  buffalo  moving 
westward,  having  evidently  been  disturbed  by 
the  scent  of  human  beings  to  the  eastward.  It 
was   th.e   smell    of   the  buffalo,   which   had   dis- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY.  157 

turbed  his  pony.     But  what  interested  Jim  was,  the  young  bucks   of  the  warlike  Dakotahs,   sud- 

who  had  disturbed  the  bufEalo.     So  he  kept  his  denly   became    very   unpopular    and    soon    ceased 

eye  fixed  in  the  direction  they  were  moving  from,  altogether  and  forever. 

At  last  he   caught   sight   of   five   horsemen    ap-  On  May  17,  1865,  the  Board  of  County  Com- 

proaching  along  the  distant  foot  hills.     He  con-  missioners  of  Blue  Earth  county  passed  a  reso- 

cluded  they  must  be  hostiles  returning  from   a  lution  offering  a  bounty  of  $200  for  every  hos- 

raid    and,    crawling    cautiously    back    from    the  tile   Indian   scalp  taken  in  Blue   Earth   County, 

top  of  the  knoll,  he  took  his  little  pocket  mir-  which    barbaroiis    resolution    continued    in    force 

ror  and  made  signals  with  it  in  the  sun  to  his  until    March    19,    IST?,    when    it    was    repealed. 

Indian  comrades.     It  was  not  long  before  three  The  county,  however,  was  never  called  upon  to 

of  them   responded.     The   four   selected    a   spot  make  good  its  offer. 

where  the  trail,  after  crossing  a  small  swale,  The  killing  of  his  relatives  and  the  failure 
iiseended  out  of  it  through  a  small  gully  and  of  the  militia  and  military  to  apprehend  the 
concealed  themselves  in  some  grass,  which  grew  murderers,  though  they  skulked  around  the 
a  trifle  taller  than  elsewhere  in  an  angle  of  the  neighborhood  for  a  full  week,  induced  Maj.  E. 
gully.  No  one  knows  better  than  an  Indian  p_  Evans  to  push  his  scheme  of  getting  blood- 
how  to  form  a  good  ambush.  With  a  fillet  of  hounds  from  the  south,  with  which  to  hunt 
grass  on  his  head  and  a  string  of  grass  down  his  prowling  Indians.  On  May  27,  the  representa- 
back,  he  can  lay  on  the  prairie  and  be  so  con-  tives  of  four  counties  met  at  Mankato  to  dis- 
formed  in  color  and  appearance  to  his  surround-  cuss  the  project  and  take  action  with  reference 
ings,  that  one  might  pass  within  a  few  feet  and  to  it.  Those  present  were  Andrew  Hanna  of 
never  suspect  his  presence.  In  due  time  the  five  Blue  Earth  County,  John  Castor  of  Brown,  Mr. 
hostiles  came  without  a  suspicion  of  danger  di-  Furber  of  Watonwan  and  A.  L.  Ward  of  Mar- 
rectly  into  the  trap  laid  for  them.  Instantly  at  tin.  It  was  concluded  to  procure  bloodhounds 
a  given  signal  the  four  scouts  Jumped  to  their  and  eacli  county  appropriated  for  the  purpose 
feet  with  a  war  whoop  and  fired  at  close  range,  the  following  amounts: 
Three   of   the   hostiles    fell    dead    and   the   other 

,  T    -,  .,    „  1        ,,     ■      ,  Blue    Earth     .$500.00 

two  were  wounded  and  thrown  by  their  horses,     ixartin     400. 00 

One  of  these    two   was    quickly   dispatched,   but     Brown     200.00 

i.1         , ,  .,,     T-  11-11  1  -1  T  Wa.tomvan      200 . 00 

the  otlier,  with  Jim  at  his  heels,  ran  like  a  deer 

to  a  pony,  which  had  been  tethered  by  one  of  E.  P.  Evans  was  appointed  an  agent  to  go 
the  scouts  near  by.  As  the  hostile  was  mount-  south  and  buy  the  dogs.  He  started  on  June 
ing  the  pony  Jim  fired  at  him,  but  in  the  excite-  1st,  and  at  St.  Paul  Gov.  Miller  gave  him  $100 
ment  he  had  overloaded  his  gun  and  it  exploded,  for  the  enterprise,  and  "The  Press"  $.50,  and 
blowing  off  his  hand  and  shattering  his  arm  so  it  a  few  other  prominent  citizens  contributed  like 
liad  to  be  amputated.  The  mare  and  colt  belonging  amounts.  The  Major  spent  three  months  and 
toMr.  Jewett  were  recovered  here  and  a  lot  of  traveled  1500  miles,  but  could  not  find  a  single 
silverware  bearing  Jewett's  initials  and  some  cloth-  bloodhound.  He  finally  managed  to  get  thir- 
ing  which  had  been  stolen  from  the  Jewett  teen  fox  hounds,  with  a  little  blood  hound  blood 
™™^-  in  two  or  three  of  them.  Six  of  these  he  sent 
So  of  the  six  Indians  implicated  in  the  Jew-  by  Capt.  Potter  from  Tennessee  in  July  and  the 
ett  murder,  five  met  their  just  doom,  and  the  other  seven  he  brought  with  him  in  August  to 
sixth  would  have  done  so  were  it  not  for  the  Mankato.  The  major  filed  an  itemized  state- 
bursting  of  Jim's  gun.  During  the  spring  and  ment  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  con- 
summer  of  1865  these  friendly  Indian  scouts  nected  with  the  matter  which  is  as  follows: 
exterminated  every  party  of  hostile  Sioux,  which 

ventured    near   their    lines,    and    raiding   of    the  RECEIPTS, 

white  settlements  for  murder  and  plunder,  which     From   Blue    Earth   County $480.00 

■  ,   ,1  J!  J    ii,  ■  i.      i!      From     Martin     County 200.00 

■■.or  three  years  formed  the  mam  amusement  of     y^^^  Watonwan  County    150.00 


158  HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 

Prom  friends  in  St.  Paul 386.00  the  Indian  scouts  and  blood  hounds,  three  mili- 

From    friends   in    Boston 10.00  ,  ,.  ,,,.,11,1       ^^n       r  -.r 

tary  lines  were  established  by  the  loth  of  May 

Total     $1,226.00  1865,  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier.     The  first 

DISBURSEMENTS.  ^™^    extended    from    Eedwood    by    Heron    Lake 

Paid  for  13  dogs $325.00  t°    Spirit  Lake   and  had  seven   garrisons   in  it 

Paid  traveling  expenses  of  agent  and  trans-  from  ten  to  sixteen  miles  apart  with  134  mount- 

portation   and   care   of   does 522.28         ^        ,    .  t  ,   -t     ±   n    n        ■  mi  t    t 

Paid  salary  of  agent  at  $2  per  day,  100  days    200.00  ed  soldiers  distributed  therein.     The  second  hne 

Paid  expense  of  keeping  dogs  in  Manltato  be-  extended    from-    Ft.    Eidgely    by    Leavenworth, 

Money   on   'n^d.............................     155!47  ^^^.ke     Hanska,     Madelia     to     Jackson,     having 

eight    garrisons     and     146     soldiers    distributed 

'  ■  therein.  The  third  line  was  as  follows : 
The  dogs  were  divided  six  to  Blue  Earth  M'ankato  40  soldiers.  Loon  Lake  11  sol- 
County,  three  to  Martin  and  three  to  Watonwan  diers,  Garden  City  20  soldiers,  Vernon  Cen- 
Counties.  The  other  dog  had  escaped  the  first  ter  21  soldiers,  Winnebago  City  21  soldiers, 
night  they  arrived  in  Mankato.  The  six  dogs  making  five  garrisons  and  113  soldiers  distrib- 
apportioned  to  Blue  Earth  County  were  kept  uted  therein.  Then  fifty  mounted  minute  men 
at  the  expense  of  the  county  for  a  time  by  a  were  stationed  in  groups  of  five  or  six  between 
Mr.  E^Tggles  of  Vernon  Center,  who  was  a  the  second  and  third  lines.  In  all  443  soldiers 
returned  soldier  and  pretended  to  understand  were  stationed  as  guards  in  southwestern  Minne- 
the  management  of  that  kind  of  dogs.  They  sota.  Beside  all  this  the  militia  companies  in 
were  tested  in  tracking  a  white  man  on  foot,  every  town  were  kept  on  duty  more  or  less, 
and  again  on  horse  back,  and  it  is  claimed  the  But  as  we  have  stated  before,  the  raid  led  by 
test  was  successful.  Then  early  in  September  John  Campbell  was  the  best  ever  made  into 
there  was  a  big  scare  over  a  report,  that  a  party  Blue  Earth  County.  The  Sioux  war  was  now 
of  Indians  had  been  seen  in  the  timber  in  practically  over  as  also  was  the  great  Eebellion. 
Eapidan  and  Decoria  and  Capt.  Davy  started  The  year  1865,  saw  the  end  of  both.  For  four 
after  the  enemy  with  a  squad  of  men  and  the  years  the  people  of  Blue  Earth  county  had  been 
hounds  full  tilt,  but  the  band  of  painted  sav-  so  absorbed  in  the  two  wars,  and  especially  in 
ages  with  guns  and  tomahawks  proved  to  be  two  the  Indian  war,  that  they  had  had  no  time  to 
or  three  friendly  halfbreeds  digging  ginseng  attend  to  the  arts  of  peace.  Every  man  and 
with  hoes.  In  fact,  the  Indian  scouts  on  the  boy,  who  was  not  carrying  a  gun  on  southern 
frontier  under  Major  Brown  and  Eose  never  battlefields,  was  carrying  one  at  home.  For 
permitted  the  dogs  a  smell  of  a  genuine  hostile  three  years  our  people  had  been  busy  either 
SiouX.  The  hounds  escaped  one  after  another  running  away  from  the  Indians  or  chasing 
and  soon  like  the  Indians  disappeared  from  after  them.  The  farm  and  the  shop  were  de- 
Blue  Earth  County.  serted  for  the  camp  and  the  fort.  The  people 
The  Jewett  murders  stirred  up  all  sorts  of  were  learning  war  and  not  trade  and  the  mus- 
measures  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers.  Besides  ket  had  taken  the  place  of  the  plow. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

EVENTS  IN  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY  FROM 

1865— PEACE  REIGNS,  WHEELS   OF 

PROGRESS  PUT  IN  MOTION. 


With  the  year   1866,   a  new  period  begins  in  W.    Barney    &    Co.,    and    the    Mankato    Linseed 

the  history   of   our  county.      Secession  and   sav-  Oil   Works,   by   Anthony   Phillips, 

agery   are   gone,   peace,    progress    and   prosperity  Two    railroads    started    this    year    in    earnest 

take  their  place.     The  sound  of  the  war  whoop,  towards   Mankato.     The   Minnesota  A^alley   Rail- 

of  fife  and  drum,  of  the  firing  of  guns,  of  mourn-  ,vay,  built  from  Mendota  to  Shakopee.     Its  first 

ing    for    the    slain    have    ceased,    the    sight    of  locomotive  was  named  "Mankato."     The  Winona 

mutilated  corpses,   fleeing  families,   of   marching  and  St.  Peter  Railway  built  as  far  as  Kasson. 

soldiers,  and  of  building  forts  have  disappeared,  Immigration   into   our   county   was   very   large 

and   new    sounds    and    scenes    take    their    place,  ^.j^jg    yg^j,_     During   June    and   July    alone   over 

It  is  to  these  new   sounds  and  scenes   that  the  g^gOO    acres    of    land    belonging    to'  the    Winne- 

eoncluding  chapters   of  this  history   will  be   de-  ^^^^   Agency   in   Blue    Earth    County   were    sold 

^oted.  ^^  tlje   St.    Peter  land   office. 

On  May  35,  1865  the  "Mankato  Union"  was  ^^^                 ^^^    returning    from    the    Civil 

sold  by  Charles  H.  Slocum  to  Wm.  B.  Griswold,  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^     ^^^^^     ^^  ^^  ^^  ^^^^  ^^^^^^^ 

who  until  recently  had  been  editor  of  the  Val-  ,                                  ,•              4.       j     i     i  ■         j; 

■'  homes,    came    crowding    westward,    looking    tor 

ley  Herald  at  Chaska.     He  was  a  man  of  fair  ,  .            n  -m       tti    j.i            j.           •     i  -j.      i_ 

.                    .  claims  and  Blue  Earth  county  received  its  share, 

abihty  as  a  writer,  but  not  brilliant  or  very  ener-  ^^    ^^^^^^    gg^^^    ^^^^    ^.^^^^^    ^^    ^^^^^^^^ 

getic  or  popular.     His  paper  was  on  the  whole  ,j-i,i.i         j.-          n-          f                  j. 

°              '^  '^                     '^  ^  tendered  to  the  returning  soldiers  of  our  county 

fully   as   good,   if   not   a   little   better,   than   the  ,  .              ,•           n  1,    1,             m,                   v,     + 

■'         o      >                                         J  ^  ^jg  reception  and  barbecue,     ihere  were  about 

average    country    newspaper.       In    neatness    of  ^^^^^    ^^^^j^    p^^^^^^    ^^^    g^^^^^^    Wilkinson 

pnnting    it    was   much    above    the    average,    for  ^^^    ^^^    ^^^^^^    ^^    ^^^   ^^^^^-^^^ 

Geo.  W.  Neff,  now  of  the  "Lake  Crystal  Union"  j^  ^^^  ^^  ^^  .^^^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^. 

who  had  special  charge  of  this  department  was  ^^^   ^^   ^^^^.^^^   furnished    by   each   township    in 

a  printer  of  rare  excellence.  ^^^  ^^^^^^   f^,^   ^^^   (..^.j   ^^^^    ^^-^^   ^^^^    ^^ 

In  June  of  this   year   H.   C.   Capwell  &   Co.,  fQiiQ„g 
began  operating  their  flour  mill  at  Garden  City. 

Mr.   Hilton,    also   started,  his   flour   mill    at  the     Butternut    Valley    22 

Agency,  which  he  had  bought   the   year  before.     ^^^^^?°     ^^ 

The   same   month    Dr.    Lewis    and   Basil    More-     Rapidan,    Mankato,    McPherson 247 

land  began  operating  their  saw  mill  on  the  Cobb     garden   City    64 

°  r  a  Jamestown      18 

river.     The    same   summer    J.    S.    Burgess    and     Judson     31 

Co.,  built  a  saw  mill  on  the  east  line  of  Man-     LeEay     15 

kfflto  Township,   and  Mason  &  Reed  rebuilt  the     Medo 1 

old   mill    which    Col.    Smith    and    Haynes    had     |^^P],^*^°°     f^ 

erected  in  1857,  at  Vernon,  but  which  had  been  South     Bend..........................!...........  44 

burnt  in  May  of  this  year.  Sterling     43 

.,,,,•',,  ■    3      .■  J.     .  ,  Vernon     Center 48 

At    Mankato    two    industries    of    importance  

are  started  namely:   The  Novelty  works,  by  C.        Total     7ar 

159 


160 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAKTH  COUNTY. 


The  crops  all  over  the  county  were  quite  good 
this  year  except  in  Butternut  Valley  and  vicin- 
ity, where  the  grasshoppers  swept  everything 
before   them. 

On  Sept.  6,  1865,  Town  105,  range  29,  which 
had  heretofore  been  attached  to  Shelby,  and  had 
been  known  first  as  Otsego,  and  afterwards  as 
Willow  Creek,  was  created  into  a  new  town 
christened  "Pleasant  Mound,"  and  the  first  town 
meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  H.  G.  Long- 
worth.  On  the  same  6th  day  of  September,  town 
107,  range  29,  which  had  heretofore  been 
attached  to  Ceresco  and  known  as  Fox  Lake, 
was  by  the  county  board  made  into  a  new  town 
under  the  name  of  Lincoln,  the  first  town  meet- 
ing being  held  at  the  home  of  John  W.  Trask. 

On  Sept.  7th  the  County  Commissioners  elect- 
ed E.  D.  B.  Porter  as  Superintendent  of  the 
country  schools  for  the  year  commencing  Jan. 
1,  1866.  On  the  same  date  (Sept.  7th)  the 
new  Presbyterian  church  at  Mankato  was  dedi- 
.  cated. 

At  the  fall  election  this  year  the'  main  inter- 
est centered  about  the  fight  between  Col.  B.  P. 
Smith  and  Eobert  Eoberts  for  the  office  of 
Eegister  of  Deeds.  Both  had  been  candidates 
before  the  Eepublican  County  convention,  but 
Col.  Smith  had  finally  won  after  a  very  bitter 
fight.  Mr.  Eoberts  and  his  friends  had  their 
Welsh  blood  up  and  refused  to  abide  by  the 
decision  of  their  party.  He  sought  and  obtained 
the  Democratic  nomination  for  the  office  and 
there  was  another  hot  fight.  The  Welsh  were 
Eepublicans  almost  to  a  man,  but  the  most  of 
them  bolted  their  county  ticket  this  fall  and 
the  Democratic  party,  though  in  the  minority, 
was  able  to  elect  a  number  of  its  candidates  for 
county  offices,  but  Col.  Smith  because  of  his 
^.eat  popularity  came  out  victorious  by  a  small 
majority. 

In  October  1865,  the  postal  money  order  sys- 
tem was  first  inaugurated  in  Blue  Earth  County 
at  Mankato.  On  Dec.  11th  and  12th,  1865 
occurred  a  severe  blizzard  in  which  Thos.  Lame- 
raux,  an  old  settler  of  South  Bend,  and  sev- 
eral others  lost  their  lives  on  the  western  prai- 
rie. There  was  deep  snow  and  much  cold 
weather  all  winter,  and  many  people  froze  to 
death,  but  not  in  Blue  Earth  County. 


In  January,  1866,  the  weekly  mail  service 
from  Mankato  to  Few  Ulm  was  increased  to  a 
tri-weekly,  for  which  Lewis  D.  Lewis  was  con- 
tractor. There  had  been  for  a  long  time  a  tri- 
weekly mail  to  South  Bend,  Garden  City,  Ver- 
non and  Shelbyville,  a  weekly  mail  to  Mapleton, 
Sterling  and  Liberty,  also,  to  Cobb  Eiver, 
Watonwan,  Willow  Creek  and  Pleasant  Mound. 
There  were,  also,  two  daily  mails  to  Mankato; 
one  from  St.  Paul  and  the  other  from  Winona 
by  way  of  Winnebago  Agency. 

In  December,  1865,  James  P.  Gail  laid  out 
the  townsite  of  Lowell  upon  the  Blue  Earth 
Eiver,  in  section  thirteen  of  Garden  City  town- 
ship. Mr.  Dustin  during  the  winter  built  a 
large  flour  mill  at  this  point,  which  was  oper- 
ated for  several  years.  Nothing  further  came  of 
the  townsite.  Geo.  Marsh,  also,  completed  a 
flour  mill  at  Shelbyville. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  the  Eed  Jacket 
mill  was  erected  on  the  Le  Sueur  by  Har- 
rington •  and  Scott,  and  soon  became  one  of  the 
most  noted  flour  mills  in  the  county.  The  same 
season  Hegele  &  Henline  added  a  grist  mill 
department  to  their  steam  saw  mill  in  Man- 
kato, and  the  old  stone  windmill  was  built  and 
operated  by  Phillip  Touner  in  South  Bend. 
These  mills  as  a  rule  gave  about  thirty  pounds 
of  flour,  five  pounds  of  shorts,  and  eight  pounds 
of  bran  for  a  bushel  of  wheat. 

On  March  13th,  1866,  town  106,  range  26, 
which  heretofore  had  been  called  Winneshiek, 
was  organized  under  the  names  of  Beauford 
on  petition  of  Chas.  MacBeth  and  twenty-six 
others.  The  first  town  meeting  was  appointed 
to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Prey.  On  May 
29th  the  town  of  Lyra  was  created  on  petition 
of  M.  L.  Plumb  and  twenty-six  others,  the  first 
town  meeting  to  be  at  the  house  of  L.  Schroeder 
on  the  first  Tuesday  in  July,  but  which  was 
not  held  until   September  22nd  following. 

A  big  freshet  early  in  April  carried  away  a 
number  of  bridges  and  mill  dams  over  the 
county,  as  was  usual  when  there  was  deep  snow 
the  previous  winter.  The  wooden  bridges  and  dams 
of  those  early  days  could  not  stand  much  of 
a  flood. 

On  April  7,  1866  the  matter  of  the  perma- 
nent   location    of    its    fair    grounds    was    deter- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


161 


mined  by  the  Blue  Earth  Cmmty  Fair  Asso- 
ciation in  favor  of  Garden  City.  Mankato  made 
a  strong  bid  for  it  and  offered  a  bonus  of 
$1,174;  while  all  Garden  City  could  raise  as 
bonus  was  $818,  but  a  twenty  acre  site  could 
be  bought  at  Garden  City  for  $550  wiiile  the 
same  quantity  of  land  at  Mankato  cost  $1,000. 
About  the  1st  of  May,  1866  President  Johnson 
remitted  the  sentences  of  death  in  the  case  of 
the  173  Sioux  Indians,  who  were  yet  alive  at 
Davenport  prison  and  they  were  turned  over  to 
the  care  of  the  Sioux  Agency  in  Nebraska. 

On  the  31st  of  May  General  W.  T.  Sherman 
arrived  at  Madelia  on  his  way  to  Ft.  Eidgely 
and  an  effort  was  made  to  have  him  visit  Man- 
kato but  he  was  unable  to  do  so. 

The  buffalo  gnats  were  a  plague  in  the  land 
this  year  and  some  young  stock  were  killed  by 
them. 

The  Legislature  in  the  session  of  1865  had 
authorized  Mankato  to  issue  $10,000  and  Gar- 
den City  $3,000  in  bonds  for  the  building  of 
school  houses  in  their  respective  districts,  which 
bonds  were  voted  and  contracts  let  for  the  build- 
ings in  the  summer  of  1866. 

Boardman  and  Wampler  had  the  contract 
for  the  Mankato  building,  which  is  the  original 
part  of  the  present  Union  building.  Until  this 
structure  was  completed  our  county  seat  had  no 
public  school  building,  except  the  little  log  struc- 
ture of  1855,  which  had  long  been  too  small  and 
dilapidated  for  use.  So  the  school  had  been  kept 
in  halls,  vacant  stores,  and  any  old  place  that 
could  be  got.  The  Garden  City  school  house 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  $4,000.00. 

The  Legislature  of  1866,  through  the  efforts 
of  Daniel  Buck,  then  State  Senator  from  our 
county,  passed  an  act  locating  the  second  state 
Formal  school  at  Mankato,  on  condition  that  the 
village  raised  $5,000.00  as  a  bonus  to  be  used 
in  purchasing  of  a  site  and  otherwise.  On 
September  14th,  1866,  a  mass  meeting  met  at 
the  city  hall  in  Mankato  to  devise  means  for 
raising  the  money,  and  a  soliciting  committee 
w-as  appointed  as  follows:  John  J.  Shaubut, 
John  F.  Meagher,  H.  Dubuison,  J.  Wm.  Hoerr, 
David  Wilcox,  E.  D.  B.  Porter,  John  E.  Beatty, 
James  Shoemaker,  E.  J.  Marvin,  John  F.  Hall, 
Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad,  and  Daniel  Buck. 


At  Manliato  the  M.  E.,  Baptist,  Episcopal, 
and  one  or  two  other  denominations  built  church 
buildings,  this  year.  Mead  and  Lovejoy,  who 
had  been  manufacturing  cement  brick  at  Gar- 
den City,  started  the  same  industry  at  Man- 
kato, but  only  made  enough  for  the  residence 
of  Judge   James   Brown. 

Navigation  was  good  for  a  short  period  in  the 
spring,  and  then  the  river  became  too  low  for 
any  but  flat  boats.  Among  the  boats  engaged 
in  the  trade  of  our  county  this  year  were: 
The  Chippeway  Falls,  Mollie  Mohler,  Julia, 
Otter,  Stella  Whipple,  Albany,  Pioneer,  Pearl, 
Cutter,  Enterprise,  Mankato,  Hudson  and.  Flora. 
J\  corps  of  United  States  engineers,  under  Capt. 
Davis,  were  employed  this  year  in  making  sur- 
veys of  the  Minnesota  river,  with  reference  to 
its  improvement.  It  demonstrated  among  other 
things  that  in  the  distance  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellow  Medicine  to  mouth  of  the  Blue 
Earth  river  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  the 
fall  was  twenty-eight  feet.  A  survey  of  the 
Blue  Earth  showed  an  average  fall  of  five  feet 
to  the  mile. 

Progress  was  made  this  year  towards  road 
improvements  in  the  vicinity  of  Mankato. 
Through  the  efforts  of  James  Shoemaker  the 
Glenwood  ravine  road  was  laid  out  and  several 
hundred  of  dollars  subscribed  and  expended 
in  its  improvement.  Seven  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  was  expended  in  grading  the  Belgrade 
hill.  The  road  up  the  Thompson  ravine  was, 
also,  opened  and  graded. 

The  year  1866,  closed  with  a  very  belligerent 
feeling  between  Mankato  and  New  Ulm,  caused 
by  the  lynching  on  December  86th  in  rather  a 
barbarous  fashion  of  two  Mankato  citizens  by 
a  mob  at  New  Ulm.  The  victims  were  Campbell 
and  Liscom,  two  trappers,  who  in  a  saloon  row 
killed  a  prominent  resident  of  New  Ulm.  An 
excited  mob  soon  gathered  and  took  both  men 
from  the  Jail,  hung  them  and  threw  their  bodies 
into  the  river,  through  a  hole  in  the  ice.  For 
a  few  days  the  mob  had  full  control  of  the  usu- 
ally quiet  German  town  and  defied  arrest,  and 
things  looked  warlike.  A  number  of  deter- 
mined men  under  Capt.  L.  N.  Holmes  of  Man- 
kato and  the  sheriff  finally  went  to  New  Ulm 
and  found  and  brought  away  the  bodies  of  the 


162 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


two  men  and  obtained  such,  evidence  as  could 
be  got  regarding  the  affair.  Arrests  were  made 
and  the  trials  dragged  in  the  courts  for  some  years. 
One  John  Gut  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to 
be  hung,  but,  after  a  long  legal  battle,  his 
sentence  was  commuted  to  imprisonment.  The 
other  ring  leaders  defaulted  their  bail  and  left 
the  country. 

With  the  first  of  January,  1867,  let  us  take 
a  birdseye  view  of  the  county,  as  it  appeared 
to  two  eye  witnesses  at  the  time.  First  comes 
Mankato  with  a  population  of  about  3,300.  It 
had  about  305  frame,  twenty-two  brick,  and 
four  stone  dwellings,  fifteen  dry  goods  stores, 
fifteen  grocery  stores,  three  hardware  stores, 
five  harness  shops,  four  jewelry  stores,  two  bak- 
eries, two  printing  offices,  twenty-two  restau- 
rants, eight  cabinet  shops,  two  chair  shops,  four 
^''agon  shops,  four  carriage  shops,  eight  black- 
smith shops,  two  paint  shops,  two  millinery 
shops,  four  cooper  shops,  one  gun  shop,  two  bar- 
ber shops,  three  grist  mills,  three  saw  mills,  one 
fanning  mill  factory,  one  pump  factory,  two 
turning  mills,  one  oil  mill,  four  livery  barns,  two 
photograph  galleries,  five  schools,  two  banks,  six 
boot  and  shoe  stores,  ten  doctors,  seven  law 
offices,  five  insurance  offices,  three  drug  stores, 
one  bookstore,  four  butcher  shops,  eight  hotels, 
one  express  office,  twelve  warehouses,  one  fire 
engine  house,  one  hook  and  ladder  company,  one 
hose  house,  six  churches,  one  pottery,  one  foun- 
dry, one  barrel  factory,  one  brewery,  four  brick 
yards,  two  lime  kilns  and  one  stone  quarry. 

One  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of 
freight  had  been  received  during  the  year  1866, 
and  4,700  tons  exported.  J.  J.  Thompson  &  Co. 
had  a  line  of  teams  carrying  every  day  to  and  from 
the  railroad  terminals.  One  hundred  ninety-three 
reapers  and  mowers  and  nineteen  threshers  were 
sold  at  Mankato  during  the  year.  The  fur 
trade  footed  up  to  over  $15,000.00  and  the  mer- 
cantile trade  to  over  $600,000.00.  There  were 
three  daily  mails,  one  to  St.  Paul,  one  to  Winona 
and  one  to  Blue  Earth  City,  one  tri-weekly  mail 
to  "New  Ulm  and  one  semi-weekly  to  Madelia. 
The  lower  story  of  the  Union  School  building 
had  been  completed,  five  teachers  were  employed, 
and  about  300  pupils  attended  the  public  schools. 
The    Catholic   school,    in    charge   of  the    Sisters 


of  ISTotre  Dam,  had  four  teachers  and  about 
180  pupils,  and  there  were  a  number  of  private 
schools.  Mankato  Township  had  a  large  grist 
mill  at  Eed  Jacket,  on  the  Le  Sueur,  and  three 
sawmills,  one  at  Hoosier  Lake,  one  at  Tivoli 
and  one  owned  by  Burgess  &  Co.  South  Bend 
village  had  five  general  stores,  two  hotels,  one 
?aw  and  grist  mill  combined,  one  saw  mill, 
one  shoemaker,  one  blacksmith,  and  one  cooper 
shop.  There  were  two  church  buildings  in  the 
village  and  another  in  the  township. 

At  Garden  City  village  were:  Garden  City 
Mills,  Harrington  and  Loveland  proprietors,  ca- 
pacity 450  bushels  of  wheat  per  day,  new  ware- 
house, which  will  hold  15,000  bushels,  the  Yan- 
kee  mills,  Quayle  &  Friend  proprietors,  250 
bushels'  capacity,  a  planing  mill,  shingle  mill  and 
saw  mill  attached,  one  steam  saw  mill,  owned 
by  L.  E.  Potter  &  Bros.,  with  capacity  of  10,000 
feet  of  lumber  per  day,  three  general  stores,  one 
drug  store,  one  hotel,  one  real  estate  office,  one 
millinery,  one  harness  shop,  one  shoe  shop,  two 
wagon  shops,  two  blacksmith  shops,  one  cooper 
shop,  one  livery  stable,  four  doctors,  one  dentist, 
a  public  school  with  150  scholars,  and  Baptist, 
Presbyterian  and  M.  E.  Churches  holding  regu- 
lar services. 

Watonwan  in  the  same  township  had  the  But- 
terfield  Mills,  and  New  Lowell  had  the  Dustin 
Mill,  with  capacity  of  350  bushels  of  wheat  per 
day,  a  carding  mill  was  also  attached.  Vernon 
contained  a  steam  mill,  hotel,  church  and  three 
stores.  Shelbyville,  had  a  hotel,  saw  mill,  three 
stores,  church  and  blacksmith  shop.  Shelby. 
Center  had  a  mill  and  a  store.  Sterling  Town- 
ship had  one  store  and  two  mills,  a  church  and 
five  school  houses.  Mapleton  had  three  school 
houses,  a  store  kept  by  Eobert  Taylor,  and  a  Free 
Will  Baptist  church  organization.  Lyra  had 
one  saw  mill  in  operation  and  two  other  mills 
being  built.  Eapidan  contained  the  large  new 
flour  mill  of  S.  Kenworthy  &  Co.,  the  saw 
mill  of  Eew  &  Heaton,  and  Lucius  Dyer  was 
building  a  saw  mill  on  the  Maple  and,  also, 
Simons  &  Mickle.  -Judson  had  two  stores,  the  Good- 
year nursery  and  a  church.  Butternut  Valley  con- 
tained a  hotel,  a  church  building  and  two  church 
organizations,  and  two  school  houses.  Hilton, 
(now     St.     Clair)     had    three    stores,    a   hotel, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


163 


a  saw  and  grist  mill  and  a  blaeksinith  shop.  Ad- 
joining it  was  Winnebago  Agency,  where  the 
agenfs  house  had  been  converted  into  a  hotel 
by  J.  C.  Truman,  and  Henry  Poster  had  a  large 
store  and  postoffice.  McPherson  Township  had 
another  sawmill.  Every  town  in  the  county 
had  school  houses  and  was  dotted  over  with 
farm  houses,  of  which  the  great  majority  were 
log  buildings.  Everywhere  during  the  summer 
season  the  breaking  plow '  was  in  evidence  and 
the  vast  wheat  fields  were  growing  rapidly  larger 
every  year. 

The  winters  of  'this  period  were  long  and  cold 
and  the  log  houses  and  the  clothing  were  none  too 
warm.  Few  could  afford  fur  overcoats  or  over- 
shoes, or  an  extra  stove  in  the  house.  The 
shawls  and  Indian  blankets,  which  were  the 
fashion  with  the  men  in  the  antibellum  win- 
ters had  given  place  to  the  blue  soldier  overcoats 
with  the  cape  and  brass  buttons  stamped  with 
the  hilarious  eagle. 

The  great  war  debt  was  heavy  on  the  people  and 
the  revenue  collector  was  abroad  in  the  land. 
Every  deed,  note,  mortgage,  contract  and  even 
match  box  and  broom  and  every  common  house- 
hold utensil  and  store  commodity  must  bear  the 
government  stamp.  The  lawyers,  doctors,  den- 
tists, etc.,  have  to  procure  licenses. 

Then  there  were  the  spelling  schools,  the  de- 
bating societies,  the  revival  meetings  and  the  go- 
ing to  the  post  office. 

The  winter  of  1866-7  was  very  severe  with 
much  snow,  and  there  was,  a  big  spring  freshet, 
with  the  usual  damage  to  bridges  and  dams, 
especially  on  the  Watonwan.  On  Fel).  12tb, 
1867,  the  Legislature  authorized  the  County 
Commissioners  of  our  county  to  issue  $10,000.00 
in  bonds  to  build  a  county  jail,  but  provided 
that  the  matter  of  the  location  of  the  jail  be 
submitted  the  voters  of  the  county  at  the  elec- 
tion to  be  held  April  2,  1867.  This  provision  was 
inserted  at  the  instigation  of  the  citizens  ot 
Garden  City,  •\\-ho  still  cherished  hopes  of  se- 
curing the  county  seat.  The  vote  resulted  in  1655 
votes  for  Manl^ato  and  783  for  Garden  City.  The 
contract  was  let  soon  thereafter  to  Lewis  J. 
Lewis  and  the  building  erected  during  the  sum- 
mer and   fall.   The  jail   part  was   of   stone   and 


the  sheriff's  rooms  and  courtroom  above  of 
brick. 

On  ilay  8th,  1867  the  town  of  Butternut 
^ 'alley  was  divided,  all  that  portion  located  in 
Township  109  being,  on  petition  of  Geo.  Owens 
and  forty-three  others,  created  into  a  new  town, 
under  the  name  of  Cambria.  The  first  town 
meeting  was  held  as  appointed  on  June  3rd, 
1867,  at  school  house  in  district  Wo.  11. 

The  matter  of  hop  culture  received  consider- 
able attention  this  ^^ear  and  yards  were  plant- 
ed by  Shoemaker  and  Shepard  and  Andrew 
Hanna  in  West  Mankato,  and  by  parties  in 
South  Bend  and  Eapidan. 

A  bill  v.'as  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  March 
appropriating  $150,000.00  for  the  erection  of 
three  Normal  school  buildings,  one  of  which  to 
be  at  Mankato,  but  it  was  vetoed  by  Gov.  Mar- 
shall and  the  Mankato  normal  building  had  to 
be  postponed. 

A  number  of  new  school  districts  were  cre- 
ated this  year  in  the  new  towns  on  the  Winne- 
bago Agency.  On  July  13th,  1867,  several 
thousand  acres  of  the  Winnebago  lands  were  sold 
mostly  to  speculators  for  bids  ranging  from 
$7.00   to   $7.25   per  acre. 

About  July  1,  1867,  a  raft  of  50,000  feet 
of  saw  logs  were  floated  from  Lake  Elysian 
through  its  outlet  into  the  Le  Sueur  river.  At 
the  present  village  of  St.  Clair  a  number  of 
tlie  logs  got  stuck  and  were  sold  to  the  mills 
there.  Most  of  the  black  walnuts  were  taken 
through.  The  navigation  of  the  Minnesota  was 
quite  good  this  year.  The  Mollie  Mohlcr  alone 
made  over  90  trips  to  Mankato.  The  other  boats 
employed  were  the  Chippeway  Palls,  Mankato, 
Jennette  Eoberts,  Julia,  Ariel,  G.  B.  Knapp,  St. 
Anthony  Palls,  Tiber,  Flora,  Clipper  and  Hud- 
son. On  May  the  10th,  1867,  the  JuHa  struck 
a  snag  about  two  miles  below  Mankato  and 
sank.  John  H.  Barr  and  his  two  sons,  George 
T.  and  John  H.,  were  among  the  passengers  at 
the  time.  They  were  moving  with  their  house- 
hold goods  to  Mankato.  None  of  the  passengers 
were  injured,  but  a  lot  of  merchandise  and  goods 
■\vere  more  or  less  damaged.  All  efforts  to  raise 
the  boat  failed  and  she  was  dismantled  and 
her  hull  still  lies  in  the  sands  of  the  river. 

On  June  9th,  after  a  heavy  rain,  the  Mollie 


164  HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 

Mohler    ascended    the   Blue   Earth    and    the   Le  years.     The  winter  of  1867-8  was  another  cold 

Sneur  to  the  Eed  Jacket  Mill,  which  stood  Just  winter  with  abundance  of  snow, 
below    the    present    bridge    of    the    Milwaukee         Heretofore    Mankato    had    been    divided    into 

railway,  and  carried  away  a  load  of  flour.  two  school  districts,  but  the  Legislature  of  this 

During    this    summer    Jacob    Bierbauer    built  winter  merged  the  two  districts  and  created  the 

at    Mankato    a    large    there    story    woolen    mill,  united    districts    into    an   independent   one.      At 

which  was  operated  for  some  years.  the  beginning  of  1868  the  total  capacity  of  the 

The  last  of  May,  1867,  Edwin  Howe  and  his  grist  mills  of  the  county  was  3,000  bushels  of 

brother   of   West   Mankato   started   a   dairy    and  wheat  per  day,  or  600,000   bushels  per  annum, 

his  milk  wagon  was  the  first  seen  on  the  streets  The    capacity    of   the  'saw   mills   of   the   county 

of  Mankato  or  in  Blue  Earth  County.     During  was    50,000    feet    per    day    or    15,000,000    per 

this    year    the    German    Lutherans    of    Mankato  annum.      The   live   stock   statistics    for    a  period 

built  a  frame  church,  the  first  church  building  covering  seven  or  eight  years  were  as  follows: 

of  that  denomination  in  the  county.     The  sum-  Year.  Horses.  Cattle.  Sheep.  Hogs. 

mer  of   1867   saw   Goist   and  Heintzelman  from  1860    182        960      100        612 

,,,.,   •        ,      ,     ,1  e     ,  jt  J.    I,  •  1  1862     995      6,258     1,293      3,027 

Illinois    start  the  manufacture   ol    cement   brick  jgg^  j^g82     7^053    3,376     2,040 

at  Garden  City,  but  they  did  not  continue  long.  1866    '.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'. 2',714     8',227  lo',383     3',421 

,       ^       ''  ...  ,n  1867     3,380      8,89310,126      4,195 

One   A.    J.    Manley    started   a   newspaper-  there  jggg     3g92     9^835    8,060     3,357 

called    the    "Garden    City    Hetald,"    which    tar- 
ried a  little  longer.  There   had    been    166    boat    arrivals    by    mid- 

On    September   19th,    1867,   the   last   town   in  s^^^nmer    and    there    were    many    arrivals    there- 

our   county   was    created    by   the    County    Com-  atter. 

missioners,     on     petition     of    Joshua    Ady    and         This    year    the    county    had    twenty-one    post- 
others,    and    called    Decoria,    after   three   Winne-  o^i^es   named   as   follows: 

bago  chiefs  of  that  name.     The  first  town  meet-  Beauford.  Tivoli. 

in  ,,  T    rn        ^        •      /-v  i.  i.  Garden    City.  Crisp's    Store, 

mg  was  held  on  the  second  Tuesday  m  October  judson.  Iceland. 

at  the  house  of  John  Larkin.  Mankato.  Liberty. 

This  fall  the  main  political  fight  in  the  Ee-  gherman.      '  Shelbyville. 

publican   convention  was   for  the  office   of  sheriff  Butternut  Valley.  Vernon    Center. 

,    .  T,         rn  1       1     T    1    n    J.1  -x-  Garden   Prairie.  ^Vatonwan. 

between  Dan  Tyner,  who  had  held  the  position  f^^^^  Lake.  Willow  Creek. 

for   some   years,   and   Evan  Bowen.     The  latter  Mapleton.  Winnebago  Agency. 

carried   the    day  by    one   vote    and    was   elected  '"  ^'^  ™^' 

on  the  5th  of  November.  On  March  24,  1868,  the  city  charter  of  Man- 
In  November  of  this  year  two  new  post-  kato,  which  had  been  granted  by  the  Legisla- 
ofEices  were  created,  one  called  "Loon  Lake,"  ture  about  a  month  previous,  was  adopted  by  a 
situated  in  Garden  City  town,  with  Mrs.  E;  vote  of  315  to  31.  James  A.  Wiswell  was 
Oookson  as  postmistress,  and  the  other  called  elected  mayor  of  the  new  city,  Jacob  Pfaff, 
"Iceland,"  located  in  Lincoln  township,  with  Treasurer;  E.  D.  B.  Porter,  Eecorder;  J.  Wm. 
David  Quinn  as  postmaster.  On  November  30,  Hoerr  and  Wm.  B.  Torrey,  Justices,  and  the 
1867,  the  county  purchased  of  Columbus  Bal-  city  government  went  into  effect  on  March 
lard   its   present   Poor   Farm,   consisting   of   160  31st,    1868. 

acres    in    section    one    of    Eapidan.      The    price         In    March,    Hiram   Yates,   who   had   been  ap- 

paid    was   $3,300.00    and    the    special    committee  pointed    the    first    superintendent    of    the    new 

of   the   County   Board   who   had   charge   of   the  county  poor  farm,  took  possession  of  the  same, 

purchase    were:      Hanna,    Evans,    and    Brown.  taking  with  him  the  few  poor  people  who  were 

About     Christmas,     1867,     the    Eolsom     Mill,  a    county    charge.      The   farm   was   then   located 

about    two    miles    below    Garden    City    on    the  in  the  midst   of   a  big   forest   and   in  one  week 

Watonwan,  was  completed  and  began  operation,  nine    or    ten    deer    were    killed    in    its    vicinity. 

It    enjoyed    quite    a    custom    trade    for    some  But    after    the    woods    were    cleared    no    better 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


165 


farmng  land  could  be  found  anywhere.  Navi- 
gation was  fairly  good  again  this  year,  and 
the  same  boats  were  engaged  as  the  previous 
season  for  the  most  part.  As  many  as  five 
steamboats  a  day  sometimes  arrived  at  the  Man- 
kato  levee. 

On  May  4th,  1868,  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Mankato  was  organized  by  James  B.  Hub- 
bard, Stephen  Lamm,  A.  C.  Woolfolk,  J.  F. 
Meagher,  J.  B.  Murphy,  J.  A.  Willard,  L.  C. 
Harrington,  Daniel  Buck,  J.  T.  Williams,  J. 
J.  Shaubut,  J.  M.  Thomson,  J.  A.  James,  A. 
T.  Lindhohn  and  John  N.  Hall.  Mr.  Hall 
was  made  its  first  cashier.  It  was  the  first 
institution  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  One  or 
two  private  banks  and  state  banks  had  existed 
before,  but  they  were  rather  small.  In  fact, 
the  people  had  had  no  special  need  of  banks 
in  those  early  days,  for  there  was  not  much 
money.  The  new  bank  began  business  about 
September  12th.  On  September  11,  1868,  a 
Board  of  Trade  was  organized  by  forty-three 
business  men  of  Mankato,  at  the  office  of  Payne 
and  Hoerr.  John  H.  Barr  became  its  first 
president. 

The  Minnesota  Valley  Eailroad  and  the  Wi- 
nona and  St.  Peter  Eailroad  had  been  getting 
nearer  every  year  to  Mankato.  The  Valley 
road  made  a  proposition  to  complete  its  rail- 
way into  Mankato  by  December  1st,  if  a  bonus 
of  $15,000.00  in  bonds,  a  right  of  way  over 
4th  street  and  depot  grounds  between  Plum 
and  Elm  streets  were  given  it.  The  proposition 
was  voted  upon  by  the  city  on  June  3rd  and 
carried  by  a  vote  of  423  for  to   142  against. 

In  June,  1868,  two  new  postofEices  were 
created  in  Blue  Earth  County,  one  located  on 
northwest  quarter  of  section  28  in  Decoria, 
designated  "Decoria,"  and  the  other  situated 
on  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  13,  Beau- 
ford,    called    "Perch    Lake." 

In  July  of  this  year  we  hear  of  the  first  old 
settlers'  meeting  in  the  county.  It  met  at 
the  residence  of  John  S.  Hinckley  in  Mankato, 
and  an  Old  Settlers'  Association  organized, 
with  Mr.  Hinckley  as  President,  membership 
to  which  was  eligible  to  only  those  who  came 
to  the  county  in  1854  or  prior  years. 


This  year  (1868)  Miaer  Porter  greatly  im- 
proved and  beautified  the  grounds  about  his 
summer  hotel  near  South  Bend  by  planting 
groves,  arbors  and  fiowers  and  building  swings, 
walks,  fancy  gates  and  fences,  and  the  place 
was    designated    "Minneineopa    Park." 

For  two  or  three  years  the  Colorado  beetle 
had  been  doing  more  and  more  damage  each 
year  to  the  potato  crop.  This  year  it  was  par- 
ticularly bad.  As  yet  the  people  had  not  dis- 
covered  the   best    means   for   its    destruction. 

On  October  7th,  1868,  the  first  term  of  the 
Mankato  Normal  school  opened  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  il.  E.  Church  at  Mankato.  The 
opening  day  proved  stormy  and  only  twenty- 
seven  scholars  were  present.  The  second  day 
thirty-five  were  enrolled.  On  October  36,  the 
school  was  removed  to  the  second  story  of  the 
new  brick  store  building  of  John  J.  Shaubut 
on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Main  Streets.  These 
quarters  were  100  feet  long  by  twenty-two  feet 
wide,  and  divided  into  four  rooms.  There 
were  forty  school  desks,  fifty-two  scholars  en- 
rolled in  the  Normal  department  and  sixteen  in 
the  Model.  By  the  close  of  the  first  term  there 
were  ninety  enrolled  in  both  departments. 
Prof.  G.  M.  Gage  was  its  first  president  and 
Miss  Susie  Dyer  (now  Mrs.  L.  G.  M.  Fletcher) 
as  first  assistant.  The  second  term  opened  at 
the  same  place  with  fifty-five  pupils  in  the 
Normal  department  and  twenty-four  in  Model 
department.  Miss  Emma  H.  Collins  was  added 
to  the  faculty  as  second  assistant.  The  Legis- 
lature of  18G9  appropriated  $30,000.00  for 
a  Normal  school  building,  and  the  corner  stone 
was  laid  on  June  19th,  1868,  with  appropriate 
Masonic  rites  by  S.  F.  Barney,  and  an  address 
by  President  Gage.  The  building  and  furnish- 
ings cost  over  $50,000.00  and  an  additional 
appropriation  was  made  by  the  Legislature. 
The  building  was  of  brick,  126  by  116  feet, 
three  stories  high  above  basement,  and  embell- 
ished with  two  towers  120  feet  high.  It  con- 
tained sixteen  rooms.  The  architect  was  W.  P. 
Boardman;  contractor,  Lewis  J.  Lewis;  build- 
ing committee:  Daniel  Buck  (member  of  State 
Normal  Board),  James  Brown  and  L.  C.  Har- 
rington. On  September  7th,  1870,  the  new 
building    began    to    be    occupied    and    in    April, 


166 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


1871,  it  was  fully .  completed.  The  faculty  in 
tlie  fall  of  1870  was: 

President,   Geo.   M.   Gage. 

Teacher  of  Language  and  Literature,  Miss 
Susie  M.  Dyer. 

Mathematics,  Geography  and  History,  Miss 
Jennie  M.  Hayden. 

IVLusic,  fc).  M.  Weigel. 

Gymnastics,  Miss  Calista  Andrews. 

Grammer  and  Model,  Geo.  A.  Eerguson. 

Principle  Intermediate  Dept.,  Miss  A.  Ella 
Clark. 

Principal  Primary  (School,  Miss  Annie  Y. 
Whittier. 

The  number  of  JSTormal  students  were  136, 
of  whom  38  were  males  and  98  females.  The 
first  graduating  class  in  1870  had  ten  members. 
In  1871,  the  INormal  department  had  198  pupils 
and  the  Model  department  174,  making  a  total 
O'i  372.  The  graduating  class  of  June  1873, 
numbered  23. 

On  October  3,  1868  the  Valley  Railroad 
(now  called  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis 
and  Omaha)  was  completed  to  Mankato  and 
the  first  train  arrived.  The  first  freight  was 
shipped  over  it  on  October  8th  and  consisted 
of  200  barrels  of  flour  from  the  Red  Jacket 
mills.  The  regular  passenger  trains  began  run- 
ning on  October  12,  1868,  and  the  fare  to  St. 
Paul  was  $4.00.  On  October  29,  the  advent  of 
the  railway  was  duly  celebrated  at  Mankato,  by 
the  citizens  of  that  town  and  of  the  county 
generally.  A  banquet  and  an  excursion  to  St. 
I'aul  were  the  two  principal  features.  For 
many  years  the  people  of  Blue  Earth  County 
had  longed  for  a  railroad.  The  uncertainty 
of  river  navigation  and  its  short  duration  made 
it  impossible  for  the  boats  to  handle  the  rapidly 
growing  traffic.  It  was  a  great  day  for  both 
city  and  county.  The  days  of  their  isolation 
were  past,  their  problem  of  transportation  was 
solved,  henceforth  they  were  a  living  part  of 
the  great  commercial  world.  ISTo  wonder  they 
rejoiced.  With  the  railroad  came,  also,  the 
telegraph  and,  by  October  17,  1868,  the  North- 
western Telegraph  company  had  its  lines  com- 
pleted and  sent  its  first  messages  to  and  from 
Mankato,  and  our  county  seat  was  at  last  con- 


nected with  the  great  civilized  world  by  both 
rail  and  wire. 

In  November,  1868,  Mr.  Wise  sold  the  "Man- 
kato Weekly  Record"  to  Orville  Brown  and 
J.  T.  Williams.  For  many  years  Mr.  Williams 
was  the  principal  politician  of  the  county.  Some 
called  him  the  '"Political  boss."  He  was  very 
active,  energetic  and  shrewd  and  knew  every 
person  in  the  county  and  knew  how  to  reach 
men  in  a  political  way.  He  was  a  strong  Repub- 
lican and  an  ardent  admirer  of  Senator  Wm. 
Windom.  For  some  reason  or  other  Mr.  Gris- 
wold  of  the  Union  had  fallen  out  with  Senator 
Windom  and  his  friend  Williams.  It  was  neces- 
sary that  Mr.  Windom  should  have  a  political 
organ  in  Blue  Earth  County;  Williams,  there- 
fore, negotiated  for  Windom  the  purchase  of 
the  Record.  He  then  got  0.  Brown,  who  was 
running  the  Faribault  Republican,  to  dispose 
of  that  paper  and'  come  to  Mankato  to  take 
charge  of  the  Record,  which  was  changed  from 
a  Democratic  to  Republican  paper.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams was  quick  tempered  and  when  he  had 
quarreled  with  a  person  he  wanted  that  person 
to  know  it.  Mr.  Brown  was  a  man  after  Wil- 
liams own  heart  for  he  had  a  special  gift  in 
the  way  of  heaping  coals  of  fire  on  an  enemy's 
head,  and  keeping  those  coals  good  and  hot.  He 
was  naturally  an  able  and  forcible  writer  on 
any  topic,  but  in  invective  he  was  an  expert, 
and  his  paper  was  always  well  spiced  and  gin- 
gered. With  the  last  issue  in  November,  Mr. 
Wise's  connection  with  the  Record  ceased,  and 
with  the  first  issue  in  December  the  paper,  which 
had  been  born  and  bred  in  pure  Democracy, 
suddenly,  under  a  new  master  was  converted 
into  a  radical  Republican.  So  abrupt  was  the 
transaction  that  some  of  the  staid  Democratic 
subscribers  of  the  good  old  Bourbon  variety,  had 
to  pinch  themselves  and  feel  of  their  pulses  to 
make  sure  thej  were  not  having  a  night-mare 
or  something  worse. 

The  County  by  this  time  had  been  making 
considerable  progress  along  educational  lines. 
In  1868  there  were  eighty-one  summer  schools 
taught  and  the  whole  number  of  scholars  was 
2077.  During  the  winter  of  1868-9  the  whole 
number  of  public  schools  was  68  and  the  num- 
ber of  scholars  attending  2093.     There  were  70 


HlSTOllY  Of  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


167 


teachers  employed,  45  of  them  males  and  25 
females.  Two  of  the  schools  were  graded, 
employing  two  teachers  each.  There  were  115 
organized  districts  in  the  county,  and  23  new 
school  houses  built  during  the  year,  at  an  aggre- 
gate cost  of  $10,712.13.  There  were  77  school 
houses,  one  of  brick,  one  of  stone,  thirty-four  of 
frame  and  forty-one  of  logs.  This  does  not 
include  Mankato  nor  the  private  and  parochial 
schools. 

Wheat  raising  was  now  getting  to  be  the 
principal  farm  industry.  In  January  about 
'j0,000  bushels  were  marketed  at  Mankato  alone. 
The  fact  was  that  Mankato  was  about  the  only 
market  point  for  wheat  in  the  county  or  even 
Southwestern  Minnesota,  being  the  head  of 
transportation.  Since  the  advent  of  the  Eail- 
way  in  October  1868  to  July  1,  1869,  there 
had  been  shipped  by  it  from  Mankato  335,341 
bushels  of  wheat  and  20,769  barrels  of  flour, 
equal  in  all  to  439,321  bushels.  It  was  an 
every  day  sight  in  those  days  to  see  a  line  of 
fifty  or  sixty  teams  waiting  their  turn  to  unload 
at  the  elevator.  The  assessors  reported  40,689 
acres  of  land  under  cultivation  in  Blue  Earth 
County  in  1868,  25,566  of  which  were  devoted 
to  wheat,  and  the  wheat  raised  in  the  county 
for  that  year  amounted  to  about  550,000  hush- 
els. 


Between    April    1,    1867,    and    April    1,    1869 
there  was  manufactured  at  Mankato: 

Farming     Mills 1,114 

Horse     rakes 172 

Plows      704 

Corn     cultivators 100 

During  the  same  period  there  were  imported 
and  sold  at  the  same  place: 

Reapers    and    mowers 428 

Seeders     443 

which  indicates  how  the  county  was  growing 
in  an  agricultural  way,  as  well  as  how  Mankato 
was  developing  as  a  manufacturing  center.  The 
wool  trade  of  Mankato  for  the  spring  of  1869, 
amounted  to  43,640  pounds.  Then  the  fur 
trade  still  continued  considerable  in  spite  of  the 
settling  of  the  county.  The  two  principal 
firms  at  Mankato  dealing  in  furs  at  this  time 
were,  Barkman,  Eeid  &  Kellog,  and  Marks  & 
Hollenbeck.  Between  March  1st  and  July  1st, 
1869,  these  firms  purchased  the  following  pelts: 

Muskrat      213,350 

Mink      1,205 

Otter      97 

Brown    and    red    fox 975 

Coon     600 

Badger      375 

Skunk      190 

Lynx      25 

The  total  value  of  all  furs  marketed  at  Man- 
kato  in  those   four  months   was    about   $88,800. 


crtTHoi-ic  c^^^JRo»-*-GooE>TMUN^e'^ 


ef»lSCO*»Al-     CHU»=^CH  ~    <SOOI>rHL>A)C>eR 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

EVENTS  OP  EARLY  SEVENTIES— WELLS 

AND  WINONA  RAILWAYS  REACH 

MANKATO. 


Showing  somewhat  the  extent  of  the  immi- 
gration, it  may  be  noted  that  between  May  19, 
1866  and  July  23,  1869,  there  had  been  entered 
at  the  U.  S.  land  office  with  cash  and  land 
warrants  ia  Blue  Earth  County  4,963  acres  and 
as  homesteads  16,437  acres. 

This  year  (1869),  the  county  bridge,  353  feet 
long,  was  erected  over  the  Blue  Earth  at  West 
Mankato.  During  this  summer,  also,  the  St. 
Paul  and  Sioux  City  Railroad  was  extended 
from  Mankato  to  Crystal  Lake.  Here  a  new 
town  was  laid  out  in  May,  1869  by  Lucius  0. 
Hunt  and  Wniiam  R.  Robinson  and  named 
"Lake  Crystal."  By  the  time  the  railway 
reached  this  point  in  September,  quite  a  vill- 
age had  sprung  up,  where  two  months  before 
there  was  only  a  field  to  be  seen.  The  Loon 
Lake  Postofiice  was  discontinued  and  a  new 
office  established  at  Lake  Crystal  with  Henry 
Humphrey  as  first  postmaster  on  September  1, 
1869.  By  December  1,  1869  we  note  that  Lake 
Crystal  possessed  a  grain  elevator,  a  hotel,  built 
by  S.  P.  Oakley,  a  two  story  frame  school  house, 
34x40,  a  two  story  frame  store,  built  by  Henry 
Humphrey  and  occupied  with  a  stock  of  gro- 
ceries and  drugs  by  Pomeroy  &  Wickersham, 
a  store  building  erected  by  W.  C.  Davis  and 
occupied  by  him  with  a  stock  of  hardware,  a 
building  occupied  by  Davis  &  Dunn  as  general 
store,  another  building  occupied  by  P.  A.  Lar- 
fcon  with  another  general  store,  a  harness  shop 
conducted  by  Wm.  Seeger,  a  cooper  shop  in  charge 
of  Dorwood  &  McKay,  and  a  doctor's  office.  H. 
C.  Howard,  also,  had  just  sold  his  flour  mill  at 
Shelby  Center  to  Henry  Day  for  $1,600  and  his 
sawmill  at  the  same  place  to  Asa  White  and  S.  C. 
Hilton,  who  moved  it  to  section  three  of  Mc- 
Pherson,   and   had  built  him   a   home   at   Lake 


Crystal  and  opened  there  an  agricultural  imple- 
ment store.  In  short.  Lake  Crystal  had  grown 
in  about  four  months  from  nothing  to  a  bust- 
ling village  of  forty  buildings  and  on  February 
34,  1870,  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature 
as  a  village. 

On  July  3,  1869  the  Republicans  of  Blue 
Earth  County  tried  what  was  known  as  the 
Crawford  plan  of  nominating  their  county  offi- 
cers. This  was  really  a  priniar}-  election  method 
such  as  is  now  in  vogue.  It  happened  this 
year  that  the  Republicans  had  nine  candidates 
for  sheriff  and  there  were  three  to  five  candi- 
dates each  for  some  of  the  other  offices,  and  the 
persons  who  were  nominated,  only  received  one- 
fifth  to  one-third  of  the  total  vote.  This  caused 
great  dissatisfaction  with  the  Primary  Election 
plan  and  it  was  abolished  at  an  election  held 
May  31,  1870,  by  a  vote  of  439  to  103.  The 
Republican  nominee  for  sheriff  and  some  of 
the  other  nominees  of  that  party  for  county 
offices  were  beaten  at  the  polls.  P.  H.  Waite  of 
Mankato  ran  as  an  Independent  candidate  for 
Judge  of  the  District  Court  at  this  election. 
Being  a  Democrat,  he  was  endorsed  by  his  own 
party,  and  elected  by  a  good  majority  over 
Andrew  C.  Dunn  the  Republican  nominee. 

About  October  1,  1869,  a  post  office  was  creat- 
ed ia  the  southwest  corner  of  Rapidan  with 
Dr.  N.  Bixby  as  postmaster.  He,  also,  had  to 
act  as  his  own  mail  carrier. 

The  Winona  &  St.  Peter  Railroad  had  now 
reached  Janesville,  and  had  its  track  laid  to 
the  east  line  of  our  county,  and  a  village  was 
laid  out  there  called  "Smith's  Mill,"  one- 
half  of  which  is  located  in  each  county. 

Back  in  1857,  the  territorial  Legislature  had 
created  a   railway   company    called   the   "Minne- 


169 


m 


HISTOSY  01'  BLtJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


sota  and  Northwestern  Eailroad  company." 
^imong  the  incorporators  were  Dr.  Wm.  E. 
McMahan  and  Basil  Moreland  of  Mankato, 
Matthew  Thompson  of  South  Bend,  and  Pran- 
cis  Bassen  and  Col.  Wm.  Pfender  of  New  Ulm, 
and  the  road  was  to  run  from  a  point  on  the 
Iowa  line  via  Austin,  Mankato,  South  Bend, 
New  Ulm,  and  Big  Stone  Lake,  to  the  mouth 
of  Sioux  Wood  Eiver.  This  charter  was  renewed 
by  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature  in  March, 
1867,  and  the  route  designated  being  the  same 
practically  as  in  the  original  bill,  except  that 
Geneva  and  Wilton  were  added  to  the  points 
the  road  was  to  pass  through.  In  March  1869, 
this  act '  was  again  amended,  to  the  effect  that 
the  line  of  the  road  should  begin  on  or  near 
the  Iowa  line,  and  run  by  Albert  Lea  to  Man- 
kato and  thence  in  the  direction  of  Big  Stone 
Lake  to  the  western  boundary  of  the  State.  The 
corporation  was  also  authorized  to  construct  a 
branch  from  Mankato  to  Blue  Earth  City  and 
to  change  its  name  if  it  saw  proper.  This  year 
James  B.  Hubble,  John  A.  Willard  and  Clark 
Thompson  took  hold  of  the  charter  and  deter- 
mined to  use  it  to  construct  a  railroad  from 
Mankato  by  way  of  Good  Thunder's  Pord  to 
connect  with  the  Chicago  and  Milwaukee  Eail- 
way  at  Wells.  It  was  also  planned  to  extend 
the  road  in  a  northwesterly  direction  later. 
Mankato  and  the  whole  county  became  greatly 
interested  in  the  project.  December  18,  1869, 
a  mass  meeting  was  held  at  Higgins  Hall,  Man- 
kato, to  consider  the  project,  and  a  resolution 
was  passed  in  favor  of  granting  the  company  a 
bonus  of  $65,000.  On  December  23,  the  com- 
mon council  of  Mankato  voted  to  issue  bonds 
to  that  amount,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  electors  of  the  city,  and  an  election  was 
called  for  January  4,  1870.  The  vote  resulted 
464  in  favor  and  10  against  the  bonus.  Janu- 
ary 13,  1870  Lime  voted  $4,000  bonus  for  same 
purpose  by  vote  of  35  to  29.  Beauford,  Maple- 
ton,  and  Lyra  voted  $15,000  each  and  Mankato 
Township  and  Decoria  $10,000  each.  The  road 
was  begun  in  the  summer  of  1870,  and  com- 
pleted in   1874. 

May  25,  1869,  Mr.  J.  C.  Wise  re-entered  the 
newspaper  field,  bringing  out  on  that  date  the 
first  issue  of  the  "Mankato  Eeview."     Mr.'  B.  C. 


Payne  was  at  first  associated  with  him  as  editor 
and  proprietor,  but  after  one  yeax's  experience 
retired.  The  paper  was  conducted  as  a  Demo- 
cratic Journal  and  under  the  able  management 
of  Mr.  Wise  became  very  popular  and  influen- 
tial. 

The  snow  fall  of  1868-9  was  seven  and  one 
half  feet  and  that  of  1869-70  seven  and  one- 
sixth  feet,  which  resulted  in  a  good  stage  of 
water  in  the  Minnesota  each  spring.  The  steam- 
boat trade  therefore  continued  quite  good  in 
spite  of  tha  arrival  of  the  railroads.  Many  of 
the  boats,  however,  withdrew.  Among  those 
who  continued  in  1869,  were  the  Ellen  Hardy, 
St.  Anthony  Palls,  Jennette  Eoberts,  Otter, 
Mankato,  and  Pioneer.  The  Otter  for  two  or 
tnree  years  made  regular  trips  between  New 
Ulm  and  South  Bend,  transferring  at  the  latter 
place  passengers  and  freight  to  the  St.  Paul 
and  Sioux  City  Eailroad.  The  Otter  at  this 
time  was  owned  by  New  Ulm  business  men. 
John  Segar  was  her  captain  in  1870,  and  after- 
wards Boncoeur  Subilier,  both  of  New  Ulm. 
In  1870,  there  were  about  eighty  steamboat 
arrivals  at  Mankato.  Among  the  boats  engaged 
this  year  were  the  Otter,  Mankato,  St.  Anthony, 
Tiger,  Dexter,  John  C.  Gault  and  G.  B.  Knapp. 
The  total  wheat  receipts  at  Mankato  up  to  Feb- 
ruary 1,  1870  from  the  1869  crop  amounted  to 
213,970  bushels,  which  indicates  that  there  was 
considerable   transportation  to   do. 

Early  in  March  Dr.  E.  D.  Buckner  started 
a  newspaper  at  Lake  Crystal  called  the  "Peoples 
Journal."  On  May  3,  it  merged  with  the  "Gar- 
den City  Herald,"  under  the  name  of  "Herald 
and  Journal"  and  continued  its  place  of  publi- 
cation at  Garden  City,  until  August,  1870,  when 
it  was  discontinued,  and  the  press  removed  to 
Madelia.  On  March  4,  1870,  the  following  mail 
routes  existed  in  Blue  Earth  County,  carrying 
mail   to   the  postoffices  named: 

(1)  Prom  Mankato  by  Tivoli,  Winnebago 
Agency,  Medo,  Sherman  to  Minnesota  lake,  ser- 
vice semi-weekly. 

(2)  Prom    Mankato    by    Decoria,    Beauford, 
Perch   Lake   and    Garden    Prairie   to    Minnesota ' 
Lake,  service  weekly. 

(3)  Prom    Mankato    by    Eed    Jacket    Mills, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


171 


!   1 


Castle  Garden,   Good  Thunder  Pord,   Mapleton, 
to  Minnesota   Lake,   service   weekly. 

(4)  From  Mankato  by  South  Bend,  Garden 
City,  Vernon  Center,  Shelbyville,  to  Blue  Earth 
City,  service  six  times  a  week. 

(5)  From  Mankato  by  South  Bend,  Lalce 
Crystal,  Iceland,  to  Madelia,  daily  service. 

(6)  From  Mankato  by  South  Bend,  Judson, 
Butternut  Valley  to  New  Ukn,  service  sis  times 
a  week. 

(7)  From  Garden  City  by  Watonwan,  Wil- 
low Creek,  Pleasant  Mounds,  to  Eairmont,  ser- 
vice twice  a  week. 

(8)  From  Vernon  Center  via  Sterling  Cen- 
ter to  Mapleton,  service  semi-weekly. 

(9)  From  Winona  via  Spier  (Eagle  Lake) 
to  Mankato,  service   daily. 

(10)  From  Wilton  via  Cobb  river  to  Minne- 
sota Lake,  weekly. 

In  March,  IS';*©,  a  number  of  Germans  at 
Mankato  organized  a  Turner  Society,  with  forty 
members.  The  main  object  of  the  society  was 
gymnastic    exercise    and    social    privileges. 

During  the  years  1869,  1870,-71  and  72  the 
old  settlers  held  their  reunions  at  Mankato. 
Fourth  of  July  celebrations  were  held  in  various 
parts  of  the  county.  In  1869,  Garden  City  had 
the  principle  one  with  Judge  Austin  as  orator. 
In  1870,  Winnebago  Agency,  and  a  grove  near 
Mr.  Taylor's  store  in  Mapleton  were  the  centers 
of  patriotic   demonstrations. 

During  those  years  the  Blue  Earth  County 
bar  possessed  an  array  of  legal  and  forensic 
talent  of  great  ability.  Judge  Waite,  who  had 
come  to  the  county  in  1860,  and  who  recently 
had  won  fame  in  his  legal  battles  in  behalf  of 
the  city  of  Mankato  to  recover  its  streets,  levees, 
and  public  grounds  against  private  greed,  which 
had  appropriated  them,  and  against  the  St. 
Paul  and  Sioux  City  Eailroads,  who  had  attempt- 
ed to  steal  a  right  of  way  through  the  city 
without  paying  therefor,  was  now  on  the  bench. 
As  a  lawyer  he  was  a  great  worker,  and  ener- 
getic and  persistent  fighter,  and  as  a  judge  he 
was  able,  honest  and  impartial.  Daniel  Buck, 
who  had  first  settled  in  South  Bend,  but  had 
recently  removed  to  Mankato.  He  was  an  inde- 
fatigable worker.  Impulsive,  honest,  earnest, 
determined,  a  firm  believer  in  the  right  of  his 


clients  case,  a  strong  man  with  the  jury,  he 
continued  the  Nestor  of  the  Bar  of  our  county 
nearly  half  a  century.  E.  P.  Freeman  came 
to  Mankato  early  in  1S62,  a  graduate  of  Yale 
Law  school,  having  a  good  legal  mind,  well 
trained,  a  genial,  kind  hearted  man,  whom  all 
liked.  But  he  allowed  politics  and  his  social 
habits  to  interfere  too  much  at  times  with  his 
law  practice.  Served  as  County  Attorney,  as 
Legislator  and  as  Receiver  of  the  U.  S.  Land 
Office  for  many  years.  Judge  Brown  came  to 
Mankato  in  1865,  from  Indiana.  He  was  a 
gentleman  of  the  old  school,  medium  sized, 
smooth  shaved,  with  an  erect,  alert  figure.  Neat 
and  professional  in  dress  but  not  particularly 
stylish.  Always  polite  and  affable.  Fond  of 
classical  learning  and  all  educational  matters. 
A  good  lawyer  but  lacking  a  little  in  depth 
and  breadth.  His  partner  James  A.  Wiswell 
located  in  1857,  in  Garden  City,  removed  to 
Mankato  about  1854,  and  went  into  partner- 
ship with  Judge  Brown,  and  for  many  years 
t.ie  firm  of  Brown  &  Wiswell  were  prominent 
among  the  Blue  Earth  County  bar.  He  was 
not  as  polished  or  well  educated  as  Judge 
Brown,  but  possessed  considerable  native  abil- 
ity and  was  a  man.  of  good  judgment.  He 
served  the  County  as  Legislator  for  several  terms 
and   the   city  of   Mankato   as   its   first   mayor. 

0.  0.  Pitcher  came  to  Mankato  as  an  edu- 
cator in  1857,  and  after  a  few  years  entered 
the  law.  He  possessed  a  good  legal  mind,  and 
served  as  County  Attorney  and  legislator,  but 
was  not  a  great  trial  lawyer,  and  after  a  few 
years  retired  from  active  practice.  He  took 
much    interest    in    political   matters. 

In  1870,  Martin  J.  Severance  removed  to 
JIankato  and  at  once  took  a  leading  place  among 
the  bar  of  the  county.  He  had  an  impressive 
presence  and  splendid  oratorical  powers,  which 
gave  him  strength  before  a  jury.  He  was,  also, 
well  versed  in  the  law  and  strictly  honest  and 
upright  as  a  .  man.  At  first  he  formed  a  co- 
partnership with  Mr.  Pitcher  and  later  with 
D.  A.  Dickenson.  Judge  Dickenson  opened  a 
law  office  in  Mankato  in  1868.  He  was  an 
able  lawyer,  a  thorough  gentleman,  clean  and 
upright.  Among  the  younger  men  were,  M. 
G.  Willard  who  came  to  Mankato  in  1868,  and 


172 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


devoted  most  of  his  attention  to  mercantile  and 
real  estate  law.  A.  E.  Pfau,  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Mankato  in  1869, 
and  was  quick,  witty  and  vigorous  in  the  tria,! 
of  his  case,  a  popular  young  lawyer  with  the 
jury;  and  J.  E.  Porter,  who  came  to  Mankato 
in  1870,  but  was  soon  elected  Judge  of  Probate 
and  side  tracked  from  the  law.  Such  were 
the  most  prominent  members  of  the  bar  in  our 
county  in  the  early  seventies.  A  line  array  of 
men  of  splendid  character  and  talent.  Pour  of 
whom  became  district  court  judges  and  two 
.-vive  sat  upon  the  supreme  bench  of  the  state. 

On  May  29,  1870  Mankato  had  its  first  big 
fire,  when  five  stores  in  block  fourteen  were 
wiped  out. 

As  indicating  the  speed  of  steam  boats  on 
the  Minnesota  it  is  recorded  that  on  May  14, 
1870,  the  Tiger  made  the  distance  from  Eed 
Wood  to  Mankato  in  thirteen  and  one-half  hours, 
being  the  quickest  time  it  had  ever  been  made. 

By  August,  1870,  the  track  of  the  Winona 
and  St.  Peter  Eailroad  was  completed  to  Bur- 
gess' Mill  (the  present  site  of  Eagle  Lake),  and 
on  August  26,  its  first  train,  consisting  of  two 
passenger  coaches,  a  baggage  and  mail  coaches 
and  three  freight  cars  arrived  at  Mankato.  On 
October  35,  1870,  the  completion  of  the  road  to 
Mankato  was  celebrated  by  a  grand  excursion 
and  a  big  dinner,  at  which  Judge  Waite  acted 
as  toast  master  and  speeches  were  made  by 
Judge  Wm.  Mitchell,  Judge  C.  H.  Berry,  Mayor 
Lee  of  St.  Paul,  D.  Sinclair  and  others.  In 
September,  1870,  D.  C.  Evans  and  Elias  F. 
Drake  platted  the  townsite  of  Minneopa.  The 
St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  road  erected  a  grain 
elevator  here,  at  which  D.  C.  Evans  acted  as 
buyer.  In  the  month  of  ISTovember  alone  he 
bought  and  shipped  19,600  bushels  of  wheat 
from  this  station.  J  Dean  of  Minneapolis 
opened  a  lumber  yard  here,  and  during  the  sum- 
mer the  picturesque  falls  attracted  picnic  excur- 
sions from  St.  Paul,  St.  Peter,  Mankato  and  a 
number   of   other   places. 

This  year  the  hop  product  of  the  Prisbie  and 
Shepard  yard  amounted  to  9,000  pounds  and 
that  of  the  Hanna  yard  to  7,000  pounds. 

On  December  13,  1870,  for  the  first  time  in 
the  history  of  the  county  its  treasurer  was  able 


to  pay  the  jurors  of  the  District  Court  in  cash. 
Heretofore  they  and  all  creditors  of  the  county 
had  been  paid  in  county  orders,  which  were 
discounted  at  the  stores,  but  at  last  our  county 
had  become  solvent  and  has  so  remained  ever 
since. 

The  fall  of  1870,  was  very  fine  and  even  wild 
fiowers  were  found  on  the  prairie  as  late  as 
December.  About  Nov.  1,  1870,  the  new  post 
ofllice  of  "Speier"  was  established  near  the  Bur- 
gess mill  in  Le  Eay  and  Freeman  A.  Gate 
appointed    postmaster. 

In  October  1870,  Mapleton  station  was  sur- 
veyed on  the  line  of  the  new  Wells  railroad  and 
on  January  21,  1871,  a  plat  of  the  new  town- 
site  was  made  by  David  Smith  (Owner  of  the 
land)  and  Clark  W.  Thompson,  James  B.  Hub- 
bell,  and  John  A.  Willard,  who  as  owners  of 
the  Eailway,  had  received  each  a  one-fourth 
interest  in  the  townsite. 

Arrangements  were  also  made  to  lay  out 
another  townsite  on  the  land  of  Levi  Houk  at 
Good  Thunder's  Ford,  and  a  survey  of  this 
town  was  made  in  April,  1871,  by  Levi  Hauk, 
Clark  W.  Thompson,  James  B.  Hubbell  and 
John  A.  Willard,  and  a  plat  filed  in  which  the 
village  was  designated  "Good  Thunder."  Imme- 
diately after  the  survey  in  April,  John  G.  Gra- 
ham, who  had  been  in  business  at  Garden  City, 
began  the  erection  of  a  store  building  at  Good 
Thunder.  The  carpenter  work  was  done  by 
Julius  Webber,  then  a  young  carpenter  at  Gar- 
den City,  but  afterwards  for  many  years  the 
honored  judge  of  the  Ninth  Judicial  District, 
with  home  at  New  Ulm.  Early  in  June,  1871, 
Mr.  Graham  moved  his  stock  of  general  mer- 
chandise from  Garden  City  to  Good  Thunder, 
and,  a  postofEice  being  established  there  about 
the  same  time,  he  was  made  its  first  postmaster. 
Before  the  middle  of  June  two  stores  had  been 
opened  and  a  building  for  a  hardware  store 
nearly  completed  at  the  new  town. 

Soon  after  the  survey  of  Mapleton  station  in 
October,  1870,  James  E.  Brown,  who  was  in  the 
mercantile  business  at  Winnebago  Agency  built 
a  store  at  the  new  townsite  and  began  business^ 
there.  In  May,  1871,  he  sold  out  his  business 
at  Winnebago  Agency  and  removed  entirely  to 
Mapleton,  becoming  its   first  merchant. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


173 


During  the  winter  of  1870-71  wlieat  went  up 
to  $1  per  bushel  to  the  great  encouragement 
of  the  farmers.  About  April  1,  1871  the  Blue 
Earth  Valley  Farmers'  Club  was  organized  at 
Shelbyville    with    following    officers: 

President,   Chas.  Holgate. 

Vice-President,  James  Miller. 

Treasurer,   C.   Crocker. 

Secretary,  David  E.  Cross. 

Corresponding  Secretary,   C.   Crandall. 

In  the  fall  of  1870,  Eev.  A.  Council  of  the 
Christian  Church  started  a  college  at  ]\Iankato 
known  as  "Blue  Earth  College,"  which  ran  for 
i.bout  a  year.  Eev.  Council  was  a  very  capable 
and  energetic  young  man,  but  in  quite  feeble 
health,  and  before  the  end  of  the  school  year, 
he  was  obliged  to  resign  because  of  sickness, 
and  his  assistant,  Hiss  E.  J.  Dickerson,  finished 
the  first  year  of  the  school  and  then  it  had  to 
be  abandoned. 

In  March,  1871,  Mankato  school  District 
voted  $10,000.00  bonds  for  the  erection  of  a  sec- 
ond school  building,  and  the  "Pleasant  Grove" 
school  house  was  completed  that  fall.  At  Man- 
kato in  1871,  we  also  note  the  building  of  a  fac- 
tory on  2nd  street  opposite  the  American  House, 
for  the  manufacture  of  doors,  sash,  blinds,  etc., 
by  Wolfram  and  Pans;  the  building  of  a  large 
brick  residence  by  John  J.  Shaubut,  which  now 
forms  a  part  of  St.  Joseph's  Hospital;  and 
the  construction  of  the  present  large  German 
Catholic  Church.  The  laying  of  the  corner  stone 
of  the  latter  building  on  .July  24th,  was  a  not- 
able event.  Bishop  Grace  officiated  and  there 
were  grand  processions  in  charge  of  Dr.  Foil- 
man  as  Marshal,  and  impressive  ceremonies  wit- 
nessed by  about  3,000  persons.  The  building 
cogt  about   $-15,000.00   originally. 

As  long  as  the  stage  of  water  permitted  the 
Pioneer  and  the  Hudson  were  run  between  Man- 
kato and  New  Ulm  and  Epd  Wood  in  connection 
with  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter  railway,  and 
the  Otter  and  the  St.  Anthony  Palls  in  connec- 
tion with  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Bailway. 
As  the  river  was  low  much  of  the  summer,  steam- 
hoat  traific  to  St.  Paul  was  largelv  discontinued, 
and  in  two  or  three  ye^rs  craped  altogether.  The 
boats  were  unable  with  the  uncertain  stage  of 
water -to  compete  with  the  railroads.  On  July  7, 


1871,  one  of  the  worst  hail  storms  that  ever  visit- 
ed the  county  swept  over  the  townships  of  Cam- 
bria, Judson,  South  Bend,  Butternut  Valley, 
Lincoln,  Garden  City  and  portions  of  Jledo,  work- 
ing wholesale  destruction  to  over  10,000  acres 
of  grain  in  our  own  county,  besides  the  havoc 
done  in  Brown  and  Nicollet  counties.  Many  of 
the  farmers  were  left  in  utter  destitution,  with- 
out even  bread  or  seed,  let  alone  the  wherewith 
to  meet  their  obligations.  All  their  hard  labor 
for  the  entire  year  gone  in  a  few  moments.  The 
farmer  of  those  days  had  nothing  to  fall  back 
upon  if  his  wheat  crop  failed.  During  the  win- 
ter of  1871-2  about  1,300  of  these  hail  storm 
sufferers  applied  to  the  governor  for  aid  to  pro- 
cure seed  wheat.  The  Legislature  passed  meas- 
ures for  their  relief  and  the  County  Commis- 
sioners of  Blue  Earth  County  were  authorized 
to  issue  $5,000.00  in  bonds  for  the  aid  of  such 
sufferers  in  this  county.  The  bonds,  however, 
were  defeated  at  the  polls  in  March  by  a  vote 
of  579  against  to  531  in  favor.  Some  of  the 
towns,  who  had  suffered  no  harm,  with  the 
selfishness  too  often  witnessed  in  public  mat- 
ters, voted  almost  solid  against  the  proposition. 
At  their  meeting  of  March,  1871,  the  County 
Board  had  over  100  applications  for  aid  from 
the  hail  sufferers  and  gave  such  assistance  as 
they  were  able.  Private  subscriptions,  also,  did 
something  to  relieve  the  situation.  Public  char- 
ity is  always  grossly  abused  by  the  dishonest  and 
unworthy,  which  thought  doubtless  influenced 
the  vote  on  the  bonds,  yet  the  example  of  Him, 
"Who  makes  his  sun  shine  on  the  just  and  the 
imjust"  is  the  safest  rule  in  cases  of  great  pub- 
lic calamity  and   actual  need. 

In  the  fall  of  1871,  Woodham  and  Burgess 
built  a  flour  mill  at  the  outlet  of  Eagle  Lake. 
On  January  25,  1872,  the  Blue  Earth  Valley 
Bums  Club  met  at  the  house  of  James  Ellis 
in  Sterling  and  the  good  old  songs  and  games  of 
bonny  Scotland  were  given  a  full  test  on  the 
snowy  banks  of  Lake  Lura.  The  officers  elect- 
ed for  the  coming  year  were : 

President,  James  Ellis. 

Vice-President,  James  Curry. 

Treasurer,  John  Johnston. 

Eecording   Secretary.   Chas.    Sanborn. 

Cor.    Secretary,    Eobert    Taylor. 


174 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


The  winter  of  1871-3  had  an  abundant  snow- 
fall, in  some  of  the  railway  cuts  it  was  twenty 
feet  deep.  The  depth  of  the  snow  drove  the 
deer  from  the  timber  back  of  Mankato  and 
they  were  found  at  times  in  Van  Brunt  and 
Warren  Additions. 

During  the  summer  of  1871,  there  were  a 
number  of  railway  excursions  gotten  up  by 
the  churches  of  Mankato  as  a  means  of  recrea- 
tion and  of  raising  money.  Some  of  the 
churches  cleared  $150.00  to  $200.00  each  on 
these   excursions. 

The  Citizens  National  Bank  of  Mankato  was 
organized  on  the  28th  of  May,  1872.  John  P. 
Meagher  was  chosen  President,  J.  P.  Bishop, 
vice-president,  and  J.  H.  Ray  cashier,  and  the 
following  were  made  directors:  H.  Wolfram, 
Daniel  Buck,  J.  W.  Bishop,  J.  P.  Meagher,  M. 
Schwartz,  J.  A.  James,  Chas.  Mansfield,  J.  J. 
Thompson,  J.  T.  Williams,  Wm.  Thomas  and 
Wm.  Condon.  On  May  20,  1872,  E.  S.  Eich 
started  a  cheese  factory  at  Lake  Crystal,  a  fore- 
runner of  the  great  dairy  industry, .  which  has 
later  made  such  wonderful  progress. 

On  July  23,  1872,  a  German  singing  society 
known  as  the  Harmonia,  laid  the  corner  stone 
of  their  new  hall,  which  is  the  present  opera 
house  at  Mankato.  There  was  a  procession  of 
various  lodges  and  clubs  present.  A.  E.  Pfau 
gave  the  English  address  and  Prof.  Neumeyer 
spoke  in  German.  The  building  was  finished 
this  year  and  senator  Wilkinson  gave  the  dedi- 
catory oration  on  Christmas  day. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1872,  The  Mankato 
Linseed  Oil  Co.,  was  organized  by  John  A. 
Willard,  James  B.  Hubbell  and  E.  D.  Hubbard 
and  the  works  at  Mankato  greatly  enlarged.  This 
company  located  flax  mills  at  Lake  Crystal  and 
in  Shelby  to  prepare  the  crude  material  for 
their  Mankato  factory.  On  June  4,  1872,  the 
Blue  Earth  County  Beekeepers  Association  met 
in  convention  at  Eraser's  Hall,  Garden  City,  and 
stimulated  the  culture  of  the  honey  industry.  A. 
W.  Hawley,  B.  B.  Parker,  Edson  Gerry,  E.  G. 
Eew,  J.  P.  Purber  and  B.  Coffin  were  among 
those  who  participated  in  the  convention. 

On  September  3,  1872,  the  Germans  of  Man- 
kato formed  a  new  militia  company,  called  "Na- 
tional Guards,"  with  forty  members,  officered 
as  follows: 


Captain,  Leopold  Pry. 

Pirst  Lieut.,  H.  Himmelman. 

Second  Lieut.,.  Chas.  H.  Otto. 

Pirst  Sergeant,  Gust  Schildknecht. 

Second  Sergeant,  Geo.  Schoiler. 

Corporal,  Geo.  Steins. 

At  the  November  election,  1872,  the  Eepubli- 
cans  and  Democrats  divided  the  honors.  Among 
the  democrats  elected  were  Daniel  Buck,  for 
County  Attorney,  J.  Wm.  Hoerr  for  County 
Treasurer,  and  J.  E.  Porter  for  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate. Porter  was  a  new  man  and  running  against 
David  Wilcox,  one  of  the  best  known  men  in 
the  county,  and  under  the  circumstances  Porter's 
victory  was  a  great  surprise.  He  won  by  four 
votes. 

Winter  set  in  early  in  the  fall  of  1872,  and 
the  railroads  had  snow  blockades  about  the  first 
of  November.  Most  of  the  farmers  and  the  own- 
ers of  horse  flesh  generally  were,  also,  blockaded 
this  winter,  for  the  Epizootic  everywhere  was 
prevalent.  As  the  winter  progressed  the  snow 
became  ever  deeper  and  the  temperature  colder. 
The  railroads  in  spite  of  every  effort  were  block- 
aded for  weeks  at  a  time.  The  Winona  &  St.  Peter 
road  suffered  particularly  on  the  portion  of  their 
road  between  St.  Peter  and  New  Ulm,  and  its 
trains  were  hardly  able  to  get  to  the  latter  place  all 
winter  and  the  mails  had  to  be  carried  thither  on 
sleighs.  Two  hundred  shovelers  were  kept  at 
work,  but  to  no  purpose,  for  what  they  cleared 
out  one  day  would  blow  full  the  next.  On  Jan- 
uary 7,  1873,  a  terrible  blizzard  set  in,  which 
lasted  for  two  days.  It  was  about  the  worst 
known  in  the  history  of  the  country  and  many 
people  were  frozen  to  death,  and  Blue  Earth 
county  did  not  entirely  escape.  D.  Kirk,  a 
school  teacher  of  Garden  City,  and  a  brother 
of  David  Kirk,  afterwards  county  superintendent 
of  schools,  was  caught  by  the  storm  away  from 
home  and  perished.  John  Halverson  of  Medo 
was  likewise  caught  and  so  badly  frozen  that 
his  feet  and  hands  had  to  be  amputated.  About 
seventy  persons  perished  in  the  State  and  thirty- 
one  were  seriously  injured.  About  250  cattle 
and  twenty-five  horses  were  destroyed  by  the 
storm. 

Elsewhere  in  this  volume  will  be  found  a  table 
showing  the  growth  of  our  public  schools  during 
the  past  forty-five  years,  prepared  from,  the  an- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


175 


nual  reports  furnished  the  State  Superintendent 
of  Puhlic  Instruction.  Here  will  be  noted  the 
transition  from  the  log  school  house  to  the  frame 
and  brick,  the  gradual  substitution  of  female 
for  male  teachers,  the  advance  in  wages,  and 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  scholars.  All  are 
items  of  interest  and  worthy  of  consideration. 
Statistics,  however,  do  not  reveal  the  real 
work  of  education,  what  advance  has  been  made 
in  methods  of  teaching,  how  much  better  educat- 
ed the  youth  of  today  are  if  any,  compared  with 
their  fathers  and  mothers,  who  attended  the 
schools  of  thirty  and  forty  years  ago,  are  ques- 
tions of  more  importance.  The  advantages  of  the 
present  over  the  past  pertain,  however,  more  to 
the  city  and  village  than  to  the  country  school,  for 
the  latter  continues  much  as  of  yore,  except  that 
the  men  teachers  have  disappeared  and  likewise 
most  of  the  older  scholars.  Many  of  the  latter 
now  attend  the  high  school  of  some  nearby 
village  or  town.  The  primitive  log  schoolhouse, 
in  which  the  only  furniture  consisted  of  a  box 
stove  in  the  corner  by  the  door,  a  chair  and 
cheap  table  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room  for 
the  teacher,  and  a  few  rude  homemade  benches 
ranged  between  for  the  pupils,  have  long  since 
vanished.  But  the  white  painted  frame  struc- 
ture, with  patent  desks,  a  black  board,  a  few 
maps  and  charts  on  the  wall,  and  a  globe  and 
dictionary  on  the  teachers  desk,  still  remains, 
much  as  in  the  seventies.  In  this  connection  it 
may  not  be  void  of  interest  to  take  a  mere  glimpse 
into  a  number  of  the  school  houses  of  the  county 
in  the  fall  of  1872,  with  E.  C.  Payne,  then 
County  Superintendent,  as  he  reported  the  same 
in   the   Eeview    of    that    day. 

District  ISTo.  53,  Mankato  Township,  Teacher, 
Miss  Mary  Bailey,  wages  $30.00  per  month,  pu- 
pils enrolled  forty-eight,  present  thirty-eight 
good  frame  building. 

District  No.  3,  Tivoli,  teacher  Miss  Mary 
Maynard,  wages  $100  for  three  months,  enrolled 
thirty-three,  present  twenty-one,  need  a  new 
school   house. 

District  Fo.  72,  Eed  Jacket,  teacher  Lizzie 
Faddis,  wages  $30  per  month,  enrolled  twenty- 
seven,  present  eighteen,   doing  good  work. 

District  No.  91,  Eapidan,  teacher  Wm.  Blain, 


wages   $40.00    per   month,   enrolled   thirty,   pres- 
ent nineteen,  a  good  school. 

District  No.  16,  Garden  City  Village,  Primary 
Department:  Miss  Emma  King,  teacher,  enroll- 
led  thirty-two,  present  twenty-five,  wages  $30.; 
Intermediate  Department;  Miss  Emma  L.  Wal- 
ker, teacher,  enrolled  49,  present  forty-two, 
wages  $30.  High  school,  David  Kirk,  teacher, 
enrolled  forty-three,  present  thirty-six,  wages 
$45.00.   School  house  large  two  story  frame. 

District  No.  107,  Minneopa  Falls,  Miss  Anna 
Jenkins,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  twenty- 
five,   present  twenty,  good  frame  building. 

District  No.  5,  South  Bend  and  Judson,  Wm, 
E.  Davis,  teacher,  wages  $45.00,  enrolled  44, 
present   30,   small  frame  building. 

District  No.  17,  Garden  City  Township,  A. 
L.  Pratt,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  32, 
present    28,    good    frame    building. 

District  No.  21,  Garden  City  and  Vernon, 
Miss  Hattie  A.  Eew,  teacher,  wages  $30,  enroll- 
ed 40,  present  32,  frame  building. 

District  No.  26,  Vernon  Center  Township,  A. 
C.  Harrison,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  26, 
present  18,  good  frame  building. 

District  No.  24,  Village  of  Vernon,  Merrit 
Turner,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  59,  present 
38,  very  poor  frame  building. 

District  No.  123,  Shelby,  Miss  Lou  Evans, 
teacher,  wages  $28,  enrolled  14,  present  12,  good 
frame   building. 

District  No.  46,  Shelby,  John  Owens,  teacher, 
wages  $30,  enrolled  19,  present  14,  good  frame 
building. 

District  No.  47  Village  of  Shelbyville,  Miss 
Emma  Merrill,  teacher,  wages  $35,   enrolled   30, 

District  No.  117,  Shelby,  G.  W.  Dewn,  teach- 
present   22,   good    frame  building, 
er,  wages  $20  and  board,  enrolled  24,  present  22, 
new  brick  building  of   good  size. 

District  No.  37,  Pleasant  Mound,  W.  H.  De- 
graff  teacher,  wages  $16  and  board,  enrolled  16, 
present  8,  poor  frame  building. 

District  No.  125,  Pleasant  Mound,  Miss  M. 
E.  Aiken,  teacher,  wages  $24,  enrolled  15, 
present    8,    new   brick   building. 

District  No.  27,  Shelby,  C.  H.  Eadford, 
teacher,  wages  $45,  enrolled  38,  present  23,  new 


176 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  BAETH  COUNTY. 


brick  of  good  size,  best  school  house  in  county 
outside  of  Mankato. 

District  Ko.  90,  Eapidan,  Miss  M.  J.  Plymat, 
teacher,  wages  $33,  enrolled  23,  present  17, 
good  frame  building. 

District  No.  23,  Vernon,  A.  M.  Hannay,  teach- 
er, school  not  in  session  that  day. 

District  No.  25,  Vernon,  S.  N.  Rose,  teach- 
er, school  not  in  session. 

District  No.  72,  Red  Jacket  Mills,  B.  0.  Stod- 
dard, teacher,  wages  $42,  enrolled  42,  present 
29,  stone  building. 

District  No.  79,  Rapidan,  R.  A.  Moses,  teach- 
er, wages  $40,  enrolled  24,  present  16,  good 
frame  building. 

District  No.  141,  Rapidan  and  Lyra,  Miss  J. 
A.  Williams,  teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled  10, 
present  7,  good  frame  building. 

District  No.  87,  Good  Thunder  Village,  0. 
A.  Benedict,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  43, 
present  26,  rented  room. 

District  No.  98,  Lyra,  Miss  Ida  Long,  teach- 
er, wages  $25,  enrolled  21,  present  13,  unfinished 
frame    building. 

District  No.  73,  Lower  Agency  in  MePher- 
son,  Morris  Wilkins,  teacher,  wages  $40,  en- 
rolled 52,  present  37,  good  new  frame  build- 
ing. 

District  No.  70,  Upper  Agency,  McPherson, 
Frank  Wilkins,  teacher,  wages  $45,  enrolled 
47,  present  28,  poor  frame  building. 

District  No.  96,  McPherson,  J.  L.  Burgess, 
teacher,  wages  $37.50,  enrolled  22,  present  16, 
log  building. 

District  No.  71,  Medo  and  McPherson,  David 
Eastman,  teacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  49,  pres- 
ent 28,  poor  log  building. 

District  No.  69,  Medo,  T.  A.  Leighton, 
teacher,  wages  $30,  enrolled  27,  present  18, 
poor    frame    building. 

District  No.  58,  Medo,  B.  F.  Stedman, 
teacher,  wages  $36.25,  enrolled  34,  present  26, 
primitive  log  building,  sixth  term  for  this 
teacher  at  this  school. 

District  No.  61,  Medo,  James  Patterson, 
teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled  40,  present  24, 
good  frame  building. 

District     No.     124,     McPherson,     Miss    Eliza 


Wilson,    teacher,    wages   $30,    enrolled    19,  pres- 
ent 20,  good  frame  building. 

District  No.  69,  McPherson,  Julius  L.  Daw- 
ley,  teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled  26,  present  20, 
good  frame  building. 

District  No.  57,  Medo,  Mr.  Abner,  teacher, 
not  in   session. 

District  No.  59,  Medo,  Miss  Helen  Comstock 
teacher,  not  in  session. 

District  No.  33,  Sterling,  Miss  Abbington 
DeWolf  teacher,  wages  $30,  enrolled  26,  pres- 
ent 13,  frame  building,  out  of  repair,  used  to 
be  for  years  one  of  the  best  districts,  but  had 
been   weakened  by   loss   of   territory. 

District  No.  102,  Sterling,  P.  V.  Goff,  teacher, 
wages  $40,  enrolled  38,  present  23,  log  house. 

District  No.  36,  Mapleton,  Wm.  Plymat 
teacher,  wages  $28.50,  enrolled  21,  frame  build- 
ing  out   of  repair. 

District  No.  34,  Mapleton,  Miss  Mary  A. 
Dobie,  teacher,  wages  $30,  enrolled  40,  present 
20,   large  frame  building. 

District  No.  105,  Mapleton  Station,  Miss 
Nettie  Lambie,  teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled 
37,  present  24,  good  frame  building. 

District  No.  30,  Sterling,  Miss  Rebecca  Dobie, 
teacher,  wages  $30,  enrolled  50,  present  33, 
large  frame  building. 

District  No.  31,  Sterling  Center,  Miss  Viola 
Hill,  teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled  36,  present 
25,  very  poor  frame  building. 

District  No.  54,  Sterling,  Allen  Benedict, 
■Leacher,  wages  $40,  enrolled  14,  present  11, 
poor   log   building. 

District  No.  102,  Sterling,  W.  H.  Butler, 
teacher,  wages  $38,  enrolled  42,  present  33, 
poor  log  building,  one  of  best  schools  in  county. 

District  No.  Il2,  Shelby,  Merrit  Turner, 
teacher,  good  frame  building,  small  school  and 
backward. 

District  No.  24,  Village  of  Vernon  Center, 
Miss  Nettie  M.  Crane,  teacher,  good  school. 

District  No.  77,  South  Bend  Township, 
Franklin  Ensign,  teacher,  wages  $35,  enrolled 
22,   present  6,   poor  log  building. 

The  following  districts  were  visited  in  June, 
1873.  We  give  first  number  of  district,  where 
located,  name  of  teacher,  number  of  scholars, 
enrolled,    and   lastly   kind   of   school    house: 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


No.  4,  South  Bend  Village,  B.  Ferrick,  $40, 
40,  good  frame  built  last  year. 

No.  133,  Garden  City,  Miss  Lulu  E.  Green- 
wood, $35,  14. 

No.  20,  Butterfield  Mill,  Alice  J.  Crane, 
$27,  32. 

No.  14,  Ceresco,  Miss  Lizzie  J.  Delany,  $35, 
26. 

No.  74,  Ceresco,  Miss  Myra  Sharratt,  $25,  15. 

No.  83,  Pleasant  Mound,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Mc- 
Donald, $16.67,  35. 

No.  Ill,  Pleasant  Mound,  j\Iiss  Abbie  L. 
Price,  $32,  18. 

No.  106,  Garden  City,  Miss  Mary  J.  Ply- 
mat,  $30. 

No.  56,  Mapleton,  Miss  Flora  Annis,  $19,  18. 

No.  35,  Mapleton,  Miss  Maggie  Hanna,  $24 
and  board,  33. 

No.  95,  Beauford,  Miss  Anna  Uhleg,  $25, 
36,  very  poor  log  building. 

No.  89,  Lincoln,  Miss  Lou  Boughton,  $30, 
40,  brick. 

No.     15,  Lincoln,  F.  A.  Mosher,  $28,  25. 

No.  119,  Lincoln,  Miss  Katie  Meixell,  $28, 
24. 

No.     115,    Butternut    Valley,     Miss     Anna 
Lloyd,  $38,  33. 

No.  13,  Butternut  Valley,  Frank  Piper,  $30, 
29. 

No.  144,  Butternut  Valley,  Miss  Mary  C. 
Jones,  $23,  45. 

No.  78,  Butternut  Valley,  Miss  Maggie  Bow- 
en,  $28,  38. 

No.  11,  Cambria,  G.  H.  Claggat,  $35,  64, 
large    frame. 

No.  99,  Judson,  Miss  Lizzie  Williams,  $26, 
39,    frame. 

No.  85,  Judson,  Miss  Tryphena  Lewis,  $28, 
46,  frame. 

During  the  winter  of  1872-3  a  large  number 
of  lodges  of  Patrons  of  Husbandry  (or 
"Granges,"  as  they  were  generally  called)  were 
organized  all  over  the  county.  Major  A.  J. 
ilurphy  was  perhaps  the  most  active  in  form- 
ing them.  No  society  ever  grew  more  rapidly 
among  our  people  than  this  farmers'  associa- 
tion. In  a  few  months  it  had  spread  into 
every  township  and  neighborhood  in  the  county. 
On    April    18,    1873,    a    council    of    the  •  Blue 


Earth  County  Granges  met  at  Lake  Crystal, 
and  a  series  of  market  or  fair  days  were  estab- 
lished as  follows :  Lake  Crystal  in  May,  Gar- 
den City  in  June,  Mankato  in  July,  and  Good 
Thunder  in  October.  On  July  4th  of  this  year 
monster  celebrations  were  held  by  these  farmer 
clubs  at  Lake  Cr\'stal  and  Mapleton.  The 
lodges  participating  in  the  Lake  Crystal  pro- 
gram were :  Lake  Crystal,  Madoc,  Gopher, 
Albion,  Watonwan,  Lincoln,  Winger,  Garden 
City,  Ceresco,  Eapidan,  Hebron,  Eureka,  Hes- 
peridan.  Butternut,  Castle  Garden,  Cambria, 
and  Sterling.  Between  1,000  and  1,200  mem- 
bers marched  in  the  procession,  all  dressed  in 
their  regalia.  This  consisted  of  a  Nankeen 
pouch  or  bag  tied  on  the  right  side,  a  picture 
of  a  plow  (the  emblem  of  the  order)  on  the 
flap,  and  beneath,  the  name  and  number  of 
the  lodge.  A  sash  of  the  same  material  trim- 
med with  red  tape  was  worn  across  the  breast, 
and  in  case  of  officers  an  initial  letter  indi- 
cating the  position  was  worn  on  the  sash.  The 
lady  members  wore  pretty  white  aprons  and 
sashes,  both  trimmed  with  red  tape,  and  gen- 
erally they  were  dressed  in  white.  Each  grange 
in  the  procession  was  headed  by  its  officers  and 
carried  banners  and  flags  appropriately  in- 
scribed. Col.  J.  H.  Stevens,  editor  of  the 
"Farmers'  Union,"  was  orator  of  the  day  at 
Lake  Crystal.  At  Mapleton  the  grangers  were 
also  out  in  force.  About  1.200  to  1,500  per- 
sons were  present  there  and  Maj.  A.  C.  Woolfork 
of    Mankato    delivered   the    address. 

The  matter  of  building  the  two  railroads, 
one  from  Mankato  to  Wells,  and  the  other  up 
the  Blue  Earth  from  Mankato  to  Blue  Earth 
City,  were  very  live  issues  again  this  year.  On 
February  27,  1873,  Lyra  voted  $15,000  bonus 
to  the  Wells  road  by  a  majority  of  one  in  a 
poll  of  107.  April  1,  Mankato  voted  $70,000 
in  bonus  to  the  Wells  road  and  $35,000  to 
the  Blue  Earth  City  branch.  April  Srd,  Maple- 
ton voted  $12,500  bonus  to  the  Wells  Eailway. 
These  amounts  were  in  lieu  of  the  former 
bonuses  voted  a  year  or  two  before,  which  had 
in  some  way  fallen  tliroup:]!.  Beauford  and 
^^I.ankato  townships  defeated  their  bonus  prop- 
ositions ;  but  this  only  resulted  in  a  little  more 
agitation  and  another  election,  when  a  favor- 
able vote  was  secured. 


178  HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 

The  deep  snow  of  the  previous  winter  brought  not   the   only   fakir   they  met.     There   was  the 

the   usual   floods    in   the   spring    and   the   mills  "Norway    Oats"    man,    the    "Eed    Osaka"    and 

along   the   Watonwan   and   Blue   Earth    suffered  "Lost   Nation"   wheat   men,    and   this    and  that 

greatly,   and  many   of  the  owners   rendered   al-  potato    wonder,    which    were    worth    a    fortune 

most  bankrupt  by   their  losses.  when    bought,    but    of    little    value    thereafter. 

About  the  first  of  June,  1873,  a  German  But  a  worse  foe  was  at  hand  than  the  Blue 
newspaper  called  the  "Mankato  Beobachter"  Earth  County  farmer  had  ever  met  before. 
(Observer)  was  started  by  Ludwig  Schramm.  In  August,  1873,  the  grasshoppers  began  to 
During  the  same  month  a  new  postoffice  was  rppear  in  the  Northwest  towns  of  the  county 
established  in  McPherson,  under  the  name  of  in  large  numbers  and  at  once  began  their 
"Belleview"  with  J.  D.  Hawkins  as  postmaster,  work  of  destruction.  Much  damage  was  done 
and  the  name  of  "Speier"  postoffice  changed  to  in  these  towns  to  late  crops  this  year,  but  we 
"Eagle  Lake,"  and  H.  Bosard,  who  kept  a  shall  hear  more  about  them  later, 
store  near  the  railway  station  of  that  name,  ap-  In  September,  1873,  an  unfortunate  trouble 
pointed  postmaster.  Another  postofEice  was  arose  in  the  Normal  School  over  the  action  of 
established  in  December  at  Vernon  Center  by  the  board  in  superceding  Miss  J.  A.  Sears,  who 
the  name  of  "Mj^rna"  with  Thos.  Perkins  as  had  acted  as  superintendent  for  a  year.  Thirty- 
postmaster,  service  to  begin  January  1st,   1874.  six  students  took  Miss  Sears'  part  and  seceded 

Statistics    gathered    by    the    assessors    showed  from    the   school,   breaking  up   its   work   badly, 

that  in  1872   there  were   3,166   farms  in   Blue  Miss    Sears   was    a    very    capable    woman,    and 

Earth    County,     54,305     acres     were     sowed    to  had   filled   the   position   of   superintendent   with 

wheat,    from   which    949,318   bushels   were   pro-  great    acceptance,     especially    to    the    students, 

dueed,    16,081    acres    to    oats,    which    produced  The   latter,  therefore,  protested  most  vigorously 

537,447  bushels,  7,393  acres  of  corn,  which  pro-  against    the    action    of    the    Normal    Board    in 

duced  390,394  bushels.     Within  the  ten  or  fif-  turning    her    down    simply   because    she    was    a 

teen    years    just    past    great    improvements    had  woman,    and  putting  a   man   at  the  head.     In 

been  made  in  farm  machinery.     When  the  pio-  those   days   the  school   had   a  large   number  of 

neers  of  our  county  began  raising  farm  products  voung    men     among    its    patrons,     and    amon^ 

all  grain  had  to  be  sowed  bv  hand  and  cut  with  them   some  strong  characters  like  C.   H.   Piper 

a  cradle,  then   came  the  old  hand  rake  reaper,  and  Frank  Piper  and  a  number  of  others.  They 

and  after  it  the  selfrake  reaper  and  the  dropper,  nossessed    independent    thought    and    were    not 

By    1872    and    1873    other    improvements    came,  afraid  to  stand  bv  their  convictions.     The  most 

in  the  way  of  seeders  for  sowing,  and  harvesters  of    the    bovs    never    returned    to    the    Mankato 

to  cut  and  bind  the  ripened  grain,  two  men  be-  Normal,  hut  some  got  into  business  and  others 

ing   carried   alon?  with   the   machine   to   tie   up  went    to    Carleton    College    and    other    schools, 

the    bundles.      These    labor    saving    contrivances  The    newly    elected    president    of    the    Normal, 

enabled    the    farmers    to    greatly    enlarge    their  Prof.  John,  thouarh  he  was  in  no  way  to  blame, 

fields.     A  list  of  the   reapinEc  machines  sold   in  found   the   position   in   which    circumstances   put 

our  county  in  1873  will  indicate  how  extensive  him  rather  awkward,   and  resigned  after  a  few 

the  competition  in  such  machinery  was.     It  in-  years. 

eluded  the  McCormick.  Marsh  Harvester,  Kirby,  During  the  winter  of  1873-4  a  lecture  course 
Excelsior  Dropper,  Massillion  Harvester,  Buck-  was  srotten  up  at  Mankato.  which  brought 
eve,  Osborne.  Woods  Peaners.  Edwards,  Esterlv.  thither  for  two  or  three  winters  some  of  the 
Advance  Harvester,  J.  P.  Manny  Peaper.  and  best  talent  in  the  country.  Snrh  stars  as  Hon. 
Madison  Harvester.  The  debts  incurred  in  buy-  Geo.  S.  Boutwell.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Men- 
ins:  such  costly  machinery  and  the  hazzards  of  delsohn  Club  of  Boston,  Wendell  Phillips,  and 
■^heat  raising  drove  many  a  venturous  farmer  Gen.  Kilpatrick,  who  appeared  the  first  season, 
en  the  financial  rocks,  hut  others  were  more  and  Bavard  Taylor,  John  'B.  Gousrh,  Henrv 
fortunate.      Then   the    lightning   rod    man    was  Ward    Beecher,    Eev,    Edward    Eggleston,    Hon. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUi^TY. 


179 


Henry  Wilson,   Carl  Sehurz,  Dr.   John  G.   Hol- 
land,  Helen   Potter    and    others    followed. 

During  1873  the  Mankato  Driving  Park  Asso- 
ciation was  formed  and  secured  grounds  on  the 
Brooks  farm  just  north  of  Mankato,  where  the 
admirers  of  good  horses  had  many  a  meet. 

The  first  directory  of  Mankato  was  published, 
also,  this  year.  The  Winona  and  St.  Peter 
Eailway  Company  passed  through  the  best  tim- 
ber region  in  the  county  and  the  wood  and 
lumber  business  of  the  road  at  once  became  an 
important  factor.  During  January,  1874,  20,000 
cords  of  wood  were  delivered  along  the  line  of 
the  road.  But  we  shall  have  more  to  say  about 
this  industry  later. 

On  Feb.  1,  1874,  an  important  change  took 
place  in  the  affairs  of  the  Catholic  Church  of 
Mankato.  An  agreement  was  entered  into  be- 
tween the  church  and  the  Jesuit  Brotherhood, 
whose  headquarters  in  this  country  is  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  whereby  the  latter  were  put-  in  charge  of 
the  services  of  the  church.  The  parish  had 
grown  too  great  for  a  single  pastor,  and  it  was 
a  wise  plan  to  put  it  into  the  hands  of  an  order, 
who  could  supply  all  the  men  necessary  to  do  the 
work  properly. 

The  people  who  settled  our  county  were  a  re- 
ligious people  and  they  built  alters  to  the  God 
of  their  fathers  in  every  community.  They  were 
divided  into  many  nationalities,  and  religious  de- 
nominations, but  on  the  whole  all  possessed  the 
virtues  of  a  noble  Christian  character.  Our 
population  as  a  class,  both  American  and  For- 
eign, was  made  up  of  the  salt  of  the  earth,  men 
who  feared  God  and  worked  righteousness.  Of 
the  many  churches  and  schools  they  founded  and 
built  we  shall  speak  more  in  detail,  in  the  annals 
of  the  various  towns.  We  may  note,  however, 
that  in  the  early  70's  the  land  had  been  mostly 
divided  among  the  various  tribes  and  national- 
ities'. The  north  half  of  the  city  of  Mankato 
together  with  Mankato  and  Lime  Townships, 
were  settled  almost  wholly  by  Germans,  mostly 
of  the  Catholic  faith.  Some  Lutherans,  Turners, 
Evangelical  and  Methodists  were  sprinkled  among 
them,  their  numbers  corresponding  to  the  order 
named.  In  McPherson,  Mapleton,  and  the  north 
half  of  Beauford  the  German  Catholics  predomi- 
nated,   with    many    German    Lutherans    among 


them  and  a  few  Methodists.  In  Lyra,  Eapidan 
and  Decoria  the  German  Lutherans  predominat- 
ed, but  there  was  quite  a  number  of  German 
Catholics  among  them,  especially  in  Lyra.  Dan- 
ville was  now  fast  becoming  a  German  town. 
They  were  mostly  of  the  Methodist  and  Luth- 
eran faith,  but  had  a  large  and  influential  Cath- 
olic element  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town. 
Pleasant  Mound  and  the  north  half  of  Ceresco 
was,  also,  fast  becoming  a  solid  settlement  of 
German  Lutherans.  The  towns  of  South  Bend, 
Judson,  Cambria  and  the  north  half  of  Butter- 
nut Valley  were  occupied  by  the  Welsh  very 
early.  Lake  Crystal  and  Mankato  also  contained 
many  of  this  nationality.  They  were  mostly  Cal- 
vinistic  Methodists,  a  denomination  nearly  allied 
to  the  Presbyterians.  This  denomination  had 
seven  or  eight  churches  among  them,  the  Con- 
gregationalist  two,  and  there  were  a  few  Bap- 
tist and  Wesleyan  families.  The  Norwegians 
were  occupying  the  south  half  of  Butternut  Val- 
ley and  the  northwest  portion  of  Lincoln,  the 
west  half  of  Sterling  and  some  of  the  east  part 
of  Shelbj',  the  most  of  Medo,  a  strip  along  the 
west  end  of  Eapidan,  and  the  portions  of  Eapi- 
dan and  Decoria,  which  lie  in  the  vicinity  of 
\he  mouths  of  the  Maple  and  Cobb  rivers.  Quite 
a  number  of  them  also  reside  at  Lake  Crystal 
and  Mankato.  They  too  are  a  very  religious 
people  and  belong  almost  exclusively  to  the 
Lutheran  faith  and  have  many  churches.  Among 
them,  as  among  the  Germans,  there  are  two 
synods  of  the  Lutheran  church,  which 
nearly  amount  to  two  denominations.  The 
old  doctrine  of  the  Free  Will  is  really  at 
the  bottom  of  their  differences.  In  the  south- 
east comer  of  Lincoln  and  dipping  over  a 
little  into  Garden  City  a  colony  of  Swedish 
Baptists  had  located.  On  the  Judson  bot- 
tom were  a  few  Swedish  Lutherans,  while  at 
the  City  of  Mankato  many  Swedish  people  reside. 
The  majority  are  of  the  Lutheran  faith,  but 
the  Congregational,  Baptist  and  M.  E.  have 
churches  among  them.  The  Irish  took  posses- 
sion of  Jamestown,  of  the  northerly  portion  of 
Ceresco,  of  the  southwest  comer  of  Lyra,  a  strip 
on  the  line  between  Beauford  and  Lyra  and  the 
northwest  corner  of  DanviUe.  Mankato  contains, 
also,  quite  a  number  of  the  Sons  and  Daughters 


180 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


of  Erin;  while  McPhxerson  and  other  towns  have 
a  few  families.  As  a  rule  they  are  of  the  Catho- 
lic faith.  In  the  eastern  part  of  Sterling,  and 
crossing  the  line  into  Mapleton  and  in  Mapleton 
Village  and  with  a  few  scattering  families  in 
Beanford,  the  trihe  of  Scotland  might  be  found. 
Garden  City,  Vernon  Center  and  Shelby  were 
mostly  settled  by  Americans  and  a  majority  of 
the  other  towns  haJ  more  or  less  American  set- 
tlers. These  lines  of  demarkation  between  the 
various  nationalities  still  remain  quite  distinct, 
but  already  intermarriage,  the  public  schools,  the 
press,  the  demands  of  business  are  beginning  to 
beat  down  the  lines  of  separation  and  before  long 
all  will  be  welded  into  a  homogenous  whole,  the 
future  American. 

During  the  early  70's  there  was  much  activity 
throughout  the  county  in  Sunday  school  matters, 
and  conventions  were  held  each  year.  A  report, 
not  far  from  being  complete  so  far  as  the  Eng- 
lish speaking  schools  were  concerned,  and  cov- 
ering a  few  of  the  foreign  schools,  showed  there 
were  in  the  county,  fifty-three  Sunday  schools, 
four  hundred  and  forty-one  officers  and  teachers 
and  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty  scholars. 

In  March,  1874,  the  Mankato  Woolen  Manu- 
facturing Company  was  organized  by  Christian 
Eoos,  Jacob  Bierbauer,  A  ISTeumayer,  Thos.  Ben- 
nett and  J.  P.  Meagher. 

The  summer  of  1874  was  very  dry  and  windy 
and  many  fires  caused  thereby  and  much  &ax 
burned.  The  establishment  of  the  oil  mill  at 
Mankato  had  greatly  encouraged  the  production 
of  flax  all  over  the  county. 

The  grasshoppers  were  quite  numerous  this 
year  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the  county 
and  fully  half  of  the  crops  were  destroyed  by 
them.  A  severe  hailstorm  in  June  swept  through 
Cambria,  Butternut  Valley  and  Judson  and  took 
about  all  the  grasshoppers  had  not  yet  had 
time  to  finish. 

The  grangers  held  another  big  celebration  on 
July  4th  of  this  year  at  Good  Thunder,  where 
Hon.  William  Windom  was  the  orator. 

About  the  last  of  July,  1874,  the  first  load  of 
iron  was  received  for  the  Wells  road  and  the 
work  of  laying  the  track  began.  By  September 
29th,  daily  trains  were  running  to  Good  Thun- 
der and  on  November  17,  1874,  a  celebration  of 


the  completion  of  the  road  to  Wells  was  held. 
Other  events  of  the  year  at  Mankato  were:  The 
building  of  Turner's  hall  (afterwards  called 
Union  Hall  and  now  transformed  to  the  Hein- 
rich  Hotel),  and  the  sale  of  the  "Mankato  Un- 
ion" on  September  11th  by  W.  B.  Griswold  to 
J.  K.  Cleveland,  and  of  the  Beobaehter  by 
Schramm  to  J.  M.  Broome  of  New  Ulm.  The 
city,  also,  entered  in  September  into  a  contract 
with  a  Chicago  firm,  named  Spangler,  Marrs 
and  Miller,  to  sink  an  artesian  well  four  inches 
in  diameter.  The  well  was  dug  to  depth  of 
2,204  feet  and  then  abandoned.  Had  it  been 
properly  cased  and  cared  for,  it  doubtless  would 
have  been  successful.  It  was  one  of  the  deepest 
holes  ever  dug  in  the  State,  and  was  therefore  of 
considerable  interest  to  the  geologist.  The  water 
rose  in  it  within  71%  feet  of  the  top,  but  a  leak 
occurred  near  this  point.  It  cost  the  city 
$12,000  to  dig  it,  and  $1,568  was  paid  for  the 
land,  which  today  constitutes  Highland  Park. 

In  June,  1874,  Mankato  voted  $10,000  bonds 
to  build  the  Eranklin  school  house.  Garden  City 
also  built  during  the  summer  a  new  two  story 
school  building. 

The  assessors  returns  for  June,  1874,  showed 
the  following  live  stock  statistics:  Horses,  7,007; 
cattle,  16,065;  sheep,  6,153,  hogs,  5,186.  There 
were  42,010  apple  trees  growing  in  the  county 
and  820  bushels  of  apples  raised  and  5,980 
pounds  of  grapes.  In  1875  Blue  Earth  County 
ranked  fifth  in  the  State  in  dairy  produce  and 
was  first  in  the  production  of  honey,  having  702 
hives  and  15,666  pounds  of  honey.  It,  also, 
raised  the  most  com  of  any  county,  amounting 
to   457,991   bushels. 

At  the  November  election  Judge  F.  H.  Waite, 
who  had  resigned  his  position  as  District  Judge,- 
in  order  to  run  for  Congress  as  an  Independent 
candidate,  was  beaten  by  M.  H.  Dunnell,  the 
Eepublican  nominee,  but  by  a  majority  of  only 
2,986,  which  was  about  one-third  the  usual  fig- 
ure. D.  A.  Dickinson,  the  Eepublican  nominee, 
was  elected  Judge  of  the  District  Court,  over 
Daniel  Buck.  The  Democrats  succeeded  in 
electing  their  share  of  the  county  officers. 

During  1874  ten  new  school  houses  were  built 
in  the  county  at  a  cost  of  $21,216,  showing  the 
growth   of   educational   facilities. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


181 


The  saw  mill  industry  of  the  county  was  now 
nearly  at  its  best.  The  great  timber  section 
covering  its  northeast  quarter  was  full  of  saw 
mills.  The  Dickinson  mill  by  Hoosier  Lake, 
the  Fredericks  and  Hodapp  mill,  and  the  Whit- 
rock  mill  in  the  vicinity  of  the  poor  farm,  the 
Bennett  and  Harvey  mill  at  Tivoli,  the  Morse 
mill  on  outlet  of  Lake  Madison,  the  Woodham 
Mill,  owned  then  by  Burgess  &  Picket  on  the 
outlet  of  Eagle  Lake,  the  Lamphear  mill  on  In- 
dian Lake  in  LeEay,  the  Stokes  mill  at  Smith's 
Mill,  the  Forster  mill  at  north  end  of  Eagle 
Lake,  the  Saylor  mill  in  Jamestown,  the  Boegen 
mill  at  Mankato,  the  two  mills  at  Winnebago 
Agency,  one  or  two  at  Eagle  Lake  and  many 
others  that  do  not  now  occur  to  us  were  busy 
manufacturing  lumber.  Eagle  Lake  was  now 
beginning  to  be  somewhat  of  a  village,  the  prin- 
cipal center  of  the  wood  and  lumber  business. 
In  January,  1874,  a  newspaper  was  started  there 
by  A.  H.  Wheeler,  under  the  name  of  "The 
Golden  Prize"  which  ran  for  about  a  year  and 


then  was  sold  under  the  sheriS's  hammer  to 
Horace  Cummins. 

In  February,  1875,  a  new  post  ofEice  was 
created  at  Mapleton  station  with  the  old  pioneer, 
Eobert  Taylor,  as  postmaster.  Early  in  August 
another  postofEice  was  created  in  Medo,  called 
"Little  Cobb,"  with  Wm.  Germo  as  postmaster. 

On  March  1st,  1874,  the  Welsh  held  one  of 
their  big  "Eisteddfod's"  at  Turners  Hall,  Man- 
kato. This  is  a  literary  and  musical  festival 
of  a  competitive  character,  usually  held  once  a 
year.  It  had  been  held  for  two  or  three  years 
before  this.  On  March  17th,  the  Irish  brother- 
hood celebrated  St.  Patricks  day  at  Mankato 
with  a  good  literary  program. 

During  this  year  the  Catholics  under  the  lead- 
ership of  the  Jesuit  brotherhood,  always  active 
in  educational  work,  built  their  fine  school  build- 
ing at  Mankato.  It  is  of  brick,  150  feet  long  by 
60  feet  wide,  and  three  stories  high.  It  was 
completed  by  October  1,  1876,  and  dedicated 
with  appropriate  exercises  by  Bishop  Ireland. 


SC800t-3>lST.NSlo9-RftPiO«N  OJOODraeWS  HftLL-RflPIDAW  seRmflN  t(JT«fcRfl«  CHURCH-RftPlDflM 


Nonajeoiftri  (.uthcraN  church 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  GRASSHOPPEKS— EVENTS  OF  1876-7 

—THE  WINTER  OE  1881-2  AND  THE 

BIG  ELOOD. 


Tiie  winter  of  1874-5  was  yery  cold  with  deep 
snow,  and  the  high  water  in  AprU  again  did 
great  havoc  to  the  water  mills,  especially  along 
the  Watonwan.  The  flour  mills  of  Butterfield  & 
Co.,  Capwell  &  Co.,  Quayle  &  Eriend,  Willard 
&  Rodgers,  Hopkins  &  Dilly  and  others  suffered 
several  thousand  dollars  in  damages. 

With .  the  opening  of  spring  the  grasshoppers 
began  hatching  in  countless  millions  over  most 
of  the  west  half  of  the  county  and  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  crops  in  that  section  were  again 
doomed.  It  was  getting  to  be  a  serious  question 
what  to  do  to  rid  the  country  of  this  scare.  On 
the  3rd  of  June,  1875,  the  County  Commissioners 
met  and  passed  a  resolution  offering  a  bounty 
of  ten  cents  a  quart  for  all  grasshoppers  caught 
and  brought  to  designated  places  in  each  town 
to  be  measured  and  destroyed.  The  people  went 
to  work  with  a  will,  with  all  sorts  of  contrivances 
for  catching  the  pests.  The  most  common  plan 
was  to  rig  a  large  net  with  sheets  tacked  to  a 
light  frame  work,  which  was  pushed  over  the 
field  by  hand  or  dragged  by  one  horse.  The 
farmers  found  they  had  a  snap.  Some  were 
making  -  over  $30.00  per  day.  In  three  days 
over  4,000  bushels  were  caught  and  $14,000  had 
been  paid  out.  Monday  morning,  June  7th,  the 
County  Commissioners  were  hurriedly  called  to- 
gether, for  at  such  a  rate  the  county  would  soon 
be  bankrupt.  The  bounty  was  now  cut  one  half, 
but  the  farmers  were  bringing  in  such  an  enor- 
mous quantity  of  hoppers,  that  the  board  was 
obliged  on  June  11th  to  cut  the  price  to  sixty  cents 
per  bushel,  and  on  June  12  to  withdraw  the 
bounty  altogether.  In  nine  days  the  County 
had  paid  $31,255.66  for  15,766  bushels  and 
eighteen  quarts  of  grasshoppers.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  each  bushel  contained  on  an  average 


130,000  hoppers.  The  station  at  Garden  City 
issued  the  largest  amount  of  orders  $5,727.78, 
the  city  of  Mankato  came  next  with  $4,606.16, 
Judson  $4,404.48,  South  Bend  $3,916.75.  James- 
town only  paid  out  thirty  cents,  McPherson 
$6.38  and  Beauford  $1.10,  showing  the  eastern 
towns  were  not  much  infected.  At  Mankato  the 
place  for  receiving  the  grasshoppers  was  about 
where  the  city  hall  now  stands.  A  large  vat 
of  boiling  water  was  kept  in  readiness,  into 
A\hich  the  bags-full  of  hoppers  were  emptied  for 
their  destruction,  and  their  carcasses  were  then 
dumped  into  a  long  trench,  which  had  been 
dug  close  by  for  their  burial.  In  spite  of  this 
wholesale  destruction  of  the  pest,  it  did  not  seem 
to  diminish  their  number  in  the  least.  Bounty 
or  no  bounty  the  farmers  made  a  desperate  and 
heroic  struggle  to  save  their  crops.  Trenches 
were  dug  about  fields,  which  had  not  yet  been 
infested,  in  the  hope  that  the  young  hoppers 
could  not  pass  over,  a  stream  of  tar  was  poured 
about  them.  Infected,  fields  were  covered  with  a 
tliin  coating  of  dry  straw  and  burned,  brine  was 
sprinkled  over  them,  a  machine  called  the  "hop- 
per dozer''  v,-as  invented  and  put  upon  the  mar- 
ket, and  home  made  devises  of  all  sorts  were  used 
and  the  insects  caught  and  destroyed  by  the  bil- 
lions, but  all  availed  nothing.  The  very  dust 
seemed  alive  with  the  pest.  Rapidan  called  a 
lown  meeting  on  June  35,  and  voted  $1,500.00 
to  be  used  in  the  destruction  of  grasshoppers 
within  its  boundaries.  But  every  effort  was  in 
vain,  the  larger  part  of  the  crops  in  the  wes- 
tern half  of  the  county  were  entirely  destroyed. 
They  completely  covered  every  green  thing. 
The  trees  were  full  of  them,  the  very  houses  were 
plastered  with  them,  one  could  not  step  anywhere 
without    crushing    them    under    foot,    and    they 


183 


184 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


would  crawl  into  one's  clothing.  It  was  indeed 
an  Egyptian  plague.  The  chickens  ate  them  but 
they  affected  the  eggs,  flavoring  and  discolor- 
ing them,  the  birds  and  the  hogs  also  feasted  upon 
them,  but  nothing  diminishing  their  number. 
As  the  summer  advanced  they  gained  their 
wings  and  the  air  was  full  of  them,  some  days 
almost  hiding  the  sun.  During  the  fall  they  laid 
their  eggs  far  and  wide  over  this  and  adjoin- 
ing counties.  Many  farmers  plowed  their  fields 
and  then  dragged  them  thoroughly  in  the  hope 
of  destroying  the  eggs.  The  winter  of  18'i'5-6 
was  rather  mild  and  it  was  thought  that  the  al- 
ternate thawing  and  freezing  would  have  a  bale- 
ful effect  upon  them.  All  winter  long  pans  of 
earth  were  carried  into  the  houses  to  experiment 
v/ith,  but  every  test  showed  the  pest  to  be  as  vir- 
ulent as  ever.  The  counties  of  Kicollet,  Brown, 
'Watonwan  and  many  others  were  devastated  fully 
as  much,  and  even  more  than  Blue  Earth.  The 
Legislature  in  February,  1876,  passed  a  bill  ap- 
propriating $15,637.83  to  reimburse  Blue  Earth 
County  for  bounty  paid  for  destruction  of  grass- 
ho|)pers.  Bills  were  also  passed  for  the  relief  of 
the  farmers  in  the  matter  of  seed  wheat. 

While  most  of  the  farmers  seeded  their  land 
again,  some  refrained,  deeming  it  useless.  The 
grasshoppers  were  fully  as  numerous  as  ever  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1876,  and  nearly  all  of  the 
west  half  of  the  county  was  devastated  by  them, 
as  well  as  all  the  country  to  the  westward.  The 
people  again  waged  a  heroic  fight  in  defense  of 
iheir  fields,  but  to  no  avail.  Conventions  and- 
town  meetings  were  held  to  discuss  ways  and 
means  for  ridding  the  country  of  the  terrible 
scourge.  The  preservation  of  the  birds,  the  rais- 
ing of  more  chickens,  the  cultivation  of  a  small 
red  parasite,  and  the  destruction  of  the  eggs, 
were  among  the  principal  remedies  proposed. 
October  10,  1876,  the  town  of  Shelby  voted  to 
tax  each  man  three  days  work  in  plowing  and 
harrowing  the  ground  to  kill  the  eggs.  As  indi- 
cating li'^w  thick  the  grasshoppers  were,  a  train 
on  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  Eoad  on  July  18, 
1876,  was  stopped  by  them  near  Hersey  in  No- 
bles county,  the  wheels  and  rails  had  become  so 
smeared  by  their  bodies  that  they  slipped  and 
bad  to  be  cleaned.  Trains  on  the  same  road 
were  stopped  in  Lime  town  in  Blue  Earth  county 


by  the  same  cause.  The  winter  of  1876-7  was 
very  mild  again,  and  a  number  of  farmers  sowed 
their  grain  in  February.  Hatching  grasshop- 
pers by  the  stove  was  the  principal  occupation 
of  this  winter  to  test  the  eggs,  and  to  see  if 
the  young  hoppers  were  as  healthy  as  their  pro- 
genitors and  to  discover  how  many  a  bushel  of 
earth  would  produce.  It  is  needless  to  say  that 
the  hoppers  stood    well  in  every  test. 

In  March,  1877,  the  Legislature  passed  a  bill 
giving  a  bounty  of  $1.00  per  bushel  for  grass- 
hoppers caught  prior  to  May  25,  fifty  cents 
for  all  caught  after  that  date  to  June  10,  twenty- 
five  cents  thereafter  to  July  1,  and  twenty  cents 
to  October.  Every  township  and  village  was, 
also,  authorized  to  levy  a  tax  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  pests,  and  every  male  inhabitant 
between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  sixty  years 
Avas  to  be  assessed  by  the  supervisors  one  day's 
work  for  each  week,  for  not  to  exceed  five  weeks, 
to  be  applied  under  the  direction  of  the  Path- 
masters  for  the  destruction  of  the  grasshoppers 
and  their  eggs.  The  work  to  be  done  much  after 
the  manner  of  our  poll  tax.  The  county  was 
also  authorized  to  employ  persons  having  patent 
machinery  for  killing  grasshoppers.  $100,000.00 
was  appropriated  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of 
the  act,  and  a  bill  passed  authorizing  a  state 
loan  for  the  purpose.  Bills  were  also  passed  for 
the  relief  of  grasshopper  sufferers,  who  were  un- 
able to  pay  taxes  or  pay  interest  on  state  lands. 

With  the  opening  of  Spring  (1877)  the  grass- 
hoppers appeared  as  numerous  as  ever.  In 
many  places  they  were  so  thick  that  they  might 
have  been  literally  shoveled  from  the  ground. 
Dry,  warm,  sandy  soil  was  their  preference. 
Many  farmers  desisted  from  sowing  their  lands, 
when  they  saw  them  hatching  out  again.  The 
people  though  discouraged,  still  kept  up  the  fight 
ivith  ditches,  wet  ashes,  and  fire,  gathering  them 
in  canvass  hoppers,  in  nets  smeared  on  the 
inside  with  tar,  and  with  "Hopper  dozers"  (a 
contrivance  made  of  sheet  iron  with  tar  inside). 
But  all  this  did  not  seem  to  diminish  the  num- 
ber. The  people  in  their  bitter  extremity  ap- 
pealed to  the  Governor  to  proclaim  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer  and  April  26,  1877,  was  duly 
appointed  as  such  a  day.  The  day  was  gen- 
erally   observed.      All    business    was    suspended 


HISTORY  OP  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Ib5 


as  though  it  were  Sunday,  and  the  people  gath- 
ered in  their  churches  throughout  the  land. 
Earnest  appeals  were  made  for  Divine  help  by 
Catholic  and  Protestant  alike.  The  Catholic 
church  at  Mankato  prolonged  the  services  for 
three  days.  Whether  in  answer  to  prayer  or  from 
natural  causes,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  after 
this  public  appeal  to  the  Almighty  the  grasshop- 
pers began  immediately  to  be  troabled.  Disease 
broke  out  among  them  and  many  died,  while 
others  were  stunted  in  their  growth.  There  were 
a  number  of  heavy  rains,  and  on  June  10, 
there  was  a  heavy  frost,  all  of  which  seemed 
lo  effect  the  locusts  unfavorably.  They  did  not 
attack  the  gardens  and  fields  with  anythiug  of 
their  old  time  vigor,  and  as  soon  as  their  wings 
were  developed,  on  June  23,  and  35,  1877,  the 
great  masses  of  them  arose  high  in  the  air  and 
flew  away,  no  one  ever  knew  whither.  The  com- 
paratively few  that  remained,  as  their  wings  de- 
veloped, did  likewise,  until  by  July  1,  nearly  all 
were  gone.  Still  on  sunny  days  the  air  con- 
tinued full  of  stragglers,  like  flakes  of  snow 
in  a  winter  storm  the  sky  would  swarm  with 
them  until  August.  Tor  flve  consecutive  years 
many  of  the  farmers  of  our  county  had  lost 
nearly  all  of  their  crops,  and  for  four  years 
the  most  of  the  western  half  and  portions  of 
the  eastern  half  had  been  completely  devastated 
by  this  awful  scourge.  That  their  departure  was 
a  direct  answer  to  prayer  may  not  be  positively 
affirmed,  but  neither  can  it  be  strongly  denied. 
To  say  the  least  there  was  a  singular  coincidence 
between  the  day  of  prayer  and  the  disappearance 
of  the  pest  so  soon  thereafter.  The  going  of  the 
destructive  hcrdes  was  a  great  relief  to  the  im- 
poverished people,  and  with  fresh  courage  they 
bravely  went  to  work  to  retrieve  their  shattered 
fortunes. 

Going  back  to  1876,  we  note  a  few  events  in 
our  history  beside  the  ravages  of  grasshoppers. 
Two  new  postoffices  were  created,  in  the  county 
this  year,  one  in  January  at  Rapidan  station, 
with  Noah  Webster  in  charge,  and  the  other 
in  July  at  the  home  of  Henry  Stiemagle  in 
Danville. 

On  February  23,  1876,  occurred  the  killing 
of  Mrs.  Jane  Gilbert  by  Andrew  Weston  in 
Medo,  which  resulted  in  a  hard  fought  murder 


trial  in  our  court.  Weston  was  finally  convicted 
and  sentenced  to  State  prison. 

Duriug  this  summer  the  caterpillar  pest  ap- 
peared in  the  tiiuber  area  of  LeEay,  Lime,  and 
Mankato  Townships,  and  much  of  the  foliage 
destroyed  by  them  and  some  of  the  trees  killed. 
They  continued  their  devastations  for  two  or 
three  years. 

It  being  centennial  year  a  big  Fourth  of  July 
celebration  was  held  at  Mankato.  The  Old  Sol- 
diers, the  Mankato  and  Owatonna  Fireman,  The 
Danish,  Swede,  and  Norwegian  societies,  were 
features,  in  the  parade,  and  senator  Wilkinson 
delivered  the  address.  There  was  an  immense 
crowd  present.  The  people  of  Pleasant  Mound 
and  vicinity  held  a  celebration  of  their  own,  at 
Wilder's    grove,    on    Willow    Creek. 

On  September  7,  1876,  occurred  the  Northfield 
Bank  robbery  by  the  James  and  Younger  gang. 
Tiiese  desperadoes  had  visited  Mankato  a  few 
days  before,  with  intent  of  looting  one  of  its 
banks.  In  their  retreat  they  passed  through 
our  county  and  were  seen  in  ilankato  Township 
by  G.  P.  Hoerr  and  Sebastian  Kopp.  They  cross- 
ed the  Blue  Earth  river  on  the  St.  Paul  and 
Omaha  railway  bridge  at  night,  while  a  posse 
Ai'as  guarding  the  wagon  bridge,  and  it  ^as  main- 
ly through  the  efforts  of  Capt.  A.  J.  j\[urphy  of 
Lake  Crystal,  that  they  were  finally  captured 
near  Madelia. 

In  the  fall  of  1876,  Henry  and  Fred  Boegen 
enlarged  their  saw  mill  at  the  city  of  Mankato. 
In  Mankato  township  Capt.  N.  W.  Dickerson 
transformed  his  saw  mill  into  a  large  new  steam 
saw  and  grist  mill,  which  under  the  name  of 
''White  Star  Mills''  rendered  good  service  for 
some    time. 

The  Burns  Celebration  in  Sterling,  and  St. 
Patricks  day  at  Mapleton  had  now  become  fixed 
feasts,  which  were   annually   observed. 

While  the  grange  movement  was  dying  out 
elsewhere  over  the  county,  it  still  continued  to 
flourish  in  Danville  and  Shelby  Townships.  The 
Shelbyville  grange  under  C.  W.  Herrman,  as 
master,  and  J.  F.  Stock,  as  secretary,  and  the 
Woodland  grange  under  F.  Berut  as  Master  and 
J.  A.  Lattimer  as  secretary  formed  a  trade  un- 
ion and  bought  most  of  their  goods  at  wholesale 
prices   of    Chicago   and    St.    Paul   houses,   A.    L. 


186 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Stephens  acted  as  purchasing  agent  for  a  long 
time.  The  grange  organization  continued  actiye 
in  Danville,  also,  and  monthly  meetings  were  held 
at  Mr.  Thompson's  home.  They,  also,  were  reg- 
ular patrons  of  the  grange  supply  house  of  Chi- 
cago. 

During  the  seventies  there  was  a  strong  tem- 
perance sentiment  over  most  of  the  county.  Good 
Templar  lodges  flourished  in  every  village.  The 
Red  Ribbon  movement  started  about  1877,  and 
grew  rapidly  in  favor.  In  those  years  "No  li- 
cense" carried  a  number  of  times  in  Mapleton, 
Good  Thunder,  Winnebago  Agency  and  Lake 
Crystal  as  well  in  Eagle  Lake,  Garden  City  and 
Vernon. 

In  June,  1877,  the  proposition  to  settle  the 
old  State  Railway  bonds  of  1857  was  submitted 
to  the  voters.  Our  county  had  voted  against 
the  bonds  originally  and  now  defeated  the  settle- 
ment proposition  by  a  vote  of  2,259  to  511. 

In  the  fall  of  1877  Mankato  built  its  present 
City  hall  at  a  cost  of  $8,395.00.  Masonic  block  at 
Mankato  was  also  completed  and  the  hall  ded- 
icated. On  September  1,  1877,  Geo.  W.  Neff 
bought  the  "Mankato  Union"  of  W.  B.  Gris- 
wold,  and,  about  the  same  time,  A.  M.  Morrison 
(then  teaching  school  at  Eagle  Lake)  and  W. 
J.  Clark  purchased  of  Horace  Cummins  the 
printing  outfit,  which  had  belonged  to  Mr.  Wheel- 
er and  started  the  "Eagle  Lake  Independent," 
which  was  published  for  a  short  time. 

On  November  1,  1877,  within  five  minutes  of 
the  noon  hour  occurred  the  only  earth  quake 
shock  ever  felt  in  the  county.  The  fall  of  1877 
^\as  extremely  fine.  Farmers  were  plowing  on 
Christmas  day,  and  even  on  December  29,  a  num- 
ber of  neighbors  in  Jamestown  made  a  plow- 
ing bee  for  a  sick  friend.  The  weather  con- 
tinued very  mild  the  winter  through,  with 
hardly  any  snow.  Like  many  an  open  winter 
it  was  not  very  healthy.  The  small  pox  was  quite 
prevalent  over  the  county,  but  there  were  few 
fatalities,  as  the  disease  was  very  mild  in  cliai 
acter.  Much  more  deadly  was  the  epidemic  of 
diphtheria,  which  swept  over  the  county  during 
this  and  the  following  winter,  carrying  away 
scores  of  children  and  youth.  During  1879 
there   were   forty-nine   deaths   from   this   disease 


in  our  county,  in  1880  there  were  twenty-two, 
and   in   1881,  twenty-nine. 

On  February  23,  1878,  an  act  was  passed 
by  the  Legislature  incorporating  the  village  of 
Mapleton,  and  David  Smith,  James  E.  Brown 
and  L.  Troendle  were  authorized  to  call  the  first 
corporate  meeting.  This  was  done  for  March 
19,  when  the  following  officers  were  elected: 
President  of  Board  of  Trustees,  Joel  Gates; 
Trustees,  Lucius  Toendle,  James  McLaughlin 
and  C.  H.  Wicks;  Treasurer,  Sherman  Peet; 
Recorder,  P.  A.  Foster;  Justice,  C.  W.  Smith; 
Constable,  Henry  Tenney.  At  the  same  time 
the  village  became  an  independent  school  dis- 
trict and  built  a  new  school  house. 

An  important  event  for  the  city  of  Mankato 
and  our  county  was  the  erection  by  R.  D.  Hub- 
bard, Wm.  Pearson  and  George  M.  Palmer  of 
what  is  known  as  the  Hubbard  Flour  mill,  the 
ground  for  which  was  broken  on  April  22, 
1878,  and  the  mill  completed  October  1,  1879. 

During  this  summer  (1878)  John  6.  Graham 
built  at  Good  Thunder  his  hotel  and  hall. 

One  who  rendered  good  service  in  the  develop- 
ment of  band  music  in  the  county  was  Prof. 
Howe  of  Mankato.  During  the  seventies  he  or- 
ganized bands  at  Mapleton,  Good  Thunder,  Lake 
Crystal,  Mankato  and  other  points  in  the  county, 
and  did  much  in  training  the  musical  talent  of 
our  young  men.  Another  musical  genius,  who 
helped  to  develop  the  skill  of  our  young  people 
in  playing  upon  string  and  wind  instruments 
was  Wm.  Matthews.  Among  those  who  did 
much  in  cultivating  vocal  music  were:  in  the 
early  period,  Edward  Thomas  of  South  Bend, 
and  Edson  Gerry  of  Garden  City ;  and  in  the 
seventies.  Prof.  Brett,  A.  Neumayer  and  Wei- 
gel  of  Mankato. 

During  1878  there  was  much  immigration  in- 
to our  own  county,  and  the  counties  to  our  west. 
The  grasshopper  scourge  had  for  a  few  years 
stopped  entirely  the  tide  of  immigration,  but  now 
that  this  calamity  was  over  the  settlers  came  in 
larger  numbers  than  ever  before.  Eleven  Nor- 
wegian families  located  in  Medo  alone.  It  was 
no  uncommon  sight  to  see  one  hundred  canvass 
topped  wagons  passing  up  Front  street  in  one 
day.  The  spring  and  summer  of  1878  were  rather 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


187 


wet,  and  this,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  the 
land  had  been  given  a  long  rest  because 
of  the  grasshoppers,  caused  the  grain  to  grow  too 
rank  and  the  crop  this  year  was  small  in  quanti- 
ty and  poor  in  quality. 

In  June,  1878,  the  Sunday  schools  of  the 
southwest  portion  of  the  county  held  a  union 
picnic  at  ShelbyvUle,  and  on  July  4th,  an  old 
settler's  picnic  met  in  the  grove  of  Erastus  Eeed 
in  Shelby.  On  July  30,  1878,  a  number  of  the 
Good  Templar  lodges  held  a  large  picnic  at  the 
Ellis  grove  in  Sterling.  These  social  functions 
indicate  some  of  the  things  the  people  in  the 
south  part  of  our  county  were  then  interested  in. 

During  this  and  the  following  summer  there 
was  much  talk  and  agitation  over  the  proposi- 
tion of  the  St.  Paul  &  Sioux  City  Eailway  build- 
ing a  branch  from  some  point  on  their  main 
line  southward  through  Blue  Earth  City  to 
the  Iowa  line.  Mankato  wanted  this  branch 
to  start  from  her  gates,  and  pass  by  the  Eapidan 
water  power,  but  the  engineers'  survey  favored 
a  route  from  Lake  Crystal  as  much  more  prac- 
tical and  economical,  for  the  bit  of  country  be- 
tween Mankato  and  the  Eapidan  Mills  is  rather 
rugged  for  railroad  building.  The  proposi- 
tion to  give  this  branch  $10,000  bonus  was 
defeated  at  an  election  held  in  Shelby  on  July 
35,  1878,  by  a  vote  of  eighty  to  twenty-five 
mainly  because  of  the  uncertainty  as  to  whether 
the  depot  would  be  located  at  Shelbyville 
or  elsewhere.  After  this  the  railroad  authorities 
showed  no  great  interest  in  the  project  during 
the  rest  of  that  fall  and  winter.  But  the  peo- 
ple along  the  route  became  anxious,  and  in 
April,  1879,  delegations  of  citizens  were  sent 
to  interview  the  railway  officials  at  St.  Paul, 
from  Garden  City,  Vernon  and  Shelby.  The 
delegates  from  Garden  City  were:  C.  B.  Frazer 
Eev.  J.  Eockwood,  Hon.  J.  G.  Thompson  and 
T.  B.  Church;  from  Vernon  Center,  P.  H. 
Tubbs,  T.  B.  Francis,  T.  S.  Hays,  A.  M.  Han- 
nay,  Peter  Mertesdorff  and  A.  C.  Wilber;  and 
from  Shelby,  Geo.  Quiggle,  Thos.  J.  Cross,  I. 
H.  Darling  and  John  C.  Noble.  Prompt  action 
on  the  matter  of  bonus  was  taken  and  on  April 
33  Garden  City  voted  $13,500,  by  a  majority  of 
fifty-five  in  a  vote  of  307,  Vernon  also  voted 
$10,000  by   a  vote  of  ninety-two  to  sixty-five. 


but  the  bonus  was  again  defeated  in  Shelby  by 
a  vote  of  130  to  53.  This  defeat  was  due  to 
the  same  cause  as  the  first.  The  road  however, 
was  built  during  the  summer  and  fall  of  this 
year  (1879)  and  completed  the  next  spring  to 
Elmore.  The  Commissioners  appointed  to  ap- 
praise the  damages  for  right  of  way  were  Clark 
Keysor,  Henry  Foster  and  James  Miller.  Early 
in  August,  1879,  Garden  City  was  reached  and 
the  depot  built.  The  railway  crossed  the  Blue 
Earth  river  about  a  mile  below  the  old  town- 
site  of  Vernon  and  two  new  towns  adjoining 
each  other  and  a  mUe  distant  from  the  old  town, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  were  laid 
out  in  the  fall  of  1879  on  the  farm  of  Elnathan 
Kendall.  One  was  platted  by  the  railway  com- 
pany in  October,  1879,  called  "East  Vernon  Cen- 
ter" and  the  other  platted  on  November  37th, 
1879,  by  Elnathan  Kendall,  under  the  name  of 
"Vernon  Center."  The  name  of  the  station  was 
changed  soon  thereafter  to  "Edgewood"  and 
again  later  to  "Vernon  Center."  For  two  or  three 
years  there  was  a  hot  rivalry  between  the  old 
and  new  town,  but  the  location  of  the  railroad 
had  made  the  doom  of  the  old  town  certain,  and 
it  only  lived  in  a  lingering  way  for  some  half 
a  dozen  years. 

The  railway  reached  this  place  and  built  its 
depot  there  about  the  middle  of  September,  1879. 
The  next  station  was  put  near  the  center  of 
Shelby  township  about  two  miles  north  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Shelbyville,  upon  land  which  the  railway 
company  had  bought  for  the  purpose  of  George 
Quiggle.  At  first  the  name  of  "Jackson  Lake" 
was  suggested,  but  when  the  plat  of  the  town- 
site  was  made  on  October  31,  1879,  it  bore  the 
name  of  "Amboy"  after  a  town  of  that  name 
in  Illinois,  from  which  its  first  postmaster  and 
storekeeper,  Eobert  Eichardson,  had  come.  As 
in  the  case  of  old  Vernon,  Shelbyville  was  thus 
dealt  its  mortal  blow  by  the  railway  for  which 
it  had  been  praying  so  long.  After  a  death  strug- 
gle of  two  or  three  years  it  passed  away  and 
the  place  of  this  once  thriving  village  now  knows 
it  no  more. 

In  the  fall  of  1878,  the  hog  cholera  made  its 
appearance  in  our  county,  and  later  did  great 
damage  to  the  pork  raising  industry. 

The  cultivation  of  Amber  cane  had  been  grow- 


k.    i 


188 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


iug  in  the  county  for  the  past  fifteen  years  and 
A¥as  now  becoming  an  important  industry.  Its 
production  continued  to  increase  until  the  early 
nineties;,  when  it  greatly  diminished.  Large 
cane  mills  were  operated  by  T.  E.  Beeves  and  P. 
Stency,  by  Zimmerman  and  Compton  and  by 
Allen  Moon,  all  of  LeEay;  by  H.  C.  Howai-d 
and  E.  P.  Evans  of  Garden  City,  by  Geo.-  Gilley 
in  Cambria,  by  A.  Anderson  in  Medo,  and  by 
many  others  over  the  county.  Some  mills  made 
fro3n  200  to  300  gallons  of  syrup  per  day.  The 
quality,  was,  also,  very  fine. 

In  Jamestown  the  Volk  Bros,  were  building 
up  a  large  manufacturing  plant.  They  first 
built  a  saw  mill,  stave  factory,  and  store  and  in 
1879  added  a  big  furniture  factory.  The  latter 
was   destroyed  by   fire   in   February,    1880. 

In  March,  1878,  the  Legislature  authorized 
the  issuing  of  bonds  for  the  building  of  an  iron 
bridge  over  the  Minnesota  river  at  Mankato. 
The  city  voted  $15,000.00  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  for  the  purpose,  the  county  gave  $10,000^ 
and  the  town  of  Belgrade  $3,500.00.  On  October 
2,  1879,  the  corner  stone  of  the  main  pier  was 
laid  and  the  big  bridge  completed  in  the  summer 
of  1880.  Thus  for  the  first  time  Blue  Earth  and 
Nicollet  Counties  were  united.  The  cost  of  the 
bridge  was  $28,400.00,  but  extras  connected  with 
the  approaches  and  gxading  brought  up  the  to- 
tal expense  to  about  $30,000.00.  Its  total  length 
is  810  feet. 

On  October  15,  1878,  was  held  at  Garden 
City  the  first  greenback  convention  in  our 
county.  Next  year  it  met  at  Good  Thunder  and 
there   were   thirty-eight    delegates    present. 

During  the  summer  of  1879  Warner  and  Foot 
of  Chicago  issued  the  first  map  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  showing  not  only  its  physical  and  po- 
litical features,  but  every  road,  farm  and  build- 
ing with  names  of  proprietors.  It  was  a  most 
excellent  map,  fairly  complete,  accurate,  and 
beautifully  printed,  and  is  still  much  in  use. 
On  May  13,  1879  J.  L.  Barlow,  who  was  con- 
nected with  so  many  newspaper  enterprises  in 
the  villages  of  our  county,  started  a  paper  at 
Mapleton,  called  the  "Mapleton  Messenger."  De- 
cember 4,  1879,  John  D.  Quane  started  a  paper 
at  Lake  Crystal,  which  he  designated  "The  Blue 
Earth  county  Public  Spirit."  In  November,  1879, 


Gen.  James  H.  Baker  purchased  the  "Mankato 
Union"  and  the  Mankato  Eecord,  and  consoli- 
dated them  into  a  new  paper,  which  he  called 
the  "Mankato  Free  Press,"  the  first  issue  of 
which  appeared  January,  1880. 

The  summer   and   fall   of   1879   was  very   dry 
and    prairie   fires   were    very    common    all    over 
the  county,  which  resulted  in  inuch  damage  to 
some  of  the  farmers.     The  years  of   1879   and 
].880  were  noted,  also,  in  our  history  for  their 
severe   storms   of   wind    and   hail.     On   July  3, 
1879,    such    a    storm    passed    through    Ceresco, 
Lincoln,    Garden    City,    Judson,    Eapidan,    Ver- 
non  Center,  Lyra,  Decoria  and  Medo.     In  one 
spot  of  Judson  this  storm  developed  into  a  small 
cyclone,  which  struck  the  residence  of  Henry  E. 
lioberts   and   completely   demolished   it.     Fortu- 
nately  Mr.   Eoberts   and   his  family   escaped  in- 
jury,   though    carried    with    the    debris    of   their 
home  for  some   distance   and  then  dropped  out- 
side in  the  yard.     The  next  day  another  storm 
of  like  character  swept  through  Pleasant  Mound 
and  Shelby.     It  unroofed  the  brick  residence  of 
Nathaniel  Stevens  and,  wrecking  a  part  of  the 
wall,  killed  Mrs.  Stevens.     These  storms  worked 
great    destruction    to    the    crops    all    over    the 
county.     A  partial  estimate  of  the  loss  by  towns 
was    as    follows:    Beauford    500    acres,    Ceresco, 
2,500   acres,   Decoria   1,300    acres.   Garden   City, 
1,000  acres,  Lincoln  200  acres,  Lyra  1,200  acres, 
McPherson,  2,000  acres,  Medo  2,500  acres,  Eapi- 
dan 500  acres,  Vernon  Center  1,500  acres,  total 
13,200  acres. 

In  1880  the  storms  came  about  a  month  ear- 
lier and  were  therefore  not  quite  so  destructive 
to  crops,  but  were  more  injurious  to  buildings 
than  the  storms  of  the  previous  year.  On  June 
3,  1880,  a  severe  storm  of  wind  and  hail  struck 
LeEay,  McPherson,  and  Medo.  Two  days  later 
(June  5th)  a  storm,  amounting  to  a  tornado, 
passed  over  Mankato,  unroofing  the  Normal 
school,  the  court  house,  the  Catholic  College, 
Norwegian  Church,  Christian  church.  Masonic 
Hall,  City  Hall  and  a  great  many  business  blocks 
and  private  residences.  It  also  blew  down  the 
cupola  of  the  Swedish  church,  and  demolished  ^  ^  ^ 
windows,  chimneys,  and  trees  without  number. 
Very  few  buildings  in  the  city  but  received  more 
or  less  damage.    The  storm,  also,  badly  damaged 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


189 


a  brick  school  house  in  Lime  towB  and  did 
much  injury  in  the  country  northeast  of  Man- 
kato.  The  same  day  another  tornado  entered 
Pleasant  Mound  at  its  Southwest  corner  and 
thence  swept  eastward  through  this  town  and 
through  Shelby  demolishing  six  school  houses 
in  its  path  and  unroofing  and  otherwise  injur- 
ing many  private  houses.  A  man  named  Newell, 
a  widower,  living  at  Pleasant  Mound,  saw  the 
storm  coming,  and  got  into  the  house  before  the 
liurricane  struck  it.  Feeling  the  building  move 
with  the  wind,  he  grabbed  his  two  little  children 
in  his  arms  and  tried  to  open  the  east  door, 
the  opposite  side  from  the  storm,  but  the  suc- 
tion of  the  wind  was  too  great.  The  house  top- 
pled over  on  its  side,  then  rolled  upside  down. 
When  Mr.  Newell  recovered  consciousness,  he 
Tfas  lying  under  a  sulky  plow  in  the  yard,  with 
the  two  children  unhurt  still  in  his  arms,  but 
the  house  was  gone,  torn  in  pieces  by  the  wind. 
He  picked  himself  and  children  up  and  hastily 
sought  shelter  from  the  pelting  rain  and  hail  in 
n  sheep  pen  near  by.  H.  B.  Perrin  and  family 
then  resided  on  their  farm  in  Pleasant  Mound. 
When  the  storm  came  Mr.  Perrin  threw  him- 
self against  the  door  to  brace  it.  A  crash  up- 
stairs warned  him  the  windows  there  had 
blowed  in,  and  a  second  later  the  roof  went, 
and  then  the  siding  began  tearing  ofE  and  fly- 
ing away.  Hastily  leaving  the  fast  disintegrating 
house  Mr.  Perrin  and  wife  and  children  man- 
aged by  clinging  to  each  other  to  crawl  into  a 
root  house  close  at  hand. 

A  man  going  along  the  road  saw  the  storm 
coming  and  ran  for  shelter  to  the  Kenney  school 
house,  but,  being  Saturday,  found  the  door 
locked.  He  sought  shelter  in  one  of  the  outhous- 
es, but  that  soon  was  blown  over.  He  then  took 
refuge  on  the  leeward  side  of  the  school  house, 
but  this  building  began  to  topple.  There  was 
BOW  nothing  else  for  our  friend  to  do,  but  gird 
up  his  loins  and  run.  As  he  sped  with  the 
storm  he  glanced  back  over  his  shoulder  and 
saw  the  school  house  coming  after  him,  tum- 
bling before  the  wind.  Afterwards  he  used  to 
tell  with  great  glee  of  the  time  he  ran  across 
the  prairie  chased  by  a  school  house  and  two 
outhouses.  These  are  a  few  of  the  many  inci- 
dents serious   and  sometimes  humorous  of  these 


storms.  Among  the  school  houses  demolished 
vere  the  Perrin  new  frame  school  house,  the 
Willow  Creek,  Lattin, -and  Kennedy  brick  school 
houses  and  the  Brownly  log  school  house.  In 
Ceresco  the  McAllen,  Mead  and  Delvin  school 
houses  were  more  or  less  wrecked.  It  was  very 
fortunate  the  storm  occurred  on  Saturday,  when 
tliere  were  no  schools,  else  worse  tragedies  might 
have  happened. 

The  Kopieschke  residence,  in  Ceresco,  and  the 
frame  of  the  new  Presbyterian  church,  at  Amboy, 
were  torn  to  pieces  by  the  wind.  A  vast  num- 
ber of  houses  and  barns  were  injured  all  over 
the  southwest  part  of  the  county  and  the  dam-- 
ages    incurred  -  aggregated    over    $30,000.00. 

About  June,  1879,  the  people  of  Pleasant 
Mound  and  Shelby  organized  "The  Blue  Earth 
Valley  Stock  Association,''  which  at  first  was 
merely  intended  to  advertise  a  big  Norman  Per- 
cheron  horse  named  "Colossus"  and  his  progeny, 
but  the  event  soon  developed  into  a  regular  fair,  a 
strong  rival  of  the  County  Fair.  These  fairs 
were  generally  held  at  Wilder's  grove,  or  at 
tlie  farms  of  L.  H.  McKibben  or  J.  D.  Heritage. 

In  March,  1880,  the  first  telephone  in  the 
cow.nty  was  installed.  It  extended  between  the 
City  Hall  in  Mankato  and  the  Hubbard  mill 
and  the  Mankato  House. 

In  November,  1879,  the  Minnesota  Central 
Railway,  (usually  called  the  Mankato  and  Wells 
Eailroad)  was  sold  to  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
and  St.  Paul  railway  company,  who  assumed 
charge  in  January,  1880. 

During  March  and  April,  1880,  Red  Itildion 
Clubs  were  organized  at  Mapleton,  Good 
Thunder,  Winnebago  Agency,  and  Lake  Crystal 
by  Harry  Hall  of  Michigan,  which  did  consid- 
erable work  along  temperance  lines. 

About  May  1,  1880,  a  new  paper  was  started 
at  Mapleton  called  the  "Mapleton  Censor." 

The  milling  industry  of  our  county  continued 
active,  but  the  tendency  was  to  erect  mills  at 
railway  points,  and  mills  away  from  such  points 
were  on  the  decline.  In  July,  1880,  the  Hubbard 
Mill  put  in  the  roller  process.  In  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  ilr.  Gates  erected  a  new  mill  at 
Mapleton  village.  The  Cable  Mill  in  Lyra  was 
now  owned  by  Turner  and  Eedfearn.  The  Eap- 
idan    Mill,    the    Garden    City   Mill,    the    Butter- 


190 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


field  mill,  the  Eed  Jacket  Mill,  the  White  Star 
Mill,  Eagle  Lake  mill,  the  Farmers  Mill,  Win- 
nebago Agenej'  Mill,  Dyer  Mill,  Vernon  Mill, 
Sterling  mill  and  three  or  four  other  mills  were 
still  running.  All  these  were  flour  mills.  The 
saw  mills  of  the  county  at  this  period  must 
haye   numbered   about  twenty. 

On  September  3,  1880  The  Mankato  Free 
Press  appeared  for  the  first  time  under  the  edi- 
torship of  Woodward  and  Foss,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Gen.  Baker  as  proprietors.  The  itinerary 
journalist,  J.  L.  Barlow,  moved  his  printing 
press  to  Winnebago  Agency  and  issued  a  few 
numbers  of  his  "Messenger"  there,  but  by  Jan- 
uary 6th,  1881,  he  was  over  at  Garden  City, 
issuing  it  as  the  "Garden  City-  Messenger." 
By  March  1,  1881,  the  "Mapleton  Censor"  had 
been  suspended. 

About  October  1,  1880,  Olaf  Olson  started 
a  new  store  at  what  is  now  Eapidan  station  in 
connection  with  the  post  office  and  his  wood 
business.  About  the  same  time  John  Hanson 
started  a  store  at  Little  Cobb  post  office  in 
Medo. 

On  December  4,  1880,  occurred  the  first  big 
business  failure  in  the  coimty,  that  of  Preal 
and  Du  Buisson  and  the  mill  company  of 
Eocky  and  Company.  The  liabilities  were  over 
$46,000.00  and  the  creditors  were  largely  Blue 
Earth  County  people,  who  could  ill  brook  their 
losses. 

On  December  31,  1880  the  old  Red  Jacket 
Mill  burned.  At  the  time  it  was  owned  by 
Hillyer  and  Bingham  of  Northfield,  Minn.,  and 
was  insured  for  $10,000.00.  It  had  been  one  of 
the  most  noted  mills  in  the  county,  but  because 
of  its  out  of  the  way  location  and  want  of  cap- 
ital it  was  never  rebuilt.  On  January  31,  1881, 
the  Mankato  Mutual  Building  and  Loan  Associa- 
tion was  organized  at  Mankato  by  a  number  of 
our  county  seat  business  men.  It  was  the  first 
organization  of  the  kind  in  the  county.  The 
institution  has  helped  build  over  1,300  resi- 
dences and  business  blocks  in  Mankato,  North 
Mankato  and  elsewhere  in  the  county. 

The  winter  of  1880-1  was  very  long,  cold  and 
snowy.  The  snow  came  about  November  2nd, 
and  did  not  leave  until  about  the  30th  of  April. 
The   freshet,   which   occurred   in   the    Minnesota 


about  the  last  week  in  April  was  the  biggest 
ever  known  in  that  river  since  the  advent  of  the 
white  settlers,  and  1881  has  ever  after  been 
known  as  the  year  of  "high  water." 

The  river  attained  to  the  height  of  twenty-four 
feet  above  low  water  mark,  while  in  1858  and 
1867,  when  it  had  risen  the  highest  before,  it 
was  only  twenty-two  feet.  On  May  3,  1881, 
the  sternwheel  steamer  "Mary  Barnes"  arrived 
at  Mankato  from  St.  Paul.  It  was  the  first  boat 
to  reach  our  county  for  four  or  five  years.  It 
was  in  charge  of  Captain  Newton.  In. the  spring 
of  1881  the  German  Catholic  Benefit  society 
was  organized  at  Mankato,  which  soon  had  over 
a  hundred  members.  This  society  prospered  and 
now    has    several   hundred   members. 

On  March  3,  1881,  a  number  of  Sterling  farm- 
ers organized  an  Alliance  in  the  school  house  in 
District  No.  102.  It  was  among  the  first  of 
that  kind  of  farmers  clubs  in  the  county.  About 
the  last  of  the  same  month  another  Alliance 
was  started  at  the  Eed  School  house  in  Beauford. 
Other  Alliances  were  formed  during  the  year  and 
the  order  began  to  take  an  active  part  in  politics 
s,nd  all  matters  looking  to  the  betterment  of  the 
agricultural    class. 

On  June  6,  1881,  the  farmers  of  McPherson, 
Medo,  Decoria^  and  Beauford  met  at  the  village 
of  Hilton  (Winnebago  Agency)  and  organized 
a.  Farmers  Mutual  Insurance  Company."  Its 
first  officers  were  President,  J.  L.  Cook,  Secy. 
Chas.  O'Connor,  Directors,  E.  B.  H.  Norton,  J. 
D.  Hawkins,  Chas.  O'Connor,  F.  W.  Lassow,  J. 
L.  Cook  and  John  Bestman.  Heretofore  fire  in- 
surance in  the  county  had  been  carried  by  big 
stock  companies  like  the  Fire  and  Marine  of 
St.  Paul,  the  Continental  of  Hartford,  Conn., 
and  similar  corporations,  and  the  insurance  man 
was  a  familiar  figure  on  our  country  roads.  But 
this  farmer's  mutual  insurance  was  the  fore- 
runner of  a  new  order  of  things.  In  a  few 
years  the  old  line  companies  had  been  supplant- 
ed by  local  mutual  insurance  companies. 

At  our  county  seat  during  1881,  the  Hubbard 
Mill  was  enlarged  and  improved  and  Grover 
C.  Burt  built  a  large  three  story  brick  addition 
to  the  Mankato  House. 

On    January    16,    1882,    the    Mankato    Opera 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


191 


House  burned,  but  within  a  year  was  again  re- 
built and  remodeled. 

At  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature  in  1881 
a  Municipal  Court  was  established  at  Mankato 
and  on  January  13,  1882,  0.  0.  Pitcher  was 
appointed  its  first  Judge  and  John  B.  Hodapp 
was   its   first    Eecorder. 

In  February  Andrew  Friend  bought  the  Wil- 
lard  or  Capwell  Mill,  enlarged  it  to  a  100  barrel 
capacity  and  installed  in  it  the  roller  process. 

The  Alliance  movement  had  been  growing  rap- 
idly in  the  county  during  the  past  few  months, 
and  in  March,  1882,  nine  Alliances,  met  at  Good 
Thunder  and  formed  an  Union  under  the  name 
of  the  "Blue  Earth  County  Alliance."  These 
nine  were:  Mapleton,  Sterling  ISTo.  20.  Sterling 
No.  65,  Beauford,  Mankato  Township,  Decoria, 
Amboy,  No.  68,  Amboy  No.  60,  and  Good  Thun- 
der. The  officers  chosen  were :  Lvsander  Cook, 
President;  Peter  McGrath,  J.  B.  Emmerson, 
Joseph  May,  D.  W.  Evans,  Joseph  Bookwalter 
and  Adam  Arnold,  Vice-Presidents,  Capt.  Geo. 
W.  Haigh,  Secretary;  and  J.  S.  Englerth, 
Treasurer.  Another  meeting  was  held  at  Good 
Thunder  on  June   3,   1882,   when   the  following 


ten  Alliances  were  represented  by  the  persons 
named : 

Good  Thunder,  L.  Cook,  P.  McGrath  and  G. 
Webster. 

Mapleton,  W.  G.  Dailey  and  T.  D.  Dailey. 

Beauford,  F.  Childs,  and  L.  F.   Findley. 

Decoria,  F.  M.  Currier  and, Geo.  Todd. 

Sterling,  No.  20,  M.  M.  Pratt  and  James  Ellis. 

Sterling,  No.  65,  W.  A.  Grover,  W.  S.  Al- 
drich  and  W.  J.  Mountain. 

Garden  City,  L.  Cook,  L.  S.  Terrj'  and  J.  G. 
Thompson. 

LeEay,  Ira  B.  Eeynolds. 

Judson,  Eich.  Wigley  and  John  Edwards. 

Mankato,  Geo.  W.  Haigh,  Jno.  Diamond  and 
J.    S.    Englerth. 

Among  the  foregoing  were  several  names  who 
^veve  destined  to  play  a  prominent  part  in  the 
advancement  of  the  Alliance  cause  in  our  own 
county  and  the  state. 

On  July  4,  1882,  the  County  Alliance  held  a 
big  celebration  at  Good  Thunder,  at  which  Hon. 
S.  P.  Sprague,  State  Lecturer  for  the  order, 
and  Seth  Bottomly  of  Fairmont  were  the  lead- 
ing speakers. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

HISTOEY     OF     MINNESOTA     VALLEY- 
EVENTS  OF  1884-6— BUILDING  OF 
THE  COUET  HOUSE. 


With  the  year  1882  we  note  the  advent  of  the     of   Amboy    and    Lake    Crystal    were   put    among 
first    creameries    into    the    county,    an    industry     money  order  offices,     October  11,  1882,  occurred 


which  in  the  near  future  was  to  convert  our 
county  from  wheat  raising  to  stock  raising  and 
butter  making.  C.  G.  Spaulding  at  Mapleton, 
J.  H.  Long  and  W.  T.  Mills  at  Mankato,  H.  C. 
Howard,  and  Marston  Larson  and  Davis  of  Lake 
Crystal  and  S.  H.  Grannis  were  among  the  pio- 
neers of  this  new  enterprise  in  our  county. 


the  first  issue  of  "The  Lake  Ci7stal  Union'- 
by  Geo.  W.  Neff,  who  has  edited  and  published 
the  paper  ever  since.  Mr.  Neff  had  formerly 
published  {he  "Mankato  Union"  and  was  an  ex- 
perienced newspaper  man. 

About    September    5,     1883,    Mr.     Woodward 
sold    the   "Mankato    Free   Press"   to   Lemuel   P. 


In  June,  1882,  "The  History  of  the  Minnesota  Hunt,  a  young  man  of  good  abiUty  and  great 
Valley"  was  published.  The  book  contains  a  energy.  Without  much  personal  magnetism  or 
fairly  good  history  of  our  county  among  a  popularity  and  with  but  little  capital  at  the 
number  of  others.  On  July  23,  1882,  the  25th  start,  Mr.  Hunt  has  managed  by  push,  enter- 
anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the  Sterling  prise  and  good  judgment  to  build  up  one  of  the 
Congregational  chuch  was  observed.  Eev.  J.  E.  best  publishing  plants  in  the  state  and  his  paper 
Conrad  being  the  principal  speaker.  was  always  newsy  and  readable  and  enjoyed  as 

On  July  15th,  1882,  the  "Blue  Earth  County  large    a    circulation    as    any    paper    in    Southern 

Anti    Horse    Thief    Association"    met    at    Lake  Minnesota. 

Crystal,  with  one  or  more  delegates  from  every  In  August,  1882,  the  present  brick  poor  house 

town.     G.   W.   Monks  was  president,   and   J.    C.  was    completed    on    the   county    farm    at    a    cost 

Currier,   secretary.  of  $5,000.00. 

June  28,   1882   a  militia  company   designated  During -this  year  there  was  much  talk   about 

"Company    F,    Second    Eegiment,"    was    formed  tlie   "Mankato,   Austin   and   St.    Cloud   Eailway" 

at  Mankato  with  Geo.  W.  Mead  as  captain,  S.  W.  and   the   "Cannon   Valley   Eailway."    McPherson 

Burgess,    1st    Lieutenant,    F.    W.    Walker,    2nd  voted  $10,000.00  bonus  to  the  former  and  other 

Lieutenant.      This    organization    existed    for    a  towns    along   the    proposed    route   voted    similar 

number  of  years,  though   the  personnel  of  both  amounts, 

officers   and   men   changed   many  times.    At   the  Prior  to   1882   Geo.   A.    Clarke  had   started   a 


second    election    of    officers    March     13,     1883, 
S-    W.    Burgess    became    Captain,    H.    C.    Acres 
1st  Lieutenant   and    D.    F.    McGraw    2nd   Lieu- 
tenant. 
In    the    spring    of    1882    Corliss    and    Brown 


summer  resort  at  Madison  Lake,  and  had  done 
much,  to  create  an  interest  in  this  charming  spot, 
hidden  in  the  depth  of  the  forest.  During  this 
summer  J.  M.  Barclay  who  owned  a  tract  of 
land  known  as  Point  Pleasant  on  a  fine  promon- 


started  a  bank   at  the  village  of  Mapleton.   On  tory  of  the  lake,  built  thereon  a  two  story  frame 

July  21,  1882,  a  new  postoffice  was  started  call-  liotel,  which  soon  became  very  popular  as  a  sum- 

ed    "Beauford,"    with    L.    F.    Finley,    who    kept  mer  retreat. 

«   small   store   at   Beauford    Center,    as   its   first         During  1882,  Lake  Crystal  built  a  two  story 

Postmaster,     On  August  7,  1882,  the  post  offices  brick  school  building  at  a  cost  of  $8,000. 

"  193 


lui  kbk 


194 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COTJNTy. 


On  October  27,  1882,  Wm.  C.  Durkee,  who 
had  served  the  county  since  1869  as  Clerk  of  its 
District  Court,  died,  and  Wm.  B.  Torrey  wag 
appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

On  February  14,  15,  and  16,  1883,  "The 
Korthwestern  Dairymen's  Convention"  was  held 
at  Mankato  and  gave  much  inspiration  to  the 
new  dairy  interests  of  our  county.  One  feature 
of  the  decorations  of  the  occasion  was  an  ice 
palace  surmounted  by  an  effigy  of  a  calf,  erect- 
ed in  the  street  in  front  of  the  City  Hall, 
where  the  meetings  were  held.  Soon  after  this 
meeting  the  Lake  Crystal  creamery  was  sold  to 
Lawrence  Straight  and  Co.,  and  a  little  later 
1hov,  also,  bought  the  Mankato  cret- 
in March,  1883  Joseph  Bookwalter,  of  Vernon 
Center  was  appointed  collecter  of  customs  at 
St.  Vincent. 

For  a  number  of  years  John  E.  Beatty  of 
Mankato  had  made  a  special  study  of  the  lime- 
stone ledges  in  and  about  Mankato,  and,  after 
numerous  experiments,  had  discovered  along  the 
banks  of  the  Blue  Earth  in  West  Mankato  a 
quantity  of  good  cement  rock.  In  1882  he  in- 
terested J.  S.  Parsons  of  Hartford  Conn.,  and 
U..  Cummings  of  Buffalo,  IST.  Y.  in  the  find; 
and  on  April  24,  1883,  they  purchased  a  tract 
of  several  acres,  containing  the  cement  ledge,  of 
Stephen  Lamm,  Noah  Armstrong  and  Daniel 
Buck.  Extensive  and  very  substantial  build- 
ings were  constructed  during  the  summer  and 
the  plant  began  operations  in  the  fall.  For 
a  number  of  years  large  quantities  of  cement 
v/ere  manufactured  by  the  "Mankato  Standard 
Cement   Company." 

Another  industry,  which  was  started  this 
same  spring  of  1883,  adjacent  to  the  cement 
works,  was  the  manufacture  of  drain  tile  and 
firebrick  by  S.  F.  Alberger.  The  clay  for  the 
purpose  was  mostly  obtained  from  the  Le  Sueur, 
and  was  of  excellent  quality.  This  work  pros- 
pered for  a  time,  but  the  want  of  capital,  the 
discrimination  in  railway  rates,  and  a  better  of- 
fer at  the  Twin  Cities,  finally  induced  Mr.  Al- 
berger in  three  or  four  years  to  abandon  his 
plant. 

The  same  spring  (1883)  witnessed  the  erec- 
tion at  Mankato  by  0.  C.  McCurdy,  John  Van 
Liew  and  L.  Patterson,  of  Van  Wert,  Ohio,  of 


the  Mankato  gas  works,  the  first  in  the  county. 

About  July  11th,  1883,  a  telephone  plant 
was  installed  at  Mankato  with  sixty-three  sub- 
scribers, mainly  through  the  efforts  of  A.  B. 
Smith.  It  was  the  first  effort  to  give  the  people 
of  our  county  the  services  of  this  modern  con- 
venience. 

In  the  fall  of  1883  Frank  Lewis  of  Worth- 
ington  purchased  the  machinery  of  the  "White 
Star"  flour  mill  from  the  heirs  of  Capt.  Dicker- 
son  and  moved  same  to  Lake  Crystal;  where  he 
formed  a  copartnership  with  Marston,  Cry  and 
Davis  in  its  operation. 

In  September,  1883,  Smith's  mill  was  made  a 
regular  station  on  the  ISTorthwestem  railroad 
and  a  depot  was  erected.  There  was  a  mill  and 
three  general  stores  already  located  at  this 
place. 

In  the  summer  of  1883,  John  D.  Quane 
moved  his  paper,  "The  Public  Spirit"  from  Lake 
Crystal  to  Mankato  and  changed  it  to  a  daily 
paper.  It  was  the  first  attempt  at  publishing  a 
daily  in  our  county  but  for  some  reason  or  other 
it  was  not  a  success  and  its  publication  sus- 
pended in  December. 

February  12  to  15,  1885  the  'TSTorthwestem 
Dairymen's  Association"  met  again  at  Mankato 
and  the  dairy  interests  of  the  county  were  given 
another  big  impetus.  An  important  change 
was  now  taking  place  in  our  county  along  agri- 
cultural lines.  The  farmers  were  turning  from 
wheat  raising  to  stock  raising  and  the  production 
of  butter ;  and  these  big  conventions  helped  mater- 
ially in  the  transition.  Public  sentiment  was  mold- 
ed by  them  and  the  people  educated  and  enthused 
along  these  lines.  Early  in  March,  1884,  the 
merchants  of  Lake  Crystal  formed  a  "Dairy 
Board  of  Trade,"  which  sent  men  out  through  the 
country  regularly  to  gather  the  butter  fresh  from 
the  churn  and  have  it  all  worked  over  at  Lake 
Crystal  by  experienced  butter  makers. 

In  April,  1884,  a  dairymen's  convention  was 
held  at  Mapleton  which  gave  the  farmers  in  that 
vicinity  an  opportunity  to  meet  and  discuss 
ways  and  means.  About  the  same  time,  through 
the  efforts  of  M.  G.  Willard,  then  secretary* 
of  the  Mankato  Board  of  Trade,  a  "Dairy  Pro- 
duce and  "Exchange"  was  organized  at  Man- 
katoj  embracing  a  number  of  counties  in  South- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


195 


western  Minnesota,  the  main  purpose  of  which 
was  to  arrange  sale  or  market  days  for  butter, 
so  as  to  bring  the  producers  into  touch  with 
the  butter  dealers  of  New  York  City  and  else- 
where. The  first  sale  days  were  held  at  Mankato 
during  this  month  of  April,  and  a  number  of 
buyers  and  sellers  were  present. 

The  growth  of  the  dairy  interest  called  forth 
new  enterprises.  W.  W.  Woodward  and  Chas. 
M.  Marsh  formed  a  copartnership  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  butter  tubs  at  Mankato  and  dur- 
ing the  summer  erected  a  large  factory  for  the 
purpose.  In  June,  1884,  the  English  speaking 
Catholics  of  Mankato  and  vicinity  separated 
themsehes  from  the  German  Catholic  Church 
and  Father  John  Prior  became  their  pastor. 

In  Vernon  Center  the  fight  between  old  Ver- 
non and  "Edgewood"  was  still  raging,  but  the 
latter  place  was  steadily  gaining  ground  over  its 
rival.  In  July,  1883,  it  obtained  a  postofEice 
with  E.  W.  Washburn  as  postmaster,  and  in 
1884  it  won  the  new  school  house. 

Amboy  by  this  time  was  getting  to  be  quite 
a  village  with  several  stores,  hotels,  and  churches. 
In  January,  1885,  it  even  supported  a  newspaper 
called  the  "Amboy  News." 

During  the  years  1882  to  about  1886,  the 
young  people  of  Sterling  and  vicinity  were  very 
active   in    literary    and    lyceum    work. 

At  Mapleton,  James  Brown,  the  merchant 
and  banlcer,  had  become,  also,  an  editor,  pub- 
lishing a  small  monthly  paper  called  the  "Ma- 
pleton Enterprise"  in  connection  with  the  store 
of  Brown,  Wishart  &  Orr  as  early  as  the  first 
of  August,  1884.  This  paper  continued  for  a 
year  and  had  a  circulation  of  800. 

On  January  13,  1885,  Hon.  Schyler  Colfax, 
Ez-vice  president  of  the  United  States,  died  sud- 
denly at  the  depot  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Omaha 
railway  in  Mankato,  while  waiting  between 
trains.  At  the  New  Orleans  Mid  Winter  Expo- 
sition in  January,  1885,  an  exhibit  of  the  stone 
and  some  other  products  of  our  county  was 
made,  with  James   Shoemaker  in  charge. 

The  Cannon  Valley  Eailroad  (now  called  the 
Chicago  and  Great  Western)  was  then  ap- 
proaching Mankato  from  Eed  Wing  and  Fari- 
bault and  had  reached  Jamestown.  A  new  town- 
site  was  started  there  on  January  17,  1885,  on 


the  line  of  this  railway  called  "Madison  Lake," 
after  the  lake  of  that  name  on  which  it  is  situ- 
ated. The  proprietors  were:  Chas.  F.  Hatch  as 
trustee,  Luther  Z.  Sogers  and  Lewis  Fitcher.  At 
Mankato  the  German  Lutheran  parochial  school 
which  had  heretofore  been  taught  by  the  pas- 
tor, was  put  in  charge  of  a  regular  teacher. 
Prof.  H.  I.  F.  Brockmeyer,  in  April,  1885. 

During  the  summer  a  three  story  brick  block 
was  erected  by  Patterson,  Halfhill  and  Zimmer- 
man for  their  new  wholesale  grocery  business. 
These  men,  who  proved  to  be  a  valuable  acquisi- 
tion to  the  mercantile  interests  of  the  county, 
came  from  Van  Wert,  Ohio. 

The  coming  into  power  of  a  Democratic  ad- 
ministration at  the  National  Capitol  wrought 
many  changes  this  year  in  the  political  circle 
by  the  Blue  Earth.  The  U.  S.  Land  office  there 
at  Tracy  was  put  in  charge  of  P.  K.  Wiser  as 
receiver  and  George  W.  Warner  as  Eegister. 
About  all  the  postmasters  in  the  county,  were, 
also,  changed. 

A  big  fourth  of  July  celebration  was  held  this 
year  (1885)  at  Pleasant  Mound,  at  which  Seth 
Bottomley  was  orator.  August  11,  1885,  oc- 
curred the  first  issue  of  the  "Mankato  State 
Eegister,"  published  by  Carl  Eastwood.  About 
the  same  date  the  "Third  District  Messenger," 
a  prohibition  paper  was  started  at  Mankato  by 
H.  C.  Hotaling.  There  were  now  six  English 
and  one  German  papers  printed  at  the  county 
seat.  '    1 

During  August  and  September,  1885,  Far- 
mers' State  Institutes  were  conducted  at  Gar- 
den City  and  other  points  in  the  county  by 
J.    T.   McCleary   and   Miss   Sprague. 

About  September  1,  1885,  James  B.  Swan 
sold  his  interest  in  the  Eapidan  Mill  company 
to  S.  H.  Baker  of  St.  Peter  for  $7,700.  Sep- 
tember 8,  1885,  occurred  at  Mankato  the  second 
annual  fair  of  the  "Southern  Minnesota  Live 
Stock  and  Fair  association.  September  30,  1885, 
the  "Blue  Earth  Valley  Fair  Association"  held 
its  eighth  exhibition  on  the  farm  of  L.  F,  Mc- 
Kibbin.  Senator  M.  C.  Wilkinson,  Gen.  Geo. 
Becker  and  Gen.  James  H.  Baker,  the  two  lat- 
ter being  at  the  time  on  the  State  Eailway 
Commission  delivered  addresses  to  over  2500 
people.      Other    events    of    1885,    wer^    a    new 


196 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


brick  school  house  at  Amboy;  a  new  post  office 
established  at  Madison  Lake  in  October,  with 
Geo.  W.  Allyn  as  postmaster;  the  beginning  of 
the  erection  of  a  big  fiberware  plant  at  Man- 
kato  by  M.  G.  and  John  A.  Willard,  which 
was  later  transformed  into  a  part  of  the  present 
Knitting  Mills;  the  dedication  on  October  18, 
1885,  at  the  town  of  Danville  of  the  new  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church,  and  the  formation  over 
"lie  county  of  many  temperance  clubs,  such  as: 
Good  Templar  lodges.  Sons  of  Temperance, 
Prohibition  clubs,  Wide  Awakes  and  W.  C. 
T.  U. 

During  the  winter  of  1885-6  tobogganing 
was  the  craze  in  Blue  Earth  County  and  all 
over  the  Northwest  and  on  January  26,  1886, 
the   St.   Paul   clubs   visited   the   Mankato   clubs. 

The  matter  of  changing  the  name  of  Winne- 
bago Agency  post  office  agitated  its  patrons  for 
a  few  weeks  during  this  winter.  At  a  meet- 
ing held  February  6,  1886  the  name  Hilton 
was  chosen  by  a  close  vote,  in  honor  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  main  townsite,  but  at  another 
meeting  held  about  March  33,  the  name  St. 
Clair-  was  adopted  on  the  suggestion  of  Chas. 
O'Connor. 

During  this  same  month  (March,  1886,)  the 
Mankato  band  led  by  Prof.  Jache  assisted  by 
Henry  Wilcox  was  mustered  in  as  a  military 
band  for  the  Second  Regiment  Minnesota  mili- 
tia. 

On  the  30th  of  the  same  month  a  number  of 
the  farmers  of  Shelby,  Pleasant  Mound,  Yer- 
non  and  Sterling  combined  to  build  a  Grain 
ware  house  at  Amhoy.  Their  corporate  name 
was  "The  Amboy  Farmers  Co-operative  Associ- 
ation" and  one  hundred  shares  of  stock  were 
issued  at  $15  each. 

On  the  27th  of  the  same  month  the  working 
men  of  Mankato  affected  their  first  organization, 
at  the  instigation  of  one  C.  A.  Lincoln  of  Ohio. 

Tn  April.  1886,  W.  R.  Geddes  succeeded.  Mr. 
Eastwood  as  half  owner  of  the  "State  Eedster'-' 
and  in  March,  1887,  Mr.  Geddes  purchased  the 
other  half  interest  of  W.  W.  Woodward,  and 
became  the  sole  proprietor  of  this  stronsr  rival 
of  the   "Free   Press"  in   the  journalistic  field. 

In  November,  1885.  Wm.  M.  Farr  and  John 
C.   Noe,   two  prominent  business   men   of  Man- 


kato, applied  and  received  a  franchise  for  a 
street  railroad  in  that  city.  Early  in  the  spring 
they  began  the  construction  of  the  road  along 
Front  Street,  and  on  June  22,  1886,  a  corpora- 
tion was  formed  with  a  capital  of  $50,000  by 
W.  M.  Farr,  John  C.  Noe,  J.  A.  Willard,  Ste- 
phen Lamm,  Geo.  P.  Piper,  Geo.  H.  Clark  and 
J.  E.  Jones.  The  railway  was  completed  and 
opened  for  travel  on  July  23,  1886,  and  966 
passengers  were  carried  on  the  first  day,  1033 
on  the  second,  and  1455  on  the  third  day.  Had 
this  patronage  continued  this  first  venture  in 
a  street  railway  in  our  county  might  have  been 
a  paying  enterprise.  The  cars  were  operated 
by  horses.  Extensions  were  made  from  the 
main  line  on  Front  street  first  to  the  C.  St. 
P.  M.  &  0.  Ry.  depot,  then  up  Center  and 
Byron  Street  in  the  summer  of  1887,  and  after 
two  or  three  years  the  latter  extension  was  taken 
up  and  used  in  an  extension  to  Sibley  Park  and 
the  Blue  Earth  River  bridge.  Mankato  at  that 
time  proved  too  small  a  town  for  a  street  rail- 
way, and  the  patronage  failed  to  pay  the  operat- 
ing expense.  So  after  giving  the  enterprise  a 
full  test  and  finding  their  deficit  growing  big- 
ger each  year,  the  company  finally,  in  October, 
1895,  surrendered  their  franchise,  pulled  up 
their  tracks   and  abandoned  the  project. 

On  June  18,  1886,  a  number  of  the  pubhn 
schools  of  Sterling  and  Mapleton  had  a  big 
picnic  at  Johnson's  grove  in  Sterling.  Fifteen 
schools  were  represented. 

August  31,  1886,  The  Mankato  National 
Bank,  (now  called  the  Mankato  State  Bank), 
was  organized  by  Dr.  Z.  G.  Harrington,  D. 
Buck,  John  H.  Ray,  M.  J.  Severance,  Geo.  T. 
Bovnton,  M.  0.  Sundt  and  others. 

Sept.  3,  1886,  saw  the  first  issue  of  the  "Man- 
kato Post"  a  new  German  paper,  by  Geo.  W. 
Sherer  and   Geo.   J.  Eheler. 

September  1,  1886,  the  Alliance  and  Labor 
Unions  of  the  County  met  at  Good  Thunder 
and  put  in  nomination  a  Legislative  and  county 
ticket,  but  the  leading  candidates  of  the  two 
old  parties  managed  to  steer  the  nominations 
mostly  their  way. 

The  other  events  of  1886,  were:  a  fair  held 
by  the  farmers  of  the  Fifth  Commissioner  Dis- 
trict   at    Mapleton    in    September;    th^    holding 


CRYSTAL 


M.e.CHoRCH 


Bflprisr  CHURCH 


^leAuriirui. jL.A,Ke  cHva'i 


HISTORY  OF  BLtJE  EAKTH  COUNTY. 


197 


of  a  number  of  Farmers  institutes  over  the 
county;  the  burning  of  the  Maple  ton  Eoller 
Mill  on  December  31;  the  building  of  the  Odd 
Fellows  block  at  Mankato;  and  the  installing  of 
waterworks  at  the  same  eity^  supplied  by  arte- 
sian wells. 

At  the  election  in  November^  1886,  John 
Peter  Kramer  of  Danville,  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee, defeated  Wm.  Jones,  the  Eepublican  can- 
didate by  one  or  two  votes.  On  January  9, 
1887,  within  five  or  six  days  after  assuming 
office  Mr.  Kramer  died,  and  the  County  Com- 
missioners elected  Mr.  Jones  to  fill  the  vacancy 
by  a  vote  of  three  to  two. 

During  these  years  the  matter  of  building  a 
new  court  house  was  a  very  live  issue  in  our 
county,  which  called  forth  a  long  and  bitter 
fight.  In  this  unfortunate  contest  the  City  of 
Mankato  aided  by  two  or  three  townships  were 
ranged  on  the  side  favorable  to  the  new  court 
house,  while  the  rest  of  the  county  was  in  oppo- 
sition. We  have  spoken  of  some  of  our  county 
buildings  already  in  this  history,  but  it  may  not 
be  amiss  to  review  the  history  of  our  county 
buildings  as  a  preface  to  the  history  of  our 
present   court  house. 

The  first  move  looking  toward  the  erection 
of  a  court  house  was  taken  by  the  County  Com- 
missioners on  July  10,  1856,  when  they  pro- 
posed to  build  a  two  story  stone  edifice  30 
by  40  feet.  Nothing  was  done  however,  to  carry 
this  resolution  into  effect.  At  their  next  meet- 
ing on  October  21,  1856,  the  board  decided 
"because  of  the  lateness  of  the  season  and  the 
urgent  needs  of  a  jail  and  other  reasons"  (prin- 
cipally want  of  funds)  not  to  build  the  court 
house,  but  to  build  a  jail  and  sheriff's  residence 
at  once.  Accordingly  on  November  1,  1856,  a 
contract  was  let  to  Francis  Bunker,  then  sheriff 
of  the  county,  to  construct  a  one  story  log 
jail  12  by  20  feet,  the  logs  to  be  of  hard  wood 
and  hewed  eight  iuches  square,  and  in  front  of 
this  jail  and  contiguous  to  it  a  one  story  frame 
dwelling  for  the  sheriff  14  by  20  feet.  The 
jail  part  was  divided  into  two  cells  and  the 
sheriff's  residence  had  a  living  room,  a  bedroom, 
pantry,  an  attic  above  and  a  small  hole  in  the 
ground  for  a  cellar.  The  building  was  complet- 
ed by  January  1,  1857,  at  a  cost  of  $900.00  and 


stood  facing  "Walnut  Street  about  100  feet  west 
of  the  northeast  corner  of  the  court  house  block 
on  the  brow  of  the  hill.  In  the  smnmer  of 
1859,  a  small  kitchen  was  added  to  the  sherifl"s 
house.  This  was  the  only  jail  and  sheriff's  resi- 
dence the  county  possessed  until  January,  1868. 
Westward  of  this  jail  about"  150  feet,  and  at  the 
loot  of  the  hill,  the  sheriff  had  his  barn,  first  of 
logs,  and  afterwards  of  frame.  On  July  8,  1857, 
the  Commissioners  ordered  the  erection  of  a  one 
story  stone  office  building  20  by  24  feet,  with 
a  flat  roof.  At  the  same  time  the  court  house 
square  was  ordered  to  be  enclosed  by  a  substan- 
tial board  fence.  On  the  28th  of  the  same  month 
the  contract  for  the  building  was  let  to  Isaac  N. 
Britton  and  Francis  Bunker  for  $1,500.00,  and 
for  the  fence  at  $225.00,  and  both  were  con- 
structed that  fall.  This  building  fronted  on 
Fourth  street  and  stood  on  the  court  house 
square  about  75  feet  north  of  its  southwest  cor- 
ner. It  was  used  at  first  as  an  office  for  the 
Eegister  of  Deeds,  who  in  those  days  was,  also, 
Clerk  of  the  Boai-d  of  County  Commissioners,  and 
performed  the  duties  now  imposed  upon  the 
County  Auditor.  The  Commissioners,  too,-  met 
in  this  building.  When  the  office  of  County 
Auditor  was  created  in  1858,  this  new  official 
occupied  the  one  room  building  jointly  with 
the  Eegister  until  January,  1871. 

A  stone  vault,  in  which  were  stored  the  rec- 
ords of  the  county,  stood  inside  in  one  comer, 
much  like  a  dutch  oven  in  shape.  The  door 
to  this  fire  and  burglar  proof  safe  was  made  of 
oak  plank  covered  with  sheet  iron,  which  when 
new  was  painted  and  varnished.  In  time '  the 
paint  wore  off,  and  so  did  some  of  the  sheet  iron,  ^ 
and  the  wood  shrank,  so  the  mice  could  run  back 
and  forth  under  the  door  when  closed. 

We  have  already  noted  how  the  Legislature 
in  February,  1867,  authorized  our  County  Com- 
missioners to  issue  $10,000.00  in  bonds  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  new  Court  House  and  jail, 
but  added  the  proviso  that  the  location  of  the 
building  be  submitted  to  the  legal  voters  of  the 
county;  how  Mankato  won  out  at  the  election  as 
the  site,  and  on  May  7,  1867,  the  contract  was 
let  for  $10,300.00  to  L.  J.  Lewis. 

The  old  sheriff's  residence  and  log  jail  were 
torn  down  to  make  room  for  this  new  building. 


198 


HiSTOHY  OP  BLTJB  EARTH  COtTNTY. 


which,  also,  faced  on  Walnut  street.  Being  lo- 
cated on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  it  gave  an  oppor- 
tunity for  a  good  basement  under  the  whole 
building,  which  was  33  by  75  feet,  and  two  stor- 
ies high  above  the  basement.  As  the  westerly 
wall  of  the  basement  was  exposed  by  reason 
of  the  slope  of  the  ground,  the  structure  from 
that  point  of  view,  looked  like  a  three  story 
buildiQg.  The  basement  and  the  jail  part  were 
constructed  of  stone  and  the  balance  of  the  edi- 
fice was  of  brick.  The  jail  occupied  the  rear 
forty  feet  of  the  first  story,  while  the  balance 
of  the  first  story  and  the  basement  were  the 
sheriff's  apartments.  The  second  story  was 
reached  by  an  outside  wooden  stairway  on  the 
easterly  side  of  the  building.  The  front  fifty- 
five  feet  of  this  upper  floor  was  occupied  as  a 
court  room,  while  the  rear  twenty  feet  was  par- 
titioned into  two  jury  rooms.  The  windows  of 
these  jury  rooms  were  grated  and  grates  fitted 
into  the  doors  so  the  rooms  could  be  used  for 
cells  ia  case  of  female  prisoners. 

This  was  the  first  court  room  the  county  had 
ever  owned.  Heretofore,  court  had  met  in  halls 
auch  as  the  county  could  find  for  hire.  The  old 
City  Hail,  Concert  Hall,  Masonic  Hall,  Higgins 
Hall  and  Shoemaker's  Hall  had  each  ia  its 
turn  been  the  abode  of  the  blind  goddess,  but 
at  last  she  had  been  provided  with  a  home  of 
her  own.  The  building  was  completed  by  No- 
vember 37,  1867,  and  first  occupied  by  Evan 
Bowen,  then  newly  elected  sheriff,  and  the  first 
term  of  court  was  held  ia  it  December,  1867, 
Judge  Horace  Austin  presiding.  The  first  case 
liied  was  the  famous  Willow  Creek  Mayhem  case 
against  Miller,  Day  and  others. 

The  Clerk  of  Court  established  his  office  in 
the  new  court  room  as  soon  as  it  was  finished 
and  for  a  time  the  county  treasurer  occupied 
the  same  apartment. 

The  extremely  cramped  condition  the  Audi- 
tor and  Eegister  of  Deeds  were  experiencing  in 
their  one  room  office  at  the  foot  of  the  hill 
finally  drove  A.  D.  Seward,  then  Auditor,  to 
prepare  plans  for  enlarging  it  to  a  four  room 
building.  These  were  submitted  to  the  Commis- 
sioners and  accepted  by  them  on  March  11,  1870. 
The  plans  called  for:  the  tearing  out  of  the  front 
and  south  sides  of  the  little  stone  building,  the 


putting  of  an  addition  of  twenty-four  feet  on 
the  south  side  making  the  entire  ground  space 
idx^i  feet  and  the  raising  of  the  whole  to  a 
two  story  building.  All  new  walls  above  a  two 
foot  stone  base  were  of  brick.  This  gave  two 
rooms  below,  one  for  the  Eegister  on  the  north 
and  the  other  for  the  Auditor.  A  stairway  be- 
tween these  two  rooms  led  to  the  rooms  on  the 
second  fioor,  the  upper  room  on  the  south  side 
being  occupied  by  the  Treasurer  and  that  on 
the  north  by  the  Clerk  of  Court.  Two  stone 
vaults  for  the  use  of  the  Eegister  and  Auditor 
were  constructed  on  the  outside  in  the  rear  of 
their  respective  offices.  This  made  practically  a 
new  buiidiag,  as  all  that  was  left  of  the  little 
stone  edifice  were  its  north  and  rear  walls.  The 
contract  was  let  to  Wm.  Eoberts  and  Co.,  on 
September  9,  1870,  for  $1,996.50,  and  the  build- 
ing completed  by  January  6,  1871.  The  en- 
tire cost,  including  a  number  of  extras  to  the 
original  specifications,  was  $2,385.65. 

By  1876  the  need  of  more  room  for  the  County 
Auditor,  of  the  offices  for  officials  still  unprovided, 
and  of  fire  proof  vaults  for  a  mass  of  comity 
records  in  the  Probate,  Clerk  of  Court,  and 
Treasurer's  offices  appealed  so  strongly  to  the 
Grand  Jury  at  the  December  term  of  Court, 
that  it  sent  to  the  County  Commissioners  an 
urgent  request  to  immediately  supply  these  re- 
quirements. 

In  response  to  these  recommendations  of  the 
jury,  the  County  Board,  at  its  meeting  on  Jan- 
uary 6,  1877,  requested  its  chairman  to  procure 
plans  for  enlarging  the  county  office  building 
and  making  the  other  necessary  improvements. 
On  February  1st,  the  contract  was  let  for 
$1,777.15  to  0.  S.  Cowan.  The  new  addition 
TFas  a  two  story  brick  23  feet  front  by  40  feet 
deep  added  to  the  southerly  end  of  the  build- 
ing. The  entire  lower  floor  of  the  new  ad- 
dition was  devoted  to  the  Auditor's  office, 
while  the  upper  floor  was  divided  into  two  of- 
fices, the  front  occupied  by  the  Judge  of  Pro- 
bate, and  the  rear  by  the  Clerk  of  Court.  To 
reach  these  two  offices  a  hall  was  constructed 
from  the  top  of  the  stairway  along  the  rear  of 
the  southerly  upstair  room  of  the  first  addition, 
which  hall  was  lighted  by  a  glass  partition.  The 
County  Treasurer,  who  had  heretofore  occupied 


HISTOSY  0^  BLtJE  EAUTfl  COtJNl^Y. 


199 


this  room,  moved  to  the  room  below,  lately  oc- 
cupied by  the  Auditor,  while  this  upper  room 
became  lirst  the  County  Attorney's  office  and 
later  the  Judge's  chambers.  The  room  to  the 
north  over  the  Eegister's  office,  where  had 
been  the  Clerk's  office,  was  given  to  the  Sup- 
erintendent of  Schools.  In  the  outside  angle 
formed  at  the  junction  of  the  first  and  second 
additions  in  the  rear  a  large  two  story  iire  proof 
vault  was  constructed.  The  lower  story  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  Auditor,  but  the  upper  story  was 
divided  into  two  vaults,  one  for  the  Clerk  of 
Court  and  the  other  for  the  Probate  Judge,  but 
the  latter  had  to  enter  the  Clerk's  office  to  reach 
his    vault. 

These  improvements  were  completed  by  Sep- 
tember 1,  1877,  and  no  further  change  was 
made  in  our  county  buildings,  until  the  erection 
of  the  present  Court  House  and  jail  twelve  to 
fifteen  years  later. 

The  first  move  looking  to  the  erection  of  a 
new  Court  House  originated  March  24,  1884,  at 
a  Board  of  Trade  meeting  of  the  City  of  Man- 
kato.  The  idea  was  suggested  by  Stephen 
Lamm,  who  had  just  returned  from  an  ex- 
tended visit  south  and  east,  and  had  been 
strongly  impressed  by  the  progress  he  had  seen 
everywhere  in  municipal  architecture.  The  un- 
sightliness  and  inadequacy  of  our  county  build- 
ings had  specially  appealed  to  him  on  coming 
home  as  unworthy  a  gre'at  and  rich  county  like 
Blue  Earth.  Their  shabbiness  was  a  disgrace 
and  gave  strangers  an  impression  that  we  were 
behind  the  times,  that  the  county  was  either 
poverty  stricken  or  greatly  lacking  in  enterprise. 
We  were  ashamed  to  show  them  to  any  visitor, 
and  no  artist  had  ever  taken  a  picture  of  them 
for  they  were  void  of  all  artistic  merit  or 
value. 

Mr.  Lamm  moved  that  the  matter  of  building 
a  new  court  house,  which  should  be  worthy  of 
the  county  and  adequate  for  its  needs,  be 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  County  Com- 
missioners. The  motion  was  unanimously  ap- 
proved and  John  Klein,  who  was  then  the 
member  of  the  County  Board  from  the  city, 
and,  also,  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
was  requested  to  urge  the  matter  upon  the  con- 
sideration   of    the    Commissioners    at   their   next 


meeting.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trade 
held  July  28,  1884,  John  Klein  asked  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  aid  him  in  bring- 
ing the  matter  of  a  new  court  house  before  the 
Commissioners,  who  were  then  in  session.  John 
A.  Willard,  1".  L.  Walters  and  John  C.  Wise 
were  appointed  such  a  committee,  and  they  at 
once  appeared  before  the  commissioners,  who 
were  induced  to  look  with  favor  upon  the  prop- 
osition, and  a  resolution  was  passed  levying  a 
tax  of  one  mill  for  a  Court  House  fund.  This 
lax  raised  about  $8,000.00,  which  the  Board  in- 
tended to  use  in  beginning  the  work  of  grading 
and  starting  the  foundation. 

The  County  Commissioners  at  this  time  were : 
James  B.  Swan,  Chairman,  Timothy  Kees,  John 
Diamond,  John  Klein  and  Malachi  Gainor.  They 
were  all  men  of  excellent  judgment  and  char- 
acter and  all  fully  realized  the  great  need  of 
a  new  Court  House.  On  January  1,  1885,  Olaf 
Martinson,  of  Lincoln,  succeeded  Mr.  Eees.  He, 
too,  was  a  faithful  and  fearless  friend  of  the 
new    Court    House    proposition. 

February  10,  1885,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
Mankato  Board  of  Trade,  the  Legislature  passed 
an  act  authorizing  the  commissioners  of  Blue 
Earth  County  to  issue  $75,000.00  in  bonds  to 
build  a  court  house,  subject  to  ratification  by 
the  voters  of  the  county.  March  2,  1885,  the 
Board  of  Trade  appointed  Stephen  Lamm,  Geo. 
M.  Pahner,  John  C.  Wise,  John  N.  Hall,  M.  G. 
Willard,  John  C.  Noe  and  F.  L.  Walters  as  a 
committee  to  appear  before  the  commissioners 
and  urge  the  calling  of  a  special  election  to 
vote  the  bonds  as  soon  as  possible.  The  County 
Board  on  March  4,  1885,  designated  May  5, 
1885,  as  the  time  for  holding  such  election.  But 
the  Court  House  project  was  not  destined  to 
meet  only  favorable  breezes.  The  first  note  of 
audible  opposition  came  from  the  Pleasant 
Mound  grange.  On  April  35,  1885,  it  passed 
a  resolution  condemning  the  action  of  the 
County  Board  in  calling  the   special  election. 

The  feeling  of  antagonism  expressed  by  this 
grange  seemed  to  suddenly  pervade  the  whole 
county  outside  of  Mankato,  and  the  three  town- 
ships adjacent.  There  were  three  or  four  rea- 
sons for  it,  though  none  of  them  were  very 
valid.     For  many  years  there  had  been  a  desire 


200  msTOllY  0^  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY,, 

on  the  part  of  the  people  living  in  the  south-  only   338;  of  this  number  159   came   from  the 

western  .  portion    of    the    county    to    have    the  towns  of  Mankato,  Lime^  and  South  Bend,  and 

county  seat  removed  to  a  more  central  location  159   only  from  the  balance  of  the  county. 

than  Mankato,  and  they  had  mostly  cast  their  Of  the  1,907  opposition  votes  only  two  came 

votes  in  favor  of  Garden  City,  when  the  ques-  from    the    city.      The    vote    by   towns    stood   as 

tion  was  up  in  1867.     There  may  have  been  a  follows: 

faint  remembrance  of  the  old  fight  and  perhaps  ^or  Against 

a  lingering  ray  of  the  old  hope  still  cherishea     ^^^^^^^^^   y^U^y    3  gs 

by  some.     The  main  reason,  however,  wais  due     Beauford     ,:. :••.. 90 

to  the  natural  conservatism  of  the  people.     The     ^^^^^^     ;••• ;;;;;;■ !  go 

matter   of    a  new   and   costly   court   house   had     Danville     •  •  ■       l         109 

been   sprung   upon  them  suddenly,    before    they     J^'^j"^  q-I ■■■■"    -g         126 

had  been  educated  or  prepared  for  it  and  the     Jamestown     ...'..      2  42 

initiative  had  come  entirely  from  the  Board  of     Hudson     •  •  •  •  • •  —     1*  *|? 

•'  Lake     Crystal 4  107 

Trade  of  Mankato.    This  at  once  aroused  strong     LeRay    37         105 

suspicion  that  the  whole  scheme  was  gotten  up     l'™^     ^  ^2 

merely  for  the   aggrandizement  of   the   city,   at    Lyra     9         139 

the   expense   of   the  county.     Indeed,    the   sus-    Mankato    City.... 1,461  2 

*  J  ?  Mankato    Townsnip 7o  'iS 

picion-  was  not  wholly  groundless,  for  the  keen    Mapleton     12  92 

interest   in   the   project    displayed    by    the    city    ^^^^®''^°''    ••••• ...^         ^77 

was  not  entirely  unselhsh.     But  our  people  had     pieasant  Mound  2  84 

been  schooled  to  the  most  rigid  economy.     They     o?^,'^^^     ^7         151 

were  just  emerging  from  the  hardships  and  de-     south    Bend 34  15 

privations  of  pioneer  life,  of  Indian  wars,  and  of     Sterling     8  95 

the  grasshopper   scourge.      Many    had    only    re-  

cently  moved  from  the  log  cabin,  and  the  mort-        T°*^l    ^''^^       ^'^^^ 

gage  on  the  farm  had  not  been  fully  paid,  so  As  four  of  the  five  commissioners  were  from 
anything  suggestive  of  elegance  or  luxury  was  the  country  and  represented  a  constituency  so 
looked  upon  as  wicked  extravagance.  Then  the  overwhelmingly  opposed  to  a  new  Court  House 
farmers  over  our  county  had  just  been  organ-  it  was  supposed  for  a  time  that  the  measure 
ized  into  Alliance  clubs,  and  like  the  boy  with  would  have  to  be  abandoned.  Mr.  Wise,  of  the 
his  first  gun,  were  spoiling  for  a  chance  to  Eeview,  and  two  or  three  other  members  of  the 
shoot  at  something.  Here  was  something  tangi-  Board  of  Trade  maintained,  however,  that  the 
ble,  which  the  Alliances  of  Blue  Earth  County  vote  did  not  signify  that  the  people  were  op- 
might  do.  Here  was  a  big  city  woodchuck  posed  to  building  a  new  Court  House,  but  that 
making  straight  for  the  county  corn  crib  and  they  objected  to  bonding  the  county  for  so 
why  not  kiU  it?  large    a    sum. 

The  Board  of  Trade  realized  a  few  days  be-  The  County  Commissioners  were  men  of  inde- 

fore  the  election  that  their  project  was  in  grave  pendent  thought,   who  were   fully   convinced  of 

danger.     A   circular  was   prepared  by  John  A.  the  need  of   a  new   Court  House,   and  realized 

Willard,  presenting  in  a  most   forcible  manner  that   the   country   vote   had   been   stampeded  to 

the   necessity    for    a   new    Court    House,    which  oppose  the  project  simply  because   of  the  false 

was   sent  broadcast   over    the    county.     Another  impression  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  the 

circular   to    the    same   effect   was   prepared    and  building,  except  to  gratify  the  pride  of  Mankato. 

signed  by  the   County  Commissioners   and   sent  Because   of   this   conviction,   and  since   the  law 

through  the  country,  but  nothing  availed.     The  made   it   their   duty   to   provide  suitable   county 

bonds  were  defeated  by  a  vote  of  1,907,  to  1,799,  buildings,  the  Commissioners  were  still  well  dis- 

making  an  adverse  majority  of  108.     The   city  posed  towards  the  measure.     Knowing  this  Mr. 

cast  1,461  of  the  votes  in  favor  and  the  county  Wise   urged   the    Board    of   trade    on    July    13, 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COtTNTY. 


201 


1885,  t<3.  appoint  a  committee  to  confer  with 
them  ahout  the  matter.  John  IST.  Hall,  J.  A. 
Willard,  Stephen  Lamm,  John  C.  Wise  and  L.. 
Patterson  were  appointed  such  a  committee.  The 
conferaiee  was  held  and  the  result  was  that  on 
July  29,  1885,  the  commissioners  levied  a  tax 
ol  $18,000  for  a  Court  House  building. 

About  September  1,  1885,  James  B.  Swan, 
chairman  of  the  County  Board,  sold  his  inter- 
est in  the  Eapidan  Mills  to  a  Mr.  Baker  of  St. 
Peter,  and  soon  thereafter  moved  to  the  town 
of  Judson  in  the  vicinity  of  Lake  Crystal.  This 
removal  took  Mr.  Swan  beyond  the  confines  of 
the  Fourth  Commissioner  District,  which  he 
represented,  and  he  resigned. 

Mr.  Swan  had  been  a  very  valuable  member 
of  thfi  Board  as  he  possessed  excellent,  judg- 
ment and  his  integrity  was  above  a  shadow  of 
suspicion.  He  had,  also,  been  a  firm  and  fear- 
less supporter  of  the  new  court  house  and  the 
friends  of  that  measure  much  regretted  his 
retirement. 

About  December  10,  1885,  C.  H.  Piper  was 
chosen  as  his  successor  and  at  the  first  meeting 
in  January,  1886,  Malachi  Gainor  of  Lyra  was 
made  chairman.  On  January  9,  1886,  the  Coun- 
ty Auditor  was  directed  to  invite  the  submis- 
sion by  architects  of  plans  and  specifications 
for  a  new  Court  House  to  be  received  by  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1886,  and  the  public  generally  were 
invited  to  be  present  at  the  time  to  advise  the 
board.  At  the  time  designated  about  100  per- 
sons from  various  parts  of  the  county  met  with 
the  Board,  the  great  majority  of  whom  belonged 
to  the  party  favorable  to  the  Court  House. 
Among  the  latter  were  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
Mankato,  C.  G.  Spaulding  of  Mapleton,  J.  B. 
Swan  of  Judson,  C.  W.  Herman  of  Shelby,  J. 
P.  Kramer  of  Danville,  Geo.  McMahill  of  Man- 
kato town,  M.  L.  Lockerby  of  South  Bend,  and 
Pliilip  Mueller  of  Lime,  while  Mr.  Greenwood 
'>f  Garden  City  acted  as  the  principal  speaker  for 
the  opposition.  The  next  day  the  plans  sub- 
mitted by  Healey  and  Allen  of  Minneapolis 
were  selected  by  the  Commissioners  as  most 
suitable,  but  all  action  was  postponed  until 
March  3,  1886.  On  that  date  Healey  and  Allen 
were  authorized  to  prepare  the  details  for  their 


plans  arid  specifications  and  submit  them  to  the 
board  at  a  meeting  to  be  held  in  May. 

Comfliissioners  Klein,  Gainor  and  Diamond 
were  appointed  a  building  committee.  The 
chairman  of  the  Board  was  also  authorized  to 
advertise  for  bids  to  grade  the  Court  House  lot 
preparatory  to  the  erection  of  a  building  thereon, 
the  bids  to  be  received  by  May  4.  While  no 
formal  resolution  to  that  effect  was  passed,  the 
Comihissioners  had  unanimously  come  to  the 
conclusion,  to  begin  the  erection  of  a  new  Court 
House. 

■  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  constituency  of 
the  four  country  members,  Gainor,  Diamond, 
Martinson,  and  Piper  were  so  bitterly  and  over- 
whelmingly opposed  to  the  measure,  it  was  a 
(rery  heroic  act  on  the  part  of  these  four  men. 
But  having  made  up  their  minds  that  the 
county  really  needed  the  building  no  intimida- 
tion or  matter  of  expediency  could  turn  one 
of  them  from  what  he  considered  his  duty. 

These  steps  of  the  commissioners  greatly 
stirred  up  the  opposition  all  over  the  county. 
At  the  town  meetings  held  in  March,  resolu- 
tions were  passed  by  fully  two  thirds  of  the 
towns  denouncing  the  action  of  the  Commis- 
sioners in  the  most  vigorous  language.  The 
town  of  Sterling  was  the  only  town  that  passed 
resolutions  of  approval,  though  a  few  other  towns 
were  fully  as  friendly  disposed. 

On  March  31,  1886,  a  meeting  of  those  op- 
posed to  the  new  Court  House  was  held  at  Gar- 
den City.  Most  of  the  towns  were  well  repre- 
sented and  resolutions  passed  scoring  the  com- 
missioners for  setting  aside  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple. A  meeting  was  arranged  at  Mankato  for 
April  9,  to  confer  with  the  Board  of  Trade  and 
the  Common  Council  of  that  city  to  see  if  some 
amicable  adjustment  might  not  be  made.  At 
this  Mankato  meeting  representatives  were  pres- 
ent from  the  town  boards  of  Danville,  Sterling, 
Shelby,  Pleasant  Mounds,  Lincoln,  Butternut 
Valley,  Garden  City,  Beauford,  Vernon,  and 
LeEay,  in  all  forty  to  fifty  persons.  They  met 
at  the  Court  House  hall.  Hon.  E.  T.  Cham- 
plain  was  made  chairman  and  E.  D.  Cornish 
secretary.  Nothing  came  of  the  conference, 
except  a  few  wordy  cyclones,  and  a  heavy  down 
pour  of  righteous  indignation.    After  the  public 


HISTORY  01?  BLUE  EARTS  COTTNTY. 


meeting  the  faction  opposed  to  the  Court  House 
met  in  conference  with  their  attorney,  Lorin  Cray, 
of  Lake  Crystal,  and  determined  to  take  the 
matter  into  court.  Accordingly  an  injunction 
suit  was  brought  in  the  name  of  E.  D.  Cornish 
against  the  County  Commissioners  to  restrain 
them  from  building  the  Court  House.  The 
papers  were  served  May  3,  1886,  and  the  next 
day  the  Coujity  Board  retained  Daniel  Buck 
and  E.  P.  Ereeman  to  assist  the  County  Attor- 
ney, A.  E.  Pfau,  in  defending  them  in  the 
fuit.  At  this  meeting  0.  Martinson  and  C.  H. 
Piper  were  added  to  the  building  committee. 
At  the  hearing  of  the  injunction  proceeding 
on  May  10,  1886,  Judge  C.  M.  Start,  at  the 
request  of  Judge  Severance  joined  him  upon 
the  bench.  On  May  14,  they  filed  their  decis- 
ion holding  that  the  Cormnissioners  were  justi- 
fied in  proceeding  to  build  a  new  Court  House, 
that  they  could  contract  for  $23,000  of  work 
that  year,  but  they  were  restrained  from  going 
beyond  that  figure  at  present;  they  were  per- 
mitted, however,  to  levy  a  tax  thereafter  from 
year  to  year,  not  exceeding  the  five  mill  limit. 
It  was  really  a  victory  for  the  County  Commis- 
sioners. The  contract  for  grading  the  portion 
of  the  Court  House  Block  upon  which  the 
building  was  to  stand  was  let,  and  the  contract 
for  building  the  basement  was  awarded  to  Thom- 
as Russell  for  $11,850,  and  this  work  was 
completed  that  fall,  and  then  properly  secured 
against  the  weather.  A  tax  of  $18,000  was  lev- 
ied this  year  for  Court  House  purposes,  and  be- 
fore retiring  at  the  end  of  the  year,  the  Board 
lei  the  contract  for  the  main  building  to  Ring  & 
Tobin  of  Minneapdlis,  who  during  the  winter 
got  out  part  of  the  stone.  The  building  of  the 
new  court  house  was  now  assured  though  its 
completion  was  delayed  for  sometime  for  lack  of 
funds. 

With  the  solitary  exception  of  John  Diamond, 
the  personnel  of  the  County  Board  was  com- 
pletely changed  on  January  1,  1887.  The  new 
Board  consisted  of  H.  K.  Lee,  chairman;  John 
Diamond,  John  S.  Jones,  A.  M.  Hannay,  and 
Chas.  H.  Dietz.  In  February,  1887,  the  Leg- 
islature authorized  the  commissioners  to  issue 
$30,000.00  in  bonds  to  complete  the  Court  House 
subject    to    ratification    by    the    voters    of    the 


county.  The  measure  carried  by  a  vote  of  1519 
to  1466.  The  precincts  voting  in  favor  were  the 
city  of  Mankato  and  the  towns  of  McPherson, 
Cambria,  Judson,  Mankato,  Decoria,  Lime  and 
Sterling.  The  other  towns  voted  against  the 
measure,  some  of  them  like  Lincoln,  Pleasant, 
Mound,  Medo^  and  Beauford  were  almost  unani- 
mous. During  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1887  the  work  was  prosecuted  with  fair  dili- 
gence. A  certain  white  flint  stone  had  been 
designated  for  the  pillars  and  trimmings,  but 
it  had,  also,  been  used  for  the  steps  and 
water  table  in  the  foundation,  laid  the  previous 
year,  and  during  the  winter  had  scaled  and 
checked  badly  and  the  Commissioners  insisted 
that  a  different  kind  of  stone  be  substituted  for 
it.  This  change  formed  the  basis  of  a  big  charge 
for  extras  on  the  part  of  the  contractors,  which 
was  disputed  by  the  Board.  A  long  and  vexa- 
tious quarrel,  ending  in  a  law  suit  followed, 
which  greatly  hindered  the  work. 

During  the  winter  of  1887-8  a  compromise 
was  effected  and  the  work  was  resumed  in  the 
spring  of  1888  and  the  building  finished,  ex- 
cept the  carpenter  work  and  inside  furnishings. 
Not  having  suft'icient  means  to  complete  the 
building,  the  Legislature  of  1889  passed  a  bill, 
authorizing  the  commissioners  to  issue  another 
$30,000.00  of  bonds,  but  without  submission  to 
a  vote  of  the  people.  The  contract  for  the 
interior  work  was  now  let  to  Jacob  I'lachsenhar 
for   $15,824.08. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1889,  there  had 
been  two  changes  on  the  county  Board.  Nick 
Brules  had  succeeded  John  Diamond  and  Hugh 
H.  Edwards  had  taken  the  place  of  John  S. 
Jones.  The  building  was  finished  by  Octo- 
ber 1,  1889,  and  four  or  five  days  later  the 
county  ofiicers  removed  to  their  new  quarters. 
The  total  cost  of  the  building  and  its  furnish- 
ings  was    a   trifle    over   $123,000.00. 

The  District  Court  convened  in  the  new 
court  room  for  the  first  time  on  December  3rd, 
1889,  on  which  occasion  Judge  M.  J.  Sever- 
ance, presiding,  referred  to  the  new  Court 
House  as  follows:  "For  the  first  time  this 
court  is  sitting  in  this  new,  elegant  and  con- 
venient building,  erected  by  the  County  of  Blue 
Earth,    and    in    which    its    public    affairs    will 


HlSTOfiY  6^  BLtiE  EAETH  OOtTT^TY. 


lHk] 


hereafter  be  conducted.  This  structure,  sur- 
mounted by  the  symbols  of  justice,  is  grand 
and  imposing  and  at  the  same  time  solid,  mas- 
sive and  substantial  and  with  proper  care  will 
defy  the  elements  and  all  the  assaults  of  time. 
Here  too,  the  archives  of  the  county,  so  long 
imperiled  and  wasting,  are  more  than  reason- 
ably safe.  In  the  erection  of  this,  the  County's 
temple,  extravagance  and  prodigality  of  orna- 
ment, beyond  the  demands  of  positive  utility 
and  a  laudable  taste,  have  played  no  part.  Only 
the  necessities  and  the  dignity  of  the  County 
of  Blue  Earth,  as  a  great  political  and  munici- 
pal department  of  the  greater  state  of  Minne- 
sota, have  been  consulted.  This  structure  stands 
for  the  sovereignty  of  the  County  of  Blue 
Earth.  It  does  not  belong  to  the  growing  city 
in  which  it  stands,  but  it  belongs  to  the  county 
and  is  the  common  property  of  all  the  people. 
This  structure  stands  for  more  than  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  county.  It  marks  the  progress 
of  that  laudable  rivalry  attendant  upon  a  civil- 
ization that  holds  every  triumph  in  architecture 
to  be  the  hand  maid  of  science  and  morals. 

You  may  search  the  country  over  and  you  will 
not  find  another  public  building,  whose  actual 
cost  and  expense  of  erection  are  so  nearly  equal 
as  this.  A  critical  view  of  this  structure  with 
all  its  appliances,  and  considering  its  adapta- 
bihty  to  the  uses  for  which  it  has  been  desiged, 
I  am  sure  will  satisfy  every  citizen  of  this 
county  of  the  propriety  of  the  work  now   com- 


pletely accomplished.  Had  the  county  of  Blue 
Earth  done  less  than  it  has  in  this  behalf,  our 
waving  forests,  expanding  prairies  and  rolling 
rivers,  spanned  by  more  than  thirtj-  bridges,  all 
assuring  the  certain  basis  of  a  great  prosperity, 
would  have  mocked  at  the  parsimony  of  the 
county. 

There  is  no  surer  index  of  tlie  financial  cap- 
abilities of  a  county  or  the  enterprise  of  its 
people,  than  the  state  and  condition  of  its 
public  buildings.  A  large  and  thrifty  count)' 
seat,  only  made  possible  by  productive  surround- 
ings, and  stately,  well  kept  county  buildings, 
do  more  to  advertise  the  advantages  of  a 
countj'  either  for  homes  or  the  inducement  of 
capital,  than  all  the  boom  pamphlets  that  the 
air  could  contain." 

Because  of  the  bitter  opposition,  which  the 
erection  of  this  finest  Court  House  in  the 
state,  outside  the  Twin  Cities,  had  engendered, 
and  the  long  and  desperate  struggle  that  en- 
sued (an  unfortunate  condition,  which  later 
both  sides  deplored),  no  dedicatory  services 
were  held.  But  the  noble  structure  stands  a 
monument  to  the  good  judgment,  strict  honesty, 
public  enterprise  and  fidelity  of  the  men,  who, 
under  circumstances  so  adverse  pushed  to  com- 
pletion, so  splendid  an  undertaking.  It  also,  stands 
as  a  worthy  temple  of  the  great  county  of  Blue 
Earth,  with  its  wealth  of  resources  and  vigor 
of  enterprise  and  today  every  citizen  feels  a  just 
and   equal   pride   in  its   solid   and   stately    walls. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

CANNON  YALLBY  EAILWAY— MINNEOPA 
GAS  WELL— GOLD  ON  THE  LE  SUEUE. 


Turning  back  again  to  1887,  we  note  a  few 
o^her  events.  On  February  10,  of  that  year  the 
old  settlers  of  Mapleton,  Sterling  and  vicini- 
ty held  a  very  successful  reunion.  It  was  held 
in  the  village  of  Mapleton,  the  speeches  at 
Sprague's  hall  and  the  supper  at  Brown's  hall. 
J.  E.  Brown  was  one  of  the  moving  spirits  of 
tlie  occasion.  The  two  principal  speakers  were 
Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  and  attorney  W.  M.  Plymat. 
Some  400  persons  partook  of  the  banquet. 
Among  the  old  settlers  who  related  their  ex- 
periences at  the  evening  program,  were  Joseph 
Dobie,  John  Johnston,  Wm.  Eandall,  A.  Moses, 
Wm.  Wilde,  James  Emerson,  F.  Miller,  Thos. 
Elliott,  James  Cornell,  L.  A.  Cornell,  M.  B. 
Haynes,  Bruce  Hanna,  Joseph  Sprague,  S.  M. 
Keith,  Mr.  Eldridge,  James  Jordan,  James  Mor- 
ris, C.  G.  Spaulding  and  Eev.  F.  A.  Pratt. 
Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  had  compiled  a  list  of  the 
deceased  settlers  of  1856,  which  he  gave  as  fol- 
lows: Mrs.  A.  Annis,  Mrs.  Ira  Annis,  Artemas 
Stevens,  Lizzie  Taylor,  Moses  Herriman,  Wm. 
Herriman,  Mrs.  M.  L.  Lockerby,  J.  Jackson, 
Elijah  Horton,  Mrs.  Cook,  Mrs.  V.  Hiland, 
Robert  Taylor,  Wm.  Jones,  Mrs.  J.  B.  Conrad, 
Ira  Annis,  John  Chase,  Mrs.  James  Morris, 
David  Smith,  Chas.  Jones  and  Isaac  Smith. 
Thirty-one  settlers  of  1856,  of  this  community 
were  present  at  this  reunion. 

At  Mankato  in  February,  1887,  F.  L.  Wat- 
ters  purchased  a  150  horse  power  engine  and 
other  necessary  equipments  for  an  electric  light 
plant — the  first  in  the  county. 

In  the  spring  of  1887,  the  Cannon  Valley 
Railroad  (now  Chicago  and  Great  Western) 
was  finished  to  Mankato  and  on  June  18,  the 
first  passenger  train  on  this  road  left  this   -^ity. 

On  April  1,  1887,  appeared  the  first  issuft  of 


:he  "Mankato  Daily  Free  Press" — a  very  import- 
ant event  in  the  history  of  Journalism  in  this 
part  of  the  State. 

Independence  day  was  celebrated  this  year  at 
Good  Thunder,  where  the  Sioux  chief  of  that 
name  was  present  by  invitation,  it  being  er- 
roneously supposed  by  the  committee  that  the 
village  had  been  named  in  his  honor,  instead  of 
the  Winnebago  chief.  Good  Thunder.  Celebra- 
tions, also,  were  held  at  Latourell's  grove  in 
Danville,  at  Wagner's  grove  in  Cambria,  and  at 
two  or  three  other  places  in  the  county. 

July  26,  1887,  Mankato  voted  bonds  in  the 
amount  of  $10,000.00  for  sewer  and  $15,000.00 
for  parks,  and  on  October  3,  Sibley  Park  was 
bought  for  $13,088.00  by  the  city  of  the  Givens' 
heirs,  and  on  December  19,  1887,  the  grounds  of 
the  Southern  Minnesota  Stock  and  Fair  grounds 
were,  also,  purchased  and  added  to  the  park. 
Mapleton  and  St.  Clair  both  built  new  school 
houses  this  year.  On  September  17,  1887,  Lake 
Crystal  was  visited  by  a  big  fire  which  burn- 
ed about  half  the  business  section  of  the  vil- 
lage. 

On  January  1,  1888,  the  'Free  Delivery  sys- 
tem was  inaugurated  in  the  Mankato  postofEice 
with  Michael  J.  Mullen,  John  G.  Hoerr  and 
Wm.  J.  Bradley  as  first  carriers  and  Robert 
Thomas  as  alternate. 

In  March,  1888,  the  Mankato  Band  resigned 
as  musicians  of  the  Second  Regiment  Minne- 
sota Militia  after  three  years'  service.  The 
same  month  a  new  post  office  was  created  call- 
ed "Ceresco,"  with  Michael  Eussell  as  postmas- 
ter. Another  new  postoffice  was  created  at 
Eapidan  Mills  under  the  name  of  "Garrett," 
with  Lewis  B.  Garrett  as  postmaster,  but  it 
was  never  opened.     On  March  16,  1888,  another 


205 


206 


HISTOEY  01?  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


paper  was  started  at  Lake  Crystal  called  the 
"Lake  Crystal  Mirror/'  With  T.  A.  Eckley  as 
editor. 

In  March,  1888,  the  "Lake  Crystal  Earmers' 
Insurance  Association"  was  organized  at  Lake 
Crystal  by  the  farmers  of  Garden  City,  Eapidan, 
Lincoln,  Butternut  Valley,  South  Bend,  Jud- 
son  and  Ceresco.  In  December,  1887,  Thos. 
Saulpaugh  submitted  a  proposition  to  build  a 
large  hotel  at  Mankato  on  the  corner  of  Front 
and  Main  streets,  provided  the  lots  were  dona- 
te! to  him.  The  Mankato  Board  of  Trade  dur- 
ing the  winter  raised  the  $14,000  required  and 
purchased  the  lots  for  Mr.  Saulpaugh,  who 
during  this  and  the  following  year  erected  there- 
on the  present  Saulpaugh  hotel,  which  was  open- 
ed in  August,  1889. 

In  the  spring  of  1888  Col.  J.  E.  Tourtellotte 
offered  $8,000  to  build  a  hospital  at  Mankato, 
which  offer  was  accepted  and  the  building  complet" 
ed  in  1888.  During  1888  the  Baptist  church  at 
Mankato   was   built   at   a   cost   of   over    $13,000. 

May  4th,  1888,  H.  C.  Hotaling,  having  bought 
a  half  interest  in  the  "Mapleton  Enterprise" 
changed  it  from  a  monthly  to  a  weekly  paper, 
and  in  a  short  time  made  it  one  of  the  best  lo- 
cal  journals  in  the  state. 

The  Burns  Club  which  had  been  started  more 
than  twenty  years  before  and  had  observed  its 
annual  meetings  at  the  various  homes  of  the 
community,  was  reorganized  June  9,  1888,  at 
the  residence  of  Joseph  Dobie  in  Sterling. 
The  former  organization  had  been  very  incom- 
plete, and  the  object  was  to  have  a  more  for- 
mal set  of  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
club.     The  new  officers  were: 

President,   Joseph   Dobie. 

Secretary,  James  Howieson. 

Treasurer,   Thos.   Taylor. 

All  nationalities  were  made  eligible  to  mem- 
bership, and  no  liquor  was  permitted  at  the 
annual   gatherings. 

In  September,  1888,  the  Southern  Minnesota 
Pair  Association  gave  another  of  its  fairs  at 
Mankato.  In  November  the  Lake  Crystal  Bank, 
which  Randolph  Mitchell  had  organized  failed, 
and  on  January  1,  1889,  a  new  bank  was  started 
at  Lake  Crystal  by  Marston,  Larson  and  Davis, 
which  proved   a  more  permanent  institution. 


In  the  fall  of  1888  Prof.  Eoese  started  a 
small  commercial  school  in  the  Buckley  block, 
Mankato.  This  school  is  lifted  into  prominence 
by  reason  of  its  being  the  forerunner  of  two 
educational  institutions,  which  have  since  be- 
come great  and  permanent  factors  in  the  edu- 
cational work  of  this  part  of  the  state. 

In  the  fall  of  1888  a  company  was  formed 
to  bore  a  deep  well  on  the  farm  of  Wm.  E.  Wil- 
liams, a  few  rods  west  of  Minneopa  Palls,  in 
the  hope  of  discovering  natural  gas.  It  was  sunk 
tc  the  depth  of  1,300  feet  and  an  excellent  flow 
of  water  was  discovered,  but  no  illuminating 
fluid. 

On  February  6th,  1889,  W.  B.  Davies  was 
appointed  the  first  District  Court  reporter  in 
the  county,  which  position  he  has  held  ever 
since.  March,  1889,  Mr.  Broome  sold  the 
"Boebachter"  to  Geo.  J.  Bhler  &  Co.,  and  in 
May  the  "Mankato  Herald"  was  started  at 
Mankato  as  a  morning  daily  by  Mr.  Wells,  of 
Delavan.  Neither  paper  survived  long. 

During  the  summer  of  1889  Mapleton  con- 
structed a  system  of  water  works.  In  July, 
1889,  much  interest  was  taken  in  the  discovery 
of  a  mineral  spring  on  the  farm  of  J.  W. 
Morse  near  the  Le  Sueur,  on  the  line  between 
Le  Eay  and  Mankato  Townships. 

On  July  10,  1889,  the  county  was  startled  by 
the  sensational  death  of  John  Schwartz  of  Pleas- 
ant Mound  by  having  his  throat  cut  by  a  razor 
when  in  bed.  John  Lentz,  a  hired  man,  was  his 
only  bed  fellow.  He  claimed  the  act  was  sui- 
cidal, but  because  of  certain  suspicious  cir- 
cumstances Lentz  was  arrested,  and  after  a 
long  and  hard  legal  battle  was  convicted  of 
murder  by  a  jury  and  sent  to  State  Prison  for 
life.  After  a  few  years,  however,  because  of  the 
uncertainty  surrounding  the  case,  he  was  par- 
doned. 

On  July  11,  1889,  the  "Diamond  Flour  Mill" 
of  Lake  Crystal  was  burned.  It  was  owned  at 
the  time  by  Cray,  Marston  and  Davis,  but 
leased  to  McCarthy,  Kingston  &  Co.  As  there 
was  no  insurance  the  loss  fell  heavily  on  its 
owners.  The  machinery  had  originally  be-  ' 
longed  to  the  mill  of  Capt.  Dickerson  on  Hoosier 
Lake,  Mankato  town.  This  same  year,  at  Am- 
boy,   Jacob   PfafE  built  a  new   roller  mill.  The 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTr.  i'07 

building   being   frame,   32x48    and    three   stories  Garden  Prairie,   Garden  City,  Belleview,   County 

high.  Line,    Sterling   Center,   Union,   Little    Cobb,   In- 

The    weather    during   these    years    was    rather  dian    Lake,    German,    Medo,    Rapidan,    Winne- 

dry  and  all  over  the  county  deep  wells  were  dug  shiek.   South   Deeoria,    Old    Mapleton,   Beauford, 

and    windmills    erected    on    nearly    every    farm.     Prairie   Eose,    Beauford   ISTo.   and    Ceresco. 

Over  five  hundred  such  wells  were  sunk  in  1889  The   ticket   embraced   a   number   of   the   offie- 

alone.  ials  of  that  time,  and  nearly  all  were  endorsed 

August  1,   1889,   E.   P.   Freeman  of   Mankato  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  old  parties,  and 

was  appointed  receiver  of  the  U.  S.  Land  office  ^vith    two    or   three    exceptions    all   were    elected, 

at  Marshall.  In    March,    1890,    Grover    C.    Burt    sold    the 

In  the  spring  of  1889  Andrew  Friend  and  E.  Mankato  House  corner  to  D.   S.  Stern  as  a  site 

C.    Bentel,      an    old      miller    from      Wisconsin,  for   a   clothing   house.      On   March    23,   the   last 

bought   the    Butterfield    mill,    and   removed    and  dinner    was    served    in    the    ancient    hostelry    to 

remodeled  the  same  as  a  roller  mill.     Great  im-  eighty   guests,   and   the  breakfast   next   morning 

provements   were   made   this    year   at   the   Eapi-  closed    the    career    of    this    historic    inn.      For 

dan   mill   by    S.    H.    Baker    and    C.    H.    Piper,  thirty-five   years   it   had   been   the   leading   hotel 

the   proprietors.      A    tunnel    800   feet   long   was  at    our    county   seat    and    had    been   famous    for 

dug   and   a    dam    260    feet   in   length   was    con-  its  elaborate  menues,   and   as  the   center   of  the 

structed.     These  improvements  cost  over  $50,000  social   and   political   life   of   our   community, 

and   the   best   water    power    in    the   county    was  On  the  site  of  this  pioneer  hotel  was  erected 

rendered    much    more    efficient.  during  the  summer  the  three  story  brick  block 

Madison   Lake,   like   Eagle  Lake   and    Smith's  of  the  Model  clothing  house  at  a  cost  of  about 

Mill  had  become   a  great   center  for  wood   and  $30,000,   but   on   June   26,   just  as   the   founda- 

native   lumber.     Allyn   and    Tuller    and   Fitcher  tions  of  the  now  building  were  being  laid,  Mr. 

and    Murtaugh    were    shipping    tens    of    thous-  Burt,  the  proprietor  of  the  old  hotel,  died,  and 

ands  of  cords  each  winter.  the  contractor  of  the  new  edifice,  Jacob  Flachsen- 

In  December,   1889    a  large   farmers   institute  har,  was  killed  by  a  falling  stone.     Another  sad 

was   held   at   Mapleton   lasting   three    days,    and  event    of    th's    ^rear    was    the    double    drowning 

like   gatherings   were    held    dviring    the    year    in  in    the    Minnesota    river    on    June    29,    of    the 

other  parts   of  the  county.     Dr.    J.    C.    Currier  Attorney,  P.  A.  Foster,  and  the  shoe  merchant, 

of  Lake  Crystal  was  quite  active  at  these  gath-  Robert   Lind. 

erings.     At  this  time  he  had   begun  the  publi-  During  the   spring  of   1890,    C.    A.    Everhart, 

cation  of  the  "Minnesota  Horseman,"  a  journal  E.   Eosenberger  and  Henry  Kuhn  fitted  up  the 

which  he  edited   and  published   for  some  years,  "old    Globe    Hotel    at    Mankato"    into    a    candy 

The  Farmers   Alliance  was  at  the  flood  tide  of  factory  and  under  the  name  of  C.   A.  Everhart 

its   activity   in    the   county    during   this    period,  and    Co.,    started    an   industry,   which   has    since 

During    January,     1890,     seven    new    Alliances  been  succeeded  by  two  other  manufactories  much 

were  organized  and  as  many  more  in '  February,  more  pretentious. 

On  the   8th    of   the   latter   month    Peter   Mc-  At   Mankato   in   April,    1890,    J.    H.   Long   & 

Grath    was     elected     President,     Chas.     Barney,  Co..   retired    from   the   butter   and   ege:  business. 

Vice   President,    F.    M.    Currier,    Secretary    and  which  thev  had  conducted  for  some  years,  while 

^I.    M.    Pratt   Treasurer   of   the    countv   organi-  Clements  and  Hoerr  started  in  the  same  indus- 

Mtion.     June  3,   1890,   thirty  Alliances  met   at  trv.      Cheese    factories    were    in    operation    this 

Good   Thunder  and,   on  September   5,   thev  put  vear.     nS90'i     at    Manleton    and    Ea^le    Lake, 

in  nomination   a   full   ticket   of   county   officers.  Creameries    were,    also,    started    at    Good    Thun- 

The  Alliances   present   were:    l\Iapleton   No.    10,  der. 

Lvra,   Bunker   Hill,    Grapeland,    Butternut   Val-  April  18.  1889,  a  fire  at  Eagle  Lake  destroved 

ley.   Maple  Bush.   Lime,    South    East   Mapleton,  the  store  of  Cummins  and  "Kellv.     The  buildincr 

Deeoria,  Danville,   Cambria,  Mapleton,  ISTo.   673.  of    Jennison    Elevator    Co.,    Etc.      During    the 


208 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


summer  a  stock  company  was  organized  com- 
posed of  Horace  Cummins,  J.  D.  Humiston, 
P.  H.  Kelly  and  Chas.  Howard  and  a  new  store 
building  erected  and  occupied. 

May  5,  1890,  the  bill  introduced  by  Hon. 
John  Lind  in  congress  dividing  Minnesota  into 
six  Judicial  Districts  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
United  States  Court  was  approved  by  President 
Harrison.  Mankato  was  designated  as  one  of 
the  six  places  for  holding  the  court. 

On  May  17, .  1890,  the  25th  anniversary  of 
the  founding  of  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  church 
of  Sterling  was  celebrated  with  appropriate 
services.  The  Jackson  Lake  Band,  composed 
largely  of  young  men  of  that  church,  played, 
ministers,  who  had  been  connected  with  the 
church,  were  present  on  the  occasion,  and  an 
enjoyable  and  profitable  time  had. 

Other  events  of  1890,  was  the  voting  at  Good 
Thunder  of  $5,000  in  bonds  to  build  a  new 
school  house,  the  voting  of  $30,000  in  bonds  by 
Mankato  on  Aug.  19,  to  build  a  new  high 
school  building.  The  building  of  a  Linseed 
Oil  Mill  at  Eapidan  Mills,  the  building  of  a 
railway  depot  at  Eapidan  station  and  the  re- 
inoval  to  Eagle  Lake  of  the  old  Wooden  Mill 
by  Cummins  and  McBeth,  and  the  remodeling 
of  the  same  as  a  roller  mill,  giving  that  village 
its   first  flour  mill. 

The  money  order  system  was  inaugurated  in 
June,  1890,  at  the  St.  Clair  postoffice,  and  in 
January,  1891,  at  Eagle  Lake,  affording  to  those 
communities  a  much  needed  convenience.  Feb. 
3,  1891,  a  post  office  was  established  at  Eapi- 
c!a.n  Mills,  with  W.  D.  Hall  Jr.,  of  the  Lake 
Crystal  Mirror  as  postmaster.  July  1,  of  the 
same  year  another  postoffice  called  "Hawkins" 
was  started  at  old  Mapleton  with  Mrs.  Jennette 
Taylor  in  charge. 

A  number  of  bands  were  started  this  year 
over  the  count)^,  one  at  Amboy,  one  at  St. 
Clair,   and   two   or   three   in    other   places. 

Creameries  were  now  beginning  to  multiply 
over  the  county.  Mapleton,  Lyra,  St.  Clair, 
Lake  Crystal,  Vernon  Center  and  two  or  three 
other  places  were  provided  with  these  impor- 
tant  industries. 

The  winter  of  1890-1  was  very  mild  except 
for  a     little  cold  snap  in  March.     February  18, 


1891,  the  Welsh  held  at  Mankato  one  of  their 
big  Bistedfods,  which  was  largely  attended, 
Prof,  W.  P.  Apmadoc  of  Chicago  was  the  chief 
conductor   and  the  music   adjudicator. 

There  was  considerable  talk  about  this  time 
of  gold  being  discovered  in  the  Le  Sueur.  Mr. 
Welsh,  a  California  gold  miner,  spent  some 
days  digging  in  the  ravines  near  the  Eed  Jack- 
et bridge.  In  one  of  the  little  gullies  he 
washed  from  the  gravel  at  a  depth  of  twelve 
to  fifteen  feet  $62.50  of  gold  as  he  claimed. 
He  then  went  to  Duluth  on  some  business  and 
died  there  before  returning  to  resume  his  min- 
ing. Others  were  considerably  interested  in 
hunting  for  gold  and  copper  along  this  historic 
stream. 

June  9,  1891,  the  Mankato  Commercial  Col- 
lege was  started  in  the  third  story  of  the  Model 
Block  in  Mankato.  It  was  started  by  Prof. 
Paine  as  a  branch  of  the  "Northwestern  College 
of  Commerce  and  Institute  of  Shorthand,"  and 
professors,  A.  G.  Matter  and  J.  E.  Brandrup 
were  put  in  charge.  At  its  opening  there  were 
only  eight  to  ten  scholars,  but  by  today  the 
school  has  grown  to  four  or  five  hundred  pu- 
pils. 

Independence  day,  (1891),  was  celebrated  at 
Good  Thunder,  Mapleton,  St.  Clair,  Lake  Crys- 
tal and  Cambria. 

About  the  first  of  September,  1891,  an  Alli- 
ance paper  called  the  "Good  Thunder  Herald" 
was  started  at  Good  Thunrlcr,  the  Mecca  of 
that  organization,  by  Frank  Griffin.  October 
13th,  appeared  the  first  number  of  the  "Amboy 
Herald"  with  Carl  Strom  as  manager  and  the 
Lake  Crystal  Mirror  as  publisher.  The  same 
fall  the  "Mankato  Journal"  started  an  annex 
at'  Madison  Lake,  with  J.  K.  Knapp  as  local 
editor.  It  was  called  "the  Madison  Lake 
Breeze."  Having  become  the  seat  of  a  weekly 
newspaper,  Madison  Lake  next  aspired  to  be- 
come an  independent  village,  and  on  Dec.  15, 
1891,  voted  to  incorporate,  and  the  organization 
became  complete  on  January  5,  1892,  when  the 
following    village    officers   were   chosen: 

Trustees,  T.  B.  Murtaugh,  President,  Lewis 
Fitch  er,  Wm.  Durrin. 

Eecorder,    J.    K.    Knapp. 

Treasurer,  W.  W,  Zuell, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


209 


Justices,  J.   S.   Clear  and  J.  B.   Southwick. 

The  year  1891  saw  the  chinch  bug  doing 
much  damage  to  the  crops;  the  caterpiller 
stripping  much  of  the  forest  foliage  of  Man- 
kato,  Decoria,  and  Beauford  townships;  the 
starting  at  Mankato  by  J.  J.  Anderson  of  the 
manufacture  of  cement  blocks  for  sidewalks;  tlie 
building  at  the  same  place  of  the  Christian 
church;  the  dedication  at  the  county  seat  of 
a  new  high  school  building,  which  cost  $42,- 
934.97;  the  erection  at  the  same  place  by  0. 
Cassidy  and  Mr.  Mason  of  a  large  packing 
house  200x100  feet  three  stories  high;  the  selec- 
tion   of    a    site    for    a    government   building    at 


]\rankato  by  Judge  Thomas  of  Wisconsin,  Judge 
Perkins  of  AVashington,  and  architect  Edibrooke 
of  Washington.  $90,000  had  been  appropriated 
for  the  building  the  previous  January  by  con- 
gress. 

The  building  was  slow  in  construction,  and 
after  being  started,  was  enlarged  and  the  ap- 
propriation increased  to  $150,000.  The  edi- 
fice was  not  completed  until  March,  1896.  It 
is  a  large  well  built  stone  structure,  with  post 
office   rooms   below,    and   court   rooms   above. 

In  Januar}',  1892,  Kimble  and  Babcock  were 
proprietors  of  the  Vernon  Mill,  and  Turner  and 
Eedfern  of  the   Cable   Mills. 


M.e,CMORC»-»  zn. -a.  GAPi.ci€^Nj     0*TV      AA     '      "PlT'&'pK    SCH 


Ooi-  HOC 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

EVENTS  OF  1893  to  1902— CHINCH  BUGS 
AND  DEOUTH— THE  SPANISH  WAB. 

On    January    10,     1892,    the    Eapidan    Flour  homes  of  the  county  and  each  has   a  large   cir- 

Mill  and  Oil  Mill  were  burned.     The  flour  mill  cnlation   in  the  adjoining  counties, 

had   been   put  up   in   186G    hj    Silas   Kenworthy  A  summer  hotel  was  erected  this  season  by 

&  Co.,  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  and  for  years  was  Patrick    Sheehan    on    Lake    Washington.      Other 

one   of  the  most   popular   mills   in   the   county,  events   of    1892   were:    a  malt  house   started   at 

After   the   death  of    '\h\    Kenworthy   in   1884   it  ^fankato;    a    saw    mill    erected    by    Wm.    Durrin 

was    operated    by    his    surviving    partners    and  at  Jladison  Lake;  a  town  hall  built  at  Sterling 

sons-in-law,    H.    W.    ilendenhall    and    James    B.  Center,   and  the   construction  of  water  works   at 

Swan,    until    1886,    when    Mr.    Swan    sold    his  Mapleton.     The  winter  of  1892-3  was  very  cold, 

interest    to    S.    H.    Baker,    who    a    year    later  On  January  35,   1893.   the  Burns'   Club   met   at 

bought  out,  also,  i\Ir.  Mendenhall's  interest.  the  new  Sterling  town  hall. 

He    conducted    it    until    1890,    when    a    stock  March    2,    1893,    Good   Thunder   voted   to   in- 

company    was    formed    with    a    capital    stock    of  corporate   as    a   village.      At   Mankato    this   year 

$50,000,    which   purchased    the    mill    and    entire  (1893)    a    new    candy    factory    was    started    by 

business.      This    company    built    a    dam    across  Eosenberger   and    Nobles;    a    cracker   department 

the    river,    and    tunneled    through    a    point    of  was    added    to    its   business    liy    C.    A.    Everhart 

the   bluff.      An   oil   mill    was    also    Iniilt   adjoin-  &   Co. ;  two  large  ^vini;s  wore  added  to  the  nor- 

ing  the   flour   mill.     The   stockholders    were    G.  mal   school   building ;   the   Stahl   House,    a  three 

P.   Piper,   B.    E.    Baker,    E.    S.    Warner,    C.    H.  story  brick,   66x60    fcot.   was   erected   by   Joseph 

Piper,   J.   W.    Dilley    and    S.    H.    Baker.      Both  Stahl  on  the  site   of  the  old  Minnesota   House; 

mills  employed   about  twenty-five  men,    and  had  the  ^Fankato  polire  were  dressed  in  helmets  and 

a   capacity    of    seventy-five    barrels    per    day    of  uniforms    for    the    first    time;    the    corner    stone 

flour,  and  300  bushels  of  flax.  of    the    present    Presliyterian    church    was    laid 

In    February,    1892,    a    3'oung    Men's    Invest-  July  3:  the  suspension  of  the  Banks  on  August 

ment    Co.,    was    organized    at    IMankato,    which  4,    and    their    reopening    on    Seiitember    7 ;    the 

during  the   coming  summer   built  a  large  three  murder    of    Harry    Walravcn    on    September    3 ; 

story  brick  office  block   on   the   corner  of   Wal-  and    the    installation   of    the   new    signal    service 

nut   and    Second    streets.      The    same    spring    a  flags   were   other   events. 

similar  plan  was  adopted  in  Decoria  by  B.  H.  The  coming  into  power  of  the  Democratic 
Gerlich  and  others  for  the  erection  of  a  public  part}^  and  the  inauguration  of  Grover  Cleve- 
hall  in  that  town.  During  this  same  spring  land  as  President  on  ^larch  4,  1893,  stirred  up 
there  was  much  talk  of  a  "Mankato  and  North-  the  asjiirants  for  postmasters  in  that  party  in 
eastern  Eailwa}^'  a  company  for  the  promotion  every  linmlet  in  our  county.  To  settle  the  dis- 
of  the  enterprise  having  been  formed  at  Man-  putcs  elections  were  lield  in  many  of  the  vil- 
kato,  but  nothing  came  of  the  matter.  lages  to  let  the  Democratic  voters  of  each  corn- 
September  1,  1892,  was  issued  the  first  num-  munity  determine  wliom  they  wanted.  This 
ber  of  the  "^lankato  Daily  Eeview  ' — the  second  was  done  at  Eagle  Lake,  Garden  City,  Lak? 
great  daily  of  our  county.  Today  the  Daily  Free  Crystal,  ]\Iap]eton,  Good  Thunder,  and  possibly 
Press  or  Daily  Eeview  enter  the  majority  of  the  one  or  two  other  places. 

211 


212 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


In  1893  a  number  of  Lake  Crystal  business 
men  formed  a  boat  club,  built  a  pavilion  by 
the  lake,  and  beside  a  number  of  oar  and  sail 
boats,  two  small  steamers  were  launched.  One 
of  the  latter  named  the  "New  Era"  was  thirty- 
six  feet  long  and  would  carry  twenty-five  per- 
sons. The  other  steamer  was  called  "The  Crys- 
tal." Other  events  of  1893  at  Lake  Crystal 
were:  the  erection  by  Graif  Bros.  &  Co.,  of  a 
flour  mill,  40x60  and  four  stories  high  of  brick 
and  stone;  and  the  beginning  late  in  the  year 
of  the  construction  of  water  works,  for  which 
$10,000  in  bonds  were  issued. 

At  Smith's  Mill  the  German  Lutherans  early 
in  February,  1893,  built  a  church  costing 
$3,300,  and  during  the  summer  the  Presbyterians 
of  Amboy  erected  a  $5,000  house  of  worship. 
At  the  election  of  1863,  Daniel  Buck  of  Man- 
kato  was  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State. 

The  year  1894  was  again  very  dry  and  the 
chinch  bugs  were  very  destructive.  Prof. 
Otto  Lugger,  the  state  entomologist,  was  kept 
busy  with  various  experiments  for  their  destruc- 
tion, but  without  much  avail. 

On  June  13,  1894,  the  Welsh  of  our  county 
held  an  old  settlers  picnic  at  Lake  Crystal.  The 
papers  presented  on  the  occasion  were  of  such 
historical  value  that  it  was  determined  to  pub- 
lish them  in  book  form.  Eevs.  Thos.  E. 
Hughes  and  David  Edwards  and  Messrs.  Thos. 
Hughes  and  H.  G.  Eoberts  were  appointed  a 
committee  for  the  purpose.  The  matter  grew  on 
the  hands  of  this  editorial  board,  and  it  was 
concluded  to  make  the  work  cover  the  history 
of  the  Welsh  in  Minnesota.  The  book  was  pro- 
fusely illustrated  and  issued  in  a  large  vol- 
ume of  439  pages  in  July,  1895.  It  is  a  very 
valuable  compilation  of  the  history  of  that  na- 
tionality in  our  county. 

July  4,  1894,  Amboy  lost  its  mill  and  rail- 
way depot  by  fire.  During  this  and  the  follow- 
ing year,  a  large  number  of  co-operative  cream- 
eries were  started  by  the  farmers  all  over  the 
county  In  1893  such  a  creamery  had  been 
started  in  Butternut  Valley  and  a  post  office 
created  in  the  vicinity,  called  "Butternut,"  with 
Christian  Strom  as  postmaster.  In  August, 
1894,   a  general  store  was  started  there  on  the 


cooperative  plan,  with  Charlie  Johnson  as  man- 
ager. A  Lutheran  church  was  also  built,  a 
blacksmith  shop  opened  and  the  place  soon  be- 
came a  little  center  for  that  community. 

This  year  (1894)  Gen.  J.  H.  Baker  held 
the  first  of  a  series  of  old  settler's  reunions  on 
July  4,  at  his  Oak  Cliff  Farm  in  Eapida'n. 

This  year  the  County  built  its  present  Jail  and 
sheriff's  residence  at  a  cost  of  $'2.S,000.00,  which 
was  completed,  and  occupied  by  D.  T.  Bowen, 
then   sheriff'  of  the  county  in  June,   1895. 

The  year  1894  saw  at  Mankato  the  additions 
to  the  Normal  school  completed,  the  Security 
Fiats,  the  Patterson-Payne  Block,  and  the  malt- 
ing house  built,  and  the  Presbyterian  church 
enclosed.  It  also  saw  a  new  public  library  start- 
ed in  the  Meagher  building  at  the  same  place. 
At  Amboy  a  good  school  house  was  built  and 
a  fine  Presbyterian  church;  and  at  Lake  Crystal 
an  electric  light  plant  was  installed  by  Graif 
Brothers.  During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1893-4 
there  were  important  religious  revivals  at  the 
M.  E.  Church  in  Mankato,  under  Eev.  J.  P. 
Stout;  in  the  Kennedy  Bridge  neighborhood, 
in  the  Ward  neighborhood  of  Beauford  and 
Medo.  In  July,  1894,  a  summer  school  convened 
at  ^lajileton  with  over  110  teachers  in  attend- 
ance. 

This  year  (1894)  the  bicycle  craze  was  at 
its  height  and  most  of  the  county  was  on 
wheels.  Bicycle  clubs  were  formed  and  cen- 
tury rides  v.'ere  very  fashionable. 

On  January  25,  1895,  the  famous  Burns  Club 
met  at  the  village  of  Mapleton,  where  its  meet- 
ings have  since  been  held. 

March  28,  1895,  Company  F,  2nd  Eeg't  State 
Militia  was  mustered  out.  This  year  (1895) 
witnessed  the  building  at  Mankato  of  the  Eay 
Block,  the  Glass  Block  by  Longini  and  Thorns, 
the  Fred  Kron  Block,  and  the  Free  Press  (or 
Hunt)  Block;  at  Amboy,  the  erection  at  a  cost 
of  $15,000.00  of  a  new  flour  mill,  by  Peterson 
&  Fuller,  an  Odd  Fellows  block  and  a  water 
system;  at  Good  Thunder,  of  a  new  Lutheran 
church,  dedicated  with  much  rejoicing  on  Sep- 
tember 20;  at  i\Iadison  Lake,  a  new  Catholic 
church  edifice,  dedicated  with  due  ceremony  on 
October  27,  and  at  Eapidan  station,  a  hall 
erected  by  the  young  men  of  the  vicinity. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUlSrTY. 


213 


March  10,  1895,  a  morning  daily  paper  was 
started  at  Mankato  by  W.  C.  Wilson  and  J.  E. 
Hall,  called  the  "Mankato  Morning  News."  Wil- 
son soon  got  into  some  scrape  and  had  to  leave 
town.  The  paper  was  sold  the  following  Oc- 
tober to  Carl  E.  Eastwood.  John  Eiddes  was 
local  editor,  Arthur  Eose  night  editor,  and  J. 
E.  Hall  in  charge  of  job  department.  Later 
Alexander  Fiddcs  of  Jackson  became  its  pro- 
prietor and  J.  E.  Eeynolds  became  editor.  Un- 
der this  management  the  paper  became  quite 
popular  for  Mr.  Eeynolds  was  a  good  writer 
and  news  gatherer.  Through  want  of  suffi- 
cient capital  and  patronage,  however,  the  paper 
finally  suspended  in  September,  189G. 

During  189.5  and  1896  a  large  number  of 
Camps  of  Modern  Woodmen  were  organized  over 
the  county. 

The  Populist  party  was  quite  strong  in  our 
county  this  year  (1895),  and  on  June  1st,  a 
populist  league  was  organized  at  Good  Thunder 
with  Peter  McGrath  as  President,  M.  M.  Pratt, 
A'ice-President,  E.  W.  Parker,  Secretary,  and 
W.  M.  Smith,  Treasurer.  On  July  4,  a  big 
Populist  demonstration  met  at  the  same  place 
at  which  addresses  were  given  by  Hon.  L.  C. 
Long  of  Nobles  Co.,  E.  W.  Parker,  and  Father 
Pox. 

On  October  1,  1895,  The  ilankato  Street 
Eailway  was  torn  up  and  abandoned  for  want 
of  sufficient  patronage.  j\fuch  effort  was  made 
to  have  it  changed  into  an  electric  line,  but 
these  efforts  failed.  C'.  A.  E\erhart  &  Co.,  sold 
their  candy  and  cracker  factory  this  year  to  a 
Kansas  City  compan}-,  and  five  years  theroal'tcr 
it  was  closed,  after  the  departure  of  F.  J. 
Royer,  the  last  manager.  In  October  F.  il.  Cur- 
rier bought  out  the  interest  of  John  C.  Nobles 
in  the  other  candy  factory  and  the  firm  of 
Bosenberger  &  Currier  began  their  prosperous 
career. 

S.  J.  Wright  had  for  some  time  conducted  a 
fruit  commission  house  at  ilankato  but  in  No- 
vember, 1895,  he  sold  out  to  the  Mankato  Fruit 
Commission  Co.,  of  which  he  became  a  member. 
This  year  the  Northwestern  Telephone  Company 
built  a  line  to  Lake  Crystal. 

On  February  8.  1896,  fire  at  Mapleton  wiped 
out  six   of  its   stores,   embracing   nearly   half   of 


its  mercantile  establishments.  Among  the  losses 
were  the  bank  and  store  of  J.  E.  Brown,  the 
stores  of  Sonneyson  &  Schoyen,  Jno.  Johnson, 
Geo.  E.  Crane,  C'has.  Dietz  and  Ira  iloore.  Un- 
daunted by  their  misfortunes  the  property  own- 
ers as  soon  as  spring  opened  let  contracts  for 
much  larger  and  better  buildings  than  before. 
J.  B.  Nelson  &  Co.,  of  Mankato  obtained  the 
contracts   for   the   business   blocks  erected   for   J . 

E.  Brown,  John  Johnson,  Geo.  E.  Crane,  Ms- 
sonic  Lodge  and  James  McLaughlin.  All  were 
two  story  brick  structures. 

The  state  census  of  1895  raised  the  popula- 
tion of  Mankato  above  the  10,000  limit,  and 
accordingly  on  February  7,  1896.  the  saloon  li^ 
censes  at  the  county  seat  were  advanced  to  $1,- 
000.00  per  annum.  During  1895-6-7  a  bitter 
fight  was  waged  by  the  citizens  of  Mankato 
against  the  Manliato  Gas  and  Electric  (.'o.,  be- 
cause of   the  alleged   exorbitant  rates   charged. 

The  sentiment  was  very  strong  in  favor  of  a 
municipal  lighting  plant,  and  $10,000.00  in 
bonds  were  voted  to  install  such  a  plant.  Be- 
cause of  the  financial  panic  then  prevailing  the 
council  failed  to  dispose  of  the  bonds.  A  few 
were  opposed  to  municipal  lighting,  and  in  be- 
half of  these  L.  G.  if.  Fletcher  brought  an  in- 
junction suit  to  restrain  the  city  from  dispos- 
ing of  the  linnds.  In  February,  1897,  this  suit 
was  decided  in  favor  of  the  city.  From  the  fall 
of  1890  until  the  fall  of  1897  the  city  was 
lighted  with  gasoline  lamps.  At  last  on  Sept. 
10,  1897,  a  settlement  was  made  with  the  gas 
comjiany,  which  gave  both  the  city  and  private 
consumers  a  great  reduction  in  price. 

On  Fein-uary  31,  1896,  the  New  Hail  Insur- 
ance   Co.,    was    organized    at    Amboy,    of    whicli 

F.  H.  Hilliker  was  president,  E.  G.  Cross,  sec- 
retary, F.  N.  Ware,  Treasurer,  and  0.  G.  Ches- 
ley  superintendent. 

In  April,  1896,  the  iladison  Lake  Breeze  was 
started  by  H.  G.  Maxfield,  later  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  '"Madison  Lake  Mirror." 

During  1895  and  1896  Mankato  agitated  with 
success  the  removal  of  the  tracks  of  the  Chi- 
cago, St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Omaha  Eailway 
from  Fourth  and  Van  Brunt  street*,  in  the 
heart  of  the  resident  section  of  the  city,  to  their 
present   location   along  the   river  front.     A   new 


214 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


union  depot  was  built  by  this  company  and 
the  Northwestern  Eailway  during  the  summer^ 
near  the  foot  of  Alain  street,  which  depot  was 
first  occupied  December  6,  1896.  The  Blue  Earth 
County  Territorial  Historical  Society  was  organ- 
ized at  Mankato  through  the  efforts  of  James 
Shoemaker.  This  society  has  every  June  held  its 
annual  picnic  at  Sibley  Park,  Mankato,  and  the 
events  have  been  very  popular  with  the  old  set- 
tlers of  the  county. 

The  year  1896  witnessed  at  Mankato,  be- 
sides a  big  Eourth  of  July  celebration,  the 
building  of  the  present  Welsh  Cal.  Meth. 
Church,  and  the  improvement  of  Sibley  Park; 
at  South  Bend,  on  May  1st,  W.  W.  Davis  sold 
his  store  to  A.  Lincoln;  at  Mapleton  the  bank 
of  J.  B.  Brown  failed,  and  in  September  a  new 
State  Bank  was  organized  by  Judge  Buck  and 
a  number  of  others,  and  an  electric  light  plant 
was  installed  there  by  Seller  Bros.;  at  Garden 
City,  on  October  6,  the  second  old  settler's  re- 
union was  held  in  connection  with  County  Pair. 
These  reunions  of  the  old  pioneers  held  in  con- 
nection with  the  County  Fairs,  continued  for 
five  or  six  years  with  much  success  and  then 
were  dropped.  The  Christian  denomination  at 
Garden  City  built  this  year  their  present  church. 
At  Madison  Lake  a  bank  started  and  a  bank 
building  was  erected.  A  telephone  line  was  built, 
also  from  Eapidan  to  xVmboy,  bringing  the  coun- 
ty ever  closer  together  in  a  business  and  social 
way. 

January  15,  1897,  the  farmers  of  Deeoria, 
McPherson  and  vicinity  organized  the  "Farm- 
ers United  Township  Mutual  Hail  Insurance 
Company,"-'  with  Andrew  French  president,  and 
N.  Juliar,  Treasurer. 

Early  in  1897,  the  Danville  postoffice  was 
moved  to  the  Star  Creamery  in  that  township 
and  Ira  Moore,  who  had  opened  a  store  there, 
appointed  postmaster,  while  the  Sherman  post 
office  was  discontinued. 

By  a  legislative  act  approved  March  13, 
1897,  the  counties  of  Faribault  and  Martin  were 
detached  from  the  sixth  Judicial  District  to 
form  a  new  district,  leaving  only  Blue  Earth 
and  Watonwan   Counties  in  the   Sixth  District. 

During  1896-7  there  were  dozens  of  incen- 
diary fires  at  Mankato,  nearly  all  being  in  barns. 


On  May  7,  1897  the  new  livery  barn  of  Martin 
Wiltgen  was  burned.  April  17,  1897',  the  Odd 
Fellows  block  occupitd  by  the  dry  goods  store 
of  McConnell  &  Cummins,  the  grocery  of  A.  B. 
Ewing  and  a  number  of  offices  burned,  and  on 
May  21,  the  big  wholesale  grocery  block  of  L. 
Patterson  was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire. 

The  winter  of  1896-7  had  been  rather  cold, 
with  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  and  the  Minnesota 
^yas  very  high  in  the  spring.  April  21st,  the 
"Henrietta"  arrived  at  Mankato  from  Still- 
water, the  first  boat  for  a  number  of  years.  She 
fl'as  a  stern  wheeler,  170  feet  long,  had  three 
decks  and  was  capable  of  carrying  300  passen- 
gers. The  arrival  of  a  steamboat  being  now  a 
novelty  at  Mankato,  she  attracted  much  atten- 
tion and  next  day  carried  a  large  excursion  to 
St.  Peter.  March  9,  1897,  the  first  number  of 
the  "St.  Clair  Star"  was  issued  by  W.  J.  Ward, 
but  the  paper  was  soon  discontinued.  About 
the  middle  of  May,  of  the  same  year  the  "Ver- 
non Center  News  was  started  by  M.  H.  Gder 
and  is  a  live  paper  to  this  day.  About  the 
last  of  July  of  this  same  year  another  paper 
was  started  at  Eagle  Lake,  called  the  Eagle 
Lake  News,  by  F.  A.  Swayne,  but  it  was  short 
lived. 

May  1,  1897,  five  sisters  of  the  Sorrowful 
Mother  came  from  Marshfield,  Wis.,  to  take 
charge  of  the  Tourtellotte  Hospital  at  Man- 
kato. May  10,  1897,  a  tornado  or  cyclone 
passed  through  Medo  completely  demolishing  a 
school  house,  the  Alma  City  Creamery,  and  the 
Little  Cobb  postoffice  and  store  owned  by  John 
Hanson.  For  a  few  days  thereafter  the  peo- 
ple of  Medo  were  very  busy  building  cyclone 
cellars.  June  11th  of  this  year  a  rather  unique 
robber's  den  was  discovered  under  the  Yeager 
school  house  in  Eapidan.  A  young  fellow 
named  Silas  Grey,  had  managed  to  excavate  a 
room  under  the  school  house,  boarded  its  sides 
up  neatly,  and  covered  the  floor  with  carpets 
and  made  him  a  sumptuous  home,  the  entrance 
to  whicli  was  entirely  hidden.  Here  he  would 
spend  the  day,  and  at  night  he  would  appro- 
priate farmers  teams  and  prowl  about  in  quest 
of  booty  and  bring  it  to  his  den.  Caught  fin- 
ally   with    a   stolen   bicycle    and    lodged    in   jail, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


215 


he   revealed  his   hiding   place   to   D.    T.   Bowen, 
the  sheriflE. 

The  year  ]8!)7  was  rather  noted  for  its  dis- 
asters in  the  history  o-f  our  county  and  especi- 
ally ^Mankato.  Wo  have  already  spoken  of 
three  big  fires,  which  occurred  in  tlic  early 
spring.  In  June  came  the  failure  of  Longini 
&  Thorns  of  the  Glass  Block.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  removal  in  October  of  the  machin- 
ery of  the  Linseed  Oil  works  to  St.  Paul  and 
the  closing  in  1899  of  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant industries  of  the  city.  Later  in  the  fall 
came  the  failure  of  John  A  Willard,  followed 
quickly  by  the  failure  of  the  JIankato  Knitting 
Mill,  the  Mankato  Fibre  Ware  Co.,  and  of  the 
Willard  and  Polchow  brick  yards.  This  same 
vear  witnessed  the  death  of  John  P.  Meagher 
and  John  A.  Willard,  than  whom  no  two  men 
had  been  more  prominently  connected  with  the 
financial,  commercial  and  industrial  interests 
of  the  county.  October  5,  1897,  the  store  of 
A.  Lincoln  at  South  Bend  was  burned,  and 
with  it  the  South  Bend  postoffice.  The 
chinch'  bugs  and  the  hog  cholera  still  prevailed 
upon  the  farms  of  the  county.  To  these  set- 
backs we  have  to  add  the  great  financial  depres- 
sion of  those  days.  But  in  spite  of  the  business 
gloom  and  many  reverses  the  year  was  not  ^^'ith- 
out  its  sunny  spots  and  the  substantial  assur- 
ance of  hope  and  progress. 

During  the  summer  at  ifankato  L.  Patterson 
&  Co.,  built  them  a  larger  and  more  commorlious 
business  block  than  ever;  the  Odd  Fellows  be- 
gan in  September  the  erection  of  their  fine 
office  block;  M.  A.  Sherk  &  Son  built  their 
large  grocery  store  on  the  corner  of  Front  and 
Liberty  streets,  and  Rosenberger  and  Currier 
began  the  erection  of  their  present  large  candy 
factory,  44x100  feet,  with  annex  in  the  rear  44x 
32 ;  September  28,  1897,  the  Mankato  weekly  Post 
became  a  semi-weekly  paper.  In  October  of 
the  same  year,  the  Citizens  Telephone  Company 
was  started,  and  organized  the  following  Feb- 
ruary, which  company  has  since  grown  to  a 
big  institution. 

The  creameries  of  the  county  were  continu- 
ing to  multiply,  and  dairying  had  taken  the 
place  of  wheat  raising  as  the  chief  agricultural 
industry   of   the    county.     The    German    Luther- 


ans built  a  church  at  Eapidan  station  this  year, 
(1897);  and  at  a  Sunday  school  convention 
held  at  Garden  City  in  June,  forty-four  schools 
reported  H.'i-I-I  scholars  and  439  oft'icers  and 
teachers.  As  these  scliools  represented  only  the 
English  speaking  part  of  the  community  they 
did  not  Ijy  a  long  way  cover  the  Bible  students 
of  the  county. 

In  January,  1898,  the  Woodmen's  Hall  was 
completed  at  Garden  City,  and  Over  &  Clough 
opened  a  new  store  there.  At  Mankato  J.  B. 
&  D.  Richards  purchased  the  glass  block  and 
moved  their  stock  of  dry  goods  thereto.  Early 
in  Februar}',  1898,  Kleinschmidt  Bros.,  opened 
at  ilankuto  a  factory  for  interior  wood  work, 
which  prospered  for  a  time.  The  county  Su- 
perintendent of  schools  had  started  the  plan 
of  holding  annual  declamatory  contests  at  Man- 
kato, open  to  all  the  country  schools.  The 
third  contest  was  held  February  25th  of  this 
yea,r.  March  2,  1898,  the  large  four  stoi7 
brick  block  of  the  young  Men's  Investment  Co., 
of  Mankato  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Hon.  W.  J. 
Bryan,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  president, 
gave  an  address  at  Mankato  in  January  of  this 
year.  The  winter  of  1897-8  was  quite  open 
and  seeding  began  about  the  middle  of  March. 
The  ground  was  quite  dry  and  dust  storms  were 
frequent. 

St.  Patrick's  day  was  duly  observed  at  Man- 
kato and  Jlapleton  as  usual,  ilarch  18th,  the 
livery  barn  of  B.  D.  Pay  and  Sons  was  burned, 
lieing  one  of  the  eleven  incendiary  fires  at  Man- 
kato during  the  year  ending  April  1,  1898. 
The  autlior  of  these  fires  at  Mankato,  which 
continued  for  a  number  of  years,  was  never  dis- 
covered. April  l.j,  1898,  a  new  Militia  com- 
pany was  organized  at  Mankato  of  which  W.  L. 
Comstock  -nas  chosen  Captain,  J.  E.  Hegger- 
ness  1st  Lieutenant,  and  G.  Alba  Lewis  2nd 
Lieutenant.  April  29th  of  the  same  year  Col. 
C.  E.  Johnson  and  forty-five  recruits  from  Man- 
kato joined  the  3rd  Minnesota  regiment  and 
soon  left  for  the  Spanish  war. 

At  the  County  and  State  fairs  of  these  days 
J.  S.  Parks  of  Pleasant  Mound  put  on  exhibi- 
tion 240  different  varieties  of  apples  raised  in 
his  orchard,  demonstrating  conclusively  the  pos- 
sibility  of   our   county   in  apple   culture.     Early 


216 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


in  August  J.  A.  Elittie  of  Mankato  was  appoint- 
ed Eeferee  in  Bankruptcy  for  this  district.  In 
August  the  fire  companies  of  Mankato  sold  out 
to  the  city,  which  has  since  maintained  a  paid 
fire  department  of  its  own.  During  the  fall 
the  city  erected  its  present  fire  station,  which 
was  completed  by  March   1,   1899. 

During  October  and  November,  1898,  street 
fairs  were  held  at  Amboy,  Mapleton,  Good 
Thunder  and  Mankato. 

October  23,  1898,  President  Edward  Searing 
of  the  Normal  School  died  suddenly  at  St.  Paul. 
He  was  one  of  the  best  educators  in  the  state 
and  under  his  able  management  the  Mankato 
Normal    had    become    famous.       December     16, 

1898,  Prof.  C.  H.  Cooper  of  Carleton  College 
was  elected  as  his  successor  and  still  maintains 
for  the  school  its  standard  of  excellence. 

Early  in  January,  1899,  E.  M.  Pope  was 
appointed  Public  Examiner  by  John  Lind,  the 
new  Democratic  governor. 

The  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Eailway  de- 
termined to  build  up  the  Minnesota  valley  and 
thus  straighten  its  line  between  Jlankato  and 
New  Ulm  some  fourteen  miles.  To  this  end 
a  corporation  called  the  "Mankato  and  New 
Ulm  Eailway  Co.,"  was  formed  on  January  16, 

1899.  Surveys  were  at  once  made,  right  of  way 
purchased,  the  grading  begun  in  May,  1899,  and 
the  road  completed  by  May  29,  1900,  when  the 
first  train  was  run  over  it.  The  building  of 
this  new  Eailway  added  two  new  townsites  to 
our  county,  Judson  and  Cambria,  both  of  which 
were  laid  out  early  in  the  spring  of  1900,  by 
the  railway  company.  A  depot,  elevator,  store, 
blacksmith  shop,  creamery  and  church  were 
built  at  Judson;  and  at  Cambria,  a  depot,  ele- 
vator, store,  blacksmith  shop,  creamery.  Wood- 
men's Hall  and  two  or  three  residences  were 
erected. 

Through  the  efl^orts  of  Dr.  J.  W.  Andrews 
and  other  Mankato  physicians  the  St.  Joseph 
Catholic  hospital  was  secured  for  Mankato  and 
built  during  the  summer  of  1899,  at  a  cost  of 
$50,000  and  dedicated  on  Dec.  5th  of  that  year. 
It  was  put  in  charge  of  a  corps  of  sisters  and 
has  proved  a  great  blessing  to  the  sick  of  our 
county  and  vicinity. 


In  January  Geo.  W.  Scherer  succeeded  Wm. 
Dreher  as  editor  of   the  "Mankato   Post." 

In  March  an  eight  inch  Howitzer— a  captured 
Spanish  Gun — was  secured  for  the  G.  A.  E. 
of  Mankato,  through  congressman  McCleary 
and  placed  in  Lincoln  Park  in  May,  1900,  where 
it  still  remains.  In  May,  1899,  the  Cannon 
Valley  railroad  was  sold  by  the  Minneapolis  and 
St.  Louis  Eailway  Co.,  to  the  Great  Western  Eail- 
way Co.  This  brought  the  ofliice  of  the  Wells, 
Fargo  Express  into  Mankato  and  Madison  Lake. 
June  10,  1899,  800  people  attended  the  seventh 
annual  picnic  of  the  early  settlers  association 
of  Blue  Earth  County,  at.  Garden  City,  and 
three  days  later  a  great  multitude  attended  the 
Woodmen's  picnic  at  Mankato. 

During  the  summer  of  1899  the  M'.  E.  church 
of  Amboy  built  their  present  fine  edifice.  In 
May  of  the  same  year  the  Amboy-Sterling 
Telephone  Co.,  was  organized  with  a  capital  of 
$10,000,  by  L.  W.  Wells,  Willoughby  Wells,  C. 
H.  Brace,  Wm.  Ellis,  C.  J.  Louer  and  J.  E. 
Merrill;  July  1,  of  the  same  year  the  private 
bank  at  Amboy  was  changed  to  "The  State 
Bank  of  Amboy"  with  a  capital  of  $25,000,  its 
President  being  David  Secor,  Vice  President, 
Frank  P.  Ware  and  Cashier,  S.  C.  Berner. 

In  August  Vernon  Center  voted  $3,500  in 
bonds  to  help  build  an  $8,000  school  building, 
which  was  not  put  up  until  1902,  when  the 
school  district  became  independent.  In  August, 
1899,  the  Vernon  mill,  then  owned  by  Mrs.  C. 
M.  Green  was  struck  by  lightning  and  burned. 
At  Lalie  Crystal  the  Welsh  Cal.  Methodists 
erected  their  present  fine  house  of  worship.  At 
Eapidan  Thos.  L.  Eodgers  was  erecting  a  three 
story  new  flour  mill  on  the  site  of  the  old 
Kenworthy  mill.  It  was  completed  the  follow- 
ing spring  and  has  a  capacity  of  50  to  75  bar- 
rels per  day,  and  makes  an  excellent  grade  of 
flour. 

This  year,  (1899),  saw  the  telephone  extend- 
ed to  Beauford;  the  "St.  Clair  Star"  suspended; 
the  "Eagle  Lake  News"  sold  to  M.  H.  Galer; 
a  carnival  in  September  at  Mapleton;  and  the 
organization  of  the  Standard  Brewing  Co.,  at 
Mankato. 

As  indicating  the  dairy  production  of  the 
county,    ten    creameries    only    shipped    in    1898, 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


217 


860,000  pounds  of  butter.  In  1899,  there  were 
19  creameries  in  the  county  and  one  third  of 
the    farmers    were    creamery    patrons. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  a  well  written  and 
finely  illustrated  volume  entitled  "The  History 
of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Peter's  church  of  Mankato 
by  Father  Von  Packish  was  issued  by  the  Post 
Printing  Company.  The  book  is  in  German 
and  gives,  in  addition  to  the  complete  annals  of 
the  church,  much  valuable  information  about 
the  early  German  settlements  of  the  county. 

A  long  succession  of  _  very  dry  years  had  re- 
sulted in  many  of  the  shallow  lakes  of  the 
county  becoming  dry.  Among  these  were  Jack- 
son Lake  and  Eagle  Lake.  The  village  of  Ani- 
boy  was  anzious  to  maintain  the  former,  and 
the  people  of  Eagle  Lake  village  felt  in  the 
same  way  about  their  lake,  but  the  farmers,  who 
bordered  upon  the  lakes  and  were  adding  to 
their  farms  by  the  recession  of  the  waters  looked 
difierently  upon  the  matter.  In  both  instances 
one  party  accused  the  other  of  tampering 
with  the  outlets  of  these  lakes  and  in  1900  liti- 
gations were  had  in  the  courts.  A  decided 
change  in  the  rainfall  of  the  locality  came  in 
a  year  or  two  and  all  quarrels  of  this  kind  were 
drowned  in  the  abundant  floods  which  followed. 

Since  the  failure  of  the  standard  cement 
company  in  1893,  the  works  had  been  operat- 
ed by  P.  H.  Carney,  wlio  up  to  January  1, 
1900,  had  produced  452,261  barrels  of  cement. 
Since  then  for  many  years  the  works  have  been 
under  the  management  of  Harry  E.   Carney. 

In  March,  1900,  the  saw  mill  of  Cords  & 
Chase  "in  McPherson,  and  the  old  Eoekey  flour 
mill  at  Mankato  burned.  The  Cal)le  Mill  was, 
also,  sold  to  Joseph  Kreuer  and  Albert  Schwartz. 

In  April,  1900,  Barnes  purchased  the  Eagle 
Lake  News,  of  M.  H.  Galer  but  was  suc- 
ceeded in  a  year  or  so  by  H.  C.  Cummins  & 
Son.  The  Garden  City  Progress  was  a  new 
paper  of  this  year  edited  by  A.  I.  Shaver. 

May  14,  of  this  year  was  inaugurated  the 
first  rural  mail  route  in  the  County.  It  started 
from  Amboy  and  embraced  thirty-six  square 
miles  of  territory  and  served  a  population  of 
660  persons.  A.  B.  Burgess  was  appointed  its 
first  carrier.  In  September  of  the  same  year 
the  second  Eural  Eoute  was  established  at  Ver- 


non Center,  and  the  thii-d  from  Mankato  in 
October. 

In  April  J.  B.  and  D.  Eichards  purchased 
the  Glass  Block  at  Mankato  and  occupied  it 
with  their  store.  In  June,  the  Woodmen's  Hall 
at  Eapidan  was  built;  and  at  Lake  Crystal  was 
held  the  second  annual  commencement  of  its 
High   School. 

Early  in  August  the  Amboy  Herald  was  sold 
by  J.  A.  Krohn  to-  H.  C.  Hotaling  and  James 
B.  Brown,  the  latter  assuming  the  management 
and,  in  September,  1902,  becoming  sole  proprie- 
tor. 

October  11,  1900,  the  South  Bend  Hotel  and 
Store  were  burned,  wiping  out  about  all  there 
remained  of  that  ancient  burg.  The  hotel  had 
been  erected  in  1857,  by  M.  Thompson,  and 
the  store  of  D.  P.  Davia  and  son  about  18G7. 
When  burned  tlie  buildings  had  been  bought  and 
occupied  about  a  month  by  A.  J.  Dethier  for 
mercantile  purposes,  and  there  was  some  suspic- 
ion as  to  the  origin  of  the  fire. 

The  Mankato  ilorning  Bulletin  was  a  small 
sheet,  which  was  published  for  a  time  at  our 
county  seat  in  those  days. 

November  14,  1900,  occurred  the  ■  death  of 
John  C.  Wise,  Sr.,  the  founder  of  the  Mankato 
Weekly  Eecord,  and  of  the  Daily  and  Weekly 
Eeview.  For  over  forty-one  years  he  had  been 
the  great  Democratic  leader  and  editor  of  our 
county.  A  man  of  splendid  Journalistic  ability, 
excellent  character  and  greatly  beloved.  No 
one  was  better  acquainted  with  the  county  and 
its  history  than  he,  and  to  his  exhaustlees 
store  of  local  information  as  recorded  by  him 
week  by  week  many  of  the  facts  of  this  his- 
tory are  due.  He  possessed  a  wonderful  mem- 
ory of  persons,  events  and  dates,  and  he 
never  published  a  statement,  until  he  had  fully 
verified  it.  He  was  fond  of  truth  and  not  sen- 
sational rumors,  and  for  this  reason  his  paper 
was  more  reliable  than  most  newspapers,  and 
possessed  a  peculiar  historical  value. 

In  February,  1901,  Andrew  Carnegie,  the 
great  Pittsburg  philanthropist,  offered  Mankato 
$40,000  to  build  a  public  Library,  provided  a 
site  was  furnished  and  the  city  guaranteed 
$4,000  a  year  in  perpetuity  for  its  maintenance. 
The  conditions   were   accepted   and   the   site   se- 


218 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


cured  this  year,  and  in  April,  1902,  the  con- 
tract for  the  building  was  let  to  J.  B.  Nelson 
&  Co.,  for  $30,082.  June  24,  1902,  the  corner  stone 
v.as  laid  and  on  June  23,  1903,  the  building 
was  opened.  The  Mankato  Public  Library  had 
been  established  pursuant  to  law,  April  7,  1894, 
by  a  resolution  of  the  Common  Council,  and 
$2,000  annually  was  appropriated  for  its  main- 
tenance. A  board  of  nine  directors  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  mayor.  Eooms  were  rented  up- 
stairs in  the  J.  P.  Meagher  building,  132 
South  Front  St.,  where  on  February  6,  1895, 
the  library  was  first  opened,  with  2,000  vol- 
umes on  its  shelves.  Miss  Minnie  McGraw  was 
appointed  librarian,  which  position  she  held 
until  1906,  when  she  resigned  and  Miss  Maude 
Van  Buren  succeeded  her.  Domiciled  in  this  fine 
building,  splendidly  equipped  for  its  purpose, 
the  Mankato  Public  Library  has  become  one  of 
the  most  useful  institutions  of  our  county  seat. 

In  March,  1901,  a  Farmers  Co-operative  Ware- 
house Company  was  organized  at  Good  Thunder 
and  Peter  McGrath  made  its  president.  April 
30,  a  cheese  company  was  organized  at  Ceresco, 
with  S.  H.  Thurston,  as  president;  Julius  Kop- 
ishke,  vice  president;  Chas.  Russell,  secretary; 
and  J.  E.  Noble,  general  manager. 

April  30,  1901,  Garden  City  voted  to  incorpor- 
ate as  a  village  by  a  vote  of  49  to  41,  and  on 
May  21,  Frank  P.  Fairchild  was  elected  the 
first  President  of  its  board  of  trustees.  Aftev 
three  or  four  years  the  village  franchise  was 
surrendered  as  the  place  was  too  small  to  main- 
tain a  separate  organization. 

May  21,  of  the  same  year  a  Norwegian  Lu- 
theran parochial  school  was  started  in  Eapidan 
with  Carl  Flo  as  teacher. 

May  22,  1901,  occurred  the  sad  death  of  James 
Shoemaker  by  being  run  over  by  a  railway  v;ar 
at  Mankato.  He  had  been  a  prominent  figure 
in  both  city  and  county  for  years  and  was 
president  of  the  l^Iankato  Beard  of  Trade  and 
of  The  Territorial  Old  Settlers  Society  at  the 
time  of  his  tragic  death. 

May  21,  1901,  the  Mankato  military  company 
were,  captain,  Schuyler  Hawks;  first  lieutenant. 
Guards  as  Company  B'.  Its  officers  at  the  time 
were,  captain,  Schuyler  Ila^\ks;  fii'=t  lieutenant, 
P.  E.   Brown;  second  lieutenant,  Geo.  Kenney. 


During  this  year  (1901)  the  Great  Western 
Railway  ]3urcha:?cd  a  right  of  -way  through  the 
city  of  Mankato  in  order  to  join  the  C.  St.  P. 
and  Milwaukee  Railway  Co.,  in  a  imion  depot 
near  the  foot  of  Jackson  Street. 

October  8,  1901,  the  saw  mill  of  Wm.  Dur- 
rin  at  Madison  Lake  was  burned. 

October  22,  1901,  the  old  settlers  of  Madison 
Lake  and  vicinity  held  a  reunion,  which  was 
largely    attended    and   enjoyed. 

The  same  October  the  Graif  Brotliers  of 
Lake  Crystal  put  in  a  local  Telephone  exchange 
in  that  village.  In  November,  1901,  the  post- 
ofEice  department  had  thirteen  new  rural  roixtes 
under  consideration  for  Blue  Earth  County,  all 
of  which  were  soon  there  after  established — 
5  at  Mankato,  4  at  Mapleton,  2  at  Amboy  and 
1    each  at   Eagle  Lake   and   Lake   Crystal. 

During  the  summer  of  1901  the  Railway 
company  put  in  a  water  system  at  Amboy.  The 
Eobinson  Block  was  also  remodeled  into  a  hotel 
at  that  village. 

November  18,  1901,  the  Lake  Crystal  Mill 
was  destroyed  by  fire,  but  Avas  again  rebuilt  by 
a  stock  company  in'the  fall  of  1902,  at  a  cost 
of  $28,000. 

In  the  fall  of  1901  the  Texas  Fuel  Oil  Com- 
pany was  organized,  but  proved  a  disastrous 
fake  to  all  investors. 

Feb.  15,  1902,  two  rural  routes  were  estab- 
lished from  Amboy  with  J.  L.  Decker  and  0. 
B.  Kelly  as  carriers,  and  the  postofliccs  of 
Pleasant  Mound  and  Willow  Creek  were  dis- 
continued. Two  routes,  were,  also,  established 
from  Lake  Crystal. 

In  March  of  this  year  (1902)  The  Free 
Press  Printing  Co.,  was  purchased  by  Frank  W. 
Hunt,  Michael  D.  Fritz  and  Jay  W.  True. 

In  March,  the  Gamble,  Robinson  Company 
opened  a  branch  wholesale  fruit  house  at  Man- 
kato. 

This  summer  (1902)  the  Barber  Asphalt 
company  paved  Broad  street  in  the  city  of 
Mankato.  Most  of  the  property  owners  were 
greatly  opposed  to  the  paving  and  much  ex- 
penHiNc  litigation  arose  over  the  matter  be-  * 
tween  them  and  the  city,  which  proved  very 
unfortunate    and    disastrous   to    both    parties. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

MANKATO'S  GOLDEN  JUBILEE— EB CENT 
EVENTS— IN  CONCLUSION. 


30,  1903,  a  celebration  of  the  fortieth 
ariiiiversary  of  the  Jackson  Lake  Norwegian 
Lutheran  church  was  held  at  the  Anderson 
Grove  and  at  the  church.  It  was  largely  at- 
tended by  the  people  who  had  been  connected 
with  the  church  and  their  children,  and  was  in 
every  way  a  successful  gathering. 

During  -the  same  month  the  "I'irst  National 
Bank  of  Lake  Crystal"  was  organized,  largely 
through  the  efforts  of  J.  J.  McQuire,  who  be- 
came its  cashier.  A  fine  brick  block  was  erected 
by  it  this  year  costing  nearly  $20,000. 

An  event  of  special  prominence  this  year  was 
the  celebration  of  Mankato's  Golden  Jubilee. 
The  program  covered  five  days — June  30  to 
July  4th.  The  first  day  was  devoted  to  Church 
histories,  the  second  to  the  "Educational 
Growth  of  the  City,"  the  third  day  took  up  the 
"Industrial  Growth  of  the  City"  and  the  fourth 
was  denominated  "Old  Settlers  Day"  and  was 
the  great  day  of  the  feast  so  far  as  the  crowd 
and  outward  display  wore  concerned.  A  mag- 
nificent parade,  headed  by  a  number  of  brass 
bands,  proceeded  to  Sibley  Park.  In  it  were 
Governor  Van  Sant  and  his  stafE,  ex-governor 
Ramsey,  City  ofiicials,  old  settler  organizations, 
Representatives  of  the  State  Historical  Society,  a 
large  number  of  distinguished  guests  from  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  state,  gorgeous  floats  emblem- 
atic of  the  city's  progress,  etc.  At  the  park 
there  was  a  good  time  generally,  and  in  the 
evening  a  splendid  banquet  was  served  to  over 
300  invited  guests.  The  last  day  was  the  na- 
tion's natal  day  and  was  devoted  to  patriotic 
doings.  The  main  fourth  of  July  speech  was 
given  by  Dr.  J.  Merritte  Driver.  The  festivi- 
ties had  been  in  charge  of  a  committee  of  nine, 
namely:  Gen.  J.  H.  Baker,  Dr.  J.  W.  Andrews, 
Geo.  M.  Palmer,  Thos.  Hughes,  P.  M.  Cur- 
rier, M.  B.  Haynes,  H.  P.  Jenson,  J.  E.  Rey- 
nolds and  August  Marchner.  An  important  fea- 


ture of  the  Jubilee  was  the  "Relic  Room"  which 
occupied  the  entire  lower  floor  of  the  Pay 
building,  now  used  as  a  candy  factory.  So 
valuable  were  the  papers  presented  at  this  ju- 
bilee that  the  committee  concluded  to  publish 
them  in  book  form  and  Gen.  J.  H.  Baker,  Thos. 
Hughes,  C.  A.  Chapman  and  M.  B.  Haynes 
were  appointed  a  publication  committee.  With- 
in a  year  the  book  was  published  by  the  Free 
Press  Printing  Co.  under  the  title  of  "Semi- 
centennial of  Mankato."  Besides  the  excellent 
historical  papers  referred  to,  there  was  added 
a  large  collection  of  portraits  and  biographical 
sketches  of  eminent  Mankato  people  past  and 
present.  A  feature  of  the  old  settlers'  day  pro- 
gTam  was  the  presentation  of  a  large  granite 
monument  by  James  Gilfillan  of  St.  Paul  to 
mark  the  last  resting  place  of  Senator  ilorton 
S.  Wilkinson  in  Glenwood  Cemetery,  Mankato. 

In  July,  1902,  the  ]\lapleton  j\Iill  was  pur- 
chased by  W.  A.  Hanna,  Wm.  Morrow,  H.  C. 
Hotaling  and  H.  M.  Quinn. 

At  Mankato  in  1902,  B.  D.  Pay  and  Son 
transformed  their  new  livery  barn  into  a  candy 
factory  and  the  "Pay  Candy  Co."  was  started, 
which  has  since  grown  into  an  important  en- 
terprise. The  National  Bank  of  Commerce 
wiis,  also,  started  at  Mankato  this  year.  C.  L. 
Oleson  being  the  main  instigator  and  has  since 
been  its  manager.  The  Mankato  State  Bank,  also, 
remodeled  its  corner  into  a  fine  modern 
three  story  building.  In  July  of  this  year  J. 
E.  Reynolds  succeeded  C.  Hobart  on  the  editorial 
staff  of  the  Mankato  Daily  and  Weekly  Free 
Press. 

October  1,  1902,  a  new  rural  route  was  estab- 
lished from  Good  Thunder,  and  on  April  1, 
two  new  routes  had  been  started  from  Madison 
Lake.  At  Mapleton  this  year  (1902),  Fred 
Gerlich  erected  a  $10,000  hotel;  the  village  put 


219 


220 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


in  a  sewerage  system  at  a  cost  of  $7,400 ;  an 
addition  was  built  to  the  school  house  costing 
over  $7,000  and  an  elegant  new  Catholic  church 
was  constructed  at  an  expense  of  over  $10,000. 
This  church  is  unique  in  its  architecture.  It 
is  circular  in  form  and  tasty  and  commodious. 
It  was  dedicated  on  June  23,  1902,  by  Bishop 
Cotter.  At  Lake  Crystal,  beside  the  new  Bank 
building  and  new  Mill,  an  addition  was  made 
to  the  high  school,  costing  $7,000. 

December  15,  1902,  tlie  first  train  over  the 
new  extension  of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul  and 
Milwaukee  Eailway  reached  Le  Sueur  Center 
from  Mankato  and  on  August  15,  1903,  the 
first  train  over  this  road  reached  St.  Paul,  and 
the  following  February  the  Union  depot  for  it 
and  the  Great  Western  Eailway  was  finished  at 
Mankato. 

In  December,  1902,  a  new  telephone  line  com- 
neeted  Mapleton  with  Cream.  In  January, 
1903,  "The  Willow  Creek  Telephone  Co."  was 
organized,  and  in  March  of  same  year  the  "Min- 
nesota Valley  Parmers '  Mutual  Telephone"  was 
built  in  the  JSTorthwest  corner  of  the  county.  In 
June  of  the  same  year  the  Maple  Eiver  Tele- 
phone was  organized.  By  August  1903  more 
than  half  of  our  county  was  supplied  with  the 
free  delivery  system  and  in  a  short  time  the 
entire  county  was  so  supplied.  When  the  Nine- 
teenth Century  closed  no  farmstead  in  the  coun- 
ty had  mail  delivery  or  a  telephone.  In  three 
or  four  years  thereafter  every  farmer  had  his 
daily  mail  delivered  at  his  gate,  and  hundreds 
of  farm  houses  in  every  part  of  the  country 
were  supplied  with  telephones.  The  long  isola- 
tion of  farm  life  was  at  last  a  thing  of  the 
past.  The  old  time  postoffice  and  Weekly  paper 
are  now  no  more,  but  each  farmer  takes  his 
daily  paper  and  visits  or  transacts  business  in 
town  or  country  by  telephone. 

In  January,  1903,  "The  Pioneer  Mercantile 
Co."  of  Lake  Crystal  was  formed  with  A.  W. 
Johnson  as  president  and  C.  C.  Jenkins  as 
manager.  In  March  of  the  same  year  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Mapleton  was  organized  by 
W.  A.  Hanna,  L.  Troendle,  J.  E.  Norton,  Wm. 
Strobel,  E.  E.  Hanna,  and  John  Steel.  M.  W. 
Mattecheck  was  a  prime  mover  in  the  organiza- 


tion.    Frederick  H.  Morlock  was  made  ite  cash- 
ier. 

June  22,  1903,  the  corner  stone  of  the  present 
commodious  German  Lutheran  school  build- 
ing at  Mankato  was  laid,  and  on  September  20, 
the  present  large  church  edifice  of  the  same 
denomination  was  dedicated. 

In  October,  1903,  the  Mapleton  State  Bank 
found  itself  in  trouble,  through  the  miscon- 
duct of  its  cashier,  x\.  A.  Buck,  but  was  able 
to  adjust  its  affairs  and  re-open  on  November 
3,  with  T.  B.  Taylor  as  its  new  President.  The 
year  1903,  witnef^ed  at  Mankato  the  death 
October  IC,  of  Ira  P.  Schissler,  Judge  of  the 
Municipal  Court,  and  the  appointment  of  Wm. 
N.  Plymat  as  his  successor;  the  building  of 
the  new  Malt  house;  the  Lamm  and  Lankam- 
]ner  block;  and  the  gift  to  ihe  city  by  M.  G. 
Willard    of    the    park    along    Glenwood    Avenue. 

In  January,  1904,  the  cojitract  was  let  by 
the  county  for  a  bridge  over  tlie  Minnesota 
river  at  Judson.  February  22,  Ernest  E.  Brown 
resigned  as  captain  of  company  IL,  which  posi- 
tion he  had  held  since  June  16,  1901.  He  -Has 
succeeded  in  the  captaincy  on  March  21,  1904, 
by  Fred  E.  Day.  In  1903,  a  Civic  Improvement 
ment  League  had  been  organized  at  Mankato, 
which  on  March  7,  1904,  held  its  -first  annual 
meeting  and  Mrs.  J.  H.  Eay  was  chosen  presi- 
dent. 

In  March  of  this  year  a  telephone  company  was 
formed  in  Medo,  with  James  Hawkins  as  presi- 
dent; and  in  McPherson  the  St.  Clair  and 
Belleview  Telephone  Company  was  organized, 
with  S.  S.  Babcock  as  President  and  Henry 
Thielman,  manager.  At  Amboy  the  Farmers 
Elevator  was  sold  to  a  stock  company  of  which 
Thos.  Eandall  was  president. 

The  last  of  March  of  this  year  (1904)  a  new 
paper  was  started  at  Madison  Lake  called  the 
"Tribune."  It  was  the  fifth  venture  of  the 
kind  in  that  village.  Geo.  T.  Swearingen  be- 
came its  editor,  and  Geo.  Southwick  had  charge 
of  the  printing  department.  Southwick  in 
a  short  time  became  sole  proprietor. 

In  May  a  new  E.  P.  D.  was  inaugurated  out  ^ 
(.f    Smiths'    Mill,    and    another    from    Mapleton, 
and  July  15,  saw  the  seventh   route  start  from 
Mankato.     In  June  of  this   year    (1904)    Judge 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


221 


Daniel  Buck  completed  and  published  his  book 
on  "Indian  Outbreaks  in  Minnesota."  It  treats 
almost  wholly  of  the  Sioux  massacre  of  1862, 
but  does  not  pretend  to  give  a  complete  history 
of  that  event.  Though  rather  sketchy  in  char- 
acter, it  is  quite  a  valuable  work. 

In  this  same  month  of  June  the  St.  Clair 
creamery  was  burned,  but  was  rebuilt  soon 
thereafter  on  a  larger  and  better  scale  than  ever. 
In  August  the  "Farmers  Center  Telephone  Co." 
was  organized  at  Rapidan,  with  Chas.  Sparlich 
as  president.  September  12,  a  big  Labor  Day 
demonstration  was  held  at  Mankato,  where  nearly 
all  the  wage  earners  had  been  fully  organized 
by  this  time. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  (190-1)  F.  G.  Toland 
opened  a  second  commercial  school  at  Mankato, 
under  the  name  of  'Toland's  Business  Uni- 
versity." Prof.  Chas.  C.  Owen  was  put  in  charge 
and  thereafter  became  its  owner.  The  school  has 
grown  into  an  important  educational  work.  The 
last  of  December,  Geo.  E.  Traub  sold  the  "Man- 
kato Post"  to  a  stock  company,  and  August  Blis- 
senbach  became  its  editor. 

During  1904,  the  present  Y.  M.  C.  A.  build- 
ing at  Mankato  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $32,- 
934.46,  and  on  January  2,  1905,  duly  dedi- 
cated— the  main  address  being  given  by  Bishop 
Joyce.  It  is  one  of  the  best  equipped  structures 
of  its  kind  in  the  state. 

About  the  first  of  January,  1905,  Harry  E. 
Carney  purchased  the  Mankato  Cement  Works, 
which  he  and  his  father  had  operated  for  some 
years.  The  same  month  "The  Good  Thunder- 
Mapleton  Telephone  Co.,"'  was  organized  with 
Jl   Gainor  as  president. 

March  1,  1905,  the  Welsh  people  held  at  Man- 
kato another  of  their  big  Eisteddfods,  -which 
was  largely  attended.  March  13,  the  Glass 
Block  was  burned,  but  the  proprietors,  Rich- 
ards Bros.,  nothing  daunted  by  their  loss,  dur- 
ing the  summer  erected  their  present  big  block 
in  its  place. 

April  19,  the  sensational  trial  of  Dr.  Koch 
for  the  murder  of  Dr.  Gebhardt  at  New  Ulm, 
and  transferred  from  Brown  to  Blue  Earth 
County,  was  begun.  It  resulted  in  a  disagree- 
ment of  the  jury,  and  on  the  second  trial  in 
July   in    the    acquittal    of    Dr.    Koch. 


On  May  25,  1905,  occurred  the  death  at 
Mankato  of  Judge  Daniel  Buck,  the  Nestor  of 
the  Mankato  bar.  August  30,  of  the  same  year 
E.  D.  Hubbard  died,  who  for  j-ears  had  been 
the  king  of  the  millers  of  our  county.  This 
sam.e  month  a  lightning  bolt  burned  the  Cable 
Mill.  In  less  than  a  month  E.  L.  Honk  and 
Walter  Redfern  built  at  Good  Thunder  a  new 
grist  mill  to  take  its  place,  and  a  year  later  a 
new  mill  was  erected  on  the  old  site  by  Jos. 
Ivreuer. 

April  19,  1905,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  creating  "Minneopa  Park"  and  ap- 
propriating $5,000  to  purchase  the  necessary 
grounds.  In  October  Gov.  Johnson,  Atty.  Gen'l. 
Young  and  State  Auditor  Iverson  inspected  the 
proposed  park  and  in  connection  with  a  com- 
mittee of  the  ]\rankato  Board  of  Trade  composed 
of  Dr.  J.  W.  Andrc-wti,  Thos.  Hughes  and  C. 
N.  Andrews  arranged  the  purchase  of  the  fam- 
ous falls  and  about  thirty-five  acres  of  laud 
adjoining.  This  was  increased  a  few  months 
later  by  the  purchase  of  about  twenty-five  acres 
more  from  the  town  of  South  Bend.  J.  B.  Hodge 
was  appointed  its  first  superintendent,  and  in 
1907  he  was  succeeded  bv  Wm.  R.  Williams.  This 
year  (1905)  v/itnessed  a  change  in  the  railway 
depot  and  tracks  at  Lake  Crystal;  the  celebra- 
tion of  its  golden  jubilee  by  the  Salem  Congre- 
gational church  of  Cambria,  on  Nov.  10;  the 
remodeling  of  the  Union  Hall  building  at  Man- 
kato into  the  Heinrich  Hotel;  and  the  organi- 
zation at  Mankato  of  the  "Southern  Minne- 
sota Fair  Association." 

The  year  1906,  saw  Immanuel  Hospital  built 
at  Mankato,  by  the  German  Lutheran  churches; 
the  organization  of  the  "Mankato  Commercial 
club,"  with  W.  L.  Hixon  as  President,  to  suc- 
ceed the  old  board  of  trade;  the  organization  in 
July  of  the  "German  American  State  Bank"  of 
Mankato,  with  W.  C.  Henline  as  cashier;  and 
the  formation  in  July  of  the  St.  Clair  State 
Bank,"  with  Nick  Juliar  as  president  and  Henry 
Thielman  as  cashier. 

This  year  and  the  following  year  witnessed 
the  building  of  the  Alphabet  Railway  as  a 
branch  of  the  Milwaukee  system  from  Albert 
Lea  through  Medo  and  McPherson  to  St.  Clair, 
the   first   train    arriving    at   the    latter   point    in 


222 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


the  Fall  of  1907.  A  new  townsite  called  Pern- 
berton  was  started  in  section  one  of  Medo  on  the 
line  of  this  railroad  in  November,  1907. 

In  August,  1907,  the  Lake  Crystal  Milling 
Company  failed  and  in  1908  the  plant  was  pur- 
chased by  Christian  S.  Christensen  of  Madelia. 
In  the  summer  of  1907  the  M.  E.  church  of  Man- 
kato  erected  their  present  elegant  house  of  wor- 
ship at  a  cost  of  $30,000.  The  building  was  dedi- 
cated with  appropriate  services  December  8,  1907. 
December  20,  1907,  St.  Clair  voted  to  incorporate 
as  a  village  by  a  vote  of  40  to  9,  and  at  the  elec- 
tion held  January  2,  1908,  the  following  ofOicera 
were  chosen:  Trustees,  Henry  Thielman,  presi- 
dent; E.  A.  Deumeland,  P.  H.  Bowe,  and  J. 
W.  Chase;  recorder,  Chas.  O'Connor;  treasurer, 
M.  C.  Dalton;  Justice,  Chas.  O'Connor  and 
Christ  Aeters;  constables,  Henry  Luedke  and 
A.  T.  Andrews.  The  assessor's  returns  for  1907 
showed  that  the  county  possessed  11,744  horses, 
28,G77  cattle,  6,931  sheep,  15,444  hogs,  745  me- 
lodians  and  organs,  867  pianos,  45  automobiles. 
Within  a  year  the  number  of  the  latter  have 
more  than  doubled. 

During  1907-8  Mankato  has  seen  the  Steam's 
Block  pass  into  the  hands  of  the  National 
Citizens  Bank  who  have  remodeled  the  same  into 


an  elegant  bank  and  office  building;  and  it 
has  seen  the  old  Shoemaker  Hall  building  re- 
placed by  the  fine  four  story  Hickey-Cough- 
lan  Block,  now  occupied  by  Fred  Kruse.  A 
large  new  building,  too,  has  been  added  to  the 
Normal  school  and  a  splendid  electric  street 
]'ailway  system  has  been  in  operation  since  May, 
]908.  So  while  the  city  was  visited  during 
July  and  August,  1908,  by  a  typhoid  fever  epi- 
demic, which  killed  about  forty  of  its  people, 
due  to  an  accidental  contamination  of  its  water 
supply,  yet  as  we  close  this  last  page  of  our 
county's  history  our  county  seat  is  rapidly  grow- 
ing in  numbers,  wealth  aijd  power,  as  becomes  the 
metropolis  of  Southern  Minnesota.  The  great 
county  of  Blue  Earth  has,  indeed  had  an  event- 
ful history  during  the  fifty  and  more  years  it 
has  been  settled  by  white  people,  but  much  more 
eventful,  doubtless  will  the  historian  of  the 
future  find  its  annals  for  the  next  fifty  years. 
From  its  commanding  position,  natural  resources 
and  many  splendid  advantages  this  charming 
"Undine  region,"  as  in  the  past,  must  in  the  fu- 
ture be  the  center  of  the  wealth,  power  and  in- 
fluence of  the  southern  half  of  our  great  com- 
monwealth. 


TOWNSHIP  HISTORIES 


With  Chapter  XXIII  ends  the  general  history 
oi  the  county;  but  having  on  hand  a  mass  of 
material,  mostly  pertaining  to  special  neighbor- 
hoods, we  concluded  to  use  it  in  a  history  of  each 
township  in  the  county.  Moreover  each  town  has 
its  own  peculiar  local  history  and  it  seemed 
iitting  that  each  be  told  separately.  Since  these 
township  histories  were  printed  some  important 
data  relating  mostly  to  Lime,  Old  Mapleton  and 
Sterling  Center  has  come  to  hand.  For  the  in- 
formation regarding  Mapleton  the  author  is  in- 
debted to  J.  H.  Cornell  and  Wm.  Wilde  and  as 
to  Sterling  to  Josiah  Hussell  of  Pasadena,  Cal. 
and  G.  B.  Doty  of  Spicer,  Minn.  Mr.  Wilde 
now  resides  at  Alameda,  Cal.,  and  has  passed  his 
89th  birthday,  yet  his  mind  seems  as  clear  and 
vigorous  as  ever.  We  append  the  data  furnished 
that  it  may  be  read  in  connection  with  the  his- 
tories of  the  respective  towns. 

LIME    (Page    259).     The    name    was    suggested    by 

George     Stannard     and Little    because     of     the 

abundant  lime  stone  found  therein.  The  first  school 
was  taught  by  Rev.  B.  Y.  Coffin  in  District  No.  9 
(now  N"o.  44)  in  the  winter  of  1856-7.  A  log  school 
house  had  been  erected  the  previous  fall  a  few  rods 
east  of  the  present  building  in  section  29.  In  the  win- 
ter of   1857-8   Asa   C.   Barney   taught   the   school.     He 

was    followed    by    Abraham    Baker    and Skinner. 

Then  beginning  with  the  winter  of  1862-3,  A.  C.  Bar- 
ney became  its  teacher  again  for  three  successive 
terms.  The  old  log  school  house  was  used  imtil  1866, 
when  the  log  house  of  David  Steel  was  purchased  and 
served  as  school  room  until  the  erection  of  the  brick 
school  house  in  1875.  A  copy  of  the  school .  roll  for 
the  term  beginning  Nov.  9,  1857,  has  been  preserved 
by  Mr.  Barney  and  is  as  follows: 

James  Buckley. 

Alexander  Campbell   (Lynched  by  New  Ulm  mob). 

Charles  W.  Campbell. 

Nancy  M.   Campbell. 

Virginia  C.  Campbell. 

Narry  J.  Campbell. 

A.  I.  Laflin. 

Orin  Laflin. 

Orlin  Laflin. 

Jane   A.  Laflin. 

Phoebe    E.    Laflin    (now    Mrs.    Burt). 

George  J.   Stannard. 

Hiram  R.    Stannard. 


Thaddeus  C.  S.  Stannard. 

Charles  J.  Stannard. 

Benjamin  F.  Stannard. 

Arthur   R.   Steel. 

Mary  A.  Steel. 

Emily  Steel. 

I-Ienry  G.  Henderson. 

Alonzo  A.  Henderson. 

Lewis  A.  Henderson. 

ilorris   Hund. 

Mary   M.  Hund. 

Michael   Thomas. 

William   Thomas. 

Nicholas  Thomas. 

John    Penrith. 

Christian  Hub. 

Christian  C.  S.  Christensen. 

John  J.  Webber. 

Catherine  Webber   (Mrs.  Mahowald). 

Henry  Goodrich  was  chairman  of  the  school  board 
and  under  the  law  of  that  day  had  to  examine  Mr. 
Barney  on  his  qualifications  to  teach  before  employing 
him. 

Lime  has  one  railway  station  called  "Benning,"  lo- 
cated in  1903  at  the  Junction  of  the  "Great  Western" 
and    "Milwaukee"   railways,    and    used   by   both   roads. 

OLD  5IAPLET0N  (Page  271).  The  Colony  store 
was  first  kept  by  Albert  A.  ^^'essells  at  his  home  on 
section  7,  Mapleton  township.  About  March  1,  1857, 
Jlr.  Wessells  resigned  as  manager  of  the  store  and 
Jarvis  R.  Harrington  was  appointed  to  close  out  what 
remained  of  the  stock.  Vincent  Wessells  was  a  son 
of  A.  A.  Wessells  but  he  kept  no  store. 

In  1857  Russell  B.  Franklin  had  a  double  log 
house,  about  where  the  residence  of  the  late  Robert 
Taylor  in  section  18  of  Mapleton  stands  and  one  part  of 
the  house  was  used  for  two  or  three  years  as  a  school 
room.  It  was  known  as  the  "Franklin  School  House." 
Here  was  organized  the  Sterling  Congregational  church 
and  here  Jarvis  R.  Harrington  taught  the  first  school. 
In  1858  Jabez  B.  Clemonts  bought  a  small  tra-ct  of 
land  in  Old  Mapleton  of  James  Cornell,  Sr.,  and  built 
thereon  a  log  building  for  a  hotel,  which  he  so  occu- 
pied about  two  years  and  in  January,  1861,  sold  it  to 
Wm.  Wilde,  Ira  Annis  and  R.  B.  Hall  as  trustee  of 
School  District  No.  45.  This  building  was  thereafter 
used  as  a  school  heuse  until  1867,  when  a  new  edifice 
was  erected. 

The  statement  that  Middlebrook  Bros,  rebuilt  their 
mill  after  it  was  burned  in  1863   is  not  correct. 

STERLING  (Page  295).  The  first  store  in  Sterling 
was  opened  about  1863  (or  may  be  earlier)  by  Wm. 
Russell,  Sr.,  at  his  home  in  Section  15  on  the  west 
bank   of  Rice  Creek.     In  November,   1863,  Mr.  Russell 


223 


224 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY 


sold  his  farm  to  William  B.  Buell,  reserving  a-  small 
tract  in  its  northeast  corner,  just  east  of  the  creek. 
Here  he  built  him  a  new  home  to  which  he  removed, 
in  1864,  his  store  and  the  post  office  as  stated  in  the 
history.  The  Colony  store  was  never  in  Sterling.  The 
first  mill  at  Sterling  Center  was  built  by  Gideon  B. 
Doty  and  his  father,  Geo.  W.  Doty,  on  Providence 
creek,  about  80  rods  above  its  mouth.  The  second  mill 
in  this  location  was  built  in  1864  by  Geo.  W.  Doty 
and  his  son,  Hiram  B.  Doty,  on  the  Jlaple  near  the 
mouth  of  the  creek.  This  mill  was  sold  in  February, 
1866,  to  Fuller  and  Miller  as   stated  in  the  text. 

Prior  to  1862  Henry  Spickerman  had  built  a  mill 
near  the  westerly  shore  of  Lake  Lura  on  the  farm  of 
the  late  James  Ellis,  Sr.  A  ditch  was  dug  from  the 
lake  into  a  marsh  for  the  mill  race  and  u.  windmill 
erected  to  furnish  power  in  dry  weather.  About  1862, 
Spickerman  sold  this  mill  to  Alpheus  M.  Hewitt,  who 
had   Gideon  B.   Doty  run   it. 

The  mill  of  McCormlck  and  Smith  mentioned  on 
page  295,  was  located  at  Middletown  on  the  old  Wm. 
Randall  fa,rm.  In  the  fall  of  1872,  McCormick  and 
McQueen  moved  this  mill  to  the  Cobb  river  in  Beau- 
ford  and  later  sold  it  to  David  Hanna. 

The  first  school  in  Sterling  Center  was  taught  on 
the  second  floor  of  the  Doty  store  building  about  1866, 
by  H.  Baker.  The  first  sermon  was  preached  in  the 
same  room  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Conrad. 

BBAUFORD. 

This  town  was  a  part  of  the  Winnebago  re- 
servation until  the  removal  of  these  Indians  in 
1863.  It  is  drained  by  both  the  Little  and  Big 
Cobbj  which  form  a  junction  near  the  center  of 
its  eastern  half.  Below  this  junction  there  is 
ciuite  a  bodj'  of  timber  along  the  united  streams. 
On  the  eaist  boundary  is  located  Perch  Lake  a 
body  of  shallow  water  nearly  a  mile  in  diame- 
ter. 

In  1858  the  County  Commissioners  named  the 
town  "Winneshiek"  after  a  prominent  chief  of 
the  Winnebagoes.  At  a  meeting  held  in  the 
winter  of  1865-G,  preparatory  to  the  organiza- 
tion ■  of  the  town,  it  was  decided,  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Albert  Gates,  to  change  the  name  to 
'T3eauford"  after  a  town  in  the  east,  from  which 
some  of  the  settlers  had  come.  Accordingly  at  a 
meeting  of  the  County  Commissioners  held 
March  13,  1866,  on  petition  of  Chap.  McBeth  and 
twenty-six  others,  the  town  was  created  under 
the  name  of  "Beauford"  and  the  first  town 
meeting  appointed  to  be  held  at  the  house  of 
John   Prey  in  April. 


This  meeting  elected  the  following  ofEicere. 
Supervisors,  John  Frey,  Chairman;  Johakim 
Meeske  and  Frank  Peters;  Clerk,  Albert  Gates. 

The  first  actual  settler  was  James  Morrow, 
Sr.,  who  came  to  Danville  from  Ontario,  Can., 
:March  17,  1864,  and  during  the  summer  claimed 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  35,  Beauford, 
upon  which  he  went  to  live  with  his  family 
about  September  1,  1864.  They  were  an  excel- 
lent Scotch  family,  and  the  names  of  the  child- 
ren, some  of  whom  were  then  grown  up,  were: 
James,  John,  Jane,  Mary,  (Mrs.  Miliken,)  Jeu- 
nette  (Mrs.  Alec  Ellis),  Agnes  (Mrs.  M.  Han- 
na), Barbara,  (Mrs.  Thos.  Hanna),  William, 
Robert  and  Margaret.  Many  of  these  and  their 
descendants  are  still  among  the  prominent  resi- 
dents of  the  town.  Other  settlers  of  1864  were 
Albert  J.,  Arza,  and  Seth  C.  Gates,  and  Josiah 
Rogers,  who  located  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  town. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1865,  were  John  Frey, 
John  Rath,  Samuel  Larkin,  John  L.  Larkin, 
Matthew  McCarthy,  Patrick  Howley,  John  Laf- 
f;,',  Peter  Sprager,  John  W.  Brill,  Chas.  N. 
Nelson,  Samuel  D.  Brown,  Chas.  Cowley,  Colin 
and  Chas.  McBeth,  Ole  Larson,  John  Maygue, 
James  Gordon,  Frank  Peters,  John  Biedenkopf, 
Johakim  and  Christian  Meeske. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1866  were:  Thos.  His- 
lop,  Andrew  Little,  Franklin  Child  s,  J.  Dum- 
beck,  John  Hanna,  and  George  and  Jacob  Kauf- 
man. In  May  1865  a  saw  mill,  built  by  Dr. 
W.  F.  Lewis,  Basil  Moreland  and  others,  and 
in  charge  of  Abel  Keene,  began  operations.  It 
was  located  on  the  Big  Cobb  river  on  the  south- 
west quarter  of  section  4  and  for  one  or  two 
years  did  good  service.  In  February,  1867,  a 
new  mail  route  was  established  running  from 
Wilton  in  Waseca  County  to  Garden  City,  which 
crossed  the  Cobb  near  the  residence  of  Pranlc- 
lin  Childs,  where  in  the  spring  of  this  year, 
a  new  postofEice  was  established  with  Mrs. 
Frances  Childs  as  postmistress. 

In  June,  1868,  a  second  postofEice  was  estab- 
lished called  "Perch  Lake,''"  with  Albert  J. 
Gates  postmaster.  The. office  was  supplied  by  a 
mail  route  running;  from  Minnesota  Lake  to 
Mankato.  It  remained  at  the  home  of  Gates, 
on    northwest   quarter   of    section    thirteen   imtil 


SCRtDflN  LOTHfcRAW  TRINITY  CHURCH,  Oei^eSCO.  JI5T.N2  13  "THe  RUiSCLL  SCHOOL"  CeT*63COT0tt)NSHIP. 


HISTOEY  OE  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


225 


1871,  when  Henry  Natley  was  made  postmaster, 
and  the  office  moved  to  his  home  in  section 
twenty-four.  This  office  was  discontinued  in 
August,  1875. 

School  District  No.  86  was  created  by  the 
County  Commissioners  October  1,  1866,  on  peti- 
tion of  Pranklin  Childs  and  others;  District 
No.  94  February  36,  1867,  on  petition  of  John 
Frey  and  others,  and  on  the  same  date  District 
No.  95  on  petition  of  John  Beidenkopf. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  Miss  Acker- 
man  of  Medo  in  the  winter  of  1866-7  in  Dis- 
trict 86.  It  was  kept  in  the  Moreland  saw  mill 
building  near  Franklin  Childs  home.  The  next 
school  was  taught  in  a  log  school  house  in  Dis- 
trict No.  95  by  Elizabeth  Keys  in  the  summer 
of  1867  and  the  next  in  the  winter  of  1867-8 
in  a  frame  building  belonging  to  District  No. 
94. 

Jennie  McBeth  was  probably  the  first  white 
child  born  in  the  town.  Her  birth  occured  in 
the  fall  of  1864.  Margaret,  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  James  Morrow,  was  the  second  white 
child,  born  June  17,   1865. 

About  1868,  John  McCormick  and  Andrew 
Little,  purchased  and  fitted  up  a  saw  mill  on 
the  northwest  quarter  of  section  four  and  opera- 
ted it  for  about  five  years.  After  laying  idle 
aboiit  two  years  it  was  sold  to  McEJibbin  and 
again  operated  for  a  time. 

In  October,  1874,  John  Kimpton  purchased 
a  small  tract  of  land  in  the  northwest  quarter 
of  section  nine  and  built  thereon  a  small  store 
12x20  feet.  His  stock  at  first  consisted  largely 
of  tobacco  and  bitters,  and  his  customers  mostly 
were  wood  choppers  and  haulers.  In  June, 
1881,  he  sold  out  to  Leander  F.  Fihlev,  who 
built  a  new  store  building  adjoining  the  old 
one,  and  made  a  hall  above  the  new  part.  The 
old  Beauford  post  office,  which  Franklin  Childs 
had  kept  for  some  years  had  been  discontinue's 
in  July,  1875,  and  the  town  had  been  without 
a  post  office  for  six  years.  In  Julv,  1888,  L.  F. 
Pinlev  was  appointed  postmaster  of  a  new  office 
called,  "Beauford,"  which  had  just  been  estab- 
lished at  his  store. 

Eeligious  services  were  started  in  school  house 
No.  86  in  the  sixties,  and  a  Siinday  School  was 
maintained    through    the    efforts    of    Franklin 


Childs  and  others.  The  preaching  was  supplied 
usually  by  ministers  of  the  United  Brethern. 
After  a  season  of  special  revival  the  church 
which  had  been  organized  before,  was  legally 
incorporated  February  9,  1884,  by  the  election 
of  the  following  trustees :  Sarah  F.  Childs,  Chas. 
Wing  and  Wm.  Hislop.  It  was  called  the  "Uni- 
ted Brethren  Church  of  Beauford."  Eev.  Si- 
mon George  was  pastor  and  Eev.  J.  W.  Fulker- 
son.  Presiding  Elder.  A  lot  was  secured  near 
the  store  and  a  fine  church  building  34x40  feet 
erected  during  the  summer.  In  the  fall  of 
1885,  the  interior  was  finished  and  furnished 
with  pews.  June  20,  1886,  occurred  the  dedica- 
tory services,  Eev.  Tibbetts  preaching  the  ser- 
mon. Many  new  members  had  been  recently 
added,  and  Eev.  Fairchild  was  then  pastor. 
There  was  much  rejoicing  over  the  new  build- 
ing. 

Under  the  United  Brethren  system  the  pas- 
tors have  frequently  changed.  In  1899,  a  lady. 
Miss  Edith  Gates,  filled  the  pulpit  with  much 
acceptance;  part  of  the  time  the  church  has 
been  yoked  with  Vernon,  part  of  the  time  witH 
Alma  City,  in'  its  pastoral  service.  It  has  a 
Sunday  School  and  Ladies'  Aid  Society.  The 
church  is  still  doing  splendid  service,  and  is 
the  only  one  now  in  the  township.  Preaching 
services  and  Sunday  Schools  have  been  held  off 
and  on  in  school  houses  Nos.  94  and  95  ever 
since  they  were  built. 

The  Germans  began  holding  services  in  pri- 
vate houses  and  in  the  school  house  from  the 
earliest  period.  April  16,  1884,  "Salems  Church 
of  the  Evangelical  Association"  was  organized 
at  the  house  of  Geo.  Kaufmann,  and  the  follow- 
in?  Trustees  elected:  Herman  Dumpke,  Fred- 
erick Limberg  and  Jacob  Kanfmann.  This 
church  kept  up  its  services  for  years,  but  of 
Inte  vears  has  disbanded  and  the  members  gone 
to  other  churches.  In  Julv,  1885,  Leander  F. 
Finlev  sold  his  store  to  Calvin  A.  Fleming,  who, 
after  one  vear,  rented  the  store  to  Chas.  Drake, 
who  ran  it  until  July,  1887,  when  Ambrose  F. 
Tenney  purchased  the  building  and  stock.  In 
March,  1889,  Tenney  disposed  of  the  stock  to 
Ealph  Healev  and  the  building  to  Fred  Cramer. 
Tn  lyfar.  Mr.  Healev  was  appointed  postmaster 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  many  years.     In 


-20,^                                          IIISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH. COUNTY. 

ihe    eighties   Joseph    Latourell    started    a   black-  years    has    done   yeoman    service    in    the    public 

sirnth  shop   at  Beauford   Comers    (as  the   place  schools  of  our  county. 

was  called).  He  was  succeeded  by  Wm.  Sher-  Lyceums  and  debating  societies  were  frequent, 
man.  Then  came  Mr.  Johnson,  and  he  was  especially  in  district  No.  eighty-six  for  many 
followed  by  Edward  Kuhnke,  who  ran  a  black-  years,  and  a  band  was  organized  in  the  town 
smith  shop  until  1897,  when  Adolph  Laui  sue-  in  1877.  A  Town  Hall  was  erected  in  the  late 
ceeded  him.  About  1887,  Frank  Nitzel  started  fall  of  1903.  A  local  telephone  company  has 
a  second  store  at  the  "Corners,"  which  he  ran  pressed  the  lightning  into  service  to  bear  tBe 
for  about  a  year  and  was  followed  for  a  few  farmers'  messages,  and  the  ring  of  the  tele- 
months  by  Amer  Eeinhart  and  Sulbeck.  Al)out  phone  bell  is  now  everywhere  heard,  where  forty- 
1894,  Elmer  Getty  started  a  new  store  at  the  five  years  ago  there  was  but  the  whirr  of  the 
Corners,  and  in  1896,  built  his  present  store  rattle  snakes  tail, 
building,  where  he  still  continues.  In  Septem-  BUTTEENUT  VALLEY. 
her,  1897,  he  succeeded  Mr.  Healey  as  post- 
master. In  the  earlier  years  the  mail  service  For  the  organization  and  early  history  of  the 
had  been  weekly,  in  the  early  nineties  it  was  township,  when  Cambria  formed  a  part  of  it, 
tri-weekly,  and  by  1896,  it  became  daily.  Au-  see  history  of  latter  town.  Not  having  any  tim- 
gust  15,  1904,  the  Beauford  postofEice  was  dis-  ber  within  its  borders,  except  small  groves, 
continued,  as  its  place  had  been  supplied  by  around  two  or  three  lakes,  the  town  was  mostly 
the  Free  Delivery  system.  avoided   by   settlers   for  the   first   decade   of   our 

In  March,   1895,  a   co-operative  creamery   As-  Iiistory. 

sociation  was  organized  with  Al  Madison,  presi-  It  has  no  creek  or  river   and  the  largest  of 

dent,    and    Chas.    Hertzberg,    general    manager,  the    lakes    referred    to    are    Solberg,    Strom    and 

A  building  was  put  up  at  the  "Corners"  and  on  Armstrong  lakes. 

June  1,  of  this  year  the  creamery  began  opera-  In    its    natural    state    the    whole    town   was   a 

tions,    with    Omer   Mullin   as   butter  maker.     It  vast    rolling    prairie,    but    settlement    and    the 

was   a  big  success  from  the  start  and   soon  be-  planting    of    hundreds    of    groves,    has    greatly 

came  one  of  the  largest  creameries  in  the  coun-  improved  its   appearance. 

ty,  making  from  $30,000  to  $37,000  worth  The  first  settlers  came  in  1857;  In  the  early 
of  butter  each  year,  besides  supplying  patrons,  fall  of  that  year  Andrew  Strom,  a  native  of 
In  October,  1904,  Healey  sold  his  stock  of  Norway,  located  with  his  family  on  the  north- 
general  merchandise  to  Omer  Mullen,  who  east  bank  of  Strom  Lake  in  section  nineteen, 
built  a  new  store  building  opposite  the  creamery  About  the  same  time  Evan  Peterson  settled 
and  moved  the  goods  therein.  "Beauford  Cor-  with  his  family  on  the  east  side  of  lake  Arm- 
ners"  now  contains  two  stores,  a  blacksmith  strong  in  section  twenty.  The  same  fall  Thomas 
shop,  a  creamery,  a  church,  and  a  number  of  Thomas  and  his  family  moved  upon  their 
residences.  claim  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  which  bears 
The  fourth  school  district,  No.  149,  was  their  name  in  section  six,  and  Geo.  W.  Smith  and 
organized  November  5,  1889,  on  petition  of  Joseph  0.  Smith  located  upon  their  claims  in 
E.  E.  Fuller  and  others,  and  a  school  house  section  two.  Which  of  these  was  the  first  actual 
erected  that  winter.  District  No.  94  built  its  settler  it  is  bard  now  to  determine,  as  all  came 
present  school  house  iji  1895.  A  number  of  about  the  same  time.  Andrew  Strom  has  gen- 
the  boys  and  girls  of  the  Beauford  schools  have  erally  been  given  the  credit,  but  there  is  much 
become  prominent  in  educational  work  and  ground  to  believe  that  Geo.  W.  Smith  was  the 
other  lines.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned  first  settler,  though  it  is  by  no  means  certain. 
Guy  and  Ernest  Childs,  who  are  principals  of  A  year  or  two  thereafter  Knut  Strom  located  in 
schools,  and  Ed.  Sherman,  who  is  a  preacher  section  nineteen  and  in  1863,  Wm.  J.  Jones 
of  the  U.  B.  Church.  Among  the  citizens  of  and  Wm.  Griffith  located  in  section  one.  As 
the  town  is   Chas.   Hawes,  who  for  over  thirty  far   as  known  these  weTP  all   the  settlers  until 


HISTDRY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


22^ 


1863,  when  the  settlement  of  the  tdwn  may  be 
said  to  have  begun.  This  year  came  Chas.  H. 
Shelby  and  Ole  Siverson  to  section  ten,  Olens 
Solberg  to  section  eight.  Christian  Erickson, 
Lars  JI.  Thorstad  and  Lars  Halverson  to  sec- 
tion twenty-two,  David  A.  Davis  to  section  two 
and  George  M.  Keenan  and  John  Samil  to 
section  4.  In  1864,  came  Tolaf  Holverson,  P. 
0.  Hovey,  Wm.  E.  Jenkins,  Ole  P.  Lieberg, 
Owen  Pritchard,  Kidal  Easmussen,  Simon  Eo- 
land,  Benj.  T.  Kilby,  and  others.  In  1865, 
came  Lars  Christopherson,  E.  Kettleson,  Thos. 
J.  Evans,  Gilbert  Gunderson,  H.  Holverson, 
Joel  Haycroft,  Addison  Jones,  Billings  and 
Lewis  Johnson,  Ellis  Owens,  Lars  Thompson 
and  others.  In  1866,  came  Andrew  Tweed,  H. 
Hendrickson,  Johanness  Taarnd,  Thron  Peter- 
son, Ole  Stone,  Martin  Osten,  Nils  Thorstad, 
Anton  Melby,  Fredrick  Hanson,  Helge  Hellek- 
son,  H.  P.  Felch,  John  E.  Jones,  Thos.  E. 
Evans,  Evan  J.  Evans,  John,  Edward,  Samuel, 
William   and   David   Evans. 

Odin  A.,  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Strom, 
born  in  the  fall  of  1858,  was  the  first  white 
child.  The  first  school  was  taught  at  the  home 
of  Andrew  Strom  in  1860,  and  at  present  there 
are  six  school  districts,  with  a  good  school 
house  in  each.  The  first  religious  services  were 
conducted  by  the  Norwegians  about  1864,  at 
private  houses,  but  during  the  first  few  years 
they  were  not  very  regular  as  there  was  no 
resident  pastor.  Lutheran  ministers  from  Ma- 
delia  and  Mankato,  generally  officiated.  During 
the  seventies  and  until  the  erection  of  the  pres- 
ent church  edifice  in  1883,  an  occasional  service 
was  held  in  the  Strom  school  house  (Dist.  No. 
13.) 

Rev.  Lars.  Gren  of  Madelia  and  Rev.  H. 
Heggerness  of  Mankato  in  those  early  years 
ministered  to  the  church.  It  was  organized  in 
1882,  under  the  name  of  "The  Norwegian  Luth- 
eran  Church." 

The  church  building  is  brick  veneered  30x50 
feet  with  a  fine  steeple  and  built  as  stated  in 
tbe  summer  of  188^.  It  is  located  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
twenty-one,   and   has   a   cemetery  attached. 

The  north  half  of  the  town  was  settled  large- 
ly  by    Welsh    people.      As    early    as    Decembei 


1866  a  Sunday  School  with  fourteen  scholars 
was  organized  -at  the  log  cabin  of  Thos.  E. 
Evans,  with  John  E.  Jones  as  Superintendent. 
The  first  prayer  meeting  was  held  at  the  same 
place  in  the  evening  of  the  same  Sabbath. 
Preaching  services  were  held  during  the  winter 
of  1866-7  at  the  same  house  by  Revs.  E.  W. 
Jones,  Wm.  Eoberts  and  John  W.  Eoberts.  The 
Sabbath  school  was  moved  for  a  short  time  to 
the  home  of  Soloman  Evans;  thence  to  the 
house  of  Wm.  S.  Hughes,  and  thence  in  the 
summer  of  1867,  back  to  the  home  of  Thos. 
E.  Evans,  where  it  remained  until  the  erection 
of  a  house  of  worship  in  1870. 

The  church  was  organized  as  a  Calvinistic 
Methodist  body  in  May,  1867,  at  the  house  of 
Wm.  E.  Jenkins,  by  Eev.  E.  W.  Jones.  It  adopted 
the  name  "Bethel,"  and  the  charter  mem- 
bers were  John  E.  Jones,  Wm.  E.  Jenkins,  and 
wife,  Thos.  E.  Evans  and  wife,  Evan,  J.  Evans, 
Mrs.  Mary  Francis,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Evans,  Mrs. 
Eobert  D.  Jones,  Mrs.  Ellis  Owens,  Mrs.  Eobert 
H.  Hughes,  and  Wm.  A.  Jones  and  wife.  The 
first  deacons  were  John  E.  Jones,  Wm.  E.  Jen- 
kins, and  Thos.  Eichards.  For  three  years  the 
church  met  at  private  houses,  like  the  Sunday 
school,  mostly  at  the  house  of  Thos.  E.  Evans. 
In  the  summer  of  1870,  a  church  building  20x26 
feet  was  put  up  near  the  southeast  comer  of  sec- 
tion four,  which  was  opened  with  a  quarterly 
meeting  September  14  of  that  year.  For  pastoral 
service  "Bethel"  was  yoked  with  "Horeb"  church 
of  Cambria  in  1871.  Eev.  D.  M.  Jones  was  the 
first  settled  pastor  of  both  churches.  The  churches 
have  continued  as  one  circuit  ever  since.  The  old 
building  becoming  too  small,  a  new  edifice  was 
erected  in  1887.  About  1890,  the  church  num- 
bered about  100  members,  but  since  that  time 
the  membership  has  been  reduced  nearly  one 
third   by   death   and   removals. 

A  number  of  Welsh  families  Had  located 
along  the  east  line  of  Butternut  Valley,  too  far 
south  to  attend  Bethel  church.  In  connection 
with  some  Welsh  families  along  the  west  line 
of  Judson  they  began  holding  religious  ser- 
vices as  early  as  1868.  In  the  winter  of  1868-9 
a  Sabbath  school  was  formed  at  the  house  of 
Richard  R.  Williams  in  section  13,  with  Mr. 
Williams     as     superintendent.       Preaching     and 


228 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  BAKTH  COUNTY. 


prayer  meeting  services  were,  also  held  quite 
frequently  at  the  same  place,  and  at  the  house 
of  Cornelius  Williams.  The  fact  that  the  fami- 
lies were  divided  between  two  or  three  denomi- 
nations delayed  the  church  organization  for  a 
time.  As  the  majority  belonged  to  the  Calva- 
nistie  Methodists,  a  church  of  that  dehomination 
was  finally  formed  in  March,  1870,  by  Eev. 
Wm.  Eoberts,  assisted  by  Elder  Evan  H.  Evans, 
of  Zion  Church.  The  organization  took  place 
at  the  house  of  Eichard  E.  Williams,  and  the 
charter  members  were:  John  D.  Thomas  and 
wife;  Cornelius  Williams  and  wife,  Eichard 
Lewis  and  wife,  Eichard  Williams  and  wife, 
Evan  D.  Evans  and  wife,  John  H.  Hughes 
and  wife,  and  Mrs.  Martha  Jones.  The  church 
was  called  Moriah  and  a  chapel  was  started 
this  year.  In  1865,  a  little  misunderstanding 
had  arisen  in  the  synod  of  the  Cal.  Methodist 
churches,  which  soon  became  a  serious  quarrel 
and  rent  all  the  churches  of  the  synod  into  two 
factions,  one  of  which  united  with  the  Presby- 
terians,, and  a  number  of  churches  of  that  de- 
nomination were  started  in  the  Welsh  settle- 
ment. In  1870,  the  disaffection  was  at  its 
height  and  the  center  of  the  disturbance  was 
in  the  vicinity  of  this  Moriah  church.  This 
year  the  Presbyterians  were  induced  to  erect 
a  $2,000  building  on  the  center  of  the  east 
line  of  section  eighteen  of  Judson.  This  de- 
laved  the  completion  of  the  Moriah  chapel  until 
April,  1873,  when  the  church  took  a  new  lease 
of  life,  completed  its  organization  bv  electing 
John  D.  Thomas  and  Cornelius  Williams,  as 
its  first,  elders,  moved  its  chapel  three  fourths 
of  a  mile  south,  to  the  north  quarter  stake  of 
the  east  line  of  section  24,  in  Butternut  Val- 
ley and  put  it  in  shape  for  occupancv.  The 
name  of  the  church  was  also  changed  to  "Sal- 
em." Bv  1881-2  the  quarrel  in  the  Cal.  Meth. 
churches  had  become  a  thing  of  the  past:  and 
the  Presbyterian  churches  among  the  Welsh 
evervwhere  disbanded,  and  the  people  returned 
to  their  first  love.  This  left  the  big  new  edi- 
fice on  section  eighteen,  Judson,  empty  on  the 
hands  of  the  Presbytery.  In  1886,  the  Salem 
church  purchased  it,  and  disposing  of  their 
other  building,  which  was  much  smaller,  moved 
it  to  the  present  site. 


Ministerially  the  church  has  been  on  the  same 
circuit  with  Jerusalem  and  Lake  Crystal,  in 
charge  of  Eev.  David  Edwards,  of  the  latter 
place.  Number  12,  was  the  first  school  Dis- 
trict organized  in  the  town.  District  No.  78 
was  organized  March  13,  1866,  on  petition  of 
Eobert  H.  Hughes,  and  others.  District  114 
was  organized  on  June  23,  1868  on  petition  of 
Wm.  Prancis  and  others,  and  No.  115  on  the 
same  date  on  petition  of  H.  P.  Pelch  and 
others. 

In  the  spring  of  1894,  the  Lake  Shore  Cream- 
ery was  started  on  the  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion twenty  and  in  June  of  the  same  year  a 
new  post  office  was  established  there  called 
'T3utternut"  with  Christian  Strom  as  postmas- 
ter. About  the  same  time  a  co-operative  store 
was  opened  at  the  same  point  in  charge  of 
Charlie  Johnson.  In  July,  1895,  Gilbert  Gut- 
tersen  became  postmaster,  and  in  January,  1899, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Ole  Eoudestvedt.  A  feed 
mill,  blacksmith  shop,  harness  and  shoemaker 
shop,  meat  shop,  livery,  hotel,  town  hall  built 
in  1897,  together  with  the  Norwegian  church, 
creamery,  store,  and  postoffice  made  "Butter- 
nut" quite  a  center  for  the  town.  The  post- 
office  was  discontinued  five  or  six  years  ago  and 
the  town  supplied  by  rural  routes  with  daily 
mail,  and  a  farmer's  telephone  company  supplies 
all  needs  in  that  line.  The  town  is  one  of  the 
most  fertile  and  its  people  are  prosperous. 

CAMBEIA. 

Cambria  and  Butternut  Valley  were  one  muni- 
cipality until  1867,  under  the  latter  name,  but 
until  after  1862,  the  settlement  was  confined 
almost  exclusively  to  the  portion  now  called 
Cambria,  along  the  Minnesota  and  Little  Cot' 
tonwood  Eivers  and  Cambria  Creek.  The  ad- 
vantages of  timber,  water  and  drainage  which 
these  three  streams  afforded,  made  this  frac- 
tional township  more  desirable  to  settlers,  and 
no  town  in  the  county  is  more  picturesque. 
The  first  claims  were  located  about  June  6, 
1855,  by  Morris  Lewis,  David  A.  Davis  and 
David  Evans  on  parts  of  sections  25,  26  and  35; 
but  the  first  to  build  a  cabin  and  actually  set- 
tle in  the  town  was  John  E.  Davis.  He  and  liis 
family,  consisting  qI  his  wife,  a  grown  up  soil, 


HISTOHY  OJ?  BLUE  EARTH  COtJNTY. 


■2±} 


William  E.  Davis,  two  daughterSj  Sarah  (now 
Mrs.  Wm.  E.  Lewie  of  Lake  Crystal)  and  Eliz- 
abeth (widow  of  the  late  Eichard  Jones  of 
Cambria)  drove  in  a  covered  wagon  from  Big 
Eock,  111.,  and  arrived  on  the  west  line  of  Jud- 
son  on  the  12tli  of  June.  Mr.  Davis  at  once 
located  his  claim  on  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  26,  built  a  small  log  cabin  and  moved 
thereto  about  the  15th  of  the  same  month. 

About  July  10,  1865,  came  David  J.  Davis 
and  David  J.  Williams  from  near  Palrdyra, 
Ohio,  and  made  claims  on  the  Minnesota  bot- 
tom, at  the  mouths  of  Cambria  Creek  and  the 
Little  Cottonwood.  The  families  reached  their 
new  homes  the  following  November,  coming  all 
the  way  from  Palmyra  in  covered  wagons,  a 
tedious  journey  full  of  many  adventures. 

The  Williams  family  at  this  time  consisted 
of  David  J.,  William  J.  and  Daniel  L.,  three 
bachelor  brothers,  who  lived  with  their  mother. 
July,  1855,  John  Nicholson  located  upon  the 
"Little  Prairie'"  with  his  family.  In  August 
of  this  year  George  Gilley  and  family,  Alfred 
S.  Van  Patten,  Samuel  B.  Shaw  and  Peter 
Bandy  located  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
town,  north  of  the  Cottonwood.  A  daughter 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Gilley  named  Hattie  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  the  town.  Her  birth 
occurred  February  11,  1856,  but  she  died  in 
childhood.  Catherine,  daughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  David  J.  Davis,  born  April  7,  1856,  was 
the  second  white  child.  She  is  now  Mrs. 
Toothacker,   of   Martin    County. 

In  July,  1855,  David  Y.  Davis,  took  a  claim 
in  Section  20,  and  in  the  spring  of  1856  his 
brother,  Evan  J.  Davis,  made  a  claim  in  the 
same  section  and  the  two  brothers,  with  their 
mother,  located  there  about  August  of  that  year. 
In  the  fall  of  1855  Hugh  R.  Williams  and  fam- 
ily arrived  from  Wisconsin.  May,  1856,  came 
John  Shields  and  his  family  from  Pomeroy, 
Ohio.  In  June  Henry  Hughes,  who  had  located 
in  Judson  the  previous  fall,  took  a  claim  on 
Cambria  creek  and  removed  thereto  in  July.  In 
May,  1856,  a  large  Welsh  colony  had  arrived  at 
South  Bend  from  Jackson  and  Gallia  Counties, 
Ohio,  and  a  large  portion  of  it  in  June  settled 
in  the  present  town  of  Cambria.  Among  these 
were:      Dr.    David    Davis    and    wife    and    their 


grown  up  children,  David,  John,  Peter,  and 
xMary  S.  Davis;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  P.  Davis 
and  their  children,  Daniel,  David,  Eben,  Mary 
and  j\largaret  and  two  younger  sons,  liichard 
Morgan  and  wife  and  their  grown  up  children, 
James,  Isaac,  Elizabeth  and  Mary,  John  Wal- 
ters and  his  family,  William  P.  Jones  and  fam- 
ily, David  Price  and  family  and  Thos.  D. 
Lloyd    and   wife. 

Early  in  July  of  this  year  came  Eev.  Jenkin 
Jenkins  and  family  and  David  ilorris  and  wife. 
During  the  summer  Wm.  Hughes,  Griffith 
Thomas,  Samuel  D.  Shaw,  Jolm  JSTickelson  and 
families  located   in  the  town. 

The  first  religious  service  was  probably  held 
the  latter  part  of  June,  1856,  in  a  shanty  on 
the  claim  of  David  Y.  Davis,  temporarily  oc- 
cupied by  John  Shields  and  family.  July  3, 
1856,  at  the  log  cabin  of  David  P.  Davis,  Sec- 
tion 19,  was  organized  the  first  religious  body. 
It  was  the  present  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist 
church  of  "Horeb,"  so  named  in  honor  of  a 
church  in  Ohio,  from  which  most  of  its  mem- 
bers had  come.  Eev.  Eichard  Davis,  then  of 
South  Bend,  was  the  officiating  clergyman. 
The  charter  members  as  far  as  known  were : 
Dr.  David  Davis  and  wife  and  their  children, 
Jolm,  Peter,  and  Mary  S.;  John  Walters  and 
wife,  and  their  son,  John,  David  P.  Davis  and 
wife  and  their  children,  Daniel  and  John;  John 
Shields  and  wife,  William  P.  Jones  and  wife, 
David  S.  Davis  and  wife,  Thomas  Lloyd  and 
wife,  Eichard  Morgan  and  wife,  their  son, 
James  Morgan,  and  his  betrothed.  Miss  Mary 
Davis,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  P. 
Davis.  Eight  after  the  organization  service 
James  Morgan  and  Miss  Mary  Davis  were 
united  in  marriage  at  the  same  place  and  by 
the  same  clergyman,  being  the  first  marriage  in 
town.  The  first  death  occurred  in  August, 
1856,  in  the  family  of  David  Price.  While  this 
family  were  busy  moving  from  their  first  claim 
shanty  to  a  larger  log  cabin,  one  of  their  little 
children  managed,  when  alone  for  a  few  mo- 
ments, to  set  fire  to  itself  and  the  shanty,  and 
was  so  badly  burned,  that  it  died  in  a  few 
hours. 

After  the  organization  of  Horeb  church,  re- 
ligious   services    were    regularly    observed    every 


230 


mSTOSY  OJ  BLIJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Sabbath  after  the  manner  of  the  Welsh.  In 
the  morning  a  sermon  or  prayer  meeting,  in  the 
afternoon  a  Sunday  school  was  held.  The 
first  year  these  services  were  usually  held  alter- 
nately at  the  homes  of  David  P.  Davis  and 
John  Walters,  but  in  1857  a  vacant  cabin  on 
the  claim  of  Evan  J.  Davis  was  used.  In  a 
grove  near  this  cabin  was  held  June  24  and 
25,  1857,  the  first  quarterly  meeting  in  the 
town. 

The  winter  of  1856-7,  as  we  have  noted  in 
our  main  history,  was  extremely  cold,  and  the 
only  cases  in  the  Welsh  settlements  of  death  by 
freezing  occurred  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth 
of  January,  1857.  That  day  Wm.  Hughes  and 
GrifEith  Thomas  had  gone  to  New  Ukn,  ten 
miles  distant  on  foot  to  get  some  provisions  for 
their  families.  Before  returning  they  foolishly 
indulged  in  some  liquor.  This,  with  the  bit- 
ter cold,  brought  upon  them  a  deadly  stupor, 
and  the  next  day  their  bodies  were  foimd 
within  a  mile  of  home,  just  where  the  old  Ft. 
Eidgely  road  crossed  the  head  of  Bennett  Creek, 
on  the  present  farm  of  James  Price.  The  sad 
event  cast  a  gloom  over  the  whole  neighborhood, 
and  the  spot  of  their  burial,  eighty  rods  west 
of  the  Horeb  church,  was  long  known  to  the 
pioneers  as  "The  Grraves." 

During  his  residence  at  Eevena,  Ohio,  David 
J.  Davis  had  operated  a  saw  mill,  and  he  knew 
of  a  second  hand  steam  saw  mill,  with  a  small 
corn  grinding  attachment  for  sale  cheap,  and  at 
his  suggestion  David  P.  Davis  returned  to  Ohio 
this  winter  and  purchased  it.  On  arrival  in 
Cambria  late  that  summer  the  mill  was  set 
up  in  the  Cottonwood  valley  on  David  P.  Davis' 
farm,  and,  with  the  aid  of  David  J.  Davis, 
who  understood  milling,  it  was  started,  and 
during  the  winter  of  1857-8  quite  a  little  lum- 
ber was  cut  and  com  roughly  ground  for  the 
johnny  cake  and  hasty  pudding  of  the  period. 
About  the  first  fruits  of  this  mill  was  lumber 
for  Horeb  church.  This  church  was  erected 
during  the  summer  and  fall  of  1858,  by  Andrew 
Friend  at  a  cost  of  $800  and  was  28x35  feet  in 
size.  Its  frame  was  heavy  white  oak  and  good 
for  centuries.  It  was  all  made  of  the  best 
native    lumber    and    for    many    years    was    the 


largest  house  of  worship  in  the  Welsh  settle- 
ment. 

December  25,  1856,  a  Bible  society  was 
formed  at  the  house  of  Davis  P.  Davis,  with 
Dr.  David  Davis  as  President,  Eev.  Jenkin 
Jenkins  secretary  and  David  P.  Davis,  Treas- 
urer, called  "The  Blue  County  Welsh,"  which 
the  first  year  raised  $46.30  as  a  donation  to  the 
New  York  society.  This  society  has  held  its 
annual  meeting  on  Christmas  day  ever  since, 
has  sent  over  $2,000  to  the  Bible  cause,  and  is 
still  flourishing. 

In  those  early  years  the  locality  was  generally 
called  the  "Cottonwood  Settlement"  from  the 
Cottonwood  river.  At  a  meeting  of  the  inhabi- 
tants held  in  December,  1856,  preparatory  to 
being  organized  as  a  separate  election  precinct, 
the  question  of  name  came  up.  There  was  a 
strong  disposition  to  call  the  municipality 
"Davistown"'  as  about  half  of  the  residents  then 
bore  that  name,  and  the  first  settler  was  John 
E.  Davis.  Col.  S.  D.  Shaw  suggested  the  name 
"Butternut  Valley"  as  especially  appropriate 
because  the  town  contained  so  many  valleys, 
which  were  full  of  butternut  trees.  He,  also, 
called  attention  to  the  word  "valley"  as  being 
a  synonym  for  "fertility"  and  how  valuable  a 
timber  was  the  "Butternut."  The  colonel's  elo- 
quence prevailed,  and  the  name  "Butternut 
Valley"  was  adopted.  Some  time  afterwards  it 
was  learned  that  Col.  Shaw  had  come  from 
"Butternuts"  N.  Y.  which  at  once  explained 
his  partiality  for  that  name. 

January  6,  1857,  the  town  was  created  into  a 
separate  election  precinct,  under  the  above  name, 
and  the  following  officers  appointed;  Judge  of 
Election,  Geo.  Gilley,  Eev.  Jenkin  Jenkins  and 
David  J.  Davis;  Justices  of  the  Peace,  Eev. 
Jenkin  Jenkins  and  David  P.  Davis;  Consta- 
bles, David  J.  Williams  and  David  A.  Davis. 
The  first  election  was  held  in  the  spring  of 
1857,  at  the  house  of  David  P.  Davis.  At  the 
general  election  held  in  the  fall  of  that  year  the 
town  cast  38  votes,  31  Eepublican  and  7  Demo- 
cratic. In  1857,  came  to  the  settlement  Wm. 
E.  Jenkins,  James  Edwards,  Lewis  D.  Lewis, 
Evan  Jenkins,  John  Eees,  Geo.  W.  Porter,  Neil 
Porter  and  others.  A  debating  society  was  form- 
ed in  the  winter  of  1857-8  which  met  usually  at 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUKTY. 


231 


the  house  of  Evan  J.  and  David  Y.  Davis,  and  at 
which  Evan  Jenkins,  an  odd  genius,  figured 
prominently.  There  were  temperance  societies, 
einging  schools  and  Fourth  of  July  celebrations, 
and  the  community  was  noted  for  the  interest 
manifested  from  the  start  in  things  religious, 
political,  social,  literary  and  educational. 

In  1856,  the  town  was  divided  into  three 
school  Districts  each  two  miles  in  width  east 
and  west.  This  did  not  suit,  and  after  more 
or  less  squabling  as  to  location  of  school  houses 
the  town  was  cut  into  two  school  districts,  cdr- 
responding  with  the  present  Districts  Nos.  10 
and  11,  and  in  1869,  a  log  school  house  built 
in  each. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  No.  10  in  the 
summer  of  1859,  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Davis, 
(now  Mrs.  Richard  Jones),  and  the  first  school 
in  District  No.  11,  was  kept  in  the  late  fall  of 
the  same  year  by  Miss  Mary  S.  Davis  (after- 
wards the  first  wife  of  Thos.  Y.  Davis.)  It 
was  started  in  a  vacant  log  house  belonging  to 
Evan  J.  Davis,  and  on  completion  of  the  log 
tchool  house  was  moved  thereto. 

A  second  congregation  of  those  whose  views 
did  not  coincide  with  Horeb  church  was  formed 
about  1858.  They  met  at  private  houses,  mostly 
at  the  log  cabin  of  Henry  Hughes,  and  were 
ministered  to  by  Dr.  David  Davis  and  Henry 
Hughes,  who  preached  alternately.  This  con- 
gregation was  formed  into  a  Congregational 
church  on  March  13,  1860,  at  the  house  of 
Henry  Hughes  by  Rev.  Samuel  Jones,  a  con- 
gregational preacher  from  La  Crosse,  Wis.  The 
church  continued  until  the  Indian  outbreak  of 
1863. 

In  1857,  Col.  S.  D.  Shaw  was  appointed 
postmaster  of  the  new  postoffiee  of  "Butternut 
Valley,"  but  for  several  months  he  had  to  carry 
the  mail  on  his  back  from  Judson,  before  the 
Mankato  and  New  Ulm  mail  route  was  estab- 
lished. May  21,  1863,  Evan  J.  Davis  suc- 
ceeded him  as  postmaster,  but  enlisting  in  the 
army  three  months  later,  he  was  succeeded  by 
Henry  Hughes.  January  5,  1867,  Evan  Bowen 
became  postmaster  and  was  succeeded  on  June 
25,  1869,  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Burgess,  who  kept 
the  office  for  five  or  six  years,  when  it  was  dis- 
continued.     February    13,    18G3,    the    saw    and 


grist  mill  of  David  P.  Davis  was  burned.  Be- 
ing the  frontier  town  of  the  county,  Cambria 
suffered  more  than  any  otlier  from  the  Indian 
outbreak  of  186:i,  but  those  incidents  have  been 
detailed  in  the  history  of  the  county.  It  also 
suffered  the  most  from  the  grasshopper  scourge, 
first  in  1861,  and  again  tor  four  successive 
years  (1874  to  1877)  inclusive.  We  have  also 
spoken  elsewhere  of  this  trouble.  By  1867,  the 
prairie  portion  of  tlie  town,  embracing  all  of 
township  108  was  becoming  well  settled,  and 
these  new  comers  were  getting  more  numerous 
than  the  first  settlers,  who  occupied  the  frac- 
tional part  of  109,  and  outvoted  them  in  the 
town  meetings.  This  displeased  the  old  timers, 
and  on  petition  to  the  County  Board,  they  were 
severed  from  Township  108,  and  permitted  to 
form  a  new  town,  under  the  name  of  "Cambria."' 
This  was  suggested  by  George  Owens,  because 
the  inhabitants  were  nearly  all  Welsh  (Cymri). 
The  new  town  organized  June  3,  1867,  by  the 
election  of  the  following  officers:  Supervisort, 
John  S.  Davis,  Chr.,  Wm.  P.  Jones  and  VVm. 
R.  Lewis;  Clerk,  Wm.  P.  Davis;  Assessor,  Evan 
Bowen;  Treasurer,  Thos.  Y.  Davis;  Justice,  S. 
D.  Shaw  and  Edward  Rowe;  Constables,  David 
Thomas  and  David  L.  Harris.  This  first  elec- 
tion was  held  at  log  school  house  No.  ten, 
thereafter  most  of  the  elections  were  held  in 
school  house  No.  eleven.  In  the  latter  district 
a  new  frame  school  house  was  erected  in  the 
summer  of  1867,  and  through  the  efforts  of 
Henry  Hughes  and  David  J.  Davis  an  excellent 
school  was  maintained  for  a  number  of  years. 
January  15,  1877,  the  school  house  of  this  dis- 
trict burned.  Through  Hon.  Wm.  P.  Jones, 
then  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  a  special 
act  was  passed  authorizing  the  district  to  bor- 
row money  to  rebuild,  which  was  done  at  once. 
A  number  of  the  pupils  of  this  school  have 
risen  to  some  prominence,  among  them;  Hon. 
Owen  Morris  of  St.  Paul,  Thos.  and  Evan  Hughes 
of  Mankato,  Albert  B.  Hughes  of  Wadena  in 
the  legal  profession,  and  Thos.  E.  Bowen,  late 
of  Duluth,  Journalist,  and  a  number  of  teach- 
ers, and  business  men.  A  frame  school  house 
was  built  in  District  No.  10,  in  the  seventies. 
Early  in  the  seventies  a  portion  of  the  town 
with   a  portion  of  Butternut  Valley   was  organ- 


232 


HISTORY  01^  BLUE  EARTH  COHNTY. 


ized  into  school  District  J^o.  78,  but  the  school 
house  of  this  district  was  over  the  line  in  But- 
ternut Valley.  Judge  of  Probate,  Wm.  E. 
Hughes,  and  former  County  Attorney,  Byron 
Hughes,  both  Cambria  boys,  were  products  of 
this  school.  The  first  school  house  in  this  Dis- 
trict burned  February  24,  1885,  but  was  rebuilt 
soon  thereafter. 

Early  in  the  seventies  a  school  District  was 
formed  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  town  and 
lying  partly  in  Butternut  Valley  and  partly  in 
Brown  County.  It  is  designated  No.  138  but 
usually  called  the  "Goshen"  school.  Its  log  build- 
ing was  replaced  with  the  present  frame  in 
March  1883.  This  school  house  stands  in  section 
thirty-one  of  Cambria.  October  14,  1856  Eev. 
Jenkin  Jenkins  had  started  a  Welsh  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Judson  township.  In  1858, 
this  church  removed  its  services  to  the  home  of 
Deacon  John  E.  Davis,  in  Cambria,  and  about 
1859,  to  the  log  school  house  in  District  No.  10. 

About  1866,  a  Sunday  School  was  organized 
by  the  members  of  this  church  at  the  log  house 
of  Evan  Bowen,  with  David  T.  Davis  .as  sup- 
erintendent. About  1867,  the  preaching  ser- 
vices and  Sunday  school  were  both  removed  to 
"the  log  cabin  of  Wm.  Harris.  Here  they  re- 
mained until  the  Pall  of  1871,  when  a  neat 
frame  chapel  was  erected  near  the  center  of 
section  twenty-eight.  This  edifice  was  remodeled 
in  1905,  and  the  Golden  Jubilee  of  the  church 
celebrated  with  a  splendid  program,  in  which 
a  number  of  prominent  divines  from  abroad 
took  part,  most  prominent  of  whom  perhaps 
was  Dr.  Lloyd  Eoberts  of  India.  Among  the 
pastors  who  have  served  this  church  are:  Eev. 
Jenkin  Jenkins,  Philip  Peregrine,  T.  G.  Jones, 
(Tavalaw),  Humphrey  Jones,  John  E.  Jones, 
T.  6.  Griffiths  and  E.  J.  Thomas. 

In  1900,  the  Horeb  Church  erected  their 
present  house  of  worship  at  a  cost  of  $1200. 
Prominent  among  its  pastors  have  been  Eevs. 
David  M.  Jones  (specially  noted  for  the  inter- 
est he  awakened  in  literary  societies),  Griffith 
Eoberts,  Thos.  B.  Hughes  and  John  D.  Jones. 

About  1873,  Eev.  P.  Peregrine  began  preach- 
ing to  a  few  families  of  Welsh  congregation- 
alists  living  in  the  southwestern  corner  of  the 
town  and  in  Brown  County.     A  Congregational 


Church  was  organized  there  in  April^  1876, 
under  the  name  of  "Goshen,"  and  a  church 
building  erected.  But  after  a  few  years,  so 
many  removals  and  deaths  occurred,  that  it  dis- 
banded. The  church  building  was  destroyed  at 
the  time  of  the  New  Ulm  cyclone. 

Por  more  than  thirty-five  years  Cambria  has 
not  failed  to  observe  the  Pourth  of  July  with 
an  appropriate  program  of  a  literary  and  musi- 
cal character  and  a  picnic  dinner.  Wagner's 
Grove  has  generally  been  the  place,  and  the 
interest  in  these  annual  gatherings  on  the  part 
of  young  and  old  has  never  fagged.  A  year  or 
two  after  the  building  of  the  Northwestern 
Eailway  from  St.  Peter  to  New  Uhn  in  1874^ 
Courtland  became  a  market  place  for  the  town, 
and  its  postofEice.  About  the  nineties  a  cream- 
ery was  started  there,  which  drew  about  half  of 
its  patrons  from  Cambria. 

In  the  spring  of  1900,  when  the  Northwest- 
ern Eailway  built  a  short  cut  up  the  Minnesota 
Valley  it  passed  through  the  town,  and  Cam- 
bria station  was  located  therein  with  a  neat 
depot  and  express  office.  A  store  and  post- 
office  were  located  there  during  the  summer  by 
Earnest  Hughes.  A  creamery  was,  also,  built, 
which  has  had  a  good  patronage  from  the  start; 
and  a  wheat  elevator  was  constructed  by  Jen- 
nison  Bros.  In  1905,  a  Woodman's  hall  was 
built  there.  Eural  mail  routes  from  Lake  Crys- 
tal and  New  Ulm,  besides  Cambria  postoffice, 
supplies  the  town  with  daily  mail  and  the  Far- 
mers Telephone  Co.,  penetrates  with  its  lines 
into   every  neighborhood. 

The  roster  of  those  who  enlisted  in  the  Civil 
war  from  "Butternut  Valley"  (of  which  the 
present  town  of  Cambria  was  really  at  that  time 
the  only  settled  portion)   are  as  follows: 

Davis,  David  Y.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Davis,  Jr.,  David  J.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Davis,  Evan  J.,  Co.  E,  9tli  Inf. 
Davis,  Eben  P.,  Co.  E^  2nd  Cav. 
Davis,  John  P.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Davis,  Wm.  E.,  Co.  E,  Mounted  Rangers. 
Edwards,  James,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Edwards,  Wm.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Jenldns,  John  W.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Jones,  Daniel,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Jones,  Lewis  P.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Keenan,  G«orge  W.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Eg. 
Lewis,  Jr.,  Lewis  D.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Lewis,  William  R.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Lloyd,  Thos.  D.,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Morgan,  Isaac,  Co.  E,  2nd  Inf. 


HISTORY  OF  BLtJE  EAETH  GOtlJSTTY. 


:;3l! 


Morgan,  James,  Co.  E,  2iid  Cav. 
Rees,  John,   Co.   B,   9tlL  Inf. 
Shaw,   Samuel   B.,   Co.  H,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Shields,  William,   Co.  E,  2nd   Cav. 
Thomas,  Kice,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Walters,  David,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
.Walters,  Stephen,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

CBEESCO. 

Ceresco  forms  one  of  the  west  tier  of  town- 
ships. The  Watonwan  flows  through  its  north- 
ern end,  and  Perch  Creek  through  its  center. 
The  name  was  suggested  by  Isaac  Slocum,  who 
had  come  from  Ceresco,  Wis.,  and  was  intended 
by  him  for  the  present  town  of  Lincoln,  where 
he  resided.  Tlie  name  intended  for  Cerecso  was 
"I^x  Lake''  which  had  been  suggested  by  John 
and  Miles  Porter  after  Pox  Lake,  Wis.,  their  re- 
cent home.  Both  towns  were  named  by  the 
County  Board  at  a  meeting  held  April  6,  1858, 
but  through  some  blunder  the  two  names  got 
misplaced  and  the  error  was  ■  never  corrected. 
The  first  white  people  to  loeate  in  the  Town 
were  W'm.  D.  Gray  and  Fellows  D.  Please,  who 
built  a  small  log  cabin  on  section  eleven  juit 
above  the  mouth  of  Perch  Creek  in  the  spring 
of  1885.  Both  were  young  men,  who  had  come 
from  Iowa.  They  did  some  trading  with  the' 
Indians,  and  kept  in  their  cabin  a  few  Indian 
goods,  consisting  mostly  of  beads,  powder,  lead> 
a  barrel  of  whiskey,  and  a  few  bolts  of  gaudy 
cloth,  which  they  used  in  trading  for  furs.  They 
were  joined  within  a  year  by  Benjamin  Pease, 
a  brother  of  David,  and  Samuel  Pease,  their 
father,  both  of  whom  took  claims  in  the  vicinity. 

In  the  fall  of  1855,  Arza  B.  Barney  and 
David  Shaw  settled  on  section  1.  Among  the 
settlers  of  1866  were:  Chas.  Thurston  on  sec- 
tion 32,  Eufus  Thurston  on  section  20,  Wm. 
Wells  on  section  3,  John  Poster  on  section  20, 
James  Bowles  on  section  10,  Aretas  H.  and 
Wm.  H.  Armstrong  on  section  26,  John  Devlin 
and  Wm.  Hoover  on  section  14,  Francis  and 
Hugh  Eeynolds  section  10  and  11,  Geo.  Eice 
section  22  and  Eli  Waite  on  section  14.  In 
1857,  came  John  and  Miles  Porter  to  section 
25,  John  Jessup  and  John  M.  ilead  to  section 
83.  About  the  same  time  came  Owen  and 
Peter  McAllen  to  section  8,  Leman  Pratt  to 
section  24,   Alfred   Waite   to   section  22,   Alfred 


T.  Eussell  and  J\Iicheal  Eussell  came  in  1862. 
During  the  early  sixties  came,  also,  John  C. 
Thompson,  John  Hughes,  E.  L.  Fogg,  Patrick 
Eussell,  Andrew  L.  Thompson,  Herman  Zem- 
pel,  John  Schwartz,  James  Cooling,  John  De- 
lany,  John  Anderson. 

July  8,  1857,  townships  lOG  and  107  were  set 
oii  by  the  County  Commissioners  from  Waton- 
wan as  a  separate  election  precinct,  under  the 
name  of  "Ceresco""  and  S.  F.  Barney,  Isaac 
Slocum  and  Benjamin  Pease  appointed  Judges 
of  election.  At  the  election  held  October  13. 
following,  at  the  cabin  of  Wm.  Wells,  sixteen 
votes  were  cast,  seven  Democratic  and  nint 
Eepublican.  The  first  town  election  was  held  at 
the  house  of  \A'm.  Wells  in  section  three  on 
May  11,  185s.  Lincoln  (or  Fox  Lake  as  it  was 
then  called)  was  attached  to  Ceresco  until  1805. 
for  administrative  purposes.  The  first  officers 
elected  by  the  combined  towns  were:  Super- 
visors, Isaac  Mlocum,  Chairman,  James  Wilson 
and  A.  B.  Barney;  Clerk,  C.  A.  Kompft'er. 
Assessor,  J.  C.  Tibbil;  Collector,  Wm.  Wells; 
Justices,  J.  C.  Tibbil  and  E.  M.  Tolbert;  Over- 
seer of  the  poor,  Oliver  Pease;  Constables  W. 
D.  Gray  and  Isaac  Bundy. 

The  first  marriage  was  that  of  A.  B.  Barney 
to  Mary  Wrightson  on  December  27,  1859.  Th(. 
first  school  was  taught  by  Miss  Hattie  Kings- 
ley  in  a  private  house  in  District  thirteen  dur- 
ing the  summer  of  1859.  The  first  religious 
services  were  conducted  in  the  summer  of  1861, 
at  his  own  home  in  section  22,  by  Jacob  Bur- 
gess. The  services  were  continued  that  season 
by  ^h:  Burgess  at  his  house  and  in  a  nearby 
grove.  Services  were  thereafter  held  from  time 
to  time  by  different  denominations  at  the  school 
liouses.  A  Union  Sunday  School  was  main- 
tained during  the  summer  months  from  1865  tc 
1870,  in  a  vacant  log  house  west  of  A.  J.  Wey- 
mouth's residence  in  the  north  part  of  the  tuwE 
of  which  Mr.  Weymouth  was  superintendent 
Sunday  schools  were  also  held  at  various  othei 
periods  in  school  houses,  particularly  Nos.  13 
and   14. 

About  1868,  the  Germans  began  settling  the 
south  end  of  Ceresco.  Among  the  first  wert 
John  Schwartz,  John  Webster,  Herman  Zempel 
Both,    August    Bethke,    Wm.    Vaudrey 


234 


HISTORY  OP  BLtJE  EARTH  OOTJNTY. 


G.  L.  Klatt,  Daniel  Kopischke  and  August 
Gens,  all  of  whom  resided  there  in  the  spring 
of  1871.  These  all  worshipped  at  a  Lutheran 
church,  which  had  been  built  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  two,  Pleasant  Mound.  In 
1883,  this  church  began  the  erection  of  a  paro- 
chial school  building  across  the  road  from  the 
1808.  During  the  summer  of  1908,  a  very  fine 
new  school  house  was  erected  by  the  members 
of  District  ISTo.  one  of  the  German  Evangelical 
Lutherans  St.  John's  congregation,  on  this  site. 
It  is  30x40  feet  with  a  high  basement  under  the 
whole  and  a  belfry  6x8  feet  in  front.  It  has  an 
excellent  heating  plant  and  is  well  equipped  with 
all  the  furnishings  of  a  first  class  school  room. 
The  building  cost  about  $2,600  and  there  are 
70  to  90  children  in  attendance.  Prof.  H.  C. 
Bode  is  the  present  principal.  About  the  spring 
of  1890,  a  new  Lutheran  church  was  started  by 
the  Germans  residing  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
juncture  of  the  towns  of  Ceresco  and  Pleasant 
Mound  in  Blue  Earth  County  with  Fielden  and 
Antriem  in  Watonwan  County,  and  in  June  of 
this  year  Fredrick  Arndt  sold  to  August  Gens, 
Wilhelm  Arndt,  and  August  Grieger  as  trus- 
iees  of  the  "German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Trin- 
jly  Church"  a  building  lot  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  section  thirty-one,  Ceresco.  Here  a 
good  sized  chapel  and  parsonage  were  erected 
during  the  year,  which  was  the  first  church  in 
Ceresco.  In  1901,  a  much  larger  and  finer 
church  edifice,  adorned  with  a  high  steeple,  was 
erected  beside  the  old  building,  and  the  latter 
converted  into  a  parochial  school  house.  The 
new  building  is  labeled  "Evangelical  Lutheran 
Dreieinig  Kelts  Kirche"'  and  the  pastor  in  charge 
is  Eev.  A.  Messerlie.  In  the  spring  of  1898, 
another  German  Lutheran  church  belonging  to 
a  different  synod  was  organized,  with  eighteen 
members,  under  the  name  of  "Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Zion  C'ongregation  of  U.  A.  C.  in  Ceresco." 
A  tract  of  land  for  the  church  and  parsonage 
was  secured  from  Ferdinand  Blode,  in  the 
southeast  corner  of  section  31,  being  just  one 
mile  east  of  the  other  church.  Here  a  house 
of  worship  was  erected  in  1898,  and  a  good 
sized  parsonage  the  following  year.  The  first 
board  of  trustees  were  August  Gens,  Emil  Wiese, 
and    Gustav   Mortz.      The  first   pastor    was   Eev. 


Eugene  Ahl,  who  served  three  years.  He  was 
succeeded  for  two  years  by  Eev.  Eudolph  Bug- 
feld;  then  Eev.  Emil  Gillmann  served  for  three 
and  a  half  years  and  was  followed  by  the  pres- 
ent incumbent.  Pastor  Johannes  Kroeger.  Au- 
gust Zenk  is  now  one  of  the  trustees  with  Au- 
gust Gens;  Carl  Frank  is  treasurer,  and  Fred- 
rick Bloede  Secretary.  A  parochial  school'  is 
maintained  in  connection  with  this  church.- 

In  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town  a  num- 
ber of  Irish  families  located  quite  early.  They 
as  a  rule  are  members  of  the  Catholic  Church 
at   iladelia. 

Near  the  center  of  the  town  are  grouped  a 
few  American  families.  Eeligious  services  were 
maintained  among  them  ofE  and  on  at  school 
ho'use  jSTo.  forty-four.  In  1901,  a  town  hall  was 
built  on  the  Frank  Thurston  farm  in  section 
t-wenty-one,  and  meetings  were  then  held  at 
this  hall.  After  a  season  of  special  services, 
conducted  by  Eev.  C.  E.  Neil,  State  Evangehst 
of  the  Christian  denomination,  a  church  was 
organized  in  February,  1905,  with  twenty  mem- 
bers. Until  September,  1907,  Eev.  F.  M.  Lin- 
denmeyer  was  its  pastor  and  since  then  Eev. 
Brofl'n,  being  in  the  same  circuit  as  the  Chris- 
tian churches  of  Louisville  and  Willow  Creek. 
H.  0.  Thompsoii  is  elder  of  the  church  and 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday  School.  Frank 
Thurston  and  John  Scott  are  the  deacons  and 
Geo.  Cooling  is  on  the  church  board.  All  the 
services  are  held  in  the  town  hall. 

In  1876,  a  Fourth  of  July  celebration  was 
held  in  the  grove  on  J.  C.  Thompson's  farm, 
and  other  celebrations  of  like  character  have 
been  observed  off  and  on  in  the  town.  Grange 
and  Alliance  organizations  were  formed  there 
in  their  day.  In  1888,  a  post  office  was  estab- 
lished there,  named  "Ceresco"  with  Michael 
Bussell  as  postmaster.  It  was  maintained  until 
superceded  by  the  Rural  Free  Delivery  sys- 
tem  about   1905. 

Madelia,  Lake  Crystal,  Blaine  and  Myrna  af- 
forded mail  facilities  in  the  years  gone  by.  H. 
0.  Thompson  was  mail  carrier  between  Ceresco 
and  Vernon  from  the  fall  of  1892,  for  six  and 
one-half  years,  for  the  first  three  years  of  which 
time  the  mail  was  tri-weekly  and  for  the  bal- 
ance of  the  period,  daily,  except  Sunday.     Dur- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COtTNTY. 


i^yj 


ing  this  long  period  Mr.  Thompson  never  missed 
a  single  trip. 

The  town  has  five  good  school  houses  and 
some  of  the  hoys  and  girls  have  taken  promi- 
nent places  in  educational  and  business  circles. 
James  Russell  is  editor  of  "Marquette  Mining 
Journal"  and  mayor  of  the  city,  ililes  Porter  is 
attorney  at  Mankato. 

June  5,  1880,  the  tovi^n  was  visited  by  a  se- 
vere wind  storni,  which  tore  Daniel  Kopischke's 
house  in  pieces,  injured  more  or  less  three  of 
tlfe  school  houses,  and  blew  down  many  barns, 
sheds  and  fences.  In  1898,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  0. 
Thompson  started  the  manufacture  of  cheese  in 
their  granary.  They  were  so  successful  that 
soon  they  had  more  than  they  could  do.  March 
37,  1901,  a  stock  company  was  organized  under 
the  name  "Ceresco  Cheese  Company."  The  incor- 
porators were:  Julius  Kopischke,  John  R.  Ko- 
bles,  Chas.  Russell,  Frank  Thurston,  Gardner 
Mead,  H.  0.  Thompson,  R.  Bergman,  George 
Cooling,  Wm.  Rieve  and  Thos.  Rooney.  This 
company  bought  out  Mr.  Thompson  and  built 
a  large  factory  in  a  more  central  locality.  In 
1903,  the  company  sold  out  to  Mr.  Charter,  the 
cheesemaker,  who  is  the  present  owner.  The 
town  has  a  fraternal  organization  (jailed  "Equit- 
able Fraternal  Union"  which  holds  regular  meet- 
ings at  the  town  hall. 

The  Willow  Creek  Telephone  company  sup- 
plies the  town  with  this  modern  rural  con- 
venience. 

ROSTER     OF   ENLISTED     MEN     FROM     CERESCO 
AND    LINCOLN    IN    CIVIL    WAR. 

Beasley,  David  B.,  Co.  E,  9tli  Regt. 

Bowman,  Thos.,  Co.  K,   1st  Art. 

Bundy,  Willis  G.,  Co.  C,  llth  Reg. 

Burnett,   William  H.,   Co.   B,   Br.   Bat. 

Davis,  Jr.,  James,  Co.  K,   1st  Art. 

Foster,   George,   Co.   D,  Br.  Bat. 

Foster,  Thos.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Reg. 

Le   Fever,   Adolph,   Co.  M,   1st  Art. 

Lieberg,  Eberhart  R.,  Co.  H,  4th  Reg.   Pro.  Captain. 

Mumford,   James,    Co.    B,    Br.    Bat. 

Nicholson,  Andrew,  J.,  Co.  C,  11th  Reg. 

Pomeroy,  Chas.  M.,  Co.,  11th  Reg. 

Rew,  Ray  G.,  Co.  K,  1st  Art. 

Sergeant,  John  H.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Simon,   Peter,   Co.   C,    11th  Reg. 

Stark,  M.  Henry,  Co.  E,  9th  Reg. 

Stuts,  Henry,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rangers. 

Wilson,  James,  Co.  C,  11th  Reg. 


DANVILLE. 

Danville,  situated  in  the  extreme  southeast 
corner  of  the  county,  is  intersected  by  the  Big 
Cobb  river,  which  meanders  in  many  a  curve 
almost  diagonally  through  it,  having  along  its 
banks  a  narrow  belt  of  fine  timber. 

It  was  the  first  town  surveyed  in  the  county. 
The  first  settler,  it  is  claimed,  was  Hector 
Sharp,  who  located  on  section  27,  in  May  185G. 
The  following  June  came  Nicholus  J.  Kremer, 
Francis  and  Bernard  Phillips,  Geo.  Mosser,  and 
Michael  Schaller  and  made  claims  in  sections 
37,  34,  and  35.  They  built  a  small  log  cabin 
on  the  PhiUips  claim  in  section  34,  where  they 
all  batched  together  during  this  first  summer. 
The  Kremers  were  from  Fon-du-Lac,  ^\'is.,  the 
Phillips  and  Mosser  were  from  Erie,  N.  Y.,  and 
Schaller  from  Illinois.  Mr.  and  ilrs.  Francis 
PhiUips,  Sr.,  joined  them  in  September,  and  in 
October,  185G,  John  Xremer,  Sr.  and  wife  and 
their  sons,  Peter,  J.  P.  and  John  arrived.  All 
made  claims  and  all  for  a  few  months  occupied 
the  same  cabin.  In  October,  1856,  came,  also, 
Wm.  Larabee  and  his  son,  Samuel  Larabee  and 
wife  and  their  four  children.  About  the  same 
time  came  Nelson  Gra}-,  W.  and  Isaac  Sherman, 
Noadiah  W.  Towne,  Amos  and  Elijah  Cham- 
bers, Robert  H.  and  John  Rogers  and  Geo. 
Lamphier.  In  1857,  Wm.  Mack,  Lucius  Dyer, 
Frank  A.  ^Vagner,  Samuel  and  Stephen  Larabee, 
Benj.  Hopewell,  Josiah  Rogers  and  others  set- 
tled in  the  town. 

In  1858,  came  R.  N.  Kenward,  in  1859, 
Francis  and  Benjamin  Latourell,  Timothy  Bums, 
John  P.  Eschbach. 

July  9,  1856,  the  town  was  set  off  with  the 
present  towns  of  Mapleton,  and  Sterling  as  one 
voting  precinct  under  the  name  of  Mapleton. 
When  on  April  6,  1858,  the  County  Commis- 
sioners undertook  to  name  every  township  in 
the  county;  Danville  was  called  "Jackson''"  and 
the  present  ''Mapleton"  called  "Sherman."  The 
latter  name  was  probably  in  honor  of  either 
Wm.  Sherman  a  prominent  early  settler,  who 
then  lived  on  the  farm  afterwards  owned  by 
James  McBroom,  or  of  Asa  Sherman  a  pioneer 
of  Mapleton. 

Soon  after  this  Lucious  Dyer,   who  was  then 


23(5 


HlSTOfiY  0^  BLUE  EARTH  COtTNTY. 


a  resident  of  Danville,  •  became  a  member  of 
the  County  Board,  and  on  October  14,  1858, 
he  had  the  name  changed  to  "Danville,"  after 
his  old  home  in  Vermont. 

May  18th,  1858  was  held  the  first  town  meet- 
ing and  the  following  ofEicers  chosen:  Supervi- 
sors, Lucius  Dyer,  Chairman,  Benjamin  Hope- 
well- and  Samuel  Larabee;  Clerk,  N.  J.  Kre- 
mer;  Assessor,  Hector  Sharp;  Justices,  Samu- 
el Larabee  and  A.  A.  Sanborn,  Sr.,  Contables, 
Stephen  L.  Larabee  and  A.  A.  Sanborn  Jr. 

The  first  birth  was  that  of  Mary,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Prancis  A.  and  Helena  Wagner.  She  was 
born  in  May,  1857,  and  while  the  parents  were 
living  in  a  tent  on  their  first  arrival  upon  their 
claim  in  section  26.  The  first  death  is  said  to 
have  been  Mrs.  John  Kremer,  Sr.,  March  10, 
1857,  connected  with  her  death  and  burial  are  a 
few  incidents  which  illustrate  some  of  the  hard- 
ships of  pioneer  life  in  Danville.  The  nearest 
doctor  was  at  Mankato  25  miles  away,  and, 
when  Mrs.  Kremer's  sickness  became  serious,  Mr. 
Mycue,  was  dispatched  there  after  Dr.  McMahan. 
'^.''he  weather  was  extremely  cold  and  the  snow 
very  deep.  The  good  doctor  mounted  his  pony 
and  started  back  with  the  messenger  at  once. 
Upon  the  prairies  of  Medo  they  were  overtaken 
by  a  severe  blizzard  and  lost  their  way.  Being 
too  cold  to  ride  they  wallowed  through  snow 
drifts  all  night  on  foot  and  the  doctor  lost  his 
overshoes  and  almost  perished  with  the  cold. 
When  finally  he  and  Mycue  reached  the  Kremer 
cabin  the  patient  was  too  far  gone  to  be  much 
helped  by  medicine.  When  a  few  days  later,  she 
died  there  was  no  priest  nearer  than  Mankato  to 
officiate  at  the  funeral,  and  no  cemetery  in 
which  to  enter  the  remains.  It  was  therefore 
decided  to  take  the  body  to  Mankato,  that  it 
might  be  given  proper  Christian  burial.  The 
weather  had  now  taken  a  sudden  change.  The 
snow  was  melting  fast  and  the  streams  were 
all  swollen  over  their  banks. 

In  crossing  the  Little  Cobb  the  wagon  car- 
rying the  remains  got  beyond  its  depth  and  the 
wagon  box  with  the  coffin  in  it  fioated  down  the 
stream,  while  the  horses  with  the  gearing  part 
of  the  vehicle  and  the  driver  managed  by 
swimming  to  reach  the  opposite  bank.  In  the 
meantime   E.   Mycue,   John  Deubler   and  others 


ran  down  the  stream  and  got  a  rope,  poles, 
and  a  raft  from  some  Indians  and  pushing 
out  into  the  torrent  managed  to  catch  the 
floating  box,  which  still  held  the  casket,  and 
dragged  it  to  the  north  bank,  where  it  was  again 
put  on  the  running  gear. 

The  funeral  cortege  now  preceded  on  its 
journey  and  after  many  other  adventures  final- 
ly reached  Mankato,  and  Mrs.  Kremer's  remains 
deposited  in  their  last  resting  place. 

Michael  SchaUer  and  Mary  A.  Phillips  were 
the  first  couple  married,  but  their  marriage  was 
solemnized  at  Mankato  by  father  Sommerisen. 
Q'^he  first  marriage  solemnized  in  Danville,  it 
is  claimed,  was  K.  J.  Kramer  to  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Wagner  in  July,  1861.  Some  claim  that 
the  first  religious  '  services  were  held  by  Eev. 
James  Cornell  in  1857  at  the  house  of  Isaac 
Sherman  in  section  20,  others  think  it  was 
conducted  by  Father  Sommerisen  at  the  log 
house  of  John  Kramer,  Sr.,  in  June,  1858.  If 
the  date  of  the  meetings  at  the  Sherman  home 
is  correct  (and  there  is  strong  reason  to  be- 
lieve it  is)  then  of  course  they  were  the  first. 
Beginning  about  1859  Father  Sommerisen  of 
Mankato  began  holding  services  at  regular  in- 
tervals at  the  houses  of  John  Kremer,  Sr.,  and 
John  P.  Eshbach  and  a  Catholic  congregation 
formed.  In  the  spring  of  1865  a  Catholic  ehm-ch 
building  was  erected  on  section  23. 

Very  little  grain  crop  was  raised  in  1857, 
but  that  little  was  completely  destroyed  by  a 
hailstorm.  The  first  postoffice  in  the  town  was 
estaiblished  in  1857  at  the  house  of  Francis 
Phillips  in  section  34,  and  was  designated 
"Franklin."  Mr.  Phillips  was  the  postmaster. 
In  the  spring  of  1859  this  office  was  moved 
just  over  the  line  into  Faribault  County.  The 
main  stage  road  in  those  days  between  Owa- 
tonna,  Wilton  and  Blue  Earth  City  passed 
through  section  twenty-five  and  thirty-five  of 
Danville  and  was  much  traveled.  Wm.  M. 
Larabee  kept  a  log  hotel  on  this  road  just 
south  of  the  Cobb  crossing  in  the  Northeast 
quarter  of  section  35,  and  often  this  hostelry 
was  more  than  crowded.  Squire  Larabee,  also, 
for  a  number  of  years  dispensed  justice  in  the 
community. 

In    those    days    Danville    had    a    legal    light, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


237 


who  claimed  jurisdiction  over  matters  of  divorce 
and  he  issued  one  or  two  such  decrees  and  then 
married  one  of  the  women.  Later  one  of  the 
spouces,  who  had  thus  been  deprived  of  a  wife, 
returned  and  there  was  trouble  for  both  court 
and  clients  and  the  Danville  divorce  court  sus- 
pended business. 

There  were  numerous  scraps  and  misunder- 
standings which  served  to  keep  the  neighborhood 
from  stagnation.  The  two  main  causes  of  fric- 
tion were  claim  jumping  and  selling  liquor  to 
Indians.  About  1859  one  John  Burns  was 
shot  at  and  slightly  wounded  by  a  Winnebago 
Indian,  whom  it  is  claimed  he  had  filled  with 
too  much  fire  water.  The  Indian  was  taken  to 
Mankato  and  boarded  and  lodged  a  few  weeks 
at  the  county's  expense  and  then  was  permitted 
to  escape. 

Dr.  James  McDuff  was  a  prominent  charac- 
ter in  the  town  in  those  early  days.  His  prin- 
cipal claim  to  fame  as  a  disciple  of  Eschalapeus 
seems  to  have  rested  on  his  prescriptions  to  allay 
Indian  thirst.  In  the  fall  of  1859  he  was  ar- 
rested for  alleged  violation  of  the  Indian  liquor 
law,  but  was  also  permitted  to  escape  from  St. 
Peter.  Another  character  named  Capt.  Shing- 
les took  his  ox  team  to  Mankato  to  get  a  load 
of  Dr.  McDuff's  favorite  medicine,  but  when 
returning  through  the  Winnebago  Agency  he 
suddenly  and  completely  disappeared,  with  his 
oxen,  wagon  and  load,  and  nothing  of  them 
was  ever  found  and  many  suspected  foul  play. 
During  the  Indian  outbreaks  of  1862  Danville, 
because  of  its  proximity  to  the  Winnebagoes,  was 
in  much  danger  and  terror  for  many  days. 
Most  of  the  women  and  children  were  sent  to 
Owatonna  and  points  east.  The  men  formed 
into  companies  of  home  guards  and,  with  such 
women  and  children  as  remained,  gathered  to- 
gether usually  in  the  houses  of  Wm.  Larabee 
and  James  McBroom.  The  Sunday  after  the 
burning  of  'Nev  Ulm,  130  persons  took  refuge  in 
the  latter's  cabin.  Pickets  were  stationed  each 
night,  and  every  move  of  the  Winnebagoes 
closely  scrutinized,  and  their  daily  antics  gave 
rise  to   a  succession   of  war  rumors. 

A  squad  composed  of  Peter  Kremer,  John 
Deubler,  E.  J.  Myeue,  David  Craig  and  two  or 
three   others    spent    one    or   two    nights    doing 


picket  duty  at  the  Winnebago  Agency,  where 
the  main  body  of  the  Indians  were  congregated. 
But  beyond  many  a  scare,  Danville  suffered  no 
harm  from  the  savages. 

In  September,  1863,  Felson  Gray  was  ap- 
pointed Captain  of  the  Danville  Militia.  He 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  pioneer  politics 
of  the  county  and,  besides  serving  on  the  county 
and  town  boards,  and  being  commander  in 
chief  of  the  Danville  war  department,  he,  also, 
sat  for  some  years  as  Judge  of  the  tribe  of  Dan- 
ville. 

In  February,  1864,  the  town  was  thrown  into 
great  excitement  over  the  killing  of  John  Gill, 
one  of  its  most  prominent  citizens,  by  one  Levi 
Matthews  of  Medo,  in  a  quarrel  over  a  tract  of  tim- 
ber in  the  latter  town.  A  crowd  of  armed  men 
from  Danville  went  into  Medo  and  arrested 
Matthews  and  there  were  threats  of  lynching, 
but  wiser  counsel  finally  prevailed,  and  the  ac- 
cused was  delivered  to  the  authorities  at  Man- 
kato. There  Matthews  was  exhonerated  on  the 
ground  that  the  shooting  was  in  self  defense. 
But  so  bitter  was  the  feeling  against  him  on 
the  part  of  Gill's  relatives  and  friends,  that  he 
soon  left  the  country.  In  May,  1863,  Austin 
Maxton  of  Danville  was  killed  by  lightning  as 
he  was  driving  along  the  highway.  In  May 
and  June,  1862,  many  immigrants  settled  in 
the  town  and  about  all  the  government  land 
was  taken.  In  the  spring  of  1864,  a  post  office 
called  'Tlomestead"  was  established  at  the  home 
of  James  McBroom,  who  was  made  its  post- 
master. The  name  was  soon  changed  to  "Sher- 
man." In  1867,  Barney  Cooper  succeeded  Mc- 
Broom, and  the  office  removed  to  his  house  in 
section  9,  where  it  remained  until  1869,  when  it 
was  suspended.  A  year  or  two  later  it  was  rein- 
stated and  Mr.  McBroom  again  put  in  charge. 
It  continued  at  his  home  until  March,  1897, 
when   it  was   discontinued. 

About  July,  1876.  a  new  post  office  called 
'T»anville"  was  established  with  Henry  Sterne- 
nagle  as  postmaster.  In  September,  1879,  Ster- 
nenagle  was  succeeded  h\  .Tnhn  Laurish  and  the 
office  removed  to  his  home  in  section  1.  In 
Marcli.  1886.  Mr.  Laurish  resi,gned  and  Chas. 
Kline  was  appointed  his  successor,  but  in  the 
summer  of  1891,  the  latter  sent  in  his  resigna- 


238 


lilSTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAIITH  COUNTY. 


tion.  Eatlier  than  have  the  office  discontinuecl 
Mr.  Laurish  accepted  a  second  appointment  in 
September,  1891,  and  kept  it  until  January, 
1897,  when  Ira  Moore,  who  had  just  opened  a 
small  store  near  the  Star  Creamery  was  appoint- 
ed postmaster.  Here  it  remained  four  or  five 
years,  when  it  was  discontinued  by  reason  of 
the   free   delivery   system. 

In  the  early  sixties  Danville  had  two  or  three 
preachers  among  its  inhabitants,  who  held  ser- 
vices occasionally  in  the  town,  but  had  no  regu- 
lar charges.  Eev.  John  Kellet,  was  a  Wes- 
leyan  Methodist,  who  came  to  the  town  with  his 
son-in-law,  James  McBroom,  in  the  fall  of  1860, 
and  died  there  about  1868. 

About  1863,  Eev.  Egbert  L.  Smith,  located  on 
section  30  and  remained  four  or  five  years.  He 
was  then  a  young  man  beginning  to  exercise  his 
talents  as  a  minister  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and 
preached  in  Danville  and  vicinity.  He  after- 
wards became  quite  prominent  and  was  made  a 
presiding  elder  in  his  church.  His  brother-in- 
law,  Eev.  Abner  C.  Waleott  located  on  section 
20  about  the  same  time.  He,  also,  was  just 
beginning  to  preach  and  practiced  occasionally 
on  Danville  congregations.  Wo  protestant  Eng- 
lish speaking  church  was  formed,  however. 

About  1866  to'  1870,  a  large  number  of  Ger- 
man 'Lutherans  and  German  Methodists  settled 
in  the  town.  Eeligious  services  began  to  be 
held  by  each  denomination  in  private  hous2s 
about  as  early  as  1867.  The  Lutherans  erected 
their  first  church  this  year  (1870)  on  the  north- 
west comer  of  section  34,  the  deed  for  their 
church  lot  being  dated  March  16,  1871,  and  the 
trustees  at  the  time  were:  Eobt.  Degner,  Carl 
Hubert  and  Wm.  Tolzmann.  The  society  was  in- 
corporated April  3,  1876,  under  the  name  "Ger- 
man Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  John's  church  of 
U.  A.  C.  in  Danville."  The  first  minister  of  this 
church  was  Eev.  Arnard.  October  18,  1885,  the 
present  church  building  was  erected  on  the  site 
of  the  old  chapel- and -dedicated  on  October  18, 
1885,  with  great  joy,  and'  a  picnic  dinner  and 
supper  were  served  to  the  great  crowd  in  attend- 
ance at  the  ceremonies.  Eev.  Schultz  preached 
the  dedication  sermon.  It  is  a  fine  large  build- 
ing, capable  of  seating  about-  400  people  and 
cost  over  $3,000.     Its  spire  is  eighty  feet  high. 


A  good  parsonage  had  been  constructed  prior  to 
this  date,  and  the  old  church  was  converted  into 
a  parochial  school  building. 

The  German  Methodists  erected  their  first 
meeting  house  about  1869  or  1870.  Their  deed 
for  the  two  acres  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
southwest  quarter  of  section  11  used  for  the 
church  and  parsonage,  is  dated  January  22, 
1872,  and  runs  from  Martin  Hubner  to  John 
Kaus,  Conrad  Kaus,  Henry  Kaus,  John 
Schmidt,  Wm.  Conrad  and  P.  Plageman  as 
trustees.  The  parsonage  was  erected  in  the 
summer  of  1881. 

The  legal  organization  of  the  church  occurred 
Oct.  4,  1874.  The  first  class  was  formed  by 
Eev.  J.  C.  Jahn  of  Mankato.  The  resident  pas- 
tor 'was  G.  Gebbard.  The  Sunday  school  was 
started  early  in  the  seventies  with  C.  Kaus  as 
superintendent.  The  present  superintendent  is 
Ered  Lentz.  The  first  church  building  was 
destrojred  by  lightning  in  1896.  When  the 
second  edifice  was  being  constructed  it  was 
demolished  by  a  wind  storm.  Fortunately  it 
was  well  insured  and  the  present  large  and  well 
constructed  building  was  erected  the  same  year, 
(1897).  The  membership  of  the  church  has 
suffered  much  from  removals,  but  is  still  a  large 
and  influential  body.  For  some  years  the  church 
has  been  yoked  with  Mankato  in  pastoral  ser- 
vice. 

During  the  seventies  and  the  eighties  Fathers 
Venn,  Fox  and  Bauman  ministered  to  the  Dan- 
ville Catholic-  church.  Terms  of  parochial  schools 
were  held  at  the  home  of  T.  Sullivan  and  at  the 
church.  In  April,  1879,  Father  Yenn  organized 
in  the  parish  a  temperance  society  with  Pat- 
rick Feeney  president,  Thos.  Gary,  vice  presi- 
dent, Patrick  Murray,  Cor.  Secy.,  and  Timothy 
Sullivan,  Sr.  Treasurer.  About  1884  or  1885, 
the  church  was  moved  to  Minnesota  Lake  just 
over  the  south  line  of  the  town,  where  a  very 
fine  church  edifice  has  been  erected. 

During  the  seventies  the  grange  movement 
was  very  active  in  Danville.  C.  Kaus  was  mas- 
ter of  the  first  lodge.  For  a  number  of  years 
goods  were  purchased  by  its  patrons  of  the 
Grange  Supply  House  at  Chicago.  While  Dan- 
ville has  no  village  within  its  borders,  yet  the 
townsitc   of   Minnesota  Lake  adjoins   the   center 


, "»  TMe  «61>  JACKtT  UftuueY- 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  BAETH  COUNTT. 


239 


of  its  southern  line  and  some  of  the  residences 
of  the  village  overflow  into  its  border.  This 
village  gives  the  town  the  full  benefit  of  a  near 
market  and-  railway  facilities. 

On  the  south  line  of  Danville  upon  the  north 
bank  of  Minnesota  Lake  stands  a  picturesque 
old  windmill,  without  a  mention  of  which  no 
history  of  the  tovni  would  be  complete.  Octag- 
onal in  shape,  medieval  in  design,  its  wooden 
sides  covered  with  shingly  scales,  its  arms  huge 
and  specter  like,  and  its  grotesque  figure  all 
battered  and  blackened  by  age,  it  stands,  a  bit 
of  Holland  on  an  American  landscape.  Eoman- 
tic  as  is  the  old  mill,  its  story  is  still  more  so. 
Gottlieb  Shostag  was  a  queer  little  Dutchman, 
full  of  excentric  notions,  yet  possessed  of  certain 
kind  of  inventive  and  mechanical  ingenuity.  In' 
the  early  sixties  he  lived  near  Hoosier  Lake,  two 
or  three  miles  back  of  Mankato.  There  he  built 
a  small  mill,  which  he  operated  by  windpower. 
It  was  not  a  great  success.  The  log  carrier  was 
built  so  small,  that  all  logs  of  any  size  had  to 
be  split  in  two  before  they  would  fit  on  it.  Then 
when  the  wind  blew  a  good  gale,  the  little  mill 
would  work  furiously,  but  as  soon  as  the  breeze 
died  away,  which  often  happened  in  the  woods, 
the  mill  would  suddenly  balk.  Disgusted  with 
the  antics  of  his  wind-sawmill,  he  went  far  out 
on  the  prairie  on  the  banks  of  Minnesota  Lake 
and  built  him  a  wind  grist  mill.  He  did  all  the 
work  himself,  even  to  cutting  the  burrs  from 
prairie  boulders.     This  was  in  1864. 

The  mill  is  forty  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base 
and  tapering  to  a  diameter  of  twenty-five  feet 
at  a  height  of  forty  feet.  Each  of  the  four 
arms  is  thirty-five  feet  in  length,  hewn  from  a 
solid  oak  timber  ten  inches  square  at  the  base 
and  six  inches  at  the  tip.  For  many  years  it 
supplied  a  large  number  of  the  pioneers  with 
flour,  but,  with  the  advent  of  the  roller  mills, 
it  lost  prestige  and  was  reduced  to  the  rank  of 
an  ordinary  feed  mill.  In  the  good  old  days 
Shostag  was  in  the  habit  of  telling  his  custom- 
ers, "If  God  makes  the  wind  blow  I  will  grind 
your  grist  tomorrow.  If  He  don't,  then  I  wait 
until  He  does  make  it  blow."  One  evening  back 
in  the  seventies  he  was  visiting  with  two  of  his 
old  cronies,  who  like  himself,  were  firm  believ- 
ers in  the  devil  and  witchcraft.     Among  other 


things  they  told  an  ancient  tale  of  the  father- 
land to  the  effect  that  the  devil  sometimes  got 
into  a  mill  in  the  form  of  a  black  rabbit,  and 
if  he  once  got  out  of  the  mill  again  he  never 
could  reenter  it,  until  some  one  other  than  the 
owner  crossed  its  threshold.  This  bit  of  super- 
stition from  the  Ehine  and  the  Zuder  Zee,  ^vitli 
the  stories  told  by  his  friends  in  confirmation  of 
it,  made  a  deep  impression  on  Mr.  Shostag. 
Then  it  happened  as  he  was  walking  home  in 
the  dusk  of  the  evening,  Lo!  and  behold  a  black 
rabbit  ran  across  his  path  and  disappeared 
under  the  mill.  The  next  morning  the  mill 
broke  down  and  for  days  everything  went  wrong, 
a  sure  proof  that  "The  devil  indeed  was  in  the 
mill."  But  after  keeping  close  watch  for  a 
fortnight  _  Shostag  saw  the  black  rabbit  run  out 
from  under  the  mill  and  disappear  in  a  clump 
of  _  bushes.  "There,"  he  shouted,  "I've  got  the 
devil  out  of  the  mill." 

ISTow  that  he  was  rid  of  his  Satanic  majesty, 
our  friend  was  determined  he  should  never 
again  re-enter  his  property.  So  for  thirty  years, 
and  until  Mr.  Shostag's  death,  no  living  person 
was  permitted  to  enter  the  mill  but  himself.  He 
carried  every  grist  in  and  out  alone,  and  made 
all  repairs  himself.  Signs  were  put  up  in 
English  and  German  forbidding  any  person  to 
enter  the  mill  on  pain  of  death,  and  many  an 
inquisitive  rogue,  who  off  and  on  attempted  it, 
barely  escaped  a  broken  pate  from  the  irrate 
little   Dutchman. 

The  dilatory  habits  of  the  little  mill  and  the 
oddities  of  its  owner  were  often  quite  exasperat- 
ing to  many  a  patron.  For  instance,  once  on  a 
hot  July  day  Mr.  Mycue  drove  his  span  of  colts 
with  two  bags  of  corn  to  the  mill,  expecting  of 
course,  to  get  it  ground  at  once,  as  he  was  out 
of  food.  But  when  the  colts  saw  the  mill  with 
its  huge  revolving  arms  thev  were  fully  con- 
vinced not  only  that  the  devil  was  in  the  mill, 
but  that  the  mill  itself  was  the  devil,  and  that 
he  was  n'ust  lifting  his  wings  to  fly.  Conse- 
quentlv  thev  could  not  he  induced  to  get  nearer 
than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  it.  Mvcue  there- 
fore had  to  tie  them  to  the  wagon  and  carry  the 
hags  on  his  back  throusrh  the  hot  sun  the  rest 
of  the  wav.  When  he  had  got  the  last  bag  on 
the   platform   in    front   of   the    mill    door,    and 


240 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


hunted  up  the  little  miller,  he  asked  how  soon 
he  could  get  the  corn  ground.  "I  think  I  get 
him  ground  in  a  month,  if  God  make  the  wind 
blow,"  was  the  cool  response.  Then  there  was 
something  doing  and  Mycue  was  going  to  burn 
the  mill,  but  finally  he  changed  his  mind  and 
carried  the  corn  back  again  to  the  wagon  and 
went  in  quest  of  another  mill. 

At  another  time  two  men  from  Waseca  County 
brought  grists  to  the  mill  and  being  likewise 
disappointed  in  getting  them  ground  they 
passed  two  or  three  log  chains  clear  around  the 
mill  and  hitched  their  teams  to  it  to  pull  the 
devil  invested  mill  into  the  lake,  and  the  little 
dutchman  had  to  protect  his  property  with  a 
shot  gun  and  there  was  a  lively  time  on  the 
border  of  Danville. 

Then  one  day  when  the  miller  chanced  to  go 
on  a  visit  to  a  neighboring  village  some  niis- 
chievous  boys  broke  into  the  mill,  climbed  up 
under  the  roof  and  hung  outside  through  some 
port  holes  under  the  eves  a  circle  of  odd  look- 
ing flags,  and  the  little  dutchman  did  not  dare 
enter  his  mill  for  a  week  lest  he  should  meet 
Old  Nick. 

The  queer  old  miller,  however,  has  gone  the 
way  of  all  the  earth,  but  the  old  mill  still 
stands  on  the  Danville  border  a  monument  of 
the  days  of  long  ago. 

Danville  today  is  a  very  thrifty  town  with 
well  tilled  farms  and  excellent  buildings.  Janu- 
ary 24,  1896,  the  Star  Creamery  was  organized 
with  Andrew  Knutson,  president,  Wm.  Bor- 
chart,  secretary,  Alexander  Latourell,  Thos. 
Cary  and  Barney  Olson  directors.  The  cream- 
eries at  Minnesota  Lake  and  Mapleton  have, 
also,   a  number   of   Danville   patrons. 

The  Latourell  grove  and  other  groves  along 
the  Cobb  have  been  the  scene  of  many  a  church, 
school  and  Fourth  of  July  picnic.  The  Dan- 
ville schools  have  supplied  the  legal  and  educa- 
tional walks  of  life  with  young  men  and  women 
of  fine  ability,  like  C.  J.  Laurish  of  Mankato, 
John  and  Walter  McBroom  and  others.  The 
daily  mail  delivery  and  the  telephone  are  every- 
where to  be  found,  and  this  remote  corner  of 
the  county  is  secluded  no  more. 

The  following  is  the  roster  of  the  men  from 
this  town  who  enlisted  in  the  Civil  War: 


Bentley,    Anson,    Co.   H,   4tli   Keg. 
Bentley,    Oscar    A. 
Bock,   Christian,   Co.  F,  3rd  Reg. 
Bossard,  Henry,   Co.  K,   1st   Art. 
Brainard,  L.  F.,  Co.  K,  1st  Art. 
Burns,   Patricia,   Co.   B,  2nd  Inf. 
Canright,  John  E.,  Co.  J,  1st  Heavy  Art. 
Carver,  Samuel  H.,  Co.  Iv,   1st  Hy.  Art. 
Clark,  Alonzo,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Craig,   Ambrose,    Co.   H,  Mt.   Rangers. 
Craig,  Leonard,   Co.  H,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Eschbach,  Louis,   Co.  6,  2nd  Inf. 
Frederick,  Jacob  D.,  Co.  K,  1st  Hy.  Art. 
Ferdon,  Wm.  H.,  Co.   2nd   Cav. 
Grey,  Nelson,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 
Hopewell,  John,  Co.  H,  2nd  Cav. 
Huzzy,  John  D..   Co.  H,  Mt.   Rangers. 
Jacobs,  Philo,  Co.  C,   11th  Reg. 
Kremer,  John,  .Co.   E,  2nd  Cav. 
Kimpton,  John  J.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Larabee,   John,   Co.   H,   4th  Inft. 
Latourell,  John  W.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rang. 
Latourell,  Alexander,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rang. 
Latourell,   Benj.,   Co.   C,    11th   Reg. 
j^awson,   Floyd,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 
Mack,  Dolphin,  Co.  F,  3rd  Minn. 
Mills,  Milton  F.,  Co.  G,   1st  H.  A. 
ilcDuflf,  James,   Co.   H,   3rd  Minn. 
Nash,  James  H.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rang. 
Phillips,   Xavier,    Co.   D,    1st    H.    A. 
Rogers,  Josiah,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rang. 
Root,   Geo.,   Co.   C,   11th  Reg. 
Rogers,   Geo.  W.,   Co.   B,  Mt.  R. 
Sartwell,  Lorain,   Co.   C,   11th  Reg. 
Shellenberger,  John,  Co.   C,   11th  Reg. 
Sherman,  Isaac,   Co.  H,   2nd  Inf. 
•  Stephens,   Frank,   Co.   H,   3rd  Reg. 
Smith,  Myron   T.,    Co.   C,    11th  Reg. 
Terwilliger,   F.  M.,  Co.  H,  M.  R. 
Terwilliger,   E.   S.,   Co.  H,  Mt.   Rg. 
Ulman,  Peter,   Co.   E,  Mt.  Rg. 

DECOEIA. 

Decoria  was  first  so  christened  by  the  County 
Commissioners  on  April  6,  1S5.S.  The  name  is 
of  French  origin  but  comes  to  us  from  the 
Winnebago  Indians.  It  is  found  designating 
towns  in  Wisconsin  and  luwa,  where  this  tribe 
of  Indians  formerly  resided,  and  has  a  very 
interesting  history. 

Sabrevoir  De  Carrie  was  an  officer  of  the 
French  army  in  1699,  and  Hopockaw,  the 
daughter  of  a  principal  Winnebago  chief,  whom 
he  married  in  1729,  is  spoken  of  by  Carver,  as 
"The  Queen  of  the  Winnebagos."  Their  son 
Chonkeha  (Spoon),  bom  about  1830,  was  known 
to  the  whites  as  "Spoon  Dekaury."  After  being 
made  chief,  he  became  the  leader  of  attacks  on 
the  Chippewa  during  a  war  with  the  Winne- 
bagos, but  he  maintained  friendly  relations  with 
the  whites.  It  was  principally  through  his  in- 
fluence that  the  treaty  of  June  3,  1816,  at  St. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUXTY. 


241 


Louis  Mo.  was  brought  about.  He  died  at  Por- 
tage, Wis.  that  same  year  leaving  six  sons,  and 
five  daughters.  Konoka  (Eldest)  Dekaury,  his 
eldest  son  and  successor,  v^as  born  in  1747.  He 
is  often  called  "Old  Dehawry."  His  band  usu- 
ally camped  at  the  portage  of  the  Wisconsin 
river,  the  present  site  of  Portage,   Wis. 

Mrs.  Kinzie  describes  him  as  "The  most 
noble,  dignified  and  venerable  of  his  ovpn,  or 
indeed  of  .any  other  tribe.  Always  courteous, 
while  his  dress  was  always  neat  and  unostenta- 
tious. He  signed  the  treaty  of  Prairie  Du 
Chien  August  19,  1825,  on  behalf  of  the  Winne- 
bagos,  and  died  on  the  Wisconsin  river,  April 
20,  1836."  "Other  members  of  the  family,  whose 
name  has  been  variously  written,  DeKaury,  De 
Kauray,  Day  Kaury,  Day  Korah,  Dacorah,  and 
De  Corrah,  were  noted.  From  Chonkeka's 
daughters,  who  married  white  men,  are  descend- 
ed several  well  Imown  families  of  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota." 

Charles  H.  Sparks  in  his  "History  of  Winne- 
shiek County,  Iowa"  of  which  Decorah  is  the 
county  seat,  written  in  1877,  has  this  to  say 
of  one  of  the  hereditary  chiefs  of  the  Winne- 
bagos,   descended    from  '  the    French    De    Carrie : 

"Wachon  Decorah,  after  whom  two  of  our 
inland  cities  are  named  (Waucon  and  Decorah, 
Iowa)  was  another  principal  chief.  By  the 
whites  he  was  more  familiarly  called  "One  Eyed 
Decorah"  having  lost  an  eye.  He,  too,  was  a 
natural  orator,  and  in  his  speeches  would  fre- 
quently boast  that  he  had  white  blood  in  his 
veins.  There  were  three  brothers  of  the  De- 
corahs,  all  men  of  distinction  in  their  nation." 
This  chief  and  the  tribe  aided  the  whites  in  the 
Black  Hawk  War,  1833.  Five  years  later  the 
Winnebagos  were  removed  from  Wisconsin  to 
northeastern  Iowa,  thence  in  1848,  to  Long 
Prairie,  Minn.,  thence  to  Blu-e  Earth  County  in 
1855,  thence  in  1863,  to  South  Dakota,  and 
thence  in  1866  to  ISTebraska. 

A  prior  chief  of  the  same  name  (probablv 
the  father  of  Wachon  Decorah)  died  in  Decorah, 
Iowa,  when  the  Winnehngos  lived  there,  and  in 
1876,  his  remains  were  removed  to  and  buried 
in  the  Court  House  square. 

It  seems  that  Waukon  Decorah  survived  all 
these  removals  and  was  still  living  in  1877   "a 


chief  greatly  respected  by  his  tribe,  an  old  man, 
considerably  bent  over,  with  one  eye  put  out, 
and  his  hair  very  gray."  He  was  probably  of 
the  third  or  fourth  generation  from  the  French 
officer  De  Carrie.  He  lived  in  Blue  Earth 
County  eight  years  and  with  him  two  other 
prominent  chiefs  of  the  same  family  called  by 
tbe  whites  "Little  Decorah"  or  "Decoria"  and 
"Tall   Decoria." 

The  town  is  wedged  in  between  the  timbers 
of  the  Big  Cobb  and  the  Le  Sueur,  bath  of 
which  rivers   pass   along  its  borders. 

As  it  lay  wholly  within  the  Indian  reserva- 
tion it  was  not  open  to  white  settlers,  until  the 
lands  were  placed  upon  the  market  in  1864, 
about  a  year  after  the  removal  of  the  Winne- 
bagos. It  was  the  last  town  in  the  County  ta 
be  settled  and  the  last  to  be  organized.  The 
first  settler  was  Joshua  Ady,  who  purchased 
lands  in  sections  2  and  3  and  moved  his  family 
to  a  log  house  thereon  January  1,  1865.  Mr. 
Ady  for  many  years  had  been  employed  by  the 
government  as  blacksmith  at  the  Winnebago 
Agency,  and  came  with  the  Indians  to  Blue 
Earth  County  in  1855.  When  the  administra- 
tion  changed  in  1861,  he  lost  his  position  for 
political  reasons,  and  settled  on  a  claim  in  Man- 
kato  Township,  whence  he  removed  to  Decoria. 
.\dy  was  followed  in  a  few  weeks  by  his  brother- 
in-law,  Frank  Kennedy,  who  settled  on  section 
3.  Before  moving  to  Decoria,  Kennedy  and  his 
family  occupied  for  a  time  a  log  house,  which 
one  Jackson  had  built  just  north  of  the  Decoria 
line.  This  Jackson  was  married  to  a  half  breed 
Winnebago  woman,  who  had  a  little  education, 
and  taugbt  school  among  the  Indians.  Jackson 
ran  the  Van  Brunt  mill  for  the  Indians  for  a 
season  or  two.  He,  also,  had  a  few  acres  of 
land  under  cultivation.  When  the  Indians  de- 
parted, Jackson  and  his  family  went  with  them. 
In  those  days  there  was  quite  a  large  Indian 
cemetery  on  B.  H.  Gerlich's  farm  about  100 
rods  west  of  his  present  residence.  ISTeat  picket 
fences  surrounded  many  of  the  graves,  the  point 
of  each  picket  painted  black.  AVhen  the  settlers 
came  one  of  them  appropriated  these  fences  to 
OHclose  his  garden.  There  were  then  a  number 
of  such  fenced  Indian  graves  over  Decoria. 

On     Mr.     Kennedy's     farm    there    were     two 


242 


TTISTORY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


graves,  one  large  and  one  small,  each  with  a 
log  hut  over  it.  They  stood  at  the  head  of  a 
ravine.  Each  hut  had  a  «mall  door,  from  which 
a  series  of  steps  led  down  the  side  of  the  ravine 
to  a  copious  spring  of  cool  'water  at  the  bottom, 
A  small  slab  of  split  wood  had  been  fitted  to 
each  step.  It  was  intended  for  the  use  of  the 
spirits  in  going  back  and  forth  to  the  spring. 
When  the  larger  grave  was  opened  some  3'ears 
later,  beside  the  skeleton  of  the  Indian  war- 
rior were  found  a  rusty  gun,  a  tomahawk,  a 
pipe  and  other  Indian  accoutrements. 

Other  settlers  of  Decoria  prior  to  June  1, 
1865  were:  John  S.  Larkin  on  section  7,  Jacob 
Muntschinck  on  section  1,  Samuel  D.  Brown, 
Wm.  Autry  and  John  Rhodes.  During  1865, 
came,  also,  S.  Quimby  Larkin,  Asa  McCullom, 
Abram  Marble,  Geo.  Todd  and  maybe  one  or 
two  others.  The  year  1866,  saw  a  number  of 
new  settlers  locating  here.  Among  them  A.  H. 
Matteson,  D.  W.  Burlison,  Henry  Wikox, 
Charles  Eundquist  and  Calvin  Smith.  Other 
early  settlers  of  the  town  were  W.  A.  Sellers, 
John  Eoerig,  S.  J.  Mace,  Geo.  McKee,  Wm. 
Waddell,  B.  H.  Gerlich,  Henry  Webber  and 
John  Maloney. 

The  town  was  first  attached  to  Eice  Lake 
precinct,  and  then  Mankato,  for  administrative 
purposes. 

When  application  was  made  to  have  the  town 
organized  there  was  some  talk  of  changing  its 
name  to  "Ady"  or  some  other  name,  but  the 
majority  favored  the  old  name  and  on  Septem- 
ber 19,  1867,  the  County  Board  on  petition  of 
Joshua  Ady  and  others,  created  the  town  of 
"Decoria"  and  appointed  the  first  town  meet- 
ing to  be  held  at  the  house  of  John  Larkin  on 
October  8,  1867. 

At  this  meeting  the  following  officers  were 
elected:  supervisors,  A.  H.  Matteson,  chairman, 
Jacob  Munschinck  and  J.  S.  Larkin;  clerk, 
William  Larkin;  treasurer,  Charles  Eundquist; 
justices,  A.  H.  Matteson  and  Joshua  Ady;  con- 
stables, A.  S.  Kingery  and  M.  Smith. 

June,  1868,  a  new  postoffice  was  established 
called  'TDecoria,"  with  John  S.  Larkin  as  post- 
master, and  the  office  was  kept  at  his  home 
on  N.W.  14  of  section  28  for  the  first  year  and 


tben  removed  to  the  home  of  Geo.  Todd,  where 
it  remained  until  discontinued  in   1875. 

June  23,  1868,  two  school  districts  were 
organized  in  Decoria  by  the  County  Commis- 
sioners— Ko.  116  on  petition  of  John  Eoerig 
and  others  and  Ko.  117  on  petition  of  D.  W. 
Burlison  and  others.  The  first  school  was 
taught  in  Ko.  116  by  Prances  Herrick  in  the 
summer  of  1870,  in  a  frame  building  erected 
for  the  purpose  on  section  35. 

The  first  religious  service  is  said  to  have 
been  a  sermon  preached'  by  Eev.  Kidder,  a  Uni- 
versalist  minister  from  Indiana,  in  the  summer 
of  1867,  at  the  home  of  S.  T.  Mantor.  Occa- 
sional services  were  conducted  thereafter  about 
every  year,  but  no  church  was  formed  until 
1887,  when  a  German  Lutheran  Church  was 
organized,  and  a  church  edifice  erected  that 
year.  This  church  was  incorporated  on  June 
16,  1890,  by  the  election  of  Adam  Keller,  Ern- 
est Truehenbach  and  Fred  Schwanebeck  as 
trustees — Ferdinand  Herzberg  and  Henry  Webber 
presiding  at  the  meeting.  The  incorporated 
name  is  "German  Evangelical  Lutheran  St. 
Johannes  Church  of  Decoria."  A  good  parson- 
age was  built  near  the  church,  and  a  cemetery 
laid  out  a  few  rods  to  the  south.  Eev.  Fisher 
was  pastor  for  many  years,  but  in  July,  1904, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Eev.   Karl  Kilian. 

During  the  seventies  and  the  eighties  a  num- 
ber of  Norwegian  families  located  along  the 
Cobb  and  Le  Sueur  rivers,  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  town.  They  were  a  religious  peo- 
ple and  services  were  occasionally  conducted 
among  them  by  the  Norwegian  Lutheran  pas- 
tor from  Mankato.  July  7,  1890,  "The  Nor- 
wegian Evangelical  Lutheran  LeSueur  Congre- 
gation" was  organized  by  Torris  Gjnul,  August 
Sundvoll,  Hans  Hanson  and  Chester  Hanson. 
A  church  building  -was  erected  about  1891,  at 
the  center  of  the  east  half  of  section  7,  and  on 
November  18,  1901,  the  church  was  incorpor- 
ated under  the  name  of  'TDeSueur  Norwegian 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Congregation  of  Decoria." 
Ole  Andengaard,  Chester  Hanson  and  Torris  F. 
Gjnul  were  chosen  deacons,  Anton  Hoff,  Henry 
Hanson,  and  Paul  Erlandson,trustees.  In  pas- 
torial  services  the  church  has  always  been  yoked 
to   Mankato,     As   their   first   chapel   was  quite 


IIISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


243 


small  the  church  purchased  the  school  house 
of  district  131  in  1894,  and  remodeled  it  for 
their   meetinghouse. 

Early  in  the  nineties  an  English  Sunday 
School  and  occasional  preaching  services  were 
held  at  the  Kennedy  School  house  (Ko.  150), 
and  in  the  fall  of  189,3,  quite  a  revival  occurred 
under  the  preaching  of  Eev.  I.  Bergstrom,  a 
Baptist  minister  from  Mankato.  A  church  was 
organized  with  eighteen  to  twenty  members,  and, 
during  the  summer  of  1894,  a  fine  large  chapel 
was  erected  just  across  the  line  in  ilankato 
township  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Section  35. 
Services  have  been  maintained  in  this  chapel 
with  fair  regularity  ever  since  by  Baptist  and 
Congregational  preachers.  In  the  summer  of 
1903,  the  Congregational  Church  of  Mankato 
sent  into  Decoria  and  vicinity  a  young  divinity 
student  from  Yale  College  named  Eohrbaeh.  He 
started  a  Simday  School  and  preaching  service 
in  the  school  house  of  District  No.  131  of  De- 
coria. Other  students  and  missionaries  con- 
tinued the  work  under  the  direction  of  Eev.  E. 
L.  Heermance  of  jMankato,  and  in  1907,  a 
chapel  was  erected  and  a  church  of  eight  or 
nine  members  started  on  February  9,  1908,  as 
a  branch  of  the  Mankato  Congregational  Church. 
Eev.  John  H.  Clark  has  been  in  charge  of  this 
work  for  over  two  years. 

In  the  summer  of  1873,  a  Grange  was  started 
in  the  town,  which  had  a  large  membership  and 
D.  W.  Burlison  was  made  its  first  master.  For 
a  time  it  was  an  important  institution  in  the 
town.  September  11,  1875,  school  disctriet  No. 
131  was  created  on  petition  of  W.  Larson  and 
others.  A  school  house  was  erected  that  fall 
and  the  first  school  taught  in  the  district  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1875-6  by  Miss  Jlary  ]\rcCol- 
lum.  In  1894,  the  district  sold  its  first  school 
house  to  the  Norwegian  Lutherans  for  a  church, 
and  erected  a  larger  building.  The  town  now 
has  eight  school  houses.  Saw  mills  have  been 
operated  in  the  town  by  J.  D.  Humiston  and 
later  by  J.  J.  McCollum. 

November  5,  1SS9,  a  postoffice  called  "Lortz" 
was  established  with  Henry  Lortz  as  postmaster. 
At  first  it  was  supplied  semi-weekly,  but  after 
April  1,  1896,  it  had  daily  mail  in  connection 
with  Beauford,     Henry  Webber  was  postmaster 


for  two  or  three  years,  but  resigned  in  the  fall 
of  1897,  and  John  G-.  McCollum  was  appointed 
his  successor  in  November  that  year.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1902,  the  office  was  discontinued  by  reason 
of   the   free   delivery   system   having   been   inau- 


gurated. 


In  the  spring  of  1892,  through  the  efforts  of 
B.  H.  Gerlich  and  others,  a  stock  company  was 
formed,  called  "The  Young  Men's  Investment 
Co.  of  Decoria"  for  the  purpose  of  building  a 
hall.  The  building  was  completed  in  June,  and 
for  some  years  was  used  for  town  purposes  as 
well  as  social  functions,  but  was  finally  sold. 
In  1896,  a  good  town  hall  was  erected  in  the 
center  of  the  town. 

The  Mankato  and  Decoria  Eural  Telephone 
Co.  is  a  local  institution  of  recent  date,  which 
affords  many  of  the  inhabitants  the  advantages 
of  Edison's  great   invention. 

JAMESTOWN. 

This  half  township  occupies  the  extreme  north- 
east corner  of  the  County.  It  is  noted  for  the 
number  and  picturesqueness  of  its  lakes.  Por- 
tions of  ^Madison,  Washington,  Gilfillan,  and 
Eagle  lakes  are  within  its  borders  and  the  whole 
of  lakes  Ballantyne,  Duck,  George  and  two  or 
three  others  are  found  within  it.  Blue  Earth, 
County  has  about  twenty-one  sections  or  13,440' 
acres  of  its  surface  covered  by  meandered  lakes, 
and  Jamestown,  though  but  half  a  township, 
has  the  largest  area  so  covered  of  any  town  in 
the  county — being  about  1,665  acres.  The  sur- 
face of  the  land  is  quite  rolling  and  originally 
was  covered  with  a  dense  forest  of  valuable  tim- 
ber. The  Indian  name  for  Lake  Madison  was 
"Waukenseche"  or  "Waukensica"  (The  "Evil 
Spirit"  or  "Abundant  Mystery,"  or  "The  Sac- 
red Shade").  The  Indian  name  of  Lake  Wash- 
ington was  "Okapah"  (The  Choke  Cherry 
Lake").  Their  present  names  were  given  by  the 
government  surveyors.  The  name  "Jamestown" 
was  suggested  by  Enoch  G.  Barkhurst  in  honor 
of  the  first  English  colony  in  Virginia.  The 
town  was  at  first  included  in  Kasota  precinct. 
When  on  April  1,  18.55,  that  precinct  was  added 
tn  LeSueur  County,  Jamestown,  also,  was  lost 
to  Blue  Earth  County  until  June  1,  1856,  when 
it  was  restored  to  it. 


244 


IlISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Henry  W.  Hodges  and  E.  George  Barkhurst, 
who  located  in  the  town  late  in  1855,  or  early 
in    1856,   were   the   first    settlers.      On    May    16, 

1856,  Albert  Volk,  Charles  Doran  and  Lawrence 
Burns,  with  their  families,  arrived  at  St.  Peter 
from  Harrison,  Ohio  and  located  in  Jamestown. 
In  September  of  the  same  year  came  Alvin  P. 
Davis  and  family  from  Pon  du  Lac  County, 
Wis.  Other  settlers  of  1856,  were:  James  F. 
Ballantyne,  Hugh  Carr,  Paul  Fasnacht,-^ Andrew 
C.  Fowble,  Eodey  Cleary,  John  Henry,  Samuel 
Kerlinger,  Dennis  L.  Maher,V  Theodore  G.  Car- 
ter, Owen  and  John  Meigher,i  Patrick  Mulleif,^ 
Michael,^  Timothy.^  Thomas  "and  John  Murtaugh, 
Abner  Shearer,  Lawrence,  Margaret  and  Pat- 
rick Smith,  John  Spencer,  James  E.  Stokes, 
John  Sullivan^  Bowater  Sumner,  Solon  Webster, 
Hiram  Wentworth  and  James  F.   Westlake.     In 

1857,  came  Anthony/  and  Martin  Baynes,'  Geo. 
Bluhm,  Patrick  Doyle,  Henry  J.  Dury,  Michael  j 
Parrel,  Phil  McMasters,  Martin  Tarpeyj  Wm. 
Brown,  and  others.  Other  early  settlers  were 
Patrick  Baynes,-^  Henry  Bobertson,  Owen  Sulli-4 
van,  Patrick  Lyons, J  Joseph  Fisher,  John  Higgs, 
Owen  Meighen,  and  Capt.  P.  Burke. 

In  1857,  Alfred  Howe  built  a  steam  saw  mill 
on  Section  19  between  lakes  "Wita"  and 
"George."  Unfortunately  there  was  no  water  at 
the  location,  except  by  hauling  it  in  tanks,  which 
with  the  hard  times,  hindered  the  mill  from 
making  much  money,  and  after  about  two  years 
it  was  moved  away.  It  was  in  the  vicinity  of 
an  extensive  grove  of  black-walnut,  and  during 
its  operation  much  of  that  valuable  lumber  was 
manufactured,  but  there  was  then  little  or  no 
market  for  it.  Another  mill  in  the  meantime 
had  been  built  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Washington, 
Avhich  took  much  of  the  patronage  from  Howes' 
Mill. 

The  town  was  created  April  16,  1858,  and 
the  first  town  meeting  held  May  11,  1858,  when 
the  following  officers  were  elected:  Supervis- 
ors: Timothy  Sullivan,  chairman,  Eobert  Hes- 
lep  and  John  Cummins;  Clerk:  A.  P.  Davis; 
assessor:  Solon  Webster;  collector:  Patrick  Mul- 
len; justices:  Lawrence  Byrne  and  J.  L.  Bur- 
gess; constables:  Geo.  Bennett  and  Timothy 
Murtaugh.  At  that  time  Jamestown  included 
also,  all  of  LeEay,  except  the  south  tier  of  sec- 


tions. January  4,  1860,  the  whole  of  town  108, 
Eange  25  was  separated  from  it. 

The  first  white  child  born  in  the  town  was 
Clara  Thomas,  born  March  14,  1858.  The  first 
death,  that  of  Mrs.  Lawrence  Byrne  in  August, 
1858.  The  first  marriage  was  that  of  Peter 
.Jackson  to  Nancy  W.  Ives,  solemnized  May  10, 
1857,  by  Eev.  A.  H.  Kerr  of  St.  Peter.  The 
first  school  was  taught  at  her  own  home  by  Mrs. 
Sara:h  M.  Davis,  wife  of  A.  P.  Davis,  with  an 
attendance  of  eleven  scholars. 

Jamestown,  like  most  of  our  towns,  had  its 
Indian  tragedy.  It  was  in  the  winter  of  1858-9 
that  some  Winnebagos  visited  St.  Peter  and 
procured  liquor.  On  the  way  home  they  stopped 
at  the  trading  post  of  one  John  Herron,  which 
stood  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  midway  to 
Kasota.  Here  they  got  some  more  liquor  and 
became  quarrelsome.  In  the  melee  Herron 
struck  one  of  the  Indians  with  a  hatchet  and 
killed  him.  Soon  after  this,  two  relatives  of 
the  murdered  Indian  went  down  the  trail,  which 
in  those  days  led  straight  from  Winnebago 
Agency  through  Jamestown,  by  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Washington  to  Kasota.  When  just  below 
the  outlet,  they  noticed  a  man  coming  down  the 
trail  wearing  a  white  hat,  which  form  of  head- 
gear was  characteristic  of  Herron.  The  two 
Indians  at  once  concluded  that  this  was  the 
slayer  of  their  relative  and,  making  an  ambush, 
they  shot  and  killed  him.  The  murdered  man, 
however,  proved  to  be  Mr.  Furnell  of  James- 
town. Having  hidden  the  body  of  iheir  victim, 
the  two  murderers  started  home,  going  across 
the  lake  on  the  ice.  It  happened  that  two 
Sioux  Indians,  while  fishing  at  the  outlet,  dis- 
covered the  murder,  and  lest  suspicion  should 
attach  to  them,  they  hurried  to  a  house  near 
the  saw  mill  to  report  the  matter.  Only  the 
women  happened  to  be  home,  but  the  younger 
of  the  Sioux,  who  went  by  the  name  of  "John," 
beckoned  them  out,  and  pointed  to  the  two 
Indians  on  the  lake  said,  "Bad  Winnebagos. 
Kill  white  man."  When  a  number  of  the  set- 
tlers went  to  investigate  the  matter  under  the 
guidance  of  John,  they  found  the  body  of  Fur- 
nell, and  a  posse  of  armed  men  went  at  once 
to  the  Agency  to  arrest  the  murderers.  The 
Sioux   Indian,   John,   who  was  taken   along  for 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


245 


the  purpose,  immediately  identified  the  two 
guilty  ones,  but.  Little  Priest  and  his  band 
would  not  surrender  them  unless  the  whites 
would  surrender  Herron  to  them.  Por  a  time 
it  looked  like  war  between  the  whites  and  tlie 
Winnebagos,  but  at  last  nothing  was  done  and 
the  murderers  went  unpunished. 

About  1867,  W.  and  E.  Volk,  under  the  style 
of  Volk  "Bros."  put  up  a  store,  a  saw  mill, 
store,  shingle  and  planing  mill  near  the  north 
line  of  Section  20.  In  1869,  they  added  a  fur- 
niture factory  to  their  plant.  Later  a  small 
grist  mill  for  grinding  corn  and  feed  was,  also, 
added.  So  extensive  was  the  plant  that  it  was 
sometimes  called  "Volkville,''  and  for  a  number 
of  years  did  an  extensive  business. 

In  1872,  L.  D.  Saylor  purchased  of  Owen 
Edwards  of  South  Bend  the  sawmill,  which  had 
formerly  belonged  to  D.  P.  Davis  at  Cambria, 
and  moved  it  to  Jamestown,  where  it  was  oper- 
ated for  a  number  of  years.  In  January,  1876, 
Jamestown  had  three  sawmills,  one  furniture 
factory,  one  gristmill,  two  shingle  mills  and  one 
planing  mill.  February  22,  1880,  Volk  Bros.' 
furniture  factory  burned,  causing  a  loss  of 
$5,000  or  more.  The  sawmill  and  the  balance 
of  the  plant  were  saved.  About  the  same  time, 
A.  B.  Hough  built  a  sawmill  on  Barrow's  Point 
at  the  north  end  of  Lake  Madison. 

The  town  has  always  abounded  in  game  and 
fish,  and  has  ever  been  a  paradise  for  hunters 
and  the  disciples  of  Isaac  Walton.  In  June, 
1872,  a  white  pelican  was  shot  at  Lake  ^^'ash- 
ington,  which  weighed  50  pounds  and  measured 
8  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  wing.  During  the 
seventies  a  large  eagle  had  her  nest  in  the  top 
of  a  big  elm  on  Stony  Point,  Lake  Madison. 
Early  in  the  seventies  people  at  Mankato  and 
elsewhere  began  to  realize  the  advantages  these 
beautiful  lakes  offered  as  summer  resorts.  Pleas- 
ure boats  were  put  upon  Lake  Madison  by 
Mankato  parties  in  1874.  About  1877,  or  1878 
Geo.  A.  Clarke  put  up  a  summer  hotel'  on  Point 
Pleasant  which  he  ran  until  the  fall  of  1879, 
when  he  sold  out  to  Jas.  Parsons  and  Frank 
KroU.  In  1878  C.  H.  Austin  built  a  fine 
summer  resort  on  the  lake,  to  which  he  re- 
moved the  following  spring,  and  conducted 
the    place    for    some    years.      In    1882,    J.    M. 


Barclay  erected  a  two  story  hotel  on  Point 
Pleasant,  which  has  been  very  popular  ever 
since.  In  1883,  Point  Pleasant  was  laid  out 
into  lots  by  J.  M.  Barclay  for  summer  cot- 
tages, and  a  large  number  were  sold  and  built 
upon  during  the  eighties  and  nineties.  In  Au- 
gusr,  1880,  a  postonice  called  "Park"  was  estab- 
lished at  the  lake  with  C.  H.  Austin  as  post- 
master. 

The  building  of  the  Cannon  Valley  Eailway 
through  the  length  of  Jamestown  in  1884,  at 
once  gave  it  good  transportation  facilities,  and 
Madison  Lake  village  was  laid  out  by  Chas.  F. 
Hatch,  trustee,  Lewis  Pitcher  and  Luther  Z. 
Eogers,  on  January  17,  1885.  During  the  win- 
ter of  1884-5  A.  J.  Barber  put  up  a  small 
building  for  a  grocery  and  restaurant,  and 
Phelps  &  Allyn  erected  a  large  building  for  a 
general  store  in  the  new  townsite,  both  of  which 
were  opened  in  April,  1885.  About  the  same 
time  a  hotel  was  erected  by  Patrick  Mullen.  In 
Octoher,  1885,  a  postoffice  was  established  at 
the  new  village  with  Geo.  \V.  Allyn  as  post- 
master. The  same  fall  Allyn  and  TuUer  built 
a  grain  warehouse  and,  also  engaged  extensively 
in  the  wood  business.  So  the  village  at  once 
became  quite  a  business  center.  The  next  year 
Pitcher  and  Alurtaugh  started  another  store  and, 
also,  went  into  the  wood  business  extensively. 
In  the  fall  and  winter  of  1887-8  the  wood  ship- 
ping alone  amounted  to  over  ten  carloads  a  day. 
About  1887,  another  hotel  was  built  with  A.  B. 
Cole  as  landlord.  A.  H.  Hanchett,  the  same  year, 
opened  another  restaurant,  Peter  Frederick  and 
John  Kramer  opened  stores.  D.  Squires  had  a 
blacksmith  shop  but  was  soon  succeeded  by  A. 
H.  Hanchett.  Anton  Hoveland  ran  a  sawmill, 
Jas.  Mapes  and  Howard  Smith  were  the  village 
butchers,  H.  A.  Hitchcock,  the  doctor,  and  J. 
K.  Knapp  the  druggist. 

October  25,  1887,  school  district  No.  43  voted 
bonds  to  build  a  new  schoolhouse  in  the  village. 
The  building  was  completed  by  January,  1888, 
and  the  first  school  taught  by  Mr.  Carr. 

Jamestown  was  mostly  settled  by  Irish  peo- 
ple, who  believed  in  the  Catholic  faith.  Just 
across  the  north  line  of  the  town,  the  little 
village  of  Marysburg  was  started  in  the  fifties, 
and  a  Catholic  chapel  erected.     In  1876,  a  much 


246 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


larger  church,  building  was  constructed  and  here 
many  of  the  people  of  Jamestown  worship. 

In  the  fall  of  1887,  Eev.  Hawley,  the  M.  E. 
pastor  at  Eagle  Lake,  began  preaching  at  Madi- 
son Lake.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized  with 
Geo.  Tuller  as  superintendent,  and  soon  there- 
after a  church  was  formed.  May,  1889,  a 
church  building  belonging  to  the  M.  E.  at  Caro- 
line Station  was  moved  to  Madison  Lake  and 
fitted  up  for  use.  October  21,  1889  the  corner- 
stone of  a  new  Episcopal  Church  was  laid,  and 
on  Nov.  9,  1889,  the  "Parish  of  the  Good  Shep- 
ard  of  Madison  Lake"  was  formally  organized. 
Eector,  James  Cornell;  Wardens,  J.  A.  Hitch- 
cock and  L.  M.  Coleman,  Jr.;  vestrymen,  Wm. 
Durrin,  0.  G.  Chapman,  H.  J.  Luther,  Geo. 
Breed,  John  Kramer,  A.  H.  Hanchett  and  E. 
D.  Harris. 

In  Madison  Lake  and  vicinity  are  located  a 
number  of  German  Catholics.  Early  in  the 
nineties,  through  the  efforts  of  Father  Sutor 
of  Mankato,  a  Catholic  Congregation  was  formed 
at  Madison  Lake, — about  fifty-two  families  be- 
ing interested  in  the  project.  In  the  fall  of 
1894,  a  Catholic  Chapel  was  started,  40x75  feet 
in  size.  It  was  completed  the  following  sum- 
mer and  dedicated  by  Bishop  Potter  on  Octo- 
ber 27,  1895.  In  1907,  a  fine  brick  parochial 
school  building  was  erected  on  the  lot  adjoining 
the  church.  The  Odd  Fellows  and  one  or  two 
other  lodges  are  well  represented  in  the  village. 
December  15,  1891,  Madison  Lake  voted  to  in- 
corporate as  a  village  and  January  5,  1882,  it 
became  an  independent  municipality  under  the 
following  officers:  trustees,  T.  B.  Murtaugh, 
president,  L.  Pitcher  and  Wm.  Durrin;  record- 
er, J.  K.  Knapp,  treasurer,  W.  -W.  Zewell;  jus- 
tices, J.  S.  Clear  and  J.  E.  Southwick.  About 
1892,  Wm.  Durrin  erected  a  large  sawmill  at 
Madison  Lake.  For  a  number  of  years  lumber 
and  wood  were  among  the  chief  exports  of  the 
village.  During  the  season  of  1889,  Allyn  & 
Tuller  alone  shipped  9,000  carloads  of  wood. 
The  Durrin  sawmill  was  burned  in  1894,  and 
again  in  1901.  Frank  Haskell  succeeded  Allyn 
as  postmaster  and  in  turn  was  succeeded  Jan- 
uary 1,  1894,  by  T.  B.  Murtaugh.  Four  years 
later  Harry  Maxfield  was  made  postmaster  but 
resigned  in  the  spring  of  1900,  and  Frank  Has- 


kell was  again  appointed  and  served  until  Nov. 
22,  1907,  when  he  resigned  and  P.  S.  Lyons 
was  appointed. 

The  village  has  had  a  number  of  local  news 
papers.  The  "Madison  Lake  Breeze"  was 
started  about  1892.  In  April,  1896,  H.  G. 
Maxfield  purchased  it,  and  changed  the  name 
to  "Madison  Lake  Mirror."  In  the  spring  of 
1900,  Maxfield  removed  his  paper  to  JefEers. 
"The  Madison  Lake  News" ,  and  "The  Madison 
Lake  New  Era"  were  then  published  a  short 
time.  Then  in  March,  1904,  "The  Madison  Lake 
Tribune"  was  started  by  Geo.  T.  Swearingen 
and  Geo.  Southwick.  A  private  bank  was  start- 
ed about  1896,  by  Everett  &  Lewis  of  Water- 
\ille.  In  November,  1905,  The  Peoples'  State 
Bank  of  Madison  Lake  was  incorporated  with 
a  capital  of  $10,000  of  which  Geo.  T.  Swear- 
ingen is  cashier.  A  fine  bank  building  was 
erected  the  same  year.  A  good  village  hall  was 
erected  in  1900.  The  village  also  has  a  cream- 
ery, and  two  rural  mail  routes  were  established 
April  1,  1903.  The  village  and  town  are  sup- 
plied,  also,   with  telephone  facilities. 

Following  is  the  roster  of  the  men  who  en- 
listed in  the   Civil  War   from  Jamestown: 

Davis,  A.   P.,   Co.   E,   9th   Eeg't. 
Doyle,    Patrick,    Co.    E,   Mt.   Eangers. 
Doran,   Charles,   Co.   E,  Mt.  Rangers,  j 
Fowble,   Thos.   D.,   Co.  E,  2nd  Reg't. 
GilfiUan,  Joseph,  Co.  E,   9th  Reg't. 
Howland,  Math.   S.,  Co.  H,  4th  Reg't. 
Lyons,  Patrick  C,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rangers.  ^ 
Lynch,   Joseph   F,   Co.    E,   Mt.   Rangers. 
Maher,  Dennis  L.,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Meighan,  Owen,   Co.   H,  5th   Reg't. 
Mullen,   Patrick,   Co.   E,  Mt.   Rangers.     / 
Murtaugh,   Timothy,   Co.   E,   Mt.   Rangers.  4 
Murtaugh,   John,   Co.  M,  2nd   Cav. 
O'Reilly,   James,    Co.   M,   2nd   Cav. 
Smith,   Lawrence,    Co.    E,   Mt.    Rangers. 
Smith,  Lawrence  W.,  Co.  B,  Mt.   Rangers. 
Smth,  Joseph,  Co.  A,  4th  Reg't. 
Smith,    Wm.,    Co.    E,    4th    Reg't. 
Smith,    Wm.,    Co.    E,    Mt.    Rangers. 
Sullivan,  John,   Co.   E,   Mt.   Rangers. 

GAEDEN  CITY. 

This  town  was  first  called  "Watonwan"  after 
the  river  of  that  name  which  passes  through  it. 
We  have  already  noted,  in  our  history  of  the 
county,  most  of  the  facts  connected  with  the 
enrly  settlement  of  the  town  and  hence  shall  pass 
them     over     hurriedly.       The    first    actual    set^ 


HIkSTOEY  of  blue  earth  COL'A'TY. 


247 


tier  was  S.  Titus  Mills  and  his  family,  who 
located  on  the  east  bank  of  Mills  Lake  in  Sec- 
tion 13,  in  July,  1854.  Other  settlers  of  that 
year  were  Edward  A.  and  William  Washburn, 
Chas.  N.  G-ilchrist,  Geo.  W.  Lamberton,  Nini- 
on  E.  Thompson,  Lucius  0.  Hunt,  Wm.  E. 
Eobinson,  and  Samuel  H.  Thorn.  In  1855, 
came  James  H.  Greenwood,  James  B.  Gail, 
Wm.  E.  Thompson,  J.  C.  Thompson,  Orlin  J. 
Westover,  John  S.  and  Joseph  Derby,  Edson 
Gerry,  Chas.  and  Arza  Barney,  David  K.  Shaw, 
J.  N.  Cheney,  Joseph  W.  Greenwood,  and 
Abram  Lytle.  Among  the  settlers  of  1856, 
were:  Samuel  M.  Eolsom,  E.  P.  Evans,  Amos 
Warner,  Harris  C.  Capwell,  David  and  James 
G.  Thompson,  A.  M.  Kendall,  Wm.  H.  Austin, 
Frank  and  E.  H.  Thurston,  Patrick  Eooney, 
James  Glynn  and  J.  A.  Preston.  In  1857,  came 
Jefferson  Piper,  Dr.  H.  Thurston,  C.  B.  Fra- 
y.iiT  and  W.  D.  Smith. 

As  stated  elsewhere,  the  village  of  Garden 
City  was  first  laid  out  in  June,  1866,  under 
the  name  of  "Fremont"  by  Anthony  Case,  and 
in  October,  1858,  replatted  as  "Garden  City" 
by  Simeon  P.  Folsom,  Amos  Warner,  John 
Dilley,  Cyrus  Foot,  James  A.  Wiswell  and  Ed- 
son  Gerry. 

Benj.  H.  Seabury  conducted  the  first  store 
in  the  village,  in  a  tent,  in  the  summer  of  1856. 
After  a  few  weeks  he  sold  out  to  Cheeney  and 
Harrington.  About  a  year  later  C.  B.  Eraser 
opened  a  store  there. 

In  1859j  James  Besser  put  up  a  building  on 
the  west  side  of  the  river  for  a  store  and  public 
hall,  where  Besser  and  Thompson  engaged  in 
the  mercantile  business.  In  1860,  T.  N".  Boyn- 
ton  opened  a  store  in  the  village,  and  in  1861, 
John  H.  Bay  and  Daniel  Williams  started 
another  mercantile  establishment.  In  the  fall 
of  1856,  Conklin  and  Hoxie  built  the  first  saw 
mill  on  the  Watonwan,  about  where  that  river 
crosses  the  west  line  of  Section  32.  Here  was 
laid  out  the  paper  village  of  Watonwan.  In 
Garden  City  two  saw  milk  were  erected  in 
1856-7.  One  by  Folsom  and  Evans,  and  the 
other  by  Dilley,  Warner  and  Capwell.  In  1857, 
a  frame  hotel  was  constructed  by  Folsom  and 
Evans,  which  was  run  for  a  while  by  Levi  Scott. 
The  big  quarrel  over  the  townsite  between  E.  P. 


Evans  and  S.  M.  Folsom,  of  which  we  elfie- 
where  spoke,  worked  considerable  detriment  to 
the  village;  still  during  the  fifties  and  sixties 
it  was  a  thriving  business  center,  and  even  as- 
pired to  be  the  county  seat. 

In  the  fall  of  1859,  the  Yankee  Mills  operat- 
ed three  run  of  stones  and  two  bolts  in  its  grist 
department,  having  a  capacity  of  1,500  bush- 
els of  wheat  per  week.  In  1857,  Jas.  A.  Wis- 
well opened  a  law  office  in  the  village,  and  in 
1860  S.  B.  James  hung  his  shingle  there.  In 
1859,  Dr.  Jacob  W.  B.  Wellcome  located  there. 
The  medical  profession,  heretofore,  had  been 
represented  by  Drs.  Thurston,  Torrey  and  Case. 
The  County  Fair  was  first  held  there  in  Octo- 
ber, 1860.  E.  P.  Evans  was  appointed  the 
first  postmaster  in  1857.  He  was  succeeded  by 
James  Besser. 

Under  the  republican  administration  in  June, 
1861,  A.  J.  Jewett  was  made  postmaster.  A. 
most  bitter  fight  was  made  against  his  appoint- 
ment by  the  enemies  of  E.  P.  Evans,  whose 
nephew  Jewett  was.  Of  the  part  taken  by  the 
village  in  the  Inkpadutah  trouble  we  have  al- 
ready written.  As  a  result  of  the  scare  a  mili- 
tia company  was  organized  and  maintained 
for  a  time  and  an  armory  building  erected, 
which  answered  well  the  purpose  of  a  town  hall. 

Garden  City  was  mostly  settled  by  Americans, 
who  had  received  some  educational  advantages, 
and  there  was  often  more  or  less  brain  power 
running  to  waste.  Debating  societies  and  ly- 
eeums  were  organized  very  early.  In  the  winter 
of  1859,  a  mock  U.  S.  Senate  was  formed  and 
Senators  chosen  to  represent  each  state  in  the 
Union.  The  questions  of  slavery,  and  State  Eights, 
A  Eesolution  to  Dissolve  the  Union,  A  Bill  Ap- 
propriating money  for  the  Navy,  each  provoked 
a  big  debate,  and  the  real  Senate  at  Washing- 
ton did  not  display  more  eloquence  or  vehem- 
ance  in  argument,  than  did  Senators  Baker, 
Evans,  Potter,  Thurston,  Greenwood,  Wellcome, 
Torrey,  Jewett,  Payne,  Thompson,  Clark,  and 
others.  Big  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  occurred 
each  year.  When  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  Gar- 
den City  celebrated  the  event  with  a  big  din- 
ner. A  flag  staff  was  erected  in  front  of  Boyn- 
ton  &  Thompson's  hall.  A  flag  was  run  up 
with    streamers    bearing    Lincoln    and    Hamlin's 


248 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COLiJSTTY. 


names.  Toasts  were  responded  to  by  J.  C.  Ed- 
son,  E.  P.  Evans,  A.  Loveland,  A.  J.  Jewett, 
J.  A.  Wiswell,  W.  K.  Thompson,  Eev.  A.  Case, 
Dr.  Wellcome,  Nathan  Bass  and  S.  Cram.  Then 
there  were  Military  meetings,  Teachers  Insti- 
tutes, Political  Conventions,  donation  parties, 
protracted  meetings.  Good  Templar  and  other 
lodges,  and  singing  schools  taught  by  Bdson 
Gerry.  In  those  days  no  one  could  say  but 
Garden  City  was  a  very  live  town,  and  very 
much  awake  on  all  occasions.  January  1,  1864, 
The  village  had  three  general  stores:  Boynton 
&  Cheeney,  Bay  &  Williams,  and  Thompson  & 
Barney,  a  drug  store  conducted  by  Wellcome  & 
Smith,  a  hotel,  "Garden  City  House"  with  Hi- 
ram Perry  as  landlord,  two  steam  saw  mills, 
with  a  grist  mill  attached  to  one  of  them. 
There  were,  also,  a  number  of  blacksmith, 
wagon  and  carpenter  shops,  etc. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  creation  of 
the  election  precinct  of  Watonwan.  On  May 
11,  1858,  the  town  was  organized  under  the 
same  name  at  the  Garden  City  House,  when  the 
following  officers  were  elected:  J.  A.  Wiswell, 
chairman;  W.  E.  Eobinson  and  J.  H.  Green- 
wood, supervisors;  J.  W.  Cheney,  clerk;  A.  M. 
Kendall,  assessor;  T.  E.  Potter  collector;  S.  M. 
Eolsom  overseer  of  the  poor;  E.  E.  Swan  and 
J.  W.  Greenwood,  justices;  D.  D.  Hunter  and 
William  Moon  constables. 

In  February,  1864,  a  bill  introduced  by  J.  A. 
Wiswell,  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  changing 
the  name  of  the  township  to  "Garden  City.'"  At 
Garden  City  village  the  first  hotel  burned  down 
in  1860,  but  was  rebuilt  soon  thereafter  by  B. 
F.  Curtis,  who  sold  it  in  1866  to  E.  P.  Evans 
for  $3,500.00.  It  had  various  laadlords,  but 
Major  Evans  and  E.  T.  Norton  were  perhaps  the 
longest  in  service.  A  second  hotel  was  built 
about  1873  by  S.  S.  Ingram  called  "Watonwan 
House." 

In  the  fall  of  1865  the  Yankee  Mills  were  sold 
by  E.  P.  Evans  to  Andrew  Friend  and  Thos. 
Quayle,  who  did  a  big  business  for  many  years. 
The  same  year  -Mr.  Capwell  built  a  new  grist 
mill  on  the  site  of  the  old  saw  mill  that  Dilley 
and  Warner  had  built.  The  next  year,  he  sold 
it  to  Loveland  and  Harrington.     For  a  time  T. 


N.  Boynton  "owned  an  interest,  also.  In  July, 
1873,  the  mill  was  bought  by  John  A.  Willard 
and  run  by  D.  G.  Willard  for  some  years,  but 
in  1882  Andrew  Friend  purchased  it,  and  the 
following  year  refitted  it  and  has  operated  it 
until  the  present  day.  In  1866  Potter  Bros, 
purchased  a  portable  steam  saw  mill  capable  of 
10,000  feet  of  lumber  per  day,  which  they  ran 
for  a  few  years. 

The  first  saw  mill  in  the  town,  built  by 
Hoxie  and  Conklin  and  the  Greenwood  Bros., 
was  sold  about  1860  to  C.  F.  Butterfield,  who 
transformed  and  rebuilt  it  as  a  flour  mill,  which 
for  many  years  did  a  big  business,  until  it  was 
purchased  by  A.  Friend  in  June,  1889.  The 
mill  built  by  S.  M.  Folsom  in  1866-7  and  oper- 
ated by  him  with  much  success  for  his  brother, 
i)r.  Henry  Folsom,  was  located  about  two  miles  be- 
low Garden  City  village.  In  1865-6  the  Dustin 
Mill  was  built  on  the  Blue  Earth  river  on  Gail's 
farm  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  town,  and 
operated  by  Dustin,  Holliday  and  Johnson,  and 
their  successors  for  several  years.  In  fact,  for 
thirty  years  or  more.  Garden  City  township  was 
the  mill  town  of  our  county.  In  the  spring 
of  1868,  Garden  City  Village  contained  three 
gristmills,  four  general  stores,  two  drug  and  gro- 
cery stores,  one  hardware  store,  one  hotel,  one 
wagon  shojD,  one  harness  shop,  one  shoe  shop,  one 
tailor  shop,  one  blacksmith  shop,  one  cabinet 
shop,  one  newspaper,  two  public  halls;  a  two  story 
school  house,  with  a  graded  school,  three  church 
organizations,  and  many  dwellings.  Among  the 
merchants  of  latter  date  were  Piper  &  Jones, 
Wm.  Mason,  Amos  Warner,  James  Dunbar,  Over 
&  Clough,  J.  E.  Neff,  Thos.  Glynn,  Ed  Nicker- 
son,  John  &  Thurston,  and  E.  E.  Norton.  Among 
the  postmasters  of  the  village  since  A.  J.  Jew- 
ett, have  been  Daniel  Williams,-  E.  P.  Evans, 
Chas.  B.  Eraser,  Garrett  Murphy,  Lyman  T. 
Shaw,  Mrs.  Lyman  T.  Shaw,  A.  M.  Kendall, 
James  S.  Church,  and  E.  E.  Norton. 

The  first  paper  in  the  village  was  started  in 
October,  1867,  by  A.  J.  Manley  and  designated 
"The  Garden  City  Herald."  It  was  discontinued 
in  August,  1870.  The  next  paper  was  "The 
Garden  City  Messenger"  started  by  J.  L.  Barlow 
in   January,    1881,   but  which    did   not   contmue 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


249 


long.  The  last  paper  was  the  "Garden  City  Pro- 
gress/' which  was  first  issued  early  in  1900  by 
A.  I.  Shaver,  but  suspended  the  following  year. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  beginning  of 
the  public  school  work  and  religious  services  in 
the  village.  The  log  school  house  was  super- 
ceded by  a  frame  building  about  1867,  and  a 
graded  school  started  the  following  year.  In 
September,  1874,  a  new  school  house  was  finished 
30x50  feet  and  two  stories  high.  For  many  years 
the  Garden  City  schools  have  ranked  high  among 
the  graded  schools  of  the  county.  Prof.  E.  W. 
Parker  for  a  number  of  years  was  the  efficient 
head  of  the  school. 

The  Baptist  Church,  which  ecclesiastically  had 
been  started  in  the  fifties,  was  legally  organized 
at  the  Farmers  Hall  on  August  4,  1866,  when 
the  following  trustees  were  chosen :  Eliphalet 
Smith,  Marshall  Warren,  and  B.  B.  Parker.  The 
present  church  building  was  begun  jn  1867,  and 
completed  in  1868.  The  walls  are  of  cement 
brick,  which  were  manufactured  in  the  village  by 
Geist  &  Hentzelman,  a  firm  from  Illinois,  who 
had  just  located  there.  The  building  is  33x55 
feet,  cost  $4,100,  and  was  dedicated  on  Jan- 
uary 17,  1869— Eev.  A.  Gale  preaching  the 
sermon.  Eevs.  A.  Case,  A.  Gale,  E.  C.  Sanders, 
and  Jos.  Eockwood  were  among  the  early  pas- 
tors of  the  church. 

The  M.  E.  Church  began  work  at  the  village, 
as  we  have  noted  before,  very  early  in  the 
fifties.  A  class  was  started  and  regular  ser- 
vices maintained.  Various  halls  served  as  homes 
for  the  church.  In  the  fall  of  1888  the  mat- 
ter of  a  church  building  was  taken  up  in  earn- 
est. On  September  17,  of  this  year.  Presiding 
Elder  Geo.  E.  Hair  appointed  the  following  trus- 
tees for  the  church:  Amos  Warner,  M.  Leather- 
man,  Wm.  King,  Wm.  Stoneman,  Wm.  Judd, 
J.  H.  Baker  and  Andrew  Friend.  The  new 
church  was  finished  and  dedicated  on  Sept.  15, 
1889.  In  the  spring  of  1898  a  parsonage  was 
built. 

The  Christian  Church  was  first  organized  in 
1858  at  the  house  of  C.  Detamore  in  Garden 
City  township.  Services  were  held  at  various 
places  and  especially  at  school  house  No.  20. 
In  the  latter  eighties,  services  were  begun  in 
the  village,   and   January,   1890   the   church   in- 


corporated with  the  following  trustees :  C.  H. 
Piper,  J.  H.  Greenwood,  L.  D.  Mills,  E.  W. 
Gates,  W.  J.  Osgood  and  A.  M.  Kendall.  A 
good  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1896  and 
dedicated  on  Nov.  29,  of  that  year. 

A  few  Presbyterians  and  Congregationalists 
were  united  into  a  Presbyterian  church  on  Dec.  1, 
1866  by  Eev.  C.  S.  McElroy.  This  church 
kept  in  existence  for  a  number  of  years,  wor- 
shipping in  halls  and  in  the  Baptist  Church,  but 
finally  disbanded.  An  Advent  Church,  also, 
flourished  in  the  village  during  the  nineties  but 
finally  was  obliged  to  give  up  the  field.  For 
many  years  the  churches  united  in  one  Sab- 
bath School,  but  this  plan  was  abandoned 
about  1870.  April  1,  1895,  a  creamery  was 
started  at  the  village,  and  soon  thereafter  a 
cheese  factory. 

In  the  winter  of  1896-7  the  ladies  of  Gar- 
den City  evinced  their  public  enterprise  by 
giving  a  series  of  entertainments,  whereby,  they 
obtained  sufficient  revenue  to  build  sidewalks 
in  the  village.  The  Elmore  branch  of  the  C, 
St.  P.,  M.  &  0.  Ey  was  built  through  the  vil- 
lage in  1S7  9,  but  the  building  of  Lake  Crys- 
tal and  other  towns  has  greatly  crippled  this 
ancient   city   on  the   Watonwan. 

The  township  of  Garden  City  is  noted  not 
only  for  the  number  of  its  mills  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  but,  also,  for  the  number  of  its 
townsites.  Garden  City,  Watonwan 'City,  Crys- 
tal Lake  City,  Lowell  and  Lake  Crystal  were  all 
within  its  borders.  Of  all  these  we  have  spoken 
in  our  County  History.  At  Watonwan  City  was 
located  the  Butterfield  mills,  and  the  postoffice 
rf  "Watonwan,"  there  established  in  1858,  and 
continued  for  many  years.  C.  F.  Butterfield 
succeeded  J.  H.  Greenwood  as  postmaster  about 
1860,  and  Butterfield  was  succeeded  in  turn  in 
1881,  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  L.  Scott.  The  next 
year  the  name  of  the  office  was  changed  to 
"Blaine,"  and  about  1886,  Eufus  Cornish  be- 
came postmaster,  and  the  office  was  moved  to 
his  house  in  Vernon.  A.  B.  Barney  opened  a 
small  store  near  the  Butterfield  Mill  in  1864. 
The  school  house  of  District  No.  20  is  located 
at  the  same  place.  In  this  school  house  a  Pres- 
byterian church  was  started  about  1894.  In 
May,  1895,  this  church  purchased  of  Joseph  H. 


250 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


Eobinson  a  lot  and  erected  thereon,  that  sum- 
mer, a  very  neat  chapel.  The  trustees  at  the 
time  were:  Isaac  J.  Gardner,  Joseph  H.  Eobinson 
Eichard  J.  Julian,  Jacob  Jones,  Nathaniel  B. 
Code,  and  Wm.  Stevens.  It  was  called  the 
"Walton   Presbyterian    Church." 

LAKE   CEYSTAL. 

At  present  by  far  the  most  important  village 
in  Garden  City  town  is  Lake  Crystal.  Of  the 
origin  and  growth  of  this  village  we  have 
treated  in  the  history  of  the  county.  Platted  in 
May,  1869,  by  L.  0.  Hunt  and  W.  E.  Eobinson, 
iipon  the  advent  of  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City 
railroad,  it  sprang  into  a  bustling  village  of  about 
200  inhabitants  the  first  year.  It  was  incorporated 
as  a  village  on  February  24,  1870,  by  a  special 
act  of  the  Legislature,  and  held  its  first  elec- 
tion on  March  29,  1870,  when  77  votes  were 
cast.  The  first  officers  elected  were:  A.  Schmid- 
lin,  president;  W.  E.  Eobinson,  L.  0.  Hunt, 
M.  E.  Dunn  and  Wm.  McGillis,  trustees;  W.  P. 
Marston,  recorder,  Henry  Humphrey,  Assessor; 
J.  Simmons,  treasurer;  Evariste  Franchere, 
justice;  and  Alonzo  Frizzell,  constable.  On  June 
1,  1870,  the  village  contained  3  general  stores, 
1  hardware,  1  grocery,  4  hotels,  1  drug  store, 
1  flour  and  feed  store,  5  saloons,  2  lumber 
yards,  2  millinery,  1  cooper  shop,  2  blacksmith 
shops,  1  shoemaker  shop,  1  harness  shop,  1  liv- 
ery, 1  meat  market,  2  agricultural  implement 
stores. 

The  Loon  Lake  postofEice  was  moved  there  on 
September  1,  1869,  and  Henry  liumphrey  be- 
came its  first  postmaster.  His  successors  are 
about  as  follows : 

C.  F.  Okley,  Dee.  1,  1870. 
David  Crane,  Feb.  7,  1873. 
A.  H.  Smith. 

Owen  Pritehard,  Sept.,   1885. 
Michael  W.  Kelley,  March,   1886. 
Henry   Humphrey,  April,   1889. 
H.   C.  Howard,  March,   1896. 
David  J.   Price,   Oct.,    1900. 

In  August,  1882,  the  office  became  a  money 
order  office,  and  in  Nov.,  1891,  it  was  promoted 
to  the  presidential  class.  Prominent  among 
the  early  merchants  of  the  village  were:  Henry 
Humphrey,  W.  C.  Davis,  W.  P.  Marston,  C.  E. 
Davis,   Price  Wickersham,   J.   W.   Franchere,   J. 


W.  Hurlburt,  P.  A.  Larson,  T.  J.  Perry,  Eow- 
lands  &  Eees,  M.  W.  Kelley,  Crane  Bros.,  P. 
Eiley,  David  Thomas,  and  Jones  &  Williams. 
Among  the  early  hotel  proprietors  were:  S.  J. 
Oakley  of  "Oakley  House,"  Joseph  Kiefer  of 
the  "Lake  House,"  C.  Dossett  of  the  "Union 
Hotel,"  Peter  Kieffer  of  "Washington  House," 
J.  S.  Murphy  of  "Central  Hotel,"  and  D.  C. 
Wood  of  the  "Commercial  House"  and  later  of 
the  "Central  Hotel."  Lorin  Cray  and  W.  H. 
Cole  were  among  the  early  lawyers.  Among 
the  pioneer  physicians  were  Drs.  Stoddard,  Her- 
ring, CuUen  and  Preese.  The  first  newspaper 
was  "The  People's  Journal,"  started  in  March, 
1870,  by  Dr.  E.  D.  Buekner.  It  did  not  long 
survive.  December  4,  1879,  John  D.  Quane 
issued  the  first  number  of  "The  Blue  Earth 
County  Public  Spirit,"  which  continued  three 
years.  On  October  11,  1882,  Geo.  W.  Neff  of 
Mankato,  started  the  "Lake  Crystal  Union,"  which 
still  survives,  a  live  energetic  country  journal. 
May  16,  1888,  T.  A.  Eckley  issued  the  first 
number  of  the  "Lake  Crystal  Mirror"  which 
survived  about  four  or  five  years.  In  Febru- 
ary, 1891,  Dr.  J.  C.  Curryer  began  publishing 
the  "Minnesota  Horseman"  from  the  ofl:ice  of  the 
Mirror. 

The  first  Lake  Crystal  mill  was  started  by 
Lewis,  Marston,  Cray  and  Davis  in  December, 
1883.  It  was  called  "The  Diamond  Flouring 
Mill,"  and  in  July,  1889,  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
In  1894,  Graif  Bros,  built  a  four  story  brick 
fi our  mill,  40x60  feet.  The  same  year  they  also  in- 
stalled an  electric  light  plant,  and  in  Oct.  1901, 
a  telephone  exchange.  On  November  18,  1901, 
this  mill  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  following 
year  a  stock  company  was  formed  and  the  mill 
again  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $28,000.  The  stock 
company  failed  in  August,  1907,  and  the  mill 
was  sold  to  Christian  S.  Christensen  of  Madelia, 
present    proprietor. 

In  1879,  the  Elmore  branch  was  built  out  of 
Lake  Crystal,  and  made  the  village  a  railroad 
point  of  some  importance.  In  May,  1882,  Mars- 
ton, Larson  &  Davis  started  a  creamery,  which 
they  sold  the  following  March,  to  Lawrence,  » 
Straight  &  Co.  In  1884,  the  merchants  formed 
a  Dairy  Board  of  Trade,  for  the  purpose  of 
gathering  newly  churned  butter  from  the  farm- 


TIISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COCJNTY. 


251 


ers  and  having  it  worked  by  an  expert  butter- 
maker  at  Lake  Crystal.  Store  checks  were  given 
in  payment  to  tiie  farmers. 

The  plan  worked  well  for  some  years.  A 
cheese  factory  was  also  maintained  for  a  time. 
In  1894,  the  Lake  Shore  Co-operative  Cream- 
i.'Lj  was  started. 

In  May,  1874,  a  band  was  organized  in  the 
village  by  Prof.  E.  Howe  of  Mankato. 

In  1886,  the  Lake  Crystal  State  Bank  was 
?tarted  by  Kandolph  Mitchell,  but  failed  in 
November,  1888.  January  1,  1889,  Marstou, 
Larson  &  Davis  started  a  private  bank,  which 
is  still  flourishing.  In  1902,  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  of  Lake  Crystal  was  organized 
through  the  efforts  of  J.  J.  McGuire,  who  be- 
came its  cashier,  and  a  bank  building  erected 
at  a  cost  of  nearly  $14,000.  James  Thomas 
became   cashier  in   1908. 

September  17,  1887,  the  village  was  visited 
by  a  very  destructive  fire,  which  wiped  out 
nearly  half  of  its  business  blocks,  but  within  a 
year  they  were  rebuilt  on  a  much  liner  style 
than  the  first. 

In  1887,  the  Legislature  passed  a  bill  author- 
izing the  construction  of  a  dam  at  the  outlet 
of  Crystal  Lake  to  raise  its  waters  three  feet, 
upon  the  payment  of  damages  to  persons  in- 
jured thereby.  D.  P.  Davis,  D.  W.  Evans  and  P. 
Mertersdorf  were  appointed  appraisers  and  the 
damages  were  assessed  at  $1,705,  which  were 
paid,  and  the  dam  constructed  in  the  spring  of 
1888.  A  boat  company  was  organized  at  the 
village,  a  boat  house  constructed,  and  boats 
launched  on  the  lake.  Eobinson  Park  was,  also, 
fitted  up,  and  an  attempt  made  to  build  up  a 
summer  resort  on  this  beautiful  sheet  of  water. 
The  first  school  building  was  erected  in  the 
fall  of  1869.  It  was  a  two  story  frame  22x40 
feet.  In  1882,  bonds  were  voted  and  an  $8,000 
brick  building  erected,  and  an  excellent  graded 
school  has  been  maintained  ever  since. 

There  are  eight  churches  in  the  village.  Tiie 
first  house  of  worship  was  erected  by  the  Pres- 
byterians in  1870,  and  dedicated  on  Feb.  26, 
1871.  Eev.  C.  Wisner  was  pastor  at  the  time. 
The  church  had  been  organized  Oct.  15,  1869 
by  the  election  of  the  following  persons  as  trus- 
tees: Wm.  A.  Symore,  A.  H.  Smith,  E.  K.  Tar- 


box,  Eichard  Tukey,  A.  J.  Murphy,  Wm.  E. 
Eobinson  and  E.  G.  Eich.  The  M.  E.  began 
holding  services  about  as  early  as  the  Presby- 
terians. They  legally  organized  as  the  "First 
M.  E.  Church  of  Lake  Crystal"  on  July  16, 
1870,  by  the  appointment  by  Eev.  Xorris  Ho- 
bart,  the  presiding  elder,  of  the  following  per- 
sons as  trustees:  A.  J.  Bangs,  Wm.  Cole,  Jesse 
Thomas,  Leman  Wood  and  Edson  A.  Tukey. 
In  April,  1874,  lot  1,  block  5,  of  Lake  Crystal 
was  purchased  as  a  building  site.  The  trustees 
at  the  time  were:  W.  C.  Davis,  M.  L.  Holley, 
A.  S.  Hamlin,  A.  J.  Bangs  and  M.  H.  Metier. 
A  church  building,  24x50,  was  started  that  year 
and  occupied,  but  not  finished  and  dedicated 
until  June  1,  1879.  August  31,  1884,  the 
church  was  reorganized  for  legal  purposes  by 
the  appointment  by  Elder  J.  N.  Liscomb  of  the 
following  trustees:  W.  C.  Davis,  X.  P.  John, 
H.  C.  McLean,  S.  G.  Brooks,  A.  S.  Hamlin,  F. 
Lewis,  and  W.  P.  Cobb.  In  1890,  a  new  church 
building  was  erected,  32x54,  with  a  wing  16x30, 
and  a  bell  weighing  715  pounds  was  hung  in 
its  belfry.  The  old  chapel  was  sold  to  the 
Welsh  people.  The  church  is  now  in  a  pros- 
perous   condition. 

In  the  summer  of  1883,  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  erected  a  neat  chapel  and  have 
continued  their   work  to  this  day. 

"The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  St. 
James  Church  of  Lake  Crystal"  was  incorpor- 
ated on  JIar.  8,  1886,  under  the  pastorship  of 
Eev.  C.  Eo^^s,  when  the  following  persons  were 
elected  trustees:  Geo.  ;\Iayer,  Eaphael  Eeuns- 
cum,  and  Henry  Eadichel.  Other  charter  mem- 
bers were:  Daniel  Eadichel,  Frederick  T.  Skier, 
Henry  Mayer,  and  Gottfried  Newmann.  A 
church  building  was  erected  the  same  year, 
which  was  dedicated  Oct.  17,  when  Eev.  Schultz 
of  Mankato  preached  the  sermon. 

Early  in  the  eighties  the  Baptists  of  the  vil- 
lage organized  a  church,  which  on  May  28, 
1888,  was  incorporated  as  "The  First  Baptist 
Church  of  Lake  Crystal"  and  again  reincor- 
porated on  Aug.  13,  1889,  under  the  Eev.  I. 
Bergstrom,  when  the  following  persons  were 
made  trustees:  Wm.  Thomas,  Andrew  Gran- 
lund,  Henry  A.  Weymouth,  Thos.  D.  Williams, 
A.  T.  Sherwin  and  Eees  W.  Thomas.     A  church 


252 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


building  was  erected  in  1888,  which  ■  was  dedi- 
cated Feb.  as,  1889. 

The  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists  began 
holding  services  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1886.  A  Sunday  School  under  the  lead  of 
J-*eter  Lloyd  was  the  principal  service  at  first. 
The  church  was  organized  by  Eev.  John  C. 
Jones  of  Mankato  on  January  27,  1889,  with 
twenty-nine  members.  Its  first  officers  were 
Dr.  John  Williams,  Thos.  G.  Owens,  David  E. 
Davies,  Edward  Jenkins  and  Edward  Morgan. 
In  September,  1890^  the  old  M.  E.  chapel  was 
purchased  and  the  church  moved  into  it.  Up  to 
this  time  they  had  used  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  On  Sept.  1,  1890,  the  church  incor- 
porated for  holding  property  by  the  election  of 
iJie  following  trustees:  Thos.  E.  Evans,  Robert 
S.  Hughes  and  Edward  E.  Jenkins.  Evan  Wil- 
liams, Evan  Davies,  Wm.  P.  Jones,  Wm.  E. 
Jenkins,  John  R.  Jones  and  John  L.  Lewis, 
became  its  Elders.  In  Feb.  1893,  Rev.  David 
Edwards  became  its  first  pastor,  and  has  con- 
tinued in  the  office  ever,  since.  In  1899,  the 
present  fine  church  edifice  was  erected  and  dedi- 
cated on  Oct.  25,  of  the  same  year.  The  old 
building  which  they  had  purchased  of  the  M. 
E.  brethren,  was  sold,  to  Geo.  W.  Neff,  and  is 
still  used  as  the  printing  office  of  the  Lake 
Crystal  Union. 

Early  in  the  nineties  'the  Norwegian  Luther- 
ans began  holding  services  and  Feb.  6,  1893, 
The  Zion  Scandinavian  Lutheran  Church  of 
Lake  Crystal  was  incorporated  by  the  following 
named  persons:  Lars  Larson,  Peter  Moe,  An- 
drew Tweed,  Ole  J.  Wiger,  Henry  E.  Olson, 
Syver  P.  Moe,  Martin  P.  Pederson  and  Herman 
H.  Olson,  and  in  1893,  they  erected  their  pres- 
ent chapel. 

In  1890,  through  the  efforts  of  Father  Prior 
of  Mankato,  a  Catholic  chapel  was  erected,  which 
is  still  in  use. 

At  present  Lake  Crystal  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  flourishing  villages  in  the  County. 
Among  the  most  prominent  of  its  present  mer- 
chants not  already  mentioned  are :  The  Pioneer 
Mercantile  Co.,  D.  T.  Owens,  James  Bros.,  F. 
Strunk  Lumber  Co.,  W.  E.  &  R.  B.  Thomas, 
Thomas,  Jones  &  Co.  and  C.  C.  Jenkins. 


The  new  depot,  built  in  1905,  and  a  small 
portion  of  the  resident  part  of  town  are  located 
just   over   the   line   in  Judson  township. 

The  roster  of  men  from  Garden  City  in  war 
of  Rebellion: 

Arledge,   Alex,   Co.   C,   6th   Inf. 
Atwell,   Clinton,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Baker,   Jas.   H.,   Col.   of    10th   Inf.,   Pro.   Brig.   Gen. 
Barstow,   Alfred,    Co.   F,    1st   Art. 
Burger,    Joseph    H.,    Co.    H,    2nd    Inf. 
Buchanan,   John   J.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Burnett,  Eugene  R.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Burnett,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Burgess,   E.   Galusha,   Co.  E,   9th   Inf. 
Boyer,  Wm.,  Co.   B,  Mt.  Rangers. 
•  Carley,   Geo.   W.,   Co.    E,   9th    Inf. 
Clapshaw,  Jr.,  Samuel,  Co.  J,  6th  Inf. 
Clapshaw,   Wm.,   Co.   B,   Mt.   Rangers. 
Clark,    Merrill   M.,    Co.    B,   Br.   Bat. 
Church,  Lafayette,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
Couklin,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Cummings,  Isaac,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Doremus,  Benj.  F.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Eaton.  Ansil,  Co.   E,  9th  Inf. 
Edgerton,  Thos.  A.,   Co.  E,   9th  Inf. 
Eaton,   Henry,    Co.   H,  2nd   Cav. 
Eaton   John,   Co.   H,   2nd   Cav. 
Fall,  Marshall  T.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Ferguson,    Daniel,    Co.    H,    2nd   Inf. 
Finch,  Chas.  D.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Folsom,  August  H.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Foster,   Geo.,   Co.   H,   2nd   Cav. 
Gilchrist,   G.   M.,    Co.   D,   2nd   Inf. 
Howard,  John  R.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav.,  2nd  Lieut. 
Lamberton,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Marston,  Wm.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Marvin,  Wm.   R.,   Co.   E,   2nd  Cav. 
Mead,  Chas.  J.,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
.  Mead,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Mead,  Wm.  M.,   Co.  B,   Br.  Bat. 
Messervy,   Alfred,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Miller,   Francis   E.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Mitchell,  Solomon  A.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Mumford,  James,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat.  Died  July  7,  1894. 
Plymat,  Wm.  N.  Co.  B,  Br.   Bat. 
Potter,  John  H.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Potter,   James   W.,    Co.    H,   3rd   Inf. 
Potter,  T.  E.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rangers,  1st  Lieutenant. 
Preston,  Chas.  W.,  Co.  F,  3rd  Inf. 
Preston,  Elias  M.,   Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
Preston,  Wm.  K.,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 
Quayle,   Thos.   G.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf.,  2nd  Lieutenant. 
Rew,  Francis  E.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Rew,  Henry   C,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Riley,    Peter,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 
Robbins,  Henry,  Co.  G,  10th  Inf. 
Robinson,  Henry  A.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Rogers,  Robert  F.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Thompson,   Geo.   A.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Thompson,  J.   G.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf.   Pro.   Capt.  68  U. 
S.    Col.   Inf. 

Torrey,  W.   B.,   Co.   B,   Br.   Bat. 

Thurston,  J.  G.,  8th  Inf.  Assistant  ;^-irgeon. 

Wait,  Eli,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Ward,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  E,   1st   Bat. 

Ward,  Chas.  L.,   Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Ward,   Willard,   4th    Inf. 

Wrightson,  Levi,   Co.  H,  2nd  Oav, 


HIST.  N2  MO-  U06  SCHOOL  HOU46 Le  RAV. 


CHRISTIAN  CHORCtt-6rt6l.6  LflK6 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


253 


JUDSON. 

Named  by  Eobert  Patterson,  in  honor  of  the 
;reat  Baptist  Missionary.  The  history  of  this 
own  has  been  mostly  covered  in  the  general 
listory  of  the  county.  Its  first  settlers  were 
Chester  D.  Hill,  John  Eandolf  and  Eev.  John 
K.  Tidland,  who  came  to  the  old  townsite  of 
Eureka,  with  H.  Kaywood  in  the  summer  of 
L853,  and  located  upon  claims  in  Judson  bot- 
tom. They  were  followed  the  next  year  by  Gus- 
taf  Johnson,  Peter-  Olson,  Chas.  Youngberg, 
John  Beckman,  Oscar  P.  and  Francis  0.  Win- 
nerstrand,  John  Goodwin,  Eobert  Patterson, 
Wm.  Irving,  Calvin  Webb,  John  Jones,  (Osh- 
kosh),  and  Lucius  0.  Hunt.  All  settled  ifi 
Judson  bottom  except  Hunt,  Webb  and  Jones. 
In  1855,  came  Chas.  Eundquist,  Gustaf  Peter- 
son, Andrew  and  John  Johnson,  Nils  Nilson, 
C.  S.  Terry,  and  others  whose  names  we  did 
not  learn,  who  settled  in  the  bottom.     In  April, 

1855,  came  Humphrey  Jones,  Thos.  Y.  Davis, 
Wm.  C.  Williams,  Wm.  Jenkins,  Wm.  Jones, 
John  Watkins,  and  others,  who  located  along 
the  timber  in  the  Jerusalem  neighborhood.  In 
June  and  July  of  the  same  year  came  Hugh 
Edwards  with  his  sons,  Hugh  H.,  John  and 
Daniel  Edwards,  and  David  Evans,  Wm.  J. 
Eoberts  and  Eowland  W.  Price  and  settled 
along  Minneopa  Creek.  In  the  summer  and 
fall  of  1855,  Owen  Eoberts,  Henry  Hughes, 
David  T.  Davis  and  Eev.  William  Williams 
arrived  in  the  Jerusalem  neighborhood :   and  in 

1856,  came  Benjamin  Lewis,  David  and  Edward 
Dackins,  David  J.  Eees,  Anthony  J.  Crisp,  Wm. 
M.  Crisp,  Thos.  E,  Evans,  Samuel  Pease,  Sam- 
uel H.  Foster  and  others  who  made  claims  in 
the  same  neighborhood.  In  the  Carmel  neigh- 
borhood located  in  1856,  Evan  Williams  and 
his  son  Wm.   E.  Williams,   and  Evan  Davis. 

The  town  was  made  an  election  precinct  on 
April  8,  1856,  and  a  town  on  May  11,  1858, 
at  which  time  the  following  officers  were  chosen: 
Supervisors,  Eobt.  Patterson  Chr.,  Wm.  Jen- 
kins and  A.  J.  Crisp:  Clerk,  T.  E.  Coulson; 
Assessor,  W.  H.  Thurston;  Collector,  J.  A.  Tid- 
land; Overseer  of  the  poor,  Gustaf  Johnson; 
Justice,  J.  0.  Eobinson;  Constable,  D.  Eeed; 
Road  Overseer,  L.  0.  Hunt. 


December  10,  1856,  the  "townsite  of  "Judson" 
was  laid  out  by  Eobert  Patterson  and  John 
Goodwin  on  portions  of  sections  3,  4,  33,  and 
34  in  Judson  Bottom.  A  saw  Mill  was  built 
that  fall  by  Henry  Fowler,  E.  Patterson  and 
John  Goodwin,  which  the  next  year  was  sold 
to  Cephas  S.  Terry,  who  added  a  small  grist 
mill.  In  the  spring  of  1857,  Andrew  Friend 
was  employed  by  Mr.  Terry  to  help  run  the 
mill,  in  which  employment  he  continued  until 
1864,  when  he  removed  to  Garden  City..  The 
mill  had  now  been  bought  by  Keene  &  Whit- 
comb,  and  in  June,  1866,  it  burned.  Stores 
were  built  there  by  Mr.  Terry  and  T.  E.  Coul- 
son. Mr.  Coulson,  also,  kept  a  small  hotel.  A 
postoffice  was  started  in  1856,  kept  by  John 
Goodwin.  The  first  school  in  the  town  was 
taught  in  the  winter  of  1857,  by  Miss  Jannette 
Jenkins  (the  late  Mrs.  Jannette  Jones  of  Man- 
kato).  It  was  kept  in  a  vacant  log  buildTng 
near  Coulson's  store.  In  1858,  a  joint  stock 
company  purchased  of  Mr.  Coulson  a  large 
frame  building  for  $800  to  start  therein  "Jud- 
son Academy."  The  school  was  put  in  charge  of 
Eev.  J.  E.  Ash,  a  young  Baptist  preacher  from 
Illinois,  whose  wife  had  charge  of  the  music 
department.  After  one  year,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ash 
removed  to  Mankato  and  the  Academy  failed. 
In  1859,  Judson  village  contained  about  thirty 
houses.  About  1860,  Anthony  J.  Crisp  built 
him  a  neat  frame  house  and  barn  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  Joseph  Eoberts,  and  opened  a 
bmall  country  store.  A  postoffice  was  located 
there  called  "Crisp's  Store,"  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Crisp.  It  continued  until  the  Crisp  family 
moved  away  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war. 
The  first  school  in  District  99  was  taught  in 
1860,  by  Mr.   Crisp  in  his  own  house. 

In  August,  1867,  Fredrick  K.  Jones  pur- 
chased two  acres  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
Section  6,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of 
Crisp's  store,  and  built  thereon  a  store,  which 
he  conducted  for  two  years  and  then  sold  the 
lot  and  building  to  Eev.  P.  Peregrine.  About 
1858,  Robert  Goodyear  started  a  nursery  on 
Section  12  of  Judson,  which  he  conducted  for 
several    years. 

During  the  Indian  outbreak,  Judson  village 
was  the  site  of  a  very  unique  sod  fort,  erected 


254 


IirSTOTiY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


in  the  spring  of  1863,  by  Cap't.  Skaro's 
Company.  In  January,  1868,  J.  G.  Fowler 
and  Bro.  opened  a  second  general  store  at  the 
village,  but  after  a  year  or  two  both  Fowler 
and  Coulson  stores  moved  away  and  the  village 
fell  into  decay.  For  many  years  thereafter, 
Borie  Sanstrom  kept  a  small  store  there  on  the 
river  bank.  Soon  after  the  Indian  outbreak 
the  Judson  postoffice  was  removed  to  the  house 
of  Eev.  Wm.  Williams,  where  it  remained  until 
March,  1877,  when  W.  S.  Wolfe  was  appointed 
postmaster  instead  of  Eev.  Williams,  who  had 
resigned.     The  postmasters  since  have  bfeen: 

John  A.   Tidland,  .Ian.,   1879   to   May,   1879. 

W.   S.   Wolfe,  May,   1879   to  Dec,    1882. 

Evan  E.  Jones,   1882  to   1887. 

John    A.    Tidland,    1887    to    1894. 

F.  W.   Carlstrom,   1894   to    1900. 

Robert   G.  James,    1900   to    1902. 

W.    W.    Jenkins. 

The  first  birth  in  the  town  was  that  of  Grif- 
fith Boberts,  son  of  Wm.  J.  Eoberts  in  August, 
1J55.  The  first  marriage  was  that  of  William 
C.  Williams  and  Hannah  Williams,  celebrated 
on  Christmas  day,  1855.  The  second  marriage 
was  probably  that  of  E.  T.  Eoberts  to  Margaret 
Edwards,  daughter  of  Hugh  Edwards,  in  June, 
1856.  The  first  sermon  was  probably  preached 
by  Eev.  Jenkin  Jenkins  on  Oct.  14,  1855,  at  the 
house  of  John  Watkins,  when  the  first  church  in 
the  town  was  organized.  The  organization  later 
moved  into  Cambria  township  and  is  now  laiown 
as   the   "Salem    Congregational    Church."- 

July  11,  1858,  a  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist 
Church  was  organized  at  the  house  of  Owen 
Eoberts  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Humphrey 
J.  Eoberts,  by  Eev.  David  Davis,  assisted  by 
Evan  Evans.  The  charter  members  were:  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Owen  Eoberts,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm. 
Bowen,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  C.  Williams,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wm.  E.  Jones  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eichard  B.  Davis.  Later  the  church  adopted 
the  name  "Jerusalem."  The  services  were  held 
in  private  houses  until  the  spring  of  1865,  when 
a  log  church  was  erected.  During  1870-1  the 
present  edifice  was  built,  and  in  March,  1871, 
Eev.  Wm.  Jones  became  its  first  settled  pastor, 
which  position  he  held  until  1891,  with  an  in- 
termission of  four  and  one-half  years.  Since 
1892,   the  church  has  been,  joined  in  a  circuit 


with  Lake  Crystal  under  the  pastorship  of  Eev. 
D.  Edwards.  The  legal  incorporation  of  the 
church  occurred  at  the  log  building  on  June  13, 
1870,  when  the  following  trustees  were  elected: 
Owen  Eoberts,  Jabez  Lloyd  and  John  W.  Eoberts. 
Since  1870,  until  of  late  years,  the  Annual 
Synod  or  conference  of  the  Welsh  Cal.  Meth. 
Churches  of  this  state  has  been  held  in  con- 
nection with  this  church,  usually  in  June  of  each 
year,  and  at  a  grove  on  the  farm  of  Hum- 
phrey J.   Eoberts. 

In  1858,  Eev.  J.  E.  Ash'  organized  a  Baptist 
church  in  Judson  village.  Among  the  members 
were  Eobert  Patterson,  John  Goodwin,  Eev.  Wm. 
Williams,  Morris  Lewis,  John  Eees,  Geo.  Smith 
and  others.  After  Eev.  Ash  left,  the  church 
was  ministered  to  by  Eev.  Williams  and  Mr. 
Miller  for  a  time,  but  for  some  years  during 
the  Indian  trouble  it  suspended.  About  1867, 
and  1868  it  met  again  in  school  house  No.  6, 
and  on  March  15,  1871,  incorporated  at  the 
house  of  John  Goodwin,  when  John  Eees,  Abel 
Keene  and  B.  P.  Muzzy  were  elected  trustees. 
The  church  disbanded  in  Nov.,  1882,  and  a 
number  of  the  members  joined  the  Baptist- 
church  of  Lake   Crystal. 

In  the  summer  of  1867,  a  Sunday  school  was 
started  at  the  house  of  Wm.  D.  -  Jones  in  the 
eastern  part  of  Judson,  which  on  the  building 
of  school  house  No.  75  was  moved  thereto.  Here 
a  church  was  organized  on  August  29,  1869,  by 
Eev.  Wm.  Eoberts.  The  charter  members  were: 
Wm.  D.  Jones,  and  wife,  Evan  Davis  and  wife, 
Hugh  D.  Hughes  and  wife,  Eev.  Wm.  Eoberts 
and  wife,  Watkin  H.  Jones  and  wife,  Cornelins 
Jones  and  wife,  Moses  Jones,  Mrs.  Eobert  S. 
Pritchard,  Mrs.  Eobert  Jones,  Mrs.  Ellen  Grif- 
fiths, Mrs.  Mary  Hughes,  Mrs.  John  J.  Grif- 
fiths, Mrs.  Thos.  C.  Charles,  Mrs.  John  Edwards, 
Mrs.  David  J.  Williams,  Mrs.  Humphery  E. 
Jones,  Mrs.  Joshua  Wigley,  Mrs.  Thos.  D.  Wil- 
liams, Mrs.  E.  E.  Jones,  Mrs.  Wm.  H.  Hughes 
and  Mrs.  John  P.  Jones.  Evan  Williams  was 
its  first  Elder.  The  church  incorporated  as 
"The  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist  Church  of 
Carmel"  on  March  3,  1874,  when  the  following 
persons  were  chosen  trustees :  Thos.  C.  Charles, 
Evan  Williams  and  Edward  Wigley.  That  sum- 
mer the  present  church  edifice  was  erected  at  a 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUB  EAETH  COUNTY. 


255 


cost  of  about  $1,700.  Eev.  E.  P.  Jones  of 
Mankato  was  its  first  pastor.  It  has  generally 
been  attached  to  Mankato  and  Zion  for  pastoral 
purpose.  As  noted  before  a  split  occurred  in 
the  Cal.  Meth.  Churches  of  our  County  in  1865, 
and  one  wing  Joined  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Soon  after  this  a  church  of  that  denomination 
was  formed  at  the  house  of  Wm.  C.  Williams 
and  services  held  there  and  in  the  house  of  E. 
Eowlands,  and  in  school  house  No.  1,  until  the 
erection  of  a  fine  new  chapel  in  1870,  on  the 
center  of  the  east  line  of  Section  17.  This 
church  was  incorporated  at  a  meeting  held  in 
school  house  No.  37,  Peb.  14,  1870,  and  the  follow- 
ing trustees  elected :  John  W.  James,  Wm.  E. 
Jones,  Eobt.  Pugh,  Wm.  J.  Jones  and  Wm. 
Jenkins.  The  Elders  were  Eowland  E.  Prit- 
chard  and  Eichard  Eowlands.  Eev.  Eichard 
W.  Jones  was  the  pastor  of  this  church  for  a 
few  years.     It  disbanded  about  1879. 

In  the  fifties  the  M.  E.  Church  held  services 
in  Judson  and  on  Nov.  2.5,  1859,  the  church 
was  incorporated  by  Eev.  E.  T.  Eichardson, 
preacher  in  charge  of  Eureka  Circuit,  appoint- 
ing the  following  persons  trustees :  Anthony  J. 
Crisp,  Wm.  A.  Jones,  Cephas  S.  Terr}',  A.  H. 
Crisp  and  Wm.  H.  Thurston.  Services  were 
conducted  at  the  home  of  A.  J.  Crisp  and  at 
Judson  village  at  intervals  for  some  years. 

The  Swedish  Lutherans  began  holding  relig- 
ious services  quite  early  in  Judson  Bottom.  For 
many  years  they  maintained  a  good  Sunday 
school  in  the  school  house  of  which  John  P. 
Johnson  was,  for  a  time,  superintendent.  This 
church  incorporated  and  a  neat  house  of  wor- 
ship erected  in  1905,  at  Judson  Tillage. 

The  town  contains  six  school  houses  and  two 
creameries. 

In  1899,  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Bail- 
way  built  a  short  line  from  Mankato  to  New 
IJlm  through  Judson  and  a  new  towhsite  called 
"Judson"  was  laid  out  near  the  location  of  the 
ancient  village.  A  neat  depot  was  erected  there. 
A  grain  elevator,  two  stores  and  blacksmith  shop 
were  built  the  same  summer.  These  with  the 
postoffice,  Swedish  Church,  Creamery  and  a  few 
residences  make  a  small  village.  Eobert  G. 
James  and  Wm.  ]\Lison  were  the  first  store- 
keepers.     In    April,    1902,    Henry    Fuller    pur- 


chased Mr.  Mason's  store  and  in  1905,  W.  W. 
Jenkins  bought  out  both  James  and  FulleS, 
In  1904,  a  bridge  was  constructed  over  the 
Minnesota    river    at   Judson    village. 

A  portion  of  the  village  of  Lake  Crystal  is 
located  within  the  southern  boundary  of  Judson. 
In  1906,  a  railway  station  and  wheat  elevator 
were  located  on  Minneopa  Creek  near  the  cen- 
ter of  Section  23,  called   Cray. 

The  roster  of  the  men  who  enlisted  from 
Judson  in   the   Civil  War   are   as   follows : 

Alden,   Samuel,   Co.  F,   1st   Art. 

Coffin,  Wilbur   T..   Co.   K,    1st   Art. 

Comstock,  Byron,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Crisp,  Anthonv  G.,   Co.  I,   6th  Reg't. 

Curtis,   Geo.   S.   A.,   Co.  E,  2na   Cav. 

Dackins,   David,   Co.   E,   9th   Reg't. 

Denman,   Ahner,   Co.   E,   2nd    Cav. 

Doherty,  Chas.  H.,  Co.  C,  1st  Reg't. 

Edwards,   John,   Co.   E,   9th  Reg't. 

Foster  Alonzo,   Co.   B,   Mt.   Rangers. 

Foster,   Benton   T..   Co.   H,   3rd   Reg't. 

Goodell,  William  P.,   Co.  E.   2nd   Cav. 

Hill,   Chester  D.,   Co.  I,  6th  Reg't. 

Howell,  Wm.  D.,   Co.  I,   1st  Reg't. 

Hughes,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Hughes,  Wm.  R.,   Co.   E.  2nd   Cav. 

Jones,   John  C,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 

Kilby,   Benj.   J.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 

Lewis,  Rowland,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

McDonnell,  Allen,  Co.  K,  1st  Reg't. 

McGivney,   Peter,  Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Pease,   Asa   C,   Co.   H,   3rd   Reg't. 

Price,  Edward,  Co.  E.  2nd   Cav. 

Revnolds,  William  51.,   Co.  A.   1st  Reg't. 

Slaughter,   Thos.   S.,   Co.   I,   6th   Reg't.,   Captain. 

Tidland,  John  A.,   Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Tidland,   Charles,   Co.  H,  3rd  Reg't. 

Terry,   James,   Y.,   Co.   H,   3rd   Reg't. 

Williams,  Wm.   E.,   Co.   E,   9th  Reg't. 

WooA,  Delos  C,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

LE  EAY. 

Originally  a  part  of  Jamestown,  but  made 
a  separate  town  by  action  of  the  County  Com- 
missioners, January  4,  1860.  Named  "Lake" 
at  first,  but  June  11,  1860,  changed  to  "Tivoli" 
and  on  September  5th.  of  the  same  year,  to 
"Le  Bay"  at  the  suggestion  of  Wm.  D.  Cole, 
after  a  town  in  New  York  from  which  he  hacl 
come.  In  its  native  state  the  entire  town  was 
covered  with  a  dense  forest  of  fine  timber. 
Large  portions  of  lakes  Madison  and  Eagle  lie 
within  its  northern  border,  and  the  outlet  of 
both  lakes  form  two  small  brooks,  which  after 
traversing  across  the  town,  empty  into  the  Le- 
Sueur,  not  far  from  its  southwestern  corner. 
Indian,   Alice,   Byron  and   Mud   Lakes   form   a 


9nf 


■RiyiOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COL'iS^TY^ 


chain  along  the  eastern  part  of  the  town.  .  Its 
ooil  is  a  rich,  heavy  loam,  with  clay  foundation, 
and  the  surface  is  undulating. 

The  first  settlers  came  in  1856,  among  whom 
were :  Alexander  and  James  Douglass,  Geo. 
Adam  Beiries,  Eobert  Haslip,  Arthur  A.  Stew- 
ard, Wm.,  Geo.  L.,  Albert  and  Robert  P.  Tur- 
ner,  Henry  B.  Lang,  M.  D.  MdSTamara,  Wm. 
D.  Cole,  George  Chapman,  Geo.  W.,  Jacob  L., 
John  M.,  and  James  T.  Burgess,  Geo.  Bennett, 
Patrick  Madigan,  Wm.  J\Iorris,  David  Davis, 
Thos.  E.  Davis,  Eev.  Elias  Clark,  Wm.  Gilfillan, 
Arvad  C.  Johnson,  Conrad  Schogll,  Joel  Cloud, 
Joseph  Titus,  Joseph  M.  Metter,  Geo.  F.  Lill, 
Jerome  Weatherby  and  Alvin  P.  Eeynolds.  The 
next  year  came  Henry  Eobertson,  John  Cummins 
and  Horace  Cummins.  Other  early  settlers 
were  August  Glockzin,  Michael  Silke,  Nicholas 
Frederick.  Geo.  F.  Sower,  John  Urlich,  Jerome 
Dane,  E.  G.  Wood,  John  Waggoner,  and  Ira  B. 
Eeynolds. 

Among  the  primal  things,  it  is  claimed 
that  the  first  birth  was  that  of  Geo.  F.  Bur- 
gess on  March  13,  1857.  The  first  marriage, 
iVlbert  Turner  to  Miss  Adaline  Cummins,  solem- 
nized,- June,  1859,  by  Elder  Small.  The  first 
death,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Steward  in  the  fall  of  1858, 
and  the  first .  school  taught  by  iliss  Hannah 
Haslip  in  a  log  claim  shanty  on  Section  18, 
about  1859.  The  average  attendance  was  about 
fourteen.  The  first  town  officers  elected  in  Jan- 
uary, 1860  were :  Supervisors,  Wm.  D.  Cole,  Chr., 
John  Cummins  and  Geo.  A.  Beiries;  Clerk, 
Arvad  C.  Johnson;  Treasurer,  Jerome  Dane; 
Justices,  Jerome  Dane  and  J.  L.  Burgess;  Con- 
stables, Geo.  Bennett  and  Isaac  Turner.  This 
election  was  held  at  Wm.  D.  Cole's  house  on  the 
farm  now  owned  by  Nicholas  Frederick,  and 
thirty-one  votes  were  cast.  The  first  postoffice 
was  established  in  1870  and  called  "Spier"  at 
the  suggestion  of  Geo.  A.  Beiries  after  his  home 
in  Germany,  and  Freeman  A.  Cate  was  appoint- 
ed postmaster.  In  Dec.  1873,  the  name  was 
changed  to  Eagle  Lake  and  Henry  Bossard  be- 
came postmaster.  He  had  a  small  store  near 
Eagle  Lake  station. 

Naturally  in  a  timber  town,  lumber  and  wood 
soon  became  one  of  its  chief  industries.  In 
1864,    J.    Sylvester    Burgess    and    Thomas    Bur- 


gess purchased  of  McNutt  of  Judson,  a  steam 
circular  saw  mill  of  15,000  feet  capacity,  and 
removed  it  to  their  farm  on  the  west  line  of 
Le  Bay.  Here  in  February,  1867,  the  Burgess 
Bros,  opened  a  small  store. 

In  1870,  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter  Eailroad 
was  built  through  Le  Bay,  and  in  Nov.  1873, 
Eagle  Lake  was  platted  by  Freeman  A.  Cate  on 
a  portion  of  his  farm.  The  Burgess  Bros,  sold 
their  saw  mill  early  in  the  seventies  to  Henry 
Simons,  who  after  two  or  three  years  moved  it 
to  near  the  outlet  of  Eagle  Lake,  whence  it 
was  taken  to  Tennessee  in  1883.  In  the  fall  of 
1871,  Woodham  and  Harrison  Burgess  built  a 
grist  mill  at  the  Junction  of  Eagle  Lake  Creek 
with  Madison  Lake  Creek,  about  a  mile  south 
of  the  village.  Three  or  four  years  later  Bur- 
gess &  Pickle  became  its  owners,  and  shortly 
thereafter  the  firm  changed  to  Cate  &  Pickle. 
In  the  fall  of  1873,  Morse  Bros,  built  a  water- 
power  saw  mill  near  the  mouth  of  Madison  Lake 
Creek.  In  1876,  Smith,  Kingsley  &  Cornwell, 
built  a  saw  mill  at  Eagle  Lake,  which  the  next 
year  was  purchased  by  Allen  Moon,  who  sold  it 
to  Selleck  and  Peck.  Chas.  F.  Stokes,  in  the 
summer  of  1873,  erected  a  saw  mill  at  Smith's 
Mill  which  has  been  in  operation  until  recent 
years.  We  can  not  even  enumerate  all  the  many 
mill  operators  of  Le  Eay.  J.  D.  Humiston,  Mc- 
Beth  Bros.,  Fred  Gilfillen,  A.  B.  Hough,  B. 
Gerlich,  Gilfillen  and  several  others  were  en- 
gaged in  the  industry  during  the  past  years. 
In  1893,  Horace  Cummins  built  a  saw  mill  at 
Eagle  Lake,  using  the  same  engine,  which  had 
belonged  to  the  old  saw  mill  of  Geo.  W.  Lay  at 
Mankato.  In  1890,  Horace  Cummins  and  Wm. 
McBeth,  having  bought  the  Woodham  grist  mill 
at  the  junction  of  the  two  creeks,  moved  it  to 
Eagle  Lake  and  remodeled  it  as  a  steam  roller 
mill,  increasing  its  capacity  from  35  to  135 
barrels  per  day.  In  1893,  they  sold  this  mill  to 
J.  D.  Humiston  who,  after  operating  it  for 
twelve  years,  disposed  of  it  to  Gordon  Bros.,  the 
present  owners,  who  have  increased  the  capacity 
to  250  barrels  per  day.  In  1877,  Elwin  Mer- 
rill erected  a  planing  mill  at  Eagle  Lake,  which 
after  three  years  burned.  In  1885,  Miner  and 
Cummins  put  up  a  planing  mill  at  the  same 
place,   which  was   operated   about  twenty  years. 


ITISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


■257 


In   1881,   E.    F.   Wilson  had   a   factory   for   the 
manufacture  of  doors,  sash,  blinds,  etc. 

In  NoT.,^  1874,  the  townsite  of  Lake  Eagle 
was  platted  adjoining  Eagle  Lake  by  James  H. 
Steward  and  Walter  L.  Breckenridge.  The  vil- 
lage is  mostly  built  on  this  townsite,  but  it 
retained  the  name  of  the  first  townsite.  In 
August,  1873,  a  depot  was  built.  It  is  said'  the 
first  store  was  kept  by  Mr.  Texley  in  a  log 
shanty  in  1871,  and  was  mainly  to  supply  the 
railway  builders.  H.  C.  &  T.  E.  Burgess  started 
the  first  permanent  store  in  1873.  Then  came 
W.  W.  Phelps,  who  opened  a  general  store  about 
1874.  He  was  made  postmaster  in  1875,  and 
held  the  office  fourteen  years.  Early  in  1876, 
'W'.  J.  Allyn  opened  a  hardware,  and  soon  after- 
wards consolidated  with  Phelps  under  the  name 
of  Phelps  &  Allyn.  Then  came  Daniel  Selleck, 
who  later  was  of  the  firm  of  Selleck  &  Peck. 
(t.  W.  Braden  started  alone,  but  later  formed  a 
partnership  with-  J.  J.  Haggard  as  Braden  & 
Haggard.  Horace  Cummins  built  first  elevator 
in  1875.  In  1882,  he  built  a  large  octag'pn 
store,  thirty-three  feet  in  diameter  and  started 
in  the  mercaiitile  business.  Other  pioneer  mer- 
chants were:  H.  C.  Burgess,  general  store,  Wells 
&  Mynard,  and  John  and  Geo.  Burgess,  drug 
stores.  Mynard  &  Levi  and  Isaac  Eedner,  black- 
smiths; J.  S.  Stevens,  harness  maker;  H.  C. 
Bullis  and  Wm.  Gilfillan,  wagon  makers,  A.  H. 
Presnall,  prop,  of  hall,  E.  Buckley  and  A.  F. 
Hilton  hotels.  In  1886,  J.  J.  Haggard  became 
postmaster  and  served  until  1889,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Cap't.  Jerome  Dane.  A  cheese 
factory  was  started  here  in  1889,  by  Mr.  Hnder- 
hill.  Among  the  other  prominent  merchants 
have  been:  J.  A.  Ewing,  E.  D.  Fisher,  C.  D. 
Cook,  Chas.  Howard  and  P.  H.  Kelly.  Horace 
Cummins,  A.  H.  Presnall  and  J.  D.  Morris  are 
at  present  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  In 
1897,  E.  M.  Presnall  was  appointed  postmaster 
and  the  present  incumbent  A.  H.  Presnall  suc- 
ceeded him  in  1900. 

The  first  newspaper  was  the  "Eagle  Lake 
Golden  Prize,"  started  by  A.  H.  Wheeler  in 
January,  1874.  It  suspended  in  May,  1875. 
Sept.  1,  1877.  A.  M.  Morrison  (now  of  the  Man- 
kato  Journal)  and  Wesley  J.  Clark,  purchased 
the  old  printing  outfit  of  the  "Prize"  from  H. 


Cummins  and  started  the  "Eagle  Lake  Inde- 
pendent." In  1879,  Mr.  Morrison  removed  the 
press  to  Canby.  July  30,  1897,  "The  Eagle 
Lake  News"  was  started  by  F.  A.  Swayne,  who 
was  succeeded  in  1899,  by  •  C.  H.  Brown.  In 
September  of  the  same  year,  JI.  H.  Galer  pur- 
chased the  paper  and  later  it  was  published  by 
H.  Cummins  &  Son. 

Eagle  Lake  has  three  churches.  The  Methodist 
Episcopal,  Christian  and  Advent.  The  M.  E. 
Church  traces  its  beginning  to  prayer  meetings 
started  by  Hattie  Britt  in  1864.  Ira  B.  Eey- 
nolds  took  hold  of  the  work  in  1865,  and  helped 
to  keep  the  good  cause  alive.  Rev.  J.  W.  Powell 
became  its  first  pastor  in  the  fall  of  1867.  The 
services  were  held  in  school  houses  and  in  halls 
at  Eagle  Lake  until  1879,  when  a  church  build- 
ing was  put  up  and  occupied  that  fall,  though 
not  completed  until  1884.  The  edifice  is  30x50 
feet  and  cost  $1,350  besides  the  steeple  which 
was  built  later.  The  dedication  occurred  Feb. 
17,  1884.  Besides  Eev.  Powell,  Eevs.  C.  D. 
Cook  and  N.  B.  Foot  were  especially  identified 
with  the  work  of  this  church.  The  legal  in- 
corporation occurred  Mar.  24,  1875,  when  Elder 
G.  W.  Wright  appointed  the  following  trustees: 
Thos.  Eeeves,  Abraham  Snyder,  Henry  A.  Sim- 
mons, Daniel  Selleck,  and  James  Shields. 
Others,  who  were  prominent  in  building  the 
house  of  worship  were:  I.  B.  Eeynolds,  W.  W. 
Phelps,  H.  Cummins,  A.  H.  Pressnall,  A.  A. 
l\riner,  W.  H.  Allyn  and  J.  J.  Haggard.  The 
church  is  still  in  a  flourishing  condition.  The 
Christian  Cliurch  had  its  beginning  on  the  advent 
of  the  Burgess  family  to  the  town  in  1856.  In 
December  of  that  year  a  church  was  formed 
with  sixteen  members,  the  most  of  them  be- 
longing to  that  prominent  family.  Eev.  J.  M. 
Harris  was  their  first  pastor.  As  soon  as  the 
village  started,  their  place  of  worship  was  re- 
ijioved-  there.  April  22,  1S7  7,  they  became  le- 
yally  incorporated  under  Eev.  Wm.  Burgess  as 
pastor.  S.  M.  Morrison  and  E.  jST.  Pressnall 
presided  at  the  meeting  and  the  first  trustees 
elected  were :  James  jM.  Schwartz,  Edwin  John- 
son and  Pythogaras  Wilson.  Their  church  edi- 
fice was  erected  in  1879. 

The  Seventh  Day  Adventist  Church  of  Eagle 
Lake  was  organized  May  10,  1873,  with  twenty- 


258 


IITSTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COTTNTY 


four  members.  In  1876,  they  pushed  their  work 
with  great  vigor.  Monster  camp  meetings  were 
held  by  the  distinguished  Elder  White  and  many 
converts  made.  Its  first  board  of  trustees  were 
Allen  Moon,  David  Alway  and  Jeremiah  Moon. 
In  March,  1883,  they  purchased  and  removed  to 
Eagle  Lake,  a  church  which  had  been  built  in 
Tinkcom's  addition,  Mankato.  It  is  a  frame 
structure  24x40  feet.  Though  weakened  by  re- 
movals, the  church  is  still  quite  strong. 

The  present  Eagle  Lake  School  house  was 
erected  in  1881. 

The  town  has  always  been  very  active  along 
temperance  lines  and  a  good  Templar's  lodge 
existed  at  one  time  with  a  membership  of  over 
200.  With  the  exception  of  one  or  two  years, 
the  saloons  have  been  forbidden  to  enter  its 
boundary. 

On  June  24,  1902,  the  village  voted  to  incor- 
porate by  a  vote  of  62  to  13.  Its  population 
then  was  367. 

As  we  have  already  stated  in  July,  1873, 
Chas.  E.  Stokes  located  on  the  north  shore  of 
Lake  Alice,  just  where  the  ISTorthwestern  Eail- 
way  crossed  the  east  line  of  the  county,  and 
built  there  a  sawmill.  The  same  fall  Peter  P. 
Smith  built  another  saw  mill  at  the  same  point, 
but  on  the  Waseca  side  of  the  line.  A  railway 
switch  was  put  in,  and  the  place  went  under 
the  name  of  Smith's  Mill.  In  1875,  P.  P.  Eice 
built  the  first  store  on  the  Waseca  side  of  the 
line.  In  July,  1876,  a  townsite  was  platte(i 
called  "Iscomo,"  but  the  old  name  could  not  be 
changed.  P.  P.  Smith  built  the  second  store 
in  June,  1876.  A  postoffice  was  started  at  the 
residence  of  Henry  Lane  about  1876.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1879,  Chas.  P.  Stokes  became  postmaster 
and  was  succeeded  in  Sept.,  1882,  by  Michael  J. 
Eyan  who  had  opened  a  small  store  on  the  Blue 
Earth  County  side  of  the  line.  In  July,  1886, 
C.  E.  Giblin  became  postmaster  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  Mar.,  1890,  by  A.  L.  Lane.  A  depot 
was  built  in  the  fall  of  1883.  In  1886,  an  M. 
E.  Church  was  erected  on  the  Blue  Earth  County 
side  of  the  line.  "The  German  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Trinity  Congregation  of  U.  A.  C.  at 
Smith's  Mill"  was  incorporated  Fov.  14,  1892, 
by  the  following  persons. 


Franz    Piet. 
Fred   Sonnenberg. 
Wm.    Quade. 
Frederick   Stanke. 
Christ    Kringer. 
Frederick    Stanke. 
August  Mitzner. 
Gl.    Stonley. 
Christian  Kringer. 


Franz,    Pietsch. 
August   Riece. 
Julius  J.  Krause. 
Kristin    Linde. 
Fred   Diemer. 
Wm.    Linde. 
Wm.    Tamo. 
H.    Sark. 
Wm.    Wagner. 


A  large  frame  church  was  erected  in  1892,  on 
the  Blue  Earth  County  side  of  the  street  at  a 
cost  of  $2,280.61. 

About  1878,  John  and  Andrew  Anderson  lo- 
cated on  the  east  bank  of  Eagle  Lake  and  they 
were  followed  by  a  number  of  other  Scandi- 
navians. About  1900,  religious  services  were 
started  among  them  at  the  Hill  School  house 
by  the  Swedish  Lutheran  minister  from  Man- 
kato, and  a  Sunday  School  was  maintained,  of 
which    John    Anderson    was    Superintendent. 

On  Section  29  of  Le  Eay  is  located  the  only 
spring  of  mineral  water  in  the  county,  known^ 
as  the  "Morse  Mineral  Springs."  Its  virtues 
were  known  to  the  Indians  and  the  Winnebago 
medicine  man,  Baptiste,  made  use  of  it  in  the 
early  days.  The  medicinal  qualities  of  the 
spring  were  first  discovered  and  utilized  by  the 
whites  about  1889.  A  stock  company  was 
formed  and  the  water  has  since  been  handled  by 
ISTick   Peterson   of   Mankato. 

The  roster  of  the  men  who  enlisted  from  Le 
Eay  in  the  Civil  War: 

Bennett,   Geo.,   Co.  H,   2nd  Reg't. 

Burgess,  -Jacob  L.,  Co.  K,  Heavy  Art. 

Cummins,   Alonzo,    Co.    E,    2nd   Cav. 

Cummins,   Hiram,   Co.   E,   9th   Reg't. 

Cummins,  Horace,   Co.  H,  2nd  Reg't. 

Dane,  Jerome,  Co.  H,  2nd  Reg't;  later  Capt.  Co.  E.  9tli. 

Erickson,   Halver,   Co.    G,   6th   Reg't. 

Granger,   Clias.  H.,   Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Griffin,    John    N.,    Co.    E,    9th    Inf. 

Haslip,  William,   Co.  B,   Mt.   Rangers. 

Jjawson,    Floyd,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav. 

Lawson,    Elisha,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav. 

Mills,    Orin,    Co.   I,   3rd   Reg't. 

Mullen,   Milton   E.,   Co.   G,   6th  Reg't. 

Smdth,  Wm.  G.,  Co.  I,  4th  Reg't. 

Sower,   Geo.   F.,   Co.   E,   9th   Reg't. 

Stewart,  Manasses,  Co.  E,  9th  Reg't. 

Turner,   Isaac,   Co.   A,    1st   H.   Art. 

Ulven,    Andrew,    Co.    E,    9th   Reg't. 

Wagner,  John,   Co.  D,   1st  Heavy  Art. 

Williams,  Emory,  Co.   E,  2nd  Cav. 

York,   Joseph,    Co.    E,   2nd   Cav. 


IIISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUXTY. 


259 


LIME. 

Lime,  like  Jamestown,  is  a  half  township. 
The  Minnesota  Eiver  forms  its  western  bound- 
ary and  about  one  half  of  the  town  is  embraced 
in  its  Talley.  Here  are  found  the  largest  and 
best  stone  quarries  in  the  county.  The  famous 
Klondike  and  McMullen  quarries  are  within  its 
borders.  The  eastern  half  of  the  town  projects 
into  the  "Big  Woods."  The  town  is  said  to 
derive  its  name  from  some  lime  kilns  which 
were  the  first  built  in  the  county.  In  the  east- 
ern end  of  the  town  lies  lake  "Wita"  (an  Indian 
name  signifying  "Island").  There  are  two  large 
islands  in  the  lake,  one  of  which  contains  about 
three  acres  of  land,  and  the  other  about  two 
acres.  The  town  was  about  the  earliest  settled. 
James  Eablin  is  claimed  to  have  been  the  first 
settler.  He  located  with  his  family  on  Section 
32  in  July,  1852.  Among  the  settlers  of  1853, 
were  Evans  Goodrich,  Jared  Lewis,  Hiram  J. 
Puller,  0.  S.  Eedfield,  Eobert  Wardlaw,  Wil- 
liam Wood,  Henry  Goodrich  and  Chris.  Eoos. 
In  1854,  came  Peter  Schulte,  Prank  Borgh- 
ineier,  Henry  Vahle,  Morton  Laflin,  John  H. 
Menne,  Edmund  Buckley  and  John  Henderson. 
In  1855,  came  Daniel  Campbell,  Prank  Henline, 
Edward  Young,  Philip  Patten,  John  G.  Sanger 
and  David  J.  Steel.  In  1856,  a  large  number 
of  settlers  came,  among  whom  were :  John 
Eausch,  Geo.  A.  Schaefer,  John  Hamilton,  Ni- 
cholas Heinzman,  Frederick  Heinze,  Sebastian 
Pfeffer,  Philip  Mueller,  Jacob  Traub,  Jos.  Haas, 
Jacob  Hub,  Patrick  DufFy,  Wm.  H.  Chapman, 
BcnJ.   W.    Stannard   and   Nicholas    Sanger. 

The  first  birth  in  the  town  was  John  Eablin, 
n  son  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eablin,  born  in  1853. 
The  first  death  was  that  of  J.  W.  Parnham  in 
the  spring  of  1856.  The  first  school  was  taught 
by  Eev.  B.  Y.  Coffin  in  the  winter  of  1857-8, 
in  a  vacant  log  cabin  on  the  west  side  of  Sec- 
tion 29,  and  east  of  the  old  Mankato  and  Men- 
dota  road,  in  present  District  No.  44.  This 
building  was  used  for  two  or  three  terms,  when 
the  District  bought  the  log  cabin  of  David 
Steel,  which  served  the  purpose  of  school  house 
until  the  fall  of  1875.  when  a  brick  edifice  was 
erected,  24x36.  In  the  big  wind-storm  of 
July  5,  1880,  this  building  was  badly  wrecked. 


Eeligious  services  were  held  in  1856-7-8  by 
Eev.  B.  Y.  Coffin  at  the  old  log  school  house 
and  the  home  of  David  Steel. 

About  1871,  Chas.  Porster  put  up  a  saw  mill 
at  the  North  end  of  Eagle  Lake,  which  was 
burnt  in  the  fall  of  1873,  but  again  rebuilt  and 
operated  by  Mr.  Porster  for  many  years. 

In  March,  1878,  a  postoffice  was  established 
at  Caroline  station  with  Conrad  Smith  as  po'st- 
master. 

In  the  winter  of  1878-9  a  terrible  epidemic 
of  diphtheria  prevailed  in  the  eastern  part  of 
the  town.  In  less  than  a  year  about  forty-five 
deaths  occured  mostly  among  about  fifteen  fami- 
lies. The  families  of  John  Miller,  John  Krell, 
Jos.  Lunkenheimer,  John  Bushina  and  Gus- 
tavo Oehler  were  especially  afflicted. 

Originally  Lime  was  a  part  of  Kasota  pre- 
cinct and  in  1855,  became  for  nearly  a  year  a 
part  of  LeSueur  County.  Eestored  to  Blue 
Earth  County  in  1856,  it  was  created  into  a 
separate  township  in  April,  1858.  The  chair- 
man of  its  first  Board  of  Supervisors  was,  Evans 
Goodrich. 

Pour  lines  of  railways  pass  through  the  town 
—The  C.  St.  P.  M.  &  0.  Ey.,  the  C.  &  N.  W. 
Ey.,  C.  &  G.  W.  Ey.,  and  the  C.  St.  P.  &  M. 
By.  The  stone  quarry  industry  of  the  town  has 
been  greatly  developed  during  the  last  twenty 
years  and  gives  employment  to  several  hundred 
men.  There  are  three  school  houses  in  the 
town,  and  a  fourth  belonging  to  a  joint  dis- 
trict just  across  the  north  line.  The  Eural 
Free  Delivery  was  'inaugurated  in  the  fall  of 
1900,  and  a  farmers  telephone  line  put  in  about 
1904. 

The  roster  of  the  men  who  enlisted  from 
Lime   for  the   Civil  War  is   as  follows: 

RrittoTi.   Thos.   D..   Co.   E,   2nd   Cnv. 
ToIp.    Fdwin    F..    Cn.    B.    5th    Inf. 
FoHz.  Henrv.   Co.   D.   5th   Inf. 
Cps^pll.    .Tncob,    Co.    F.    9nd    Cnv. 
OilfillRii.   J.ns..   Co.   r.   11th   Inf. 
Oon<1rich-   Evan's,   Co.,  Znd   S.   S. 
nriffi'n.  .Tohn   N.,   Co.   E.  2nf1   Tnf. 
Hpn'iprFon.  TTpnrv.   Co.   TT.   9rid   Tnf. 
TTpndprson.  .Tohn.   Co.   D.   5th  Tnf. 
TTpin?:?,   Fredpripk.    Co.    E.    2nrl    Cav. 
Fpin7P.   Tfohprt.    Co.   F.   ^nrl    Cav. 
F^nimmplI,   Phillin.   Co.   D.   5th   Inf. 
Tvnn^.   .Tos..    Co.    E.   2nrl    Cav. 
I^flin.    A..    Co.    H,    4th    Inf. 
Latoner,   Jos.,    Co.    C,    llth   Inf. 


260 


IliSTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Manafield,  Chas.,  Co.  H,   1st  Inf. 
Menton,    Adanij    Co.    E,   Mt.   Rangers. 
Peterson,   Elias   N.,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 
Philbrick,   Chas.,   Co.   C,    11th   Inf. 
Pishrider,    Geo.,    Co.    E,   Mt.   Kangers. 
Robertson,   Henry,   Co.   C,    11th   Inf. 
Shumacher,  Matthias,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Sohweikert,   John,   Co.   E,   Mt.   Rangers. 
Stannard,  Geo.  J.,   Co.  H,  4th   Inf. 
Stannard,  Hiram,   Co.  H,   2nd   Inf. 
Shaubut,  Franklin,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Steele,   Edwin    D.,    Co.    D,    5th    Inf. 
Westlake,   Jas.   F.,   Co.   K,   7th   Inf. 
Westover,  0.  J.,  Co.  E,  9th   Inf. 
Wildes,  Marcus  T.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rangers. 
Williams,  James  A.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 


LINCOLN". 

The  first  settler  in  Lincoln  was  Archibald 
Law,  who  came  from  near  Janesville,  Wis.,  and 
located  with  his  family  on  portions  of  the 
westerly  halves  of  Sections  30  and  31  in  June 
1855.  He  was  followed  on  July  10,  of  the  same 
year  by  Isaac  Slocum,  father  of  Chas.  E.  Slo- 
cum  now  of  Madelia,  who  settled  with  his  family 
on  the  southwest  one-fourth  of  Section  31. 
Dr.  Jos.  C.  Tibbie  arrived  with  the  Slocum 
family  on  Nov.  17,  1855,  and  located  on  parts 
r-.i  Sections  19  and  20.  They  were  from  Ripon, 
Wis.  In  the  spring  of  1856,  came  Conrad 
Stultz  and  settled  in  Section  18.  Early  in  the 
summer  of  1857,  Alfred  and  Smith  Keech  came 
with  their  families  to  Section  32.  In  the  fall 
of  1857,  Isaac  Bundy  and  his  son,  Willis  G. 
Bundy,  located  claims  in  Sections  30  and  20  and 
returning  to  their  old  homes  in  Beloit,  Wis., 
brought  their  families  to  Lincoln  the  next  spring. 

There  was  hardly  any  further  settlement  made 
until  after  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  Nor- 
wegians and  Swedes  began  settling  in  the  town. 
During  1864-5-6  the  Norwegians  commenced  to 
occupy  the  north  part  of  the  town.  Among 
those  who  came  then  were;  Capt.  E.  P.  Lieberg, 
Knute  Halvorson,  Matthew  Simon,  Ole'  Soren, 
Herman  Olson,  Ole  Olson  (Skilewag),  Nels  Tor- 
gerson,  John  Hustroft,  Jacob  Jacobson,  Hogan 
Nelson,  Kittle  Rasmussen,  John  C.  Johnson  and 
Fred  Johnson.  The  latter  came  from  Batavia, 
Wis.  in  1866,  and  still  resides  on  his  homestead 
in  Section  4. 

In  October,  1865,  came  Rev.  John  A.  Peter- 
son, Andrew  Swenson,  Andrew  Erickson  and 
Mons    Johnson,    all    from    near    Carver,    Sibley 


County,  Minn,  and  took  claims  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Lincoln.  The  following  year 
came  Peter  M.  Peterson,  Swen  Martinson,  An- 
drew Granlund,  Swen  Bergtson  and  Swen  and 
Peter  Swenson,  also  from  near  Carver.  In  1867, 
came  Rev.  .John  Erickson,  Andrew  Erickson, 
Jonas  P.  Johnson  and  Aug.  W.  Johnson.  These 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  present  Swedish  Bap- 
tist settlement  of  Lincoln.  During  this  same 
period  came  the  American  families  of .  Chas.  E. 
TenEyck,  John  W.  Trask,  N.  W.  Conger, 
David  Quinn,  Richard  B.  Sprague,  C.  D.  Hallo- 
way,  A.  H.  Fairbanks,  William  Roberts  and  M. 
H.    Miller. 

The  town  was  designated  '^Richfield"  on  April 
6,  1858,  and  on  the  16th  of  the  same  month 
the  name  was  changed  to  "Fox  Lake"  (See 
Ceresco).  Sept.  6,  1865,  the  County  Commis- 
sioners separated  the  town  from  Ceresco,  to 
which  it  had  heretofore  been  attached,  and  made 
it  into  an  independent  town  under  the  name  of 
"Lincoln,"  after  the  great  War  President.  The 
first  town  election  was  held  September  26,  1865, 
at  the  home  of  John  W.  Trask,  when  the  fol- 
lowing .officers  were  chosen:  Supervisors,  Isaac 
Slocum,  Chr.,  S.  D.  Halloway  and  Isaac  Bundy; 
clerk,  J.  W.  Trask;  treasurer,  J.  C.  Tibbie; 
justices,  Albert  Keech  and  Wm.  Roberts;  con- 
stables, A.  H.  Fairbanks  and  M.  H.  Miller.  The 
first  school  was  taught  by  Henry  Goff  in  the 
winter  of  1862-3  in  a  log  building  which  Isaac 
Slocum  had  built  for  a  shop.  It  lasted  only  two 
months  and  there  were  fifteen  scholars  in  at- 
tendance. The  first  school  district  was  No.  15, 
v/hich  was  organized  about  1859,  and  a  log  school 
house  built  about  1866-7.  Sept.  1,  1866,  school 
district  No.  85  was  organized  on  petition  of 
E.  P.  Lieberg  and  others.  The  first  officers 
were  Capt.  E.  P.  Lieberg,  Ole  Soren  and  John 
C.  Johnson.  A  small  log  school  house  was 
erected  in  the  spring  of  1871,  on  Section  8.  The 
first  school  in  this  district  was  taught  by  Miss 
Mary  Plymat  of  Garden  City.  A  good  frame 
school  house  was  built  later.  In  1870  a  school 
house  was  built  in  district  119,  and  in  the 
summer  of  1873,  a  brick  school  .house,  20x30 
feet  was  erected  in  district  67  to  replace  the 
old  log  building.  About- 1880,  this  brick  edi- 
fice was  wrecked  by  a  storm; 


HISTORY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUATY. 


261 


In  November^  186  ;■,  a  new  postofiice  called 
"Iceland"  was  established  in  Lincoln  with  Dan- 
iel Qumn  as  postmaster.  In  Aug.,  1869,  Mr. 
Quinn  resigned  and  A.  H.  Fairbanks  succeeded 
him  as  keeper  of  the  U.  iS.  mail. 

The  Swedish  people  under  Rev.  John  A. 
Peterson  began  holding  religious  services  shortly 
after  their  arrival  in  the  spring  of  1866.  In 
1868,  a  Swedish  iiaptist  CHurcn  was  organized 
by  Rev.  Peterson  witn  twenty-live  members.  For 
some  time  this  society  worshiped  in  private 
houses,  but  as  soon  as  the  school  house  in  dis- 
trict No.  119  was  built  in  1870,  the  services 
were  removed  thitlier.  in  A'ovember,  1873,  Rev. 
John  A.  Peterson  resigned  to  accept  a  Uaptist 
Church  in  Minneapolis  and  Rev.  John  Erick- 
son  took  charge  of  tlie  Lincoln  Church.  June 
16,  1876,  the  church  was  incorporated  by  the 
election  of  the  following  trustees:  Mons  Peter- 
son, And.  Swenson,  A.  Grunlund,  A.  Erederick- 
son  and  A.  P.  Erickson.  In  1881,  a  very  tasty 
frame  church  was  erected  on  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  Andrew  Simonson's  land,  in  the  center 
of  Section  a6.  The  church  membership  has 
ranged  between  60  and  70. 

The  Norwegians  were,  also,  a  religious  peo- 
ple and  belonged  almost  entirely  to  the  Luth- 
eran faith.  The  first  services  were  conducted  at 
private  houses,  until  the  erection  of  the  log 
school  house  in  District  85,  when  they  were 
held  there,  and  in  tlie  present  frame  school 
building,  until  the  house  of  worship  was  erected 
in  1894.  Rev.  Nels  Olsen  was  among  the  first 
to  preach  in  the  neighborhood.  The  first  meet- 
ing for  organization  was  held  at  the  house  of 
Peter  Langen  in  Section  3,  on  Aug.  37,  1876, 
when  the  following  persons  were  chosen  trus- 
tees: Peter  Langen,  Wm.  Peterson  and  E. 
Thomson.  The  name  then  adopted  was  "The 
Norwegian  Lutheran  Evangelical  Church  of 
Butternut  Valley."  Three  years  later  at  a  meet- 
ing in  the  house  of  Herman  Olson  the  name 
was  amended  by  adding  thereto,  "and  Lincoln." 
Again  at  a  business  meeting  of  the  church  held 
Nov.  6,  1882,  at  the  log  school  house  No.  85, 
new  articles  &f  incorporation  were  adopted,  with 
Sivert  Kelley,  Erland  Lindso  and  Erland  Kelley 
as  trustees,  Ered  and  Nels  Johnson  as  witnesses. 


and  the  name  selected  was  "The  Norwegian  Luth- 
eran Evangelical  Church  of  Lincoln."  June  9, 
1883,  Herman  H.  Olson  gave  the  congregation  a 
deed  for  two  acres  of  land  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  southwest  one-fourth  of  the  southwest- 
one-fourth  of  Section  5  for  a  cemetery  and 
building  site.  Here  a  fine  church  edifice  was 
erected  in  1894,  costing  about  $1,800.  About 
1883,  Rev.  N.  Heggerness  became  the  pastor 
and  officiated  about  five  years.  Other  minis- 
ters have  been.  Revs.  Christian  Solensten,  S. 
Romsdahl,  S.  A.  Nelson,  J.  H.  Brono,  A.  Hou- 
kom  and  Johan  Matson.  The  first  parochial 
school  in  connection  with  this  church  was 
started  in  private  houses  about  1871.  The  first 
teacher  was  Erick  Swene.  Since  that  time  the 
school  has  usually  been  taught  by  students  from 
Augsburg  Seminary  of  Minneapolis.  Of  late 
years  this  school  has  been  held  at  school  house 
No.  85  for  two  months  after  the  close  of  the 
public   school. 

When  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Ry.  was 
extended  westward  from  Lake  Crystal  in  1870, 
a  way  station,  with  side  track  and  platform, 
was  located  near  the  east  line  of  Section  7, 
Lincoln.  A  telegraph  office  was  put  in  later. 
The  station  was  called  Iceland,  until  1906, 
when  the  name  was  changed  to  Perth.  A  far- 
mers co-operative  creamery  was  built  in  1890,  in 
Section  15,  with  Wm.  Kittlespn  as  the  first 
buttermaker.  A  rural  mail  route  was  established 
in  1900,  from  Lake  Crystal,  and  a  farmers  tele- 
phone line  was  built  from  Madelia  in  1904. 
'L'o  sum  up,  Lincoln  has  five  school  houses,  two 
fine  churches,  one  railroad  with  telegraph  sta- 
tion, a  creamery,  two  rural  free  delivery  routes 
and  two  telephone  lines. 

LYRA. 

Lyra  is  traversed  by  both  the  Maple  and 
Blue  Earth  rivers  and  is  rich  of  soil  and  beau- 
tiful for  situation.  The  first  white  settlers  were 
Noble  G.  Root  and  Barney  Simmons  with  their 
families  in  the  fall  of  1854.  Early  in  1855,  the 
Winnebago  Reservation  was  located  by  the  govern- 
ment in  Blue  Earth  County  and  made  to  include 
the  present  town  of  Lyra,   and  these  two  settl- 


262 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


eis  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  claims  early 
in  185C.  April  16,  1858,  the  County  Conunis- 
sioners  named  the  town  "Tecumseh."  On  the 
removal  of  the  \Vinnebagos  in  1863,  the  town 
"was  restored  to  white  settlement  and  was  at- 
tached to  Mapleton  for  ofEicial  purposes,  fciome 
time  before  the  Indian  removal,  Jiarnabas  Sim- 
mons had  moved  back  to  his  old  claim,  in  Section 
33  and  lived  with  the  Indians  undisturbed.  The 
first  permanent  settler  after  the  Indian  removal 
was  Marcus  L.  Plumb,  who  located  on  Section 
2S  in  the  spring  of  1864.  The  same  year  Ly- 
sander  Cook  settled  on  Section  5,  Jason  and 
Calvin  M.  Drake  on  Section  4,  Eev.  Jesse  M. 
Thurston  on  Section  3,  Gottfried  Glaucke  on 
Section  14,  Chas.  ISl.  Plumb  on  Section  28,  Ean 
Blossom  on  Section  18,  Ered  and  William  Hilke  on 
Sections  32  and  16,  Volney  Crandall  on  Section  28, 
Levi  Hauk  on  Section  10  and  Jos.  C.  Harlow  on 
Section  3.  In  1865-6  came  Gilbert  Webster, 
Marion  Hills,  Simon  and  Thos.  Garvin,  Ephraim 
Palmer,  John  G.  Morris,  Martin  Schroeder, 
Johnathan  Townsend,  Clark  Puifer,  Joshua 
Burgess, ,  Geo.  E.  Beals,  Geo.  Wilson  and  Har- 
vey Case.  In  1867-8  came  0.  Cassody,  Andrew 
L.  Heaton,  John  B.  Eadcliff,  Eev.  Fredrick,  A. 
Pratt,  Benj.  S.  Hawes,  and  Wm.  and  Patrick 
Mountain    and    Thos.    Benedict. 

May  29,  1866,  the  County  Commissioners 
granted  the  petition  of  Marcus  L.  Plumb  and 
twenty-six  others  for  organization  of  the  town 
and  a  meeting  for  the  purpose  appointed  for 
the  first  Tuesday  in  July,  at  the  house  of  Mar- 
tin Schroeder.  Through  some  defect  of  notice 
another  date  had  to  be  set.  Accordingly  on 
September  1,  1866,  the  Commissioners  appointed 
September  22,  as  the  date  for  the  first  meeting 
at  Martin  Schroeder's  house,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  name  of  the  town  was  changed  from 
''Winneshiek"  to  "Lyra."  The  new  name  had 
been  suggested  by  Eev.  J.  M.  Thurston,  after 
a  town  he  had  come  from  in  the  east.  The 
name  had  long  been  applied  to  places  in  a 
number  of  states.  It  comes  to  us  from  ancient 
mythology  and  was  originally  used  to  designate  a 
northern  constellation  under  the  Ptolemaic 
system,  as  it  was  supposed  to  represent  the  lyre, 
carried    by    Appolo.      The    first    town    officers 


were:  Supervisors,  Gilbert  Webster,  chairman, 
Clark  Puffer  and  Volney  Crandall;  clerk,  Ly- 
sander  Cook;  treasurer,  Gottfried  Glaucke,  jus- 
tices, M.  L.  Plumb  and  Ephraim  Palmer;  con- 
stables, Martin  Schroeder  and  Chas.  N.  Plumb. 

The    first    birth    occured    in    the    family    of 
Barney   Simmons   in   1855.     The   first   marriage 

was  that  of  Chas.  N.  Plumb  to  Miss  A E. 

Meilicke,  celebrated  at  the  house  of  M.  L. 
Plumb,  in  Section  28,  by  Eev.  J.  M.  Thurston 
in  December,  1865.  The  first  religious  services 
were  conducted  at  the  same  house  by  the  same 
minister  in  the  fall  of  1864.  The  first  school 
was  taught  by  Miss  Elvira  Eew  in  the  summer 
of  1867,  in  a  log  school  house  located  on  the 
present  site  of  Good  Thunder. 

The  first  mill  in  town  was  a  water  power 
saw  mill  built  in  the  summer  of  1865  by  Lasli- 
brook  &  Gates  on  the  Maple  river  near  the 
northeast  corner  of  Section  28.  In  a  year  or 
two  Eri  L.  Lashbrook  sold  out  and  the  mill  was 
owned  and  operated  for  four  or  five  years  by 
Trowbridge  &  Gates,  and  then  the  machinery 
was  removed.  In  February,  1866,  another  small 
water  power  saw  mill  was  built  by  Hiram  B. 
Doty  (or  Doughty  as  sometimes  written)  on 
the  j\Iaple  river  in  the  northeast  quarter  of 
Section  28.  In  Feb.  1868,  Doty  sold  a  half 
interest  in  the  mill  property  to  Merritt  Pierce, 
who  a  year  later  sold  it  to  A.  M.  Hewitt.  Doty 
operated  this  mill  until  about  1876,  when  he 
removed  it  to  Section  4,  added  a  feed  mill  to 
it  and  put  in  steam  power.  This  last  mill  he 
operated  until  about  1888.  In  1868,  Oren  Pal- 
mer and  Allen  Miller  built  a  saw  and  grist  mill 
on  the  Maple  near  where  the  railway  bridge 
now  crosses  that  river.  The  saw  mill  machinery 
was  taken  out  after  a  few  years,  and  in  March, 
1881,  the  mill  sold  to  E.  F.  Wilson,  who  ran  it 
for  two  or  three  years,  when  it  was  abandoned. 
In  1867  Post  &  Doak  built,  on  the  Blue  Earth 
Elver,  in  Section  18,  a  small  water  power  saw 
and  feed  mill.  The  next  year  William  H.  and 
x\aron  S.  Post  became  sole  proprietors.  In 
June,  1869,  they  purchased  of  Doak  the  south-  . 
west  one-fourth  of  the  northeast  one-fourth  of 
Section  18,  for  a  mill  site  and  in  May,  1870, 
sold  the  plant  to  Herbert  W.  Dart.     Dart  made 


mSTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


263 


use  of  an  ancient  bed  of  the  river  to  construct 
a  new  mill  race,  which  afforded  a  much  better 
water  power  and  more  convenient  site  for  the 
mill,  which  now  had  been  changed  to  a  fair 
sized  grist  and  shingle  mill.  In  January,  1871', 
Dart  sold  the  mill  to  Henry  0.  JJ^er,  who  in 
turn  sold  an  interest  in  it  in  October,  1878,  to 
Thos.  G.  Quayle.  The  mill  was  now  removed  to 
the  top  of  the  bluff,  enlarged,  and  operated  by 
means  of  a-  cable,  which  communicated  with  the 
waterpower  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff.  From  this  de- 
vice it  was  called  "Cable  Mills."  It  was  now  ex- 
clusively a  grist  mill.  With  its  new  machinery 
and  under  the  management  of  two  such  able 
niiUers  as  Quayle  and  Dyer,  it  soon  became  very 
popular.  In  June,  1879,  the  mill  was  sold  to 
Turner  &  Redfeam,  who  operated  it  with 
good  success  until  about  1893,  when  they  sold 
it  to  W.  T.  Thompson  &  Sons.  In  March,  1900, 
the  mill  was  purchased  by  Joseph  Kreuer,  and 
ia  August,  1905,  was  struck  by  lightning  and 
burned. 

About  1870,  Geo.  Doty  built  a  mill  on  the- 
Maple  river  in  Section  2,  which  he  operated 
for  a  few  years,  called  the  "Elkhorn  Mills."  In 
the  fall  and  winter  of  1905,  E.  L.  Houk  and 
Walter  Eedfern  built  a  large  steam  grist  mill 
at  Good  Thunder  which  burned  in  the  summer 
of  1908. 

During  the  days  of  the  Winnebago  Eeserva- 
tion,  an  Indian  chief  called.  Good  Thunder, 
occupied  the  log  buildings  and  field  which  had 
constituted  the  homestead  of  Noble  G.  Eoot  in 
Section  10.  Here  was  a  good  ford  of  the  Maple 
river,  which  after  the  chief  was  called  "Good 
Thunder's  Ford."  When  the  Wells  Eailroad 
was  located  in  1869-70,  the  proprietors  ar- 
ranged to  have  a  depot  and  town  site  near  this 
ford. 

In  October,  1870,  John  G.  Graham,  who  had 
been  in  the  mercantile  business  with  Chas.  B. 
Prazier  at  Garden  City,  began  the  erection  of 
a  store  building,  10x24,  at  the  proposed  new 
town,  which  he  opened  that  fall.  The  car- 
penter work  on  this  first  building  in  Good  Thun- 
der was  done  by  B.  F.  Webber,  afterwards  the 
eminent  judge  of  the  Ninth  District.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.   Graham  moved  to  the   new .  building  Nov. 


30,  1870,  and  were  the  first  settlers  in  Good 
Thunder  village,  ilay  6,  1871,  a  new  postoffice 
called  "Good  Thunder's  Ford"  was  established 
with    Mr.    Graham   as   postmaster. 

The  new  town  was  surveyed  in  April,  1871, 
in  the  west  one-half  of  northwest  one-fourth  of 
Section  10,  and  the  plat  made  by  Levi  Houk, 
(^lark  W.  Thompson,  Jas.  B.  Hubbell  and  John 
A.  Willard,  and  dated  August  26,  1871.  It 
was  called  "Good  Thunder"  after  the  old  name 
of  the  ford.  The  second  store  was  opened 
early  in  1871,  by  L.  E.  Saxton  &  Son,  and  the 
third  settler  in  the  town  was  A.  S.  Handy,  who 
started    a    blacksmith    shop    there    in    February, 

1871.  In  the  spring  of  the  same  year  B.  S. 
Hawes    opened    a   general    store;    and   in   April, 

1872,  Chas.  Hawcs  succeeded  Mr.  Graham  as 
postmaster.  September,  18  Tl,  Oscar  Cassidy 
was  appointed  postmaster  and  was  succeeded 
in  February,  1876  by  L.  B.  Saxton,  who  had 
started  a  small  drug  store  in  town  in  1871.  H. 
Wiedenhaft  opened  a  boot  and  shoe  store  this 
same  year.  Dr.  A.  G.  Meilicke  located  there 
about  the  same  time.  In  the  fall  of  1873,  the 
village  built  a  two  story  frame  school  house, 
24x40,  A.  W.  Barron  of  Medo  being  the  con- 
tractor. The  railroad  was  not  completed  to 
the  village  until  the  latter  part  of  September, 
1874,  when  a  depot  was  built.  A  tow  mill  was 
built  in  fall  of  1873.  A  cornet  band  was 
organized  by  Professor  Howe  in  winter  of 
1875-6,  which  flourished  several  years.  Fred 
Mann  opened  a  mercantile  store  there  in  1875, 
A.  F.  Billet  started  a  harness  shop  in  1876. 
In  1878,  John  G.  Graham  built  a  three  story 
frame  building  fox  a  hotel  and  hall  adjoining 
his  store,  which  was  opened  with  a  ball  on 
July  4,  that  year.  The  same  year  Aug.  Ludtke 
started  a  store,  which  he  sold  to  Sohre  &  Wend- 
landt  in  March,  1882.  In  1898,  L.  E.  Saxton 
died  and  his  son,  John  Saxton,  was  appointed 
postmaster  in  his  stead.  In  1881,  Austin  & 
Flannegan  had  a  saw  and  grist  mill  at  the  vil- 
lage, and  J.  J.  F.  Graf  handled  hardware  and 
farm  machines.  Dec.  15,  1883,  a  Hook  and 
Ladder  Co.  was  organized  in  the  village  with 
J.  G.  Graham  as  foreman  and  J.  J.  F.  Graf  as 
assistant,    and    some    apparatus    procured.       In 


264 


HTSTORY  OP  BLtJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


1885,  H.  Weidenheft  built  a  brick  block  and  in 
July  oi  same  year  J.  G.  Graham  was  made  post- 
master. 

Kev.  Jesse  M.  Thurston  was  a  prominent 
character  in  the  early  history  of  Lyra.  He  was 
a  Eaptist  by  faith,  and  it  was  natural  that 
under  his  lead  the  hrst  church  in  town  should 
belong  to  that  denomination.  The  services  were 
conducted  usually  at  M.  L.  Plumb's  house,  until 
the  log  school  house  was  built  on  the  site  of 
Good  Thunder,  when  they  were  transferred 
thither.  Here  in  Oct.,  1867,  the  "Maple  Elver 
iiaptist  Church"  was  organized  by  liev.  Thurs- 
ton with  eight  members.  Dec.  "Zl,  1874,  the 
following  trustees  were  chosen:  Marion  Hills, 
Henry  Dyer,  Chas  Hawes,  Thos.  Garvin,  Oscar 
Cassidy.  and  Gustavus  Meilicke.  The  society 
worshiped  in  a  hall  until  the  last  of  Novem- 
ber, 1884,  when  they  first  occupied  their  pres- 
ent house  of  worship,  built  that  season  on  Lot 
5,  Elock  9,  of  Good  Thunder.  The  M.  E., 
aJeo,  held  services  at  school  house  98,  in  the 
early  days  and  organized  in  the  village  in  1878, 
under  the  liev.  J.  W.  Powell.  Catholic  ser- 
vices were  conducted  by  Father  Wirth  of  Man- 
kato  early  in  1874,  at  the  house  of  Wm.  Moun- 
tain on  iriection  29,  where  they  continued  until 
1878,  when  a  chapel  was  erected  at  the  village, 
costing  $2,500.  The  church  was  legally  incor- 
porated as  the  "The  Church  of  St.  Joseph  of 
Good  Thunder"  April  14,  1885,  by  Bishop  John 
Ireland,  Augustine  Eevaux,  A^icar  General  of 
Diocese,  Thos.  Duane,  pastor;  and  Andrew  Mc- 
Carthy and  Wm.  Mountain  lay  members.  The 
first  German  Lutheran  services  were  conducted 
by  Eev.  Albert  Kuhl  at  the  village  school  house. 
In  the  summer  of  1877,  a  frame  church  was 
erected,  and  a  parsonage  in  the  fall.  Septem- 
ber, 1885,  they  purchased  the  Adventist  church 
for  a  parochial  school  house,  and  a  school  opened 
in  November,  with  Adolph  Kahlo  as  teacher. 
A  parsonage  for  the  teacher  was  built  in  fall 
of  1886.  Eev.  August  Wollf  was  prominent  as 
its  early  pastor.  The  church  was  incorporated 
May  29,  1882,  as  "German  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Johannes  Church  at  Good  Thunder,"  with 
the  following  trustees:  Gottfried  Schwan,  Fred 
Bleedorn,  John  Sompke,  and  John  Bosin.  June 


5,  1898,  the  following  new  trustees  were  ap- 
pointed: Ered  Pautsch,  Carl  Matzke  and  Ed- 
ward Malzahn,  with  Herman  Darge  and  C. 
Breuscke  presiding.  In  the  winter  of  1887-8 
a  split  occured  in  the  church.  Eev.  Applo  was 
the  leader  of  the  seceding  wing,  and  for  about 
a  year  there  was  great  commotion  among  the 
people.  The  two  pastors  met  in  a  large  hall  to 
discuss  in  joint  debate  the  question  at  issue  and 
great  crowds  gathered  to  hear  them.  The  se- 
ceding party  incorporated  July  23,  1890,  as 
the  "German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Immanuel 
Church  of  Good  Thunder,"  with  Louis  Kran- 
hold,  P.  C.  Witting  and  E.  Christ  Blume  as 
trustee.  A  church  building  was  erected  later. 
In  1895,  the  Johannas  Church  erected  a  fine 
new  brick  building  costing  about  $11,000.  The 
dedication  occurred  September  20th  of  that  year, 
when  an  immense  crowd  gathered  to  listen  to 
the  impressive  service.  A  number  of  prominent 
divines  were  present  and  delegations  from  the 
Lutheran  Churches  of  Maidcato,  Lake  Crystal, 
Eapidan,  Willow  Creek,  Amboy,  Danville  and 
St.  Clair  attended  the  impressive  services. 

Early  in  the  eighties  the  Seventh  Day  Advent- 
ists  organized  a  church  at  Good  Thunder.  In 
the  fall  of  1883,  they  built  a  chapel  which 
was  dedicated  on  February  17,  1884,  Elder 
Olson  officiating.  The  church  grew  rapidly  in 
those  days,  and  in  the  fall  of  1885,  their  chapel 
became  too  small,  and  it  was  sold  and  a  larger 
chapel  erected  that  fall.  Eev.  M.  W.  Gregory 
was  their  pastor  at  that  time.  The  church  is 
still   flourishing. 

May  10,  1895,  Bishop  Gilbert  held  Episcopal 
services  at  Good  Thunder,  when  it  was  decided  to 
form  a  church  and  build  a  chapel.  The  latter 
was  erected  during  the  summer  at  a  cost  of 
$1,050. 

May  3,  1890,  Good  Thunder  voted  $5,000  to 
build  a  new  school  house.  A  fine  two  story 
brick  edifice  was  completed  in  1892,  and  Chas. 
Hawes  was  the  first  teacher  therein.  He  had 
taught  the  first  school  in  Good  Thunder  ■  twen- 
ty-three years  before  in  the  old  log  building. 
Sept.  6,  1891,  the  Good  Thunder  Herald  was 
started  by  Frank  H.  GrifEin,  which  paper  is 
still    doing   well.      January    6,    1893,    the   Bank 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


■265 


of  Good  Thunder  was  organized  with  the  fol- 
lowing directors:  W.  E.  Wilmot,  A.  C.  Wilmot, 
J.  G.  Graham,  W.  H.  McGrew,  D.  McCarthy, 
Wm.  Ellis  and  H.  G.  DetlafE.  The  bank  started 
about  Eeb.  1,  1893.  In  July  of  this  year  E.  H. 
Morlock  succeeded  A.   C.  Wilmot  as  cashier. 

In  March,  1889,  C.  L.  Saxton  was  appointed 
postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  in  Aug.  1893, 
by  F.  H.  GriflEin,  who  in  turn,  August  1897, 
was  succeeded  by  W.  A.  Wilsie.  March  3,  1893, 
Good  Thunder  voted  to  incorporate  as  a  village 
by  a  vote  of  seventy-nine  to  fourteen. 

We  have  spoken  elsewhere  of  Good  Thunder 
as  the  center  of  the  Alliance  movement  in  our 
county  and  of  its  great  celebrations.  The  place 
today  is  a  live  substantial  village  enjoying  a 
good  trade. 

MANKA.TO. 

We  have  given  much  space  to  the  settlement 
and  growth  of  Mankato  both  city  and  township 
in  the  general  history  of  the  county  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  repeat  the  same  facts  again. 
Besides,  a  complete  history  of  our  county  seat, 
would  require  a  volume  of  itself,  and  space  will 
not  permit  such  particularity.  I  shall,  there- 
fore, only  review  a  few  facts  very  briefly.  Man- 
kato was  founded  in  February  1853.  Incor- 
porated as  a  village  March  2,  1865,  and  as  a 
city  March  6,   1868. 

The  roster  of  its  Mayors  are  as  follows: 

James    A.    Wiswell,    1808-70. 
Z.    Paddock,     1870-72. 
J.   J.   Thompson,   1872-75. 
Jas.   A.   Wiswell,    1875-79. 
Edwin   Bradley,    1879-81. 
Jas.  A.  Wiswell,  1881-82. 
Geo.    Maxfield,    1882-84. 
Geo.  M.   Palmer,    1884-85. 
Geo.  T.  Barr,   1885-87. 
P.   H.   Carney,    1887-91. 
John   A.   Willard,    1891-93. 
Edgar  A.  Weaver,   1893-97. 
A.  E.  Pfau,   1897-1899. 
F.   M.    Currier,    1899-1901. 
Nicholas    Peterson,    1901-1903. 
Chas.  T.   Taylor,   1903-1907. 
J.  W.   Andrews,   1907. 

The  list  of  postmasters  of  Mankato: 

P.   K.   Johnson,    1853-1856. 
Basil   Moreland,    1856-1860. 
Fred  C.  Roosevelt,   1860-1861. 
Reuben  J.   Sibley,    1861-1864. 
Miss   Anna   M.   Sibley,    1864-1865. 


James   Thompson,   1865-1869. 

W.    B.    Griswold,    1869-1871. 

Orville  Brown,  1871-1883. 

L.    P.   Hunt,    1883-1885. 

John   C.   Wise,    1885-1886. 

James   Cannon,   1886-1890. 

W.  'W.   P.  McConnell,    1890-1894. 

John   C.   Wise,    1894-1897. 

L.    P.    Hunt,    1897-1902. 

C.  L.   Benedict,   1902-1907. 
A.  J.  Veigel,   1907. 

The  public  school  buildings  of  Mankato,  and 
the   dates   of   their  erection: 

Log    School    House,    1855. 
Union,   1866-7. 
Pleasant  Grove,  1871. 
Franklin,    1874. 
West    Mankato,    1885. 
High  School,  1891. 
East   Mankato,    1895. 

List   of    Superintendents: 

Jenness,  1867-8. 

Henry    Barnard,    1868-9. 

E.  D.  B.   Porter,   Sept.   and   Oct.,    1869. 

A.   P.   Tukey,    1869-74. 

David  Donovan,   1874-5. 

A.   F.   Bechdolt,    1876-80. 

Wm.    F.    Gorrie,    1880-4. 

K.  K.  Denfeld,  1884-6. 

A.  F.  Bechdolt,  1886-92. 

Geo.  F.  Kenaston,  1892-7. 

A.   W.  Varney,   1897-9. 

Edwin  B.   Uline,   1899-04. 

James    M.    McConnell,    1904    

Second  State  Normal  School  located  at  Man- 
kato, was  started  Oct.  ?,  1868.  The  first  part 
of  its  present  building  was  erected  in  1869-70. 
A  large  addition  was  made  to  the  building  in 
1894,  another  addition  in  1906,  and  a  second 
building  erected  in  1908. 

The  presidents  of  the  school  have  been: 

Geo.    M.    Gage,    1868-1872. 

Miss   J.   A.   Sears,   1872-1873.      (Acting  president). 

D.  C.   John,    1873-1880. 
Edward  Searing,  1880-1898. 

Chas.  H.   Cooper,   1898  to  present   time. 

Mankato,  also,  has  two  large  parochial  schools 
and  two  private  commercial  colleges.  The  Ger- 
man Catholic  school  was  started  in  the  fall  of 
1865,  with  three  sisters  of  Notre  Dame  in 
charge.  In  1875-6  the  present  large,  four  story, 
brick  building  was  erected.  After  this  a  male 
teacher  was  also  employed.  The  first  was  Jo- 
seph Karl,  succeeded  in  1877,  by  Nicholas 
Moes,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  in  1898/  by 
Frau    Suellentrop. 

The  school  has  increased  from  eighty-seven 
pupils  the  first  year,  to  over  600  at  present. 


266 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


The  German  Lutheran  School  was  started 
January  16,  1883,  by  Eev.  K.  P.  Schulze  with 
thirteen  scholars,  which  increased  to  ninety- 
seven  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Theo.  Dies- 
uer  was  soon  employed  as  teacher  to  relieve  Rev. 
Schulze,  whose  pastoral  duties  required  all  his 
time.  Mr.  Diesner  did  not  prove  a  success  and 
resigned  in  March,  1884,  and  Rev.  Schulze  was 
obliged  to  resume  the  care  of  the  school  until 
May,  1885,  when  Prof.  F.  L.  F.  Brockmeyer 
was  put  in  charge,  and  remained  at  the  head 
of  the  school  with  great  success  until  failing 
health  obliged  him  to  resign.  The  school  now 
numbered  over  200  pupils  and  a  fine  two  story 
brick  school  building  was  erected  in  1905. 

The  Mankato  Commercial  College  was  started 
June  10,  1891,  by  Howard  L.  Rucker  and 
Arthur  G.  Matter.  After  one  year.  Prof.  Rucker 
sold  his  interest  to  H.  J.  Brandrup.  In  1896, 
Prof.  Matter  sold  out  to  W.  E.  Freeman.  The 
latter  retired  in  1898,  to  become  county  super- 
intendent of  schools,  and  Prof.  Brandrup  was 
sole  proprietor  until  July,  1899,  when  Geo.  E. 
Nettleton  bought  a  half  interest  in  the  school. 
The  growth  of  the  school  has  been  phenomenal. 
Beginning  with  about  half  a  dozen  pupils,  it 
now  has  300  to  400.  Until  1908,  the  school 
occupied  the  upper  story  of  the  Sterns'  Block, 
but  in  the  fall  of  1907,  Brandrup  and  Nettle- 
ton  purchased  the  large  three  story  brick  block, 
which  now  constitutes  the  permanent  home  of 
this  excellent  school. 

The  Toland  Business  University  was  started 
in  the  fall  of  1904,  in  the  upper  story  of  the 
Hubbard-Patterson  Block.  It  met  with  such 
success  that  it  was  soon  obliged  to  branch  out 
for  additional  room  to  empty  stores.  When  the 
Richards  Block  was  constructed  in  1905,  the 
upper  story  was  built  for  the  special  use  of  this 
school,  where  it  is  now  conveniently  located  and 
doing  splendid  work.  The  school  is  owned  by 
Prof.  Chas.  C.  Owen,  and  has  a  splendid  corps 
of  instructors. 

Mankato  has  twenty-two  church  buildings, 
including  those  of  North  j\Iankato,  and  there 
are  two  or  three  religious  societies  who  worship 
in  halls. 


Seventh  Day  Adventists  organized  first  early 
in  the  seventies.  In  the  summer  of  1874,  they 
built  a  house  of  worship  in  Tinkcom's  addition. 
In  three  or  four  years  this  first  society  becarae 
scattered  and  the  church  building  was  removed 
to  Eagle  Lake.  In  1883  the  church  was  reor- 
ganized. September  35,  1888,  the  society  be- 
came incorporated  by  the  election  of  the  follow- 
ing trustees:  David  Quinn,  Wm.  H.  Pettis  and 
Gaylor  Mattison.  Their  present  building  stands 
on  State  street  and  was  erected  in  1888-9.  The 
membership   is   about  eighty. 

First  Baptist  Church,  organized  by  Rev.  J.  R. 
Ash,  August  21,  1859,  with  twelve  charter  mem- 
bers. Worshiped  first  in  Masonic  Hall.  In 
spring  of  1861,  purchased  a  frame  building  of 
James  Cannon,  on  present  site  of  "Review 
Office"  on  Front  street,  which  was  occupied 
by  society  until  May,  1867,  when  it  was  sold 
to  J.  C.  Wise  for  a  printing  office.  After  this, 
the  church  worshiped  in  the  log  school  house, 
and  in  halls  until  May  3,  1868,  when  a  frame 
chapel  was  dedicated  on  site  of  present  church 
on  South  Broad  Street.  Sunday  school  started 
January  28,  1865.  F.  T.  Wait  and  M.  L. 
Plumb  were  first  deacons.  Prominent  among 
its  pastors  were:  J.  W.  Rees,  Wilson  Whitney 
and  F.  E.  R.  Miller.  During  the  pastorate  of 
the  first,  two  members,  who  were  destined  to 
become  great  leaders  and  workers  in  the  church 
joined  it — namely,  W.  C.  Durkee  and  Geo.  M. 
Palmer.  In  1888,  the  present  fine  edifice  was 
erected.     The  membership  is  about  300. 

The  West  Mankato  Branch  Baptist  church 
was  organized  in  1892,  with  twenty-six  mem- 
bers. A.  Sorenson  was  moderator  of  the  meet- 
ing, and  the  other  officers  were:  E.  Strand, 
clerk;  Blomquist,  treasurer;  G.  Tanquist  and 
J.  Johnson,  deacons.  The  church  was  incor- 
porated May  5,  1899,  by  the  election  of  Frank 
Tanquist,  Chas.  Lindfeldt,  and  Gust  Tanquist 
as  trustees.  Their  chapel  was  dedicated  March 
16,  1902.     Members  about  fifty. 

St.  John's  Catholic  Church,  (English)  was 
started  in  June,  1884,  under  Father  John  Prior. 
It  was  legally  incorporated  Aug.  22,  1885,  by 
Bishop  John  Ireland,  Father  A.  Ravaux,  Rev. 
John  Prior  and  James  Doherty  and  James  Car- 


!S^?^'??5'^^ 


I  BLUE  EARTH 

mm, 

Ct  A  A 

MINNESOTA 


MiNNeOPA    FflLLS 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


■267 


ney  lay  members.  The  corner  stone  of  their 
church  building  was  laid  JSov.  24,  188i,  and 
the  dedication  was  held  June  ^0,  1886.  i'ather 
Prior  was  succeeded  by  Father  Daniel  Hughes, 
and  he  by  leather  lioDert  Hughes,  the  present 
pastor.     The    congregation    numbers    about   -±50. 

St.  Peter  and  St.  Pauls  Catholic  Church, 
(German)  was  started  at  a  meeting  held  De- 
cember 30,  1854,  at  the  log  hotel  of  Clements 
Kron.  Father  Kavaux  and  Vivaldi  and  Bishop 
Cretin  ministered  to  the  congregation  untiJ 
March,  1856,  when  Father  Valentine  ISommer- 
eisen  became  the  first  settled  pastor  of  the 
church.  A  log  hut  on  Agency  Hill  was  the 
first  chapel.  A  stone  chapel,  30x40  feet  was 
erected  in  1856.  The  present  fine  church  was 
dedicated  Nov.  23,  1873,  by  Bishop  Thomas 
Grace,  during  the  able  pastorate  of  Father  A. 
Wirth.  The  church  was  put  in  charge  of  the 
Jesuit  Fathers  in  January,  1886.  Many  costly 
improvements  have  been  made  from  time  to 
time  on  the  church  building  and  its  furnish- 
ings, its  equipment  costing  in  all  about  $47,000. 
In  connection  with  this  church,  the  sisters  of  the 
Sorrowful  Mother  erected  St.  Joseph's  Hospital 
— one  of  the  best  and  most  important  institu- 
tions in  the  city.  The  congregation  now  num- 
bers about  3,000,  and  their  present  chief  pastor 
is  Father  Theo.   Hegemann. 

The  First  Christian  Church  was  organized 
May,  1868.  The  charter  members  were :  James 
B.  Elliot,  Elizabeth  Elliot,  Clementine  Elliot, 
E.  W.  Dickenson,  Anna  Dickenson,  Elizabeth 
Chenowith,  Meriam  Eadford,  Eobert  _Sharpe, 
Jessie  Sharpe,  Joseph  Powers,  Cecilly  Powers, 
Levi  Scott,  Mahala  Scott,  Clementine  Levan, 
Amanda  Holmes,  Anna  Brown  and  Sarah  Davis. 
The  first  pastor  was  Eev.  Austin  B.  Council, 
who  began  his  work  in  June,  1870.  The  church 
was  incorporated  Feb.  1,  1871,  by  election  of 
following  trustees:  HayJen  E.  Garrett,  Henry 
S.  Goff,  John  M.  Faddis,  Chauncy  A.  Austin, 
and  Elijah  W.  Dickinson.  Eed  Jacket  Hall 
was  the  first  home  of  the  church,  but  in  1872  its 
first  chapel  was  built.  The  present  edifice  was 
completed  in  1895.  The  membership  is  about 
200  and  the  last  pastor  Eev.  V.  Black  has  re- 
cently resigned. 


First  Congregational  Church  organized  at 
Shoemaker's  Hall,  Aug.  28,  1870.  The  charter 
members  were :  Harvey  JMeacham,  Geo.  S. 
Meacham,  j\largaret  Meacham,  L.  Z.  Torry, 
Harriet  F.  Torrey,  Geo.  M.  Gage,  Elizabeth 
Gage,  J.  A.  Kennedy,  Caroline  Kennedy,  Caro- 
line C.  Brown,  Susie  M.  Dyer,  A.  P.  Tukey, 
Miss  Arabella  Olds  and  Miss  Jeimie  Hayden. 
a^he  church  incorporated  Oct.  29,  1870,  by  the 
election  of  the  following  trustees:  Francis 
Burke,  James  Morrison  and  J.  A.  Kennedy. 
The  first  pastor  was  Eev.  C.  H.  Merril,  followed 
in  two  years  by  Eev.  L.  W.  Chaney.  The  church 
building  was  erected  in  1871,  remodeled  and 
enlarged  in  1906.  The  parsonage  was  built  in 
1907.  Membership  about  150.  Present  pastor 
Eev.  B.  L.  Heermance. 

The  Swedish  Congregational  Church  was  or- 
ganized in  1889,  the  first  trustees  elected  on 
July  25,  of  that  year,  were:  A.  Hjerpe,  An- 
drew Anderson  and  John  P.  Anderson.  John 
Almquist  was  the  first  clerk.  Eev.  G.  A.  Burg 
was  the  first  pastor.  The  church  worshiped  in 
the  old  Swedish  Lutheran  building  until  1895, 
when  the  present  edifice  was  built  on  Belgrade 
Avenue.      jMembership    about    seventy. 

St.  John's  Episcopal  Church  organized  June 
27,  1860,  by  Bishop  Whipple.  Eev.  E.  W. 
Blow  was  the  first  regular  pastor  in  July,  1862. 
He  was  followed  in  April,  1863,  by  Eev.  Geo. 
C.  Tanner,  who  in  turn  was  followed  by  Eev. 
Alpheus-  Spor.  The  first  incorporation  occured 
July  9,  1866,  at  Shoemaker's  Hall  when  the 
following  officers  were  chosen :  Wardens,  N. 
Finch  and  Dr.  J.  C.  Jones;  vestrymen,  0.  0. 
Pitcher,  P.  B.  Sparrow,  J.  HoUenbeck,  C.  D. 
Dunscomb,  A.  L.  Lindholm,  F.  H.  Waite,  J.  A. 
Wiswell,  and  E.  D.  B.  Porter.  The  corner 
stone  of  the  chapel  was  laid  August  15,  1866, 
and  the  building  occupied  in  August,  1867,  but 
not  completed  and  dedicated  until  Dec.  7,  1869. 
The  rectory  was  built  in  1887 — Present  mem- 
bership about  185. 

Jerusalem  Church  of  Evangelical  Associa- 
tion was  organized  in  1868,  and  incorporated 
March  8,  1869,  with  following  trustees;  Geo. 
Eoose,  Geo.  Ortt  and  John  Hauck.  In  1872, 
their    chapel   was    built   under    the   pastorate   of 


268 


HISTORY  OF  BLTJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


Eev.  W.  Oehler  and  dedicated  Dec.  1,  of  that 
year.     The   present   membership   is   about   fifty. 

"(ierman ,  aivangelicai  Ijutuerau  jLmmanuei 
ChurciL"  was  iegaiiy  mcorporateu  oepieuiijer  lo, 
l«oii,  by  Henry  Jlimmelman,  x^'.  rL.  btaner- 
uagie,  Jacob  I'raub,  John  urener  and  Simon 
jDiume.  (ierman  ijucneran  Missionaries  naa 
preacned  occasionaiiy  at  Maniiaco  between  laoU 
ana  18(3(5,  but  tne  congregation  was  not  really 
organizea  until  beptemoer  n,  loo^,  wiien  a 
cnurch  ana  parsonage  were  uuut.  Itev.  VV. 
Vomhof,  the  nrst  regular  pastor  arrivea  m 
August,  18b7.  Jie  resignea  m  less  tnan  a  year 
ana  was  succeedea  by  itev.  A.  Jvunn  br.,  wno 
in  IHH'/i,  was  succeeaed  m  turn  by  Hev.  i^..  i?'. 
Sichuize.  in  October,  1884,  a  large  new  bricJi 
church  was  erected.  Two  years  later  a  good 
parsonage  was  finished.  They  sustain  an  excel- 
lent parochial  school,  and  m  iyU(j,  the  large, 
well  equipped  Immanuel  Hospital  was  built 
under  the  auspices  of  this  churcU.  The  present 
membership  is  about  700  and  Kev.  A.  F.  Win- 
ter is   its   efficient  pastor. 

"Our  Savior's  Norwegian  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran Church"  became  a  legal  body  in  April, 
1871,  by  the  election  of  the  following  trustees : 
Lars  C.  Nilson,  Christina  Hanson  and  Berga- 
men  Joliannesen.  There  had  been  a  congrega- 
tion formed  two  or  three  years  before.  Until 
1875,  the  church  worshiped  in  the  German 
Lutheran  chapel.  In  this  year  the  congregation 
divided  and  two  church  edifices  were  built,  one 
by  the  above  named  corporation  on  the  corner 
of  Pleasant  and  Carroll,  and  the  other  by  the 
"Trinity  Norwegian  Evangelical  Lutheran 
Church"  on  the  corner  of  Van  Brunt  and  Car- 
roll. The  former  has  a  membership  of  about 
130,  under  Eev.  Nils  Norgaard,  and  the  Trinity 
Church  has  about  228  members  under  Eev. 
John  H.  Brono. 

"The  Swedish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Imman- 
uel Church"  dates  its  origin  to  the  year  1871. 
In  those  early  days  it  met  in  private  houses, 
Higgins  Hall,  and  the  old  Court  House.  The 
church  was  organized  in  1874:,  by  the  election 
of  the  following  officers:  Trustees,  Chas  P. 
Hallman,    Louis    Anderson    and    T.    A.    Fait; 


deacons,  John  Freeman,  J.  T.  Hultengren  and 
John  F.  Johnson;  and  clerk,  Chas.  F.  Hallman. 
This  year  a  brick  chapel  was  erected  in  West 
Mankato  and  Eev.  J.  G.  Lagerstrom  became 
their  first  pastor.  In  1886,  a  division  arose  in 
the  church  over  the  question  of  excluding  from 
the  membership  those  who  belonged  to  frater- 
nal societies.  January  10,  1887,  the  seceding 
majority  formed  a  new  organization  under  Eev. 
S.  Anderson  and  the  following  ofEicers  were 
chosen:  Trustees,  Soren  Johnson,  Chas.  Peter- 
son and  John  Dahlen;  deacons,  John  G.  Mag- 
nuson,  Martin  Nelson  and  John  Paulson.  Wil- 
liam's Hall  served  as  a  meeting  place  imtil  the 
erection  of  the  present  fine  house  of  worship 
in  1892,  under  the  able  leadership  of  Eev.  S.  C. 
Franzen.  In  1902,  the  church  received  a  gift 
of  a  pipe  organ  from  Gen.  G.  Widell.  The 
congregation  now  numbers  650  with  250  com- 
municants. 

The  Centenary  M.  E.  Church  was  started  as 
early  as  the  summer  of  1855,  when  a  class  was 
organized  by  Eev.  Lewis  Bell.  Methodist  min- 
isters had  preached  in  the  town  as  early  as 
1853  and  4.  In  October,  1855,  Eev.  John  W. 
Powell  was  appointed  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church.  Meetings  were  held  in  halls  and  the 
log  school  house  until  1866,  when  the  base- 
■ment  of  the  first  church  building  was  finished, 
and  the  superstructure  completed  in  1870.  The 
first  incorporation  of  the  church  occured  Janu- 
ary 3,  1860,  when  the  following  trustees  were 
appointed:  David  Lines,  E.  J.  Sibley,  John 
Hemperly,  Benjamin  Hotaling,  John  N.  Hall, 
Joseph  "Thompson,  and  Isaac  N.  Britton.  It 
was  reincorporated  January  17,  1884,  when 
Elder  J.  N.  Liscomb  appointed  the  following 
trustees:  0.  E.  Mather,  A.  H.  Allen,  Wm.  Pear- 
son, Geo.  W.  Bradley  and  D.  L.  Clements.  In 
1907,  the  present  elegant  edifice  was  erected  at 
a  cost  of  over  $30,000,  under  the  leadership 
of  the  present  pastor,  Eev.  Peter  Clare.  The 
present  trustees  are:  J.  W.  Andrews,  J.  H. 
Baker,  T.  C.  Peart,  John  White,  J.  S.  Young, 
Nelson  Weed,  George  W.  Sugden,  C.  Gable, 
and  the  stewards  are:  D.  L.  Clements,  S.  H. 
Grannis,  A.  J.  Nelson,  B.  C.  Parmalee,  G.  E. 
Nettleton,  Thos.  Dooley,  H.  W.   Maltby,  H.  J. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


269 


Kuhn,  C.  M.  Piero,  Wm.  Page  and  Frank 
Hunt.     The  membership   is  about   375. 

The  Belgrade  Avenue  M.  E.  Church  was  or- 
ganized in  1899  and  a  chapel  was  erected  in 
1900.  The  German  M.  E.  Church  was  organized 
in  1873,  by  Eev.  F.  E.  Schulte.  May  31,  1877, 
ilie  church  was  incorporated  by  the  appointment 
of  the  following  trustees:  Christian  Maae,  Chris- 
tian Luehring  and  Johann  Frey.  May  18,  1879, 
their  church  building  was  dedicated,  a  brick  struc- 
ture, 33x54,  which  cost  over  $3,100.  The  present 
membership  is  about  70. 

The  First  Swedish  M.  E.  Church  was  organ- 
ized Sept.  5,  1886,  by  Eev.  J.  D.  Andrews,  and 
incorporated  January  2,  1897,  by  Elder  Oscar  J. 
Stead  with  the  following  trustees :  Peter  Carl- 
strom,  F.  W.  Skoog,  Nels  Hoglund,  GustofE 
Carlstrum  and  Erick  Johnson.  The  church 
building  was  dedicated  April  30,  1903.  Mem- 
bership about  forty. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  started 
in  February,  1854,  by  Eev.  James  Thomson,  who 
held  regular  services  thereafter.  It  was  the  first 
church  in  Mankato  and  Eev.  Thomson  was  the 
first  regular  minister  to  locate  in  the  county.  The 
organization  of  the  church  occured  August  31, 
1855.  A.  D.  Seward  was  the  first  Elder.  The 
church  worshiped  in  halls  and  the  log  school 
house  until  the  erection  of  its  first  chapel  in 
1865.  It  was  incorporated  May-  15,  1863,  when 
the  following  persons  were  elected  trustees :  A. 
D.  Seward,  B.  P.  Freeman,  J.  A.  Willard,  David 
Lamb,  H.  P.  Christensen,  Cornelius  Wampler, 
J.  S.  Batchelder,  J.  J.  Shaubut,  and  J.  J.  Por- 
ter. The  present  elegant  church  edifice  was  be- 
gun in  1893,  and  completed  in  1896.  Prominent 
among  its  pastors  have  been,  Thos.  Marshall,  J. 
B.  Little,  Lee  W.  Beattie  and  Geo.  W.  Davis. 
The  .present  pastor  is  Eev.  T.  Eoss  Paden,  and 
the  membership  over  500. 

Hope  Mission  was  started  by  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  August,  1887,  and  a  neat 
chapel  erected  in  which  Sunday  school  and  other 
services   have   been   regularly   held   ever   since. 

The  Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodist  Church  was 
started  in  1865,  and  it  was  organized  in  Decem- 
ber of  that  year.  Among  the  charter  members 
were  John  D.  Jones,  and  wife,  Ellis  E.  Ellis  and 


wife,  Mary  Eoberts,  Hugh  Hughes,  Wm.  Fran- 
cis, Wm.  S.  Hughes,  Margaret  Jones,  Owen  Eo- 
berts and  wife  and  Owen  Jones  and  wife.  The 
church  was  incorporated  Feb.  30,  1867,  with  the 
following  trustees:  Wm.  Jones,  Wm.  W.  Jones, 
John  E.  Thomas  and  Eev.  Wm.  Eoberts.  The 
first  church  building  was  erected  in  the  spring 
of  1867.  Eichard  T.  Jones  was  made  an  elder 
in  1871,  and  in  1877,  four  elders  were  chosen, 
namely:  Hugh  Jones,  Owen  Jones,  John  D. 
Evans  and  James  Griffiths.  In  February,  1884, 
the  first  building  was  burned,  and  in  the  fall  of 
the  same  year  a  new  brick  church  was  built  on 
State  street.  This  was  replaced  in  1896,  by  the 
present  fine  edifice.  Eev.  Eichard  F.  Jones  be- 
came pastor  in  Nov.  1873,  Eev.  John  C.  Jones, 
in  Feb.  1884,  and  Eev.  Wm.  E.  Evans  in  Janu- 
ary, 1895.    The  present  membership  is  about  150. 

The  Christian  Scientists  and  the  Christian 
Volunteers,  also,  hold  regular  services  in  the  city, 
but  have  no  church  building.  A  Hebrew  church 
called  "Bnay-Israel"  was  organized  Oct.  14,  1907, 
at  the  residence  of  L.  Salet,  where  the  society 
worships. 

Tlie  roster  of  persons  who  enlisted  from  Man- 
kato in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion : 

Adams,  John  D.,  Co.  H,  3  Inf. 

Adams,  Walter  J.,  Co.  B,  2nd   Cav, 

Alden,    Florence,    Co.    F,    Ist    Art. 

Alden  Lafayette,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 

Andrus,   Chas.  H,  Co.   K,   Ist  Inf. 

Arnold,    Kasper,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 

Barnard,  Homer,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Bartlett,  Daniel  F.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Barts,   Mathias.    Co.   II,   4th    Inf. 

Beatty,    John    R.,    captain    Co.    H,    4th    Inf. 

Becker,   Geo.,   Co.   E,   9th    Inf. 

Benjamin,   Ephraim,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Bennett,   Chas.,   Co.  E,  2nd   Cav. 

Bennett.  Lewis,   Co.   K,  2nd  Inf. 

Blake,  Albert  H.,   Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Blackburn,   Chas.,   Co.,  4th   Inf. 

Borghmeir,  Henry,   Co.  B,  Mt.  Rangers. 

Bottomly,-  Wm.,   Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Braekelsherg,   Frederick,   Co.  H,   4th   Inf. 

Brackelsberg.  Gustav,  Co.  D,  5th  Inf. 

Bruce,  Wm.,   Co.   E,  9th  Inf. 

Brules,  Hubert,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rg. 

Buchanan.   Colin,  Co.  H,  4  Inf. 

Buell,  Edwin,  C,  Co.   E,  9th  Inf. 

Burgess,  Harrison  ;\f.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Burgess,   John   H.,    Co.    E,   2nd    Cav. 

Burghoff,  Wm.,  Co.  E,  :\rt.  Be,  21  T  icut.  C.  11  Inf. 

Cannon,  James.  Co.  I,  1st  Inf. 

Casey,  Edward,  Co.  K,  1st  Inf. 

Campbell,  Alexander,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Campbell,  Chas.  W.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Canfield,  Levi  H.,- Co.  G,   10th  Inf. 

Clark,  Geo.  A.,  Captain  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 


270 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUISITY. 


Clark,  Omer  J).,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Clark,  Wm.  A.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Clark,   Wm.   W.,    Assistant    Surgeon,    10th    Inf. 

Chesron,  J.  M.,  Co.  F,   1st   Art. 

Coggrave,  John  W.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Art. 

Collins,   Alvin   M.,    Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Cook,  Wm.  H.,  2nd  S.  S. 

Coon,  Wm.   L.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 

Comstock,  Byron  W.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Comstock,   Francis   A.,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Copp,   Julius,    Co.    E,   Mt.   Eg. 

Coy,  Wm.  A.,   Co.  K,   1st   Inf. 

Crousine,  Scanto,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Corp,   Nelson,   Co.    E,   9th   Inf. 

Conner,   Noah    C,    Co.   E.   9th   Inf. 

Crawley,  Walter,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Cross,   Eugene,   Co.  H,   2nd   Inf. 

Cummings,  Hiram,   Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Cummings,   Geo.  W.,   1st   S.   S. 

Des  Eevire,  Chas.   G.,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Dewey,    B.    Parke,    Co.    H,    1st    Inf. 

Dieher,   Frederick,   Co.   H,   1st   Inf. 

Dickerson,  Nelson  W.,  Captain  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Dinsdale,  Richard,  Co.   B,   Br.   Bat. 

Dittman,    Frederick,    Co.    E,   2nd   Cav. 

Doolittle,    Edward,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 

Douglass,   Alexander,    Co.   E,   9th    Inf. 

Durkee,   Wm.   C,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Erwin,  Chas.  L.,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 

Fagen,    Daniel,    Co.    H,    2nd   Inf. 

Fatz,  Frank  L.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Finch,  Chas.  D.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Flemming,  Wm.   H.,   Co.   K,   1st   Inf. 

Foltz,   Geo.,   Co.  G,  2nd  Inf. 

Ford,  Wm.   A.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Foster,  John  51.,  Co.  H.  2nd  Inf. 

Foster,   Thos.,   Co.   H,  2nd   Inf. 

Foyles,  Aaron  L.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Inf. 

Fowler,  Frederick,  H.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Fowler,  John  G.,  Co.   E,  9th  Inf. 

Franklin,  Jesse,  Co.  C,  Br.  Bat. 

Freundle,  Adam,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Eg. 

Gesell,  Albert,   Co.   H,  2nd  Inf. 

Gleason,  Wm.,   Co.  H,   2nd  Inf. 

Gillen,    Owen    E.,    Co.    B,    Br.    Bat. 

Griffith,   P.    T.,   Co.   E,   9th    Inf. 

Gunn,   David,   Mac,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Hall,    Geo.    H.,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 

Hamlin,    Chas.    S.,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav. 

Hanna,  Milton,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Harris,  Franklin  E.,  Co.  F,  2nd  Inf. 

Harrison,   John   E.,    Co.   H,    1st   Inf. 

Hatch,  Howard  S.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Hasell  Solomon,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Hauerwas,   John,    Co.    E,   Mt.   Eg. 

Hawley,  Jesse   B.,   Co.  F,   1st   Art. 

Hazzen,  Benjamin  M.,  Band,   1st.  Inf. 

Hensley,    Samuel   H.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Hilliard,  John  S.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Hilton,   Summer   C,   Co.   E,   9th  Inf. 

Hilton,   Henry   S.,    Co.   H,   2nd   Cav. 

Holmes,    Livola,    N.,    Co.    H,    2nd    Inf.    Captain. 

Hooser,   James '  W.,   Co.   B,   9th   Inf. 

Hopkins,  Volney,  I.,  Co.  B,  Br.   Bat. 

Howe',  Edwin,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Hudson,  Joshua,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 

Humphrey,  Henry,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Jackson,    Chester   K,,    Co.    E,   2nd    Cav. 

Jefferson,  Adam,   Co.  E,   Mt.  Eangers. 

Johnson,  Leonard   C,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Karmany,   Uriah,    S.,    Co.   H,  2nd   Inf. 

Kegan,   Peter,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Keene   Josiah,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 


Keys,   Geo.   B.^   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Keysor,    Clark,   Co.    E,    9th    Inf.    Captain. 

Kimpton,  Chas.  F.,  Co.  F,  H.  Art. 

Kunselman,  Wm.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Kotthoff,  Franz,  Co.  F,  Mt.  Eg. 

Krause,    Chas.,    Co.    G,   2nd    Inf. 

Laundrosh,  John  B.,   Co.   B,  Mt.   Eg. 

Loundrosh,    Louis,    Co.    H,   2nd   Inf. 

Legree,   Joseph,    Co.    C,   9th   Inf. 

Lee,   H.  K.,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Leequyer,  Jas.  B.,   Co.  H.  2nd  Inf. 

Lentz,  Michaelj  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Lentz,    Peter,    Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Lentz,   Peter  A.,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 

Liscomb,   Geo.   Co.   H,   2nd  Inf. 

Liscomb,  Chas.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Loring,  Geo.  T.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 

Lovell,    Geo.    W.,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 

Loyd,   John    T.,    Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Lyon,  John  J.,   Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 

Lvtle,   A.   S.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

iiader,   Peter,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Mather,   Geo.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Eg. 

Martin,   Wm.   J..   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Maxfield,  Kinzie,   Co.  E,   9th  Inf. 

ilaxfield,    Geo.,    Co.   E,    9th   Inf. 

Maxfield,   "Wesley,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

JlcCoskel,    Geo.    J.,    Co.    F,    1st   Art. 

McGerry,   John,    Co.    B,   Mt.   Eg. 

JIcElroy,  Alex.,  Co.  K,  Mt.  Eg. 

McKullup,   Geo.   W.,    Co.   I,    S.    S. 

McKinney,   Chas,  I.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

JlcClure,  Gilbert,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Metzler,    Adolph,    Co.    H,   4th   Inf. 

McMurtrie,  Hugh,  Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Morris,  John  G.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Nash,   James   H.,   Co.   D,    1st   Art. 

Nash,  Thos.  W.,"Co.  D,  1st  Art. 

Nason,   Roswell   L,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Oberle,  Xavier,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Rg. 

Otis,  Pearl,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Owens,  Hugh   J.,   Co.  F,   1st   Art.   Captain. 

Palmer,  Jesse   W.,  Co.  E,   9th   Inf. 

Parrott,   Geo.   N.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 

Parsons,   Dewitt   S.   Co.  H,   2nd   Inf. 

Payer,    Geo.,    Co.    E,   2nd    Cav. 

Pease,    Frank   L.,    Co.    F,    1st    Art. 

Peffer,    Geo.,    Co.    A,    1st    Inf. 

Pelkey,   Lewis,   Co.   H,  2nd  Inf. 

Pelkey,   James,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Peterson,   Harvey,   Co.   E,.  2nd    Ca\-. 

Pfaff,    Jacob,    Co.    H,    4th    Inf. 

Philbriek,    Chas.,    Co.   H,   2nd    Inf. 

Pierce,   Parker  J.,   Co.   F,   1st   Art. 

Porter,  Daniel  W.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Pirath,   Peter,   Co.   E,  Mt.   Rg. 

Purdy,  Marvin  N.,  Co.  Ej  2nd  Cav. 

Rasko,    Matthias,    Co.    A,    Br.    Bat. 

Reed,  Albert,   Co.   F,   H.   Art. 

Eeeder,   Elijah,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Reinhold,  Joseph,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Renna,   J.   B.,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Rice,  Benj.  T.,  Co.  H,  3d  Inf. 

Richards,  Jas.,   Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Rew,   Richard   A.,   3rd   Bat. 

Roland,    Simon,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav. 

Roberts,    Robert,    Co.    E,    9th    Inf. 

Rogers,   Geo.   W.,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Rollin,   John,   Co.   F.,   1st   Art. 

Ruegg,    Henry,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav.,    1st    Ideut. 

Sabbath,  Geo.,   Co.   E,  Mt.  Rg. 

Seebauer,  Peter,  Co.  K,  Mt.  Rg. 

Sargent,  John   H.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COIiNTy. 


271 


Sargent,  Joseph,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Seamon,   Fletcher   I.,    Co.   A,   2nd    Inf. 
Seward,  Frederick  D.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Schreger,  John,   Co.   G,   2nd  Inf. 
Schweitzer,   Ferdinand,   Co.  E,   2nd   Cav. 
Schuellenberger,  John,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Eg. 
Sehwickert,  John,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Shearer,  Ferdinand,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 
Sherman,  Isaac,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Slaughter,  Robert   F.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 
Sibley,  Billings,  J.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Smith,  Ira  S.,   Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Smith,   Andrew   F,   Co.   C,   11th   Inf. 
Smith,  Cyrus  W.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Sontag,    Matthias,    Co.    G.,    2nd    Inf. 
Staley,  Jacob,   Co.   F,    Ist   Art. 
Stannard,   Geo.  J.,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
St.   Cyr,  Moses,   Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
St.   Cvr,  Edward,  Co.  E,  2nd   Cav. 
St.   Cyr,  John   M.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 
Stfciner,  Joshua,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 
Steinbach,  Henry,  Co.  B,  7th  Inf. 
Stewart,   Chas.,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 
Strom,  Matthias,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Eg. 
Stumpflfield,  Edward,  Co.  G,  2nd  Inf. 
Stutz,  Henry,  Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 
Taylor,  Chas.  W.  B.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Taylor,  Isaac,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Thayer,  David  N.  H.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Thomas,  John,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Eg. 
Thomas,  Wm.  Eay,   Co.   E,   9th  Inf. 
Thomson,  James,   Co.  H;  2nd  Inf. 
Thomson,   Wm.    H.,    Co.    E,    9th    Inf. 
Tourtellotte,  Henry,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Tourtellotte,  John's.,  Lieut.   Col.,  4th   Inf. 
Tibbetts,   Henry    C,    Band,   2nd   Inf. 
Titus,  Ernest,   Co.   F,   1st   Art. 
Trampert,  Matthias,  Co.  E,  Mt.  Eg. 
Tonner,  Geo.,  2nd   S.   S. 
Tyner,   Harmon,   Band,    1st   Inf. 
Ulman,  Peter,   Co.   E,  Mt.  Rg. 
Vale,  John,   Co.  H,   2nd   Inf. 
Vaughn,  John,   Co.   E^  Mt.   Eg. 
Vogel,   Anthony,    Co.   F,    1st   Art. 
Wagner,  Samuel  T.,  Co.  I.  6th  Inf. 
Wagner,  0.  F.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rg. 
Wagoner,  John  C,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Walker,  Benj.  F.,   Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Wa,rd,  John    S.,   Co.   H,   3rd  Inf. 
Wallingford,  John  L.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Webster,  Freeman  0.,  Co.  E,  nth  Inf. 
Webster,  Martin  L.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Webster,  Solon,  Co.  H,  1st  Inf. 
Weiler,  John,   Co.   G,   Mt.   Eg. 
Weiss,  Nicholas,   Co.   G,  2nd   Inf. 
Whittier,   Franklin,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 
Wickoff,  Wm.   H.,   Co.  H,   1st   Inf. 
Williams,  James  A.,   Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 
Wirt,  Jas.  M.,   Co.  E,   9th  Inf. 
Wiscover,    John,    Co.    E,    Mt.    Eg. 
Woleben,  Joshua,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
York,  Joseph,   Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

MAPLETON". 

The  town  was  first  settled  in  the  spring  of 
1856,  by  Uriah  Payne,  Ira  Annis,  J.  \V.  Spra- 
gue,  James  Cornell,  Eobert  Taylor  and  others,  a 
full  account  of  which  settlement  appears  else- 
where is  this  volume.     It  was  first  called  "Sher- 


man after  Isaac  Sherman  an  old  settler  of  Dan- 
ville, or  possibly,  after  x^sa  P.  Sherman,  an  old 
settler  of  Mapleton,  who  lived  on  Section  twenty 
t'herein,  and  united  with  the  old  town  of 
;\[apleton,  now  Sterling,  for  administrative  pur- 
poses. On  separation  of  the  two  towns,  the  pres- 
ent names  were  adopted.  The  first  town  meeting 
of  the  independent  municipality,  was  held  April 
2,  1861,  at  the  home  of  James  Cornell,  but  it 
adjourned  for  the  afternoon  to  a  log  school  house 
on  Section  seven.  The  first  sermon  was  preached 
by  James  Cornell  in  a  grove  near  former  resi- 
dence of  jSTeil  Darroch.  The  first  marriage  was 
that  of  John  Mund  and  Elizabeth  Dixon,  on  Oct. 
19,  1856,  Eev.  James  Cornell  ofEiciating.  Mr. 
Cornell,  also,  officiated  the  same  fall  at  the  first 
funeral — a  child  of  Azro  Furguson.  The  first 
postofiice  was  established  in  1857,  with  Stephen 
Middlebrook  as  postmaster.  In  18C3,  he  was 
succeeded  by  Sylvester  Hawkins,  who  in  1886  was 
succeeded  by  Eobert  Taylor.  In  1856  and  7, 
Vincent  Wessels  kept  a  small  store  at  his  home. 
Early  in  the  sixties  Sylvester  Hawkins  ran  a  store 
at  his  home  in  section  18,  nntil  February,  1866, 
when  he  transferred  his  farm,  store  and  postofEice 
to  Eobert  Taylor.  In  1865-6,  H.  A.  Buck  had  a 
small  store  at  old  Mapleton  and  Wm.  Wilde 
entertained  the  weary  traveler  at  the  same  place. 
Benajah  Corp,  near  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
northwest  quarter  of  section  7,  was  the  neigh- 
borhood blacksmith.  About  1858,  Middle- 
brook  Bros,  put  up  a  steam  saw  mill  on  the  Maple 
in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  7,  which  was 
burnt  in  June,  1863.  They  rebuilt  the  mill  and 
operated  it  for  two  or  three  years  thereafter.  The 
old  townsite  of  Mapleton  was  laid  ont  partly  in 
this  town,  but  it  failed,  and  was  vacated  in  Feb- 
ruar}^  1863. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  1857,  by  Jar- 
vis  P.  Harrington  in  a  log  school  house  in  Sec- 
tion 7.  In  1867,  a  postoffice  was  established  in 
the  northeast  corner  of  the  town  at  the  cabin  of 
Joel  Gates  called  "Garden  Prairie."  In  1870, 
Eichard  Credicott  succeeded  Mr.  Gates  as  its 
postmaster,  but,  when  the  Wells  Eailway  was 
built  and  the  village  of  Mapleton  founded  about 
two  or  three  years  later,  the  office  was  discon- 
tinued. 


272 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


The  present  village  of  Mapleton  was  surveyed 
in  October,  1870,  and  platted  January  31,  1871, 
by  David  Smith,  owner  of  the  land,  and  Clark 
W.  Thompson,  James  B.  Hubbell  and  John  A. 
Willard,  builders  of  the  Mankato  and  Wells  Rail- 
way. The  first  store  (a  small  grocery)  was 
built  in  the  fall  of  1870,  by  James  N.  Wishart. 
In  September  of  the  same  year,  James  E.  Brown 
now  editor  of  "Amboy  Herald"  and  his  brother 
Geo.  Brown  opened  the  second  store — being  the 
first  general  store. 

The  railroad  was  built  in  1874,  and  on  Feb- 
ruary 29,  1875,  Robert  Taylor  removed  the 
Mapleton  postofEice  to  the  village,  where  he  was 
postmaster  until  his  death  in  June,  1883.  He 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  James  S.  Taylor,  who 
in  turn  was  succeeded  in  Nov.,  1885,  by  James 
McLaughlin.  Then  came  Peter  G.  Johnston  from 
May,  1889,  to  Oct.,  1894,  followed  by  Hugh  M. 
Quinn,  who  held  the  office  until  Kov.  1900,  when 
C.  G.  Spaulding  was  appointed. 

The  village  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature,  February  23,  1878,  and  David 
Smith,  J.  E.  Brown  and  L.  Troendle  appointed 
to  call  first  corporate  election.  This  election  was 
held  March  19,  1878,  and  the  following  officers 
elected:  Trustees — Joel  Gates,  Lucius  Troendle, 
James  McLaughlin,  and  C.  H.  Wicks;  treasurer, 
Sherman  Peet;  recorder,  P.  A.  Foster;  justice, 
C.  W.   Smith;  constable,  Henry  Tenney. 

In  the  summer  of  1889,  a  2,000  barrel  reser- 
voir was  erected  and  a  water  system  installed, 
which  was  enlarged  three  or.  four  years  later.  In 
January,  1884,  the  village  purchased  a  Rumsey 
engine  for  the  use  of  the  fire  company.  In  1896, 
an  electric  light  plant  was  installed  by  Sellers 
Bros.  In  the  winter  of  1901-2  a  sewer  system 
was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  over  $7,000.  Promi- 
nent among  the  pioneer  stores,  and  now  the  old- 
est in  the  village,  is  that  of  L.  Troendle,  which 
was  opened  in  the  fall  of  1872.  The  first  grist 
mill  was  erected  by  Moses  Gates  and  N.  P.  Nel- 
son in  1880.  In  1881,  it  was  leased  to  James 
Pearson,  and  later  passed  into  the  hands  of  S. 
Peet.  December  31,  1886,  it  burned.  In  the 
summer  of  1887,  the  present  mill  was  built  by 
Mr.  Peet  at  a  cost  of  $9,000,  with  175  barrel 
capacity.    It  is  now  owned  by  the  Mapleton  Mil- 


ling Co.  A  private  bank  was  started  by  Corliss 
&  Brown  in  March,  1882.  In  September  1896, 
this  bank  failed  and  a  State  Bank  was  immedi- 
ately started,  largely  through  the 'efforts  of  Judge 
Daniel  Buck  of  Mankato.  The  latter's  son,  A. 
A.  Buck,  was  made  cashier  and  came  near  wreck- 
ing the  bank  in  October,  1903.  Through  the  spe- 
cial effort  of  its  directors,  it  was  restored  to  a 
solid  basis,  and  reopened  in  a  short  time  with 
15.   F.  McGregor  as  cashier. 

March  31,  1903,  the  First  National  Bank  was 
organized  by  W.  A.  Hanna,  L.  Troendle,  J.  E. 
Norton,  Wm.  Stroebel,  R.  B.  Hanna,  and  John 
Stroebel,  of  which  C.  W.  Borchert  is  the  cashier. 

Sprague's  Hall  and  Brown's  Hall  were  early 
public  gathering  places.  The  I.  0.  0.  F.  and 
the  Masonic  lodges  have  each  built  fine  blocks 
with  good  halls.  Feb:  8,  1896,  Mapleton  was 
visited  by  a  big  fire,  which  destroyed  six  of  its 
business  houses.  The  following  summer  they 
were  all  replaced  by  brick  blocks,  which  gave  the 
village  a  much  more  substantial  and  modem 
appearance. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1869,  and 
Geo.  A.  Clark  was  the  first  teacher.  This  build- 
ing was  occupied  until  1878,  when  it  was  sold  to 
the  M.  E.  for  a  parsonage,  and  a  new  and  larger 
structure  was  erected,  after  a  very  warm  fight 
over  its  location.  The  high  school  was  erected 
in   1887. 

The  first  newspaper  in  the  village  was  the 
"Mapleton  Messenger"  started  by  J.  L.  Barlow, 
June  13,  1879.  After  a  few  months  it  moved 
elsewhere,  and  was  succeeded  April,  1880,  by  the 
"Mapleton  Censor,"  which  suspended  March  1, 
1881.  Its  editor  was ,  J.  B.  Price.  The  next 
paper  was  "The  Mapleton  Enterprise"  which  was. 
started  September  1,  1884,  as  a  small  monthly 
sheet  by  Brown,  Wishart  and  Orr,  as  a  means 
to  advertise  their  store.  It  was  first  issued  by 
Brown  and  Hotaling  as  a  weekly  newspaper  on 
June  1,  1888,  and  not  long  thereafter  H.  C. 
Hotaling  became  its  sole  proprietor. 

The  Mapleton  Free  Baptist  Church  was  the 
first  religious  body  to  organize  in  the  town.  It 
was  started  about  1864-5,  at  the  log  house  of 
Harlow  Bassatt  by  Rev.  S.  A.  Stow,  with  five 
charter  members:   John   Goff,  Minerva  Goff,  D. 


PIISTOTIY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COTTXTY 


Boynton,  Isaac  Smith,  and  Fredrick  Miller.  It 
was  incorporated  June  6,  1868,  when  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  chosen:  Deacons,  Alonzo 
Clark  and  Fredrick  Miller;  trustees,  Ira  Annis, 
Isaac  Smith,  John  Chase,  John  M.  More,  Fred- 
rick Miller  and  ]\rilton  Mills.  Soon  after  the 
village  was  started  the  church  moved  thereto  and 
a  building  was  erected  in  1878,  costing  about 
$1,500. 

The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Jo- 
hannes Church  was  organized  in  1871,  with  ten 
members.  Eev.  A.  Barnake  was  its  first  pastor, 
and  after  holding  services  for  a  few  times  in 
private  houses  Troendle's  Hall  became  its  meet- 
ing place.  In  1876,  a  church  building  was  er- 
ected at  a  cost  of  $1,500.  April  17,  of  this  year 
the  congregation  was  incorporated.  Jacob  Gei- 
senchoefer  and  A.  Paget  presided  and  the  follow- 
ing trustees  were  chosen:  Fritz  Gruth,  Chas. 
Proehl  and  Ch.  Kruger.  Christian  H.  Wicks 
was  made  deacon.  The  church  is  in  a  flourish- 
ing  condition. 

It  is  claimed  that  the  M.  E.  were  the  first  to 
start  regular  religious  services  in  the  town.  This 
was  as  early  as  18-56,  when  Eev.  J.  W.  Powell 
made  Mapleton  a  part  of  his  Shelby^'ille  circuit, 
and  a  class  was  formed.  Early  in  the  sixties 
the  M.  E.  held  meetings  at  the  house  of  Harlow 
Basset  and  at  the  Kruger  school  house.  The 
church  was  organized  at  Mapleton  village  in 
1870,  by  Eev.  Powell,  who  was  its  first  pastor. 
Their  church  building  was  erected  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1891. 

The  Congregational  Church  was  incorporated 
at  the  residence  of  D.  W.  Brooks  Oct.  23,  1882, 
by  the  election  of  the  following  trustees :  James 
Morris,  W.  D.  Sprague  and  .John  Sprague.  The 
ecclesiastical  organization  took  place  Dec.  26. 
1889,  and  Eev.  0.  0.  Eundell  was  its  first  pas- 
tor. At  first  they  worshiped  in  the  Baptist 
Church,  but  in  1882-.3  they  erected  a  building  of 
their  own  which  was  dedicated  June  14,  188'i. 

The  Eoman  Catholic  Church  of  St.  Theresa 
was  started  in  1876.  It  was  legallv  incorpor- 
ated March  9,  1885,  by  Bishop  John  Ireland, 
Father  Eaveaux  and  Eev.  Thos.  Duane.  pastor, 
and  James  McLaughlin  and  John  Schweitzer 
lay   members.      The    first    chapel    was    of    brick, 

1R 


30x60  feet,  built  in  the  summer  of  1876.  The 
present  splendid  edifice  was  dedicated  June  23, 
1903. 

There  is  also  a  class  of  the  German  M.  E. 
Church,  which  is  ministered  to  occassionally  at 
private  residences  by  the   Mankato  pastor. 

The  first  hotel  in  the  village  was  opened  in 
1870,  by  Henry  Tenney.  The  Farnum  House, 
was  built  in  1875,  by  C.  W.  Farnum,  who  was 
its  proprietor  until  Nov.,  1880.  In  1878,  W.  H. 
Leighton  built  the  ilapleton  House,  which  Mr. 
and  Jlrs.  ]\Iartin  Schlingerman  have  so  success- 
fully conducted  for  many  years.  In  the  eighties. 
The  Farnum  House  became  the  property  of  E. 
Traver,  and  was  called  the  "Traver  House"  for 
many  j'ears.  In  1901,  the  old  building  was  torn 
down  and  the  present  fine  brick  structure  erected 
by  Wm.  Pagenkoff,  and  in  January,  1902,  Fred 
Gerlick  was  installed  as  its  first  landlord.  The 
present  landlord   is   Carl   Splett. 

Among  the  pioneer  business  men  of  the  vil- 
lage, not  before  mentioned  are:  A.  Eima,  who 
started  a  general  store  in  1875,  Johnston  and 
Marvin  came  later,  Joel  Gates,  J.  M.  Sprague 
and  Wm.  Hanna,  hardware,  John  Schweitzer, 
druggist:  Wm.  Albrecht,  boots  and  shoes  (1876) 
Chas.  Dietz,  harness  shop :  James  McLaughlin, 
furniture;  S.  C  Brooks,  W.  Tenney  and  Geo.  M. 
Cooper,  livery :  Dr.  Ira  Bishop,  L.  W.  Kreuger 
and  F.  G.  Bomberger,  physicians:  John  Paul,  J. 
E.  Norton  and  S.  Poet,  lumber:  C.  G.  Spauld- 
ing,  wheat  buyer:  T.  B.  Taylor  and  Henry 
Pagel,  stock  buyers:  P.  A.  Foster,  Wm.  N.  Ply- 
mat,  Morgan  A.  Berry,  C.  J.  Laurisch  and  IT.  G. 
Argetsinger,  lawyers:  Griner  it  Co.,  clothing: 
J.  S.  Taylor,  books:  IT.  M.  Quinn,  farm  imple- 
ments. 

Besides  the  postoffices  named,  the  pioneers  were 
served  by  an  office  established  in  the  early  six- 
ties at  Grapeland  of  which  M.  L.  Lockerby  was 
postmaster  in  November,  1877.  The  office  was 
usually,  however,  kept  just  across  the  line  in 
Faribault  County.  June  1,  1891.  a  postoffice 
was  reestablished  at  Old  J\Iaplcton  called  "Haw- 
kins" after  an  early  settler,  with  ilrs.  Jennette 
Taylor  as  the  postmistress.  Since  the  opening 
of  the  present  century  all  rural  postoffices  have 
been  done  away  with  and  the  daily  delivery  sys- 


274 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUB  EAKTH  COUNTY. 


tem  has  been  inaugurated.  Telephones  add  still 
more  to  the  facility  for  communication  on  farm 
and  in  village.  Besides  the  village  school,  which 
is  independent,  there  are  five  school  districts  in 
the  town  and  two  Joint  school  districts,  in  each 
of  which  there  is  a  good  frame  school  house,  and 
an    excellent    school    regularly    maintained. 

The  roster  of  the  men  who  enlisted  from 
Mapleton    for   the    Civil    War: 

Annis,   Richard   S.,   Co.    C,    llth   Inf. 
Bowman,  Tlios.,  Co.  K,  1st  H.  Art. 
Boynton,   David,   Co.   B,  5th  Inf. 
Burcard,  Eniil,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 
Cole,    Elihue,    Co.    A,    5th    Inf. 
Cornell,  James  H.,  Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 
Cornell,    Silas    W.,    Co.   E.   2nd    Cav. 
Davis,  James  J.  Co.  K,  1st  H.  Art. 
Gale,    Wm.    Henry,    Co.    C.    llth    Inf. 
Hawkins,  Wm.,  Co.  B,   8th  Inf. 
HoUenbeck,   James,    Co.    H,   Mt.   Eg. 
Ilungerford,  Asahel,   Co.   B,   Mt.   Eg. 
Hussey,   Geo.,    1st   Wis.    Cav. 
Hussey,  W.  A.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Hussey,   John   H.,   Co.   H,   Mt.   Eg. 
Hyatt,   Geo.    C,    Co.   H,   ^nd   Inf. 
Latourell,  Eeuben  0.  Co.  A,   1st  Bat. 
Libby,  W.  J.  Co.  D,  1st  Bat. 
Mead,    Peter,    Co.    G,    4th    Inf. 
Mead,   Geo.  W.,  Co.   C,   llth  Inf. 
Morris,   John   G.,    Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 
McGregor,  Krazier,  Co.  H,  Mt.  Eg. 
Miller,  Federick  C.  E.,  Co.  C,  llth  Inf. 
More,  John.M.,    Co.   C,   Mt.  Eg. 
Myers,    Peter,    Co.    C,    llth    Inf. 
Palmerton,  John,  Co.  B,  2nd  Cal. 
Patzholtz,    Wm.,    Co.    D.,    1st    H.    Art. 
Eathstock,  August,  Co.  F,  1st  H.  Art. 
Eeb,  Stephen,  Co.  B,  1st  Bat. 
Eew,    E.    G.,    Co.    K,    1st    H.    Art. 
Stewart,   James,   Co.  H,  3rd   Inf. 
Sherman,   Car\'ohis   B.,   Co.   B.  2nd   Cav. 
Smith,    Whitford,    Co.    C,    llth    Inf. 
Taylor,    Edmund,    Co.    A,    5th    Inf. 
Taylor,   Ifaac   M.,   Co.   C,   2nd   Cav. 
Vaie,  John,   Co.   H,   2nd   Int. 

McPHEKSOX. 

The  first  settlers  were  C'has."  J\Ianstield  and  A. 
W.  Callen,  who  settled  on  the  east  side  of  Eice 
Lake  in  the  fall  of  1854.  In  1855,  the  town  was 
made  a  part  of  the  Winnebago  Reservation  and 
the  Agency  buildings  were  located  on  the  site 
of  the  present  village  of  St.  Clair.  A  number  of 
government  officials  and  employees  were  settled 
here  and  made  the  point  one  of  special  import- 
ance during  the  Indian  occu}iancy.  August  31, 
1855,  the  town  was  made  an  election  precinct 
under  the  name  of  Eice  Lake,  after  the  lake  of 
that  name  found  therein,  which  was  famous 
among  the  Indians   for   its   production   of   wild 


rice.  Chas.  Mansfield,  A.  W.  Callen  and  J.  L. 
Alexander  were  the  first  election  judges  and 
twenty-one  votes  were  cast  in  the  fall  of  1855. 
Among  those  connected  with  the  Indian  agency, 
who  came  here  with  the  Winnebagoes  in  June, 
1855,  were:  General  J.  E.  Fletcher,  Indian 
agent,  Henry  Foster,  Joshua  Ady,  A.  L.  Foyles 
W.  J.  Cullen,  Superintendent  of  Indian  School, 
Chas.  H.  Mi-x,  Asa  White,  Geo.  Culver,  Peter 
ilanaige,  Xewell  Houghton  and  J.  L.  Alexander. 
In  June,  1856,  John  Johnston,  afterwards  of 
Sterling,  located  at  the  Agency  as  blacksmith. 
In  1861,  J.  B.  Hubbell  and  Lucius  Dyer  and 
other  republican  officials  under  Agent  Balcome 
located  at  the  agency.  The  Indians  were  re- 
moved in  May,  1863,  and  immediately  settlers 
began  pouring  into  the  town.  There  are  many 
tales  connected  with  the  old  Winnebago  Agency, 
some  of  which  have  been  recounted  on  former 
pages.  In  parting  with  the  Indian  period  space 
will  permit  but  one  more  glimpse  into  its  savage 
scenes. 

THE  DEATH  OF  HONK  HONKA. 

Life  at  an  Indian  Agency  has  many  a  sensa- 
tion and  many  a  tragedy.  In  April,  1857,  when 
the  Inkpadutah  trouble  was  at  its  height,  there 
lived  among  the  Winnebagoes,  a  vicious,  drunken 
Indian  named  Honk  Honka.  In  one  of  his 
wild  periodical  sprees  he  assaulted  a  white  man 
so  viciously  that  the  matter  could  not  be  over- 
looked and  the  sheriff  was  sent  for,  who  took  the 
culprit  to  Mankato  to  lodge  in  the  County  jail. 
It  happened  to  be  the  very  day  that  Captain 
Lewis'  company  returned  from  their  skirmish 
with  the  Sioux  near  Madelia,  and  everybody's 
fittention  was  taken  up  with  that  exciting  event. 
While  the  deputy  sheriff  was  stopping  a  minute 
in  the  bar  room  of  the  Mankato  House  to  dis- 
cuss the  news,  he  left  Honk  Honka,  handcuffed, 
sitting  on  a  -bench  near  the  door.  Suddenly  the 
Indian  darted  out  and  disappeared  into  the 
neighboring  brush,  and  aided  by  the  gathering 
darkness  escaped.  After  spending  some  weeks 
down  in  Sibley  County,  where  some  friends  lib- 
erated his  hands  from  the  irons,  he  returned  un- 
expectedly one  day  to  the  Agency  and  entered 
one  of  the  Indian  huts.  Two  papooses  were 
sleeping  on  a  bed  in  the  room  and  Honk  Honka, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


being  drunk  as  usual,  threw  himself  on  the  bed 
crosswise,  pinning  both  children  under  him.  The 
cries  of  the  youngsters  brought  the  mother  at 
once  to  their  aid,  but  unable  to  extricate  them, 
she  ran  out  yelling  frantically  for  help.  X 
white  man  named,  John  Quinlan,  hearing  the 
disturbance  rushed  in  and  jerked  the  Indian  off 
the  bed.  Honk  Honka  drew  a  long,  sharp  knife 
and  rushed  furiously  at  Quinlan,  who  dodged 
around  the  stove  in  the  center  of  the  room.  For 
half  an  hour  or  more  the  mad  chase  was  kept  up 
around  that  stove  until  Quinlan  was  nearly  ex- 
hausted. There  was  no  time  to  open  the  door 
and  get  out,  for  the  knife  in  the  hands  of  that 
whisky  crazed  savage  was  too  close  to  his  back. 
The  woman  had  disappeared  and  there  was  no 
response  to  his  cries  for  help.  At  last  he  spied 
an  ax  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  as  he  spun 
around  the  stove  he  managed  to  grab  it,  and 
facing  suddenly  about,  he  dealt  the  Indian  a  blow 
which  severed  his  head  from  his  shoulders.  A 
number  of  young  bucks  soon  came  and  gathered 
Honk  Honka's  body  up  in  a  blanket  and  hur- 
ried it.  A  brother  of  the  deceased  refused  to  ac- 
cept Quinlan's  plea  of  self-defence,  but  threatened 
to  avenge  his  brother's  death.  Knowing  the 
Indian  character,  Quinlan  concluded  the  Agency 
was  not  the  safest  place  on  earth  for  him,  and 
departed  for  part  unknown  and  thus  ended  the 
sprees  of  Honk  Honka. 

By  Sept.  2,  1863,  sufficient  settlers  had  lo- 
cated in  the  town  to  require  the  County  Board 
to  create  it  into  an  independent  municipality. 
The  name  was  changed  from  Rice  Lake  to  !Mc- 
Clelan,  after  the  famous  Union  General.  The 
first  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Lu- 
oius  Dyer  on  September  19,  1863.  when  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected :  Supervisors,  Asa 
White,  chairman.  J.  Y.  Colwell  and  Lucius 
Dyer ;  clerk,  Henry  Poster ;  treasurer,  E.  0.  Bart- 
lett;  assessor,  Chas,  Manaig;  justices,  J.  L. 
Alexander  and  J.  Y.  Colwell :  constables.  Aaron 
Foyles  and  Alexander  Paver.  Henry  Foster  was 
the  first  postmaster,  appointed  in  1856.  He  was 
succeeded  in  January,  1862,  by  James  B.  Hub- 
bell,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  bv  Lucius  Dyer 
in  May,  1863.  Dyer  had  been  Indian  Farrher 
under    the      Eepublican       administration,      but 


on  the  departure  of  the  Winnebagnes,  had  pur- 
chased the  land  on  which  the  large  brick  resi- 
dence of  the  Indian  agent  stood,  and  occupied 
it  as  a  hotel.  In  ^March,  1X65,  he  sold  the  place 
to  Josiah  C.  Truman,  who  about  the  same  time 
succeeded  him  as  postmaster.  The  house  was 
afterwards  the  home  of  the  late  Duane  F.  Eas- 
dall,   and  is   still   occupied   by  his   family. 

In  February,  1865,  the  name  of  the  town  was 
changed  from  ^fiC'lelan  to  ^IcPherson  by  act  of 
the  Legislature.  August  11,  1865,  Aaron  Hil- 
ton laid  out  a  townsite  on  the  southeast  quarter 
of  the  southeast  quarter  of  Section  S.  which  he 
called  after  his  own  name,  and  which  now  cor- 
responds with  the  main  part  of  the  village  of  St. 
Clair.  On  this  land  was  located  the  govern- 
ment mill,  which  llr.  Hilton  had  bought  the 
summer  before,  and  which  after  refitting  he  was 
now  operating.  The  lumber  department  had  two 
run  of  saws  with  a  capacity  of  10,000  feet  per 
day,  and  had  a  lath  and  shingle  mill  attached. 
The  flour  department  had  a  capacity  of  100  bar- 
rels per  day. 

In  July,  1866,  Mr.  Hilton  was  appointed  post- 
master and  removed  the  office  to  his  new  town 
of  "Hilton."  The  latter,  at  the  time,  contained 
about  a  dozen  houses,  3  stores,  2  blacksmith 
chops,'  3  wagon  shops,  2  boot  and  shoe  shops,  & 
saloons  and  1  hotel,  besides  the  mill.  Henry 
Foster  still  had  his  store  a  few  rods  to  the  east, 
on  the  site  of  the  old  Agency,  Mr.  Gilmore  had 
a  saw  and  shingle  mill  there,  also.  James  E. 
and  Geo.  Brown  opened-  a  general  store  at  Hil- 
ton in  December,  1861.  One  Koehler  had  a 
store  there  at  the  same  time.  Hilton  kept  the 
postoffice  at  the  store  of  Brown  Bros,  and  in 
l^Tay,  1869,  James  E.  Brown  was  appointed  post- 
master and  was  succeeded  in  August,  1871,  by 
Henry  Mohr,  who  had  purchased  the  mercantile 
business  of  Nick  Lang.  In  November,  1869, 
Hilton  sold  his  mill  to  Hogle  &  Eeader,  and  in 
a  year  or  two,  Hegle  pold  his  interest  to  Peter 
Pfaff.  In  1R;0  M.  B.  Easdoll  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Brnwn  Bros.,  and  during  the 
following  year  the  Browns  sold  out  to  Mr.  Eas- 
dcll  and  W.  H.  Harrison.  Drs.  Eaton  and  Hay- 
nes  were  among  the  pioneer  physicians.  J.  C. 
Nutting,  C.  AVilbur  Eay  and  W.  S.  Smith  were 


276 


TTTSTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


later  doctors.  Will  and  l\[urpliy  and  afterwards 
John  Murphj'  conducted  a  store  at  St.  Clair  for 
years.  Other  prominent  business  men  of  the 
village  were  J.  C.  Cook,  Chas.  Young,  M.  Jost, 
Fred  Gerlich,  Mv.  Crandall,  H.  E.  King  and  H. 
Miller.  Early  in  1886,  E.  A.  Deumeland  built 
his  present  large  store.  About  1887,  S.  C.  Hil- 
ton, the  old  mill  owner,  of  the  village,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Chas.  Eogers,  who  has  been  the  chief 
mill  owner  since.  In  1891,  Grignon  &  Coughan- 
our  started  the  first  creamery  in  the  village.  The 
present  large  co-operative  creamery  was  built  in 
1904.  October  14,  1880,  J.  H.  Barlow  started 
a  paper  called  the  "Messenger,"  which  was  only 
issued  a  short  time.  March  9,  1897,  J.  ^Y.  Ward 
started  the  "St.  Clair  Star"  which  survived  a 
few  months  longer. 

The  postofEice  was  designated  "AVinnebago 
Agency"  until  April  1,  1886,  when  it  was 
changed  to  "St.  Clair",  a  name  suggested  by 
Chas.  0.  Conner,  after  General  St.  Clair.  The 
village  has  since,  also,  gone  by  the  same  name. 
There  was  a  strong  effort  to  have  the  postofifice 
called  "Hilton"  but  it  failed.  February,  1890, 
Joseph  H.  Gebbard  was  appointed  postmaster. 
His  successor  was  Fred  Gerlich,  who  in  turn 
was  succeeded  in  December,  1898,  by  M.  B. 
Easdall,  the  present  incumbent.  Until  1887,  the 
village  was  divided  into  two  school  districts, 
Numbers  70  and  73,  but  on  August  6,  of  that 
year,  the  districts  were  united,  and  the  present 
fine  brick  school  house  completed  by  the  fall  of 
1888.  In  1895,  Geo.  B.  Caldwell  built  the  pres- 
ent hotel;  and  in  July,  1906,  the  "St.  Clair 
State  Bank"  was  organized  by  H.  Thielman,  N. 
Juliar,  D.  F.  Easdell,  C.  J.  Pagenkoff,  P.  W. 
Wingen,  S.  J.  Mace,  0.  0.  Juliar,  E.  S.  Haedt, 
G.  P.  JuHar,  A.  A.  Juliar,  H.  A.  Hubner,  Thos! 
Bowe,  F.  W.  Lassow,  F.  C.  Schultz,  S.  B.  Wil- 
son, G«o.  May  and  John  Bestman,  with  a"  capi- 
tal of  $12,000.  The  present  bank  building  was 
finished  in  1907.  The  MePherson  town  hall  was 
erected  at  St.  Clair  in  1898.  The  village  has 
four  churches.  The  Catholic  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  1864,  by  Father  Sommereisen  with  about 
thirty  families.  The  present  church  building 
was  erected  in  1874.  The  church  was  legally  in- 
corporated June,  11,  1903,  by  Bishop  Joseph  B. 


Cotter  of  Winona,  Eight  Eev.  James  Coyne,  Eev. 
E.  W.  Eyan  pastor,  and  Herbert  Brules  and  Marr 
tin  Bowe  lay  members. 

The  Lutheran  Church  was  organized  in  1874, 
with  fifteen  members.  Eev.  Albert  Kuhn  was 
its  first  pastor.  The  congregation  was  incor- 
porated Feb.  29,  1876,  under  the  name  of  "St. 
John's  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church  of  Winne- 
bago Agency"  at  school  house  No.  70  and  the  fol- 
lowing trustees  chosen:  John  Fitzloff,  August 
Barnske  and  August  Kupke.  Wjn.  Brundt  and 
Fritz  Cords  were  made  elders.  The  church  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1876. 

The  "Zion  Church  of  Evangelical  Association" 
was  organized  in  1874.  The  incorporation  oc- 
curred Feb.  24,  1876,  at  school  house  No.  70, 
and  the  following  trustees  elected:  Frederick 
Lumberg,  John  Borchard  and  Otto  Schultz;  and 
the  chapel  built  that  summer.  The  first  pastor 
was  Eev.   G.  H.  Knabel. 

The  Congregational  Church  was  organized  in 
1874,  with  about  twelve  families  by  Eev.  Wallace 
Bruce.  A  house  of  worship  was  built  in  1876. 
The  church  was  reorganized  Oct.  23,  1904  and  a 
parsonage  built  in  1908. 

In  May,  1906,  the  St.  Clair  Citizens  Tele- 
phone Co.  was  organized.  The  Alphabet  Rail- 
way, now  a  branch  of  the  Milwaukee  system,  was 
completed  to  the  village  in  the   fall  of   1907. 

Among  the  early  settlers  of  the  town  not  al- 
ready mentioned  were:  Isaac  Autrey,  John  Law, 
Dr.  Coleman,  Chas.  W.  Plerman,  Michael  Nary 
and  Patrick  O'Conner.  The  Belview  postofEice 
was  established  in  June,  1873,  with  James  H. 
Eastman  as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  in 
January,  1876,  by  Amos  H.  Eastman,  and  in 
January,  1879,  A.  B.  Preston  was  put  in  charge 
of  the  office. 

The  first  school  was  taught  by  the  pioneer 
Methodist  preacher,  Eev.  B.  Y.  Coffin'  in  1867, 
for  the  Indians.  A  parochial  school  was  also 
taught  by  the  sisters  during  the  Indian  time. 
The  first  public  school  for  white  children  was 
taught  in  1863,  at  the  Agency  by  Francis  Bev- 
eridge,  a  noted  lawyer  from  St.  Paul,  who  spent  ,  , 
his  last  years  in  retirement  at  this  out  of  the 
way  village.  There  are  now  in  the  town  seven 
good  school  houses  outside  of  the  village. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUA'TY. 


277 


December  20,  1907,  St.  Clair  voted  to  incor- 
porate as  a  village  by  a  vote  of  forty  to  nine,  and 
January  2,  1908,  the'  following  officers  were 
elected:  Trustees,  Henry  Tbieiuian,  president, 
E.  F.  Deumeland,  P.  H.  Bowe,  J.  W.  Chase; 
recorder,  Chas.  O'Conner;  treasurer,  M.  C.  Dal- 
ton;  justices,  Chas.  O'Conner  and  Christ  Al- 
pers;  constables,  Henry  Luedke  and  jk.  T.  An- 
drews.   Its  population  at  the  time,  was  :'A2. 

MEDO. 

Medo  is  an  Indian  name  meaning  ''Small  Po- 
tatoes" and  was  applied  to  the  locality  first  by 
the  redman.  As  early  as  April,  1858,  the  Coun- 
ty Commissioners  officially  designated  the  town 
by  this  name.  Until  the  departure  of  the  Win- 
nebagoes  in  Maj',  1863,  the  town  formed  a  part 
of  their  reservation.  The  first  settlers  were  Al- 
onzo  W.  Barron  and  Samuel  Goodwin,  who  ar- 
rived in  the  town  with  their  families  in  May 
1863,  on  the  very  day  the  Indians  left  it.  They 
were  followed  immediately  by  Chas.  Remington, 
George  Dolan,  W.  J.  Atcherson,  Hiram  H.  Strat- 
ton,  B.  Dane,  S.  E.  Stebbins  and  James  Patter- 
son. Other  early  settlers  were  Wm.  Ledbeter, 
Thron  Hoverson,  James  H.  and  Andrew  Quinn, 
C.  P.  Merickel,  August  Beise,  Robert  C.  Ward, 
A'apoleon  B.  Moody,  Geo.  W.  Rogers,  D.  C.  and 
Andrew  Weston,  David  Weaver,  Barney  Olson, 
Ole  T.  Ingebretson,  John  W.  \'ars,  John,  Pat- 
rick and  Thos.  Murray,  Wni.  and  M.  C.  Acker- 
man,  Isaac  Amy,  Jr.,  F.  \\.  and  J.  W.  Atcher- 
son, S.  B.  Babcock,  Thos.  Cary,  Samuel  Clap- 
sliaw,  Alfred  Davis,  Tilton  Eastman,  Seth  Gil- 
bert, Dr.  J.  W.  Bently,  Daniel  A.  Mandago, 
Francis  and  Joseph  Neller,  E.  B.  H.  Norton, 
Stark  Peterson,  Ferdinand  Plageman,  Louis  Siv- 
erson,  Sanford  E.  Terwilliger,  Edward  L.  Tay- 
lor, Ira  and  Wm.  Ward,  J.  Lee,  L.  Breke,  S. 
Germo,  A.  Andrson  Sr.,  A.  Anderson  Jr.,  Torris 
Knudson,  Lars  Folkedahl,  8.  N.  Meg  and  others. 
Most  of  the  settlers  were  from  Wisconsin.  By 
July  4,  1863,  about  forty  families  had  settled 
in  the  town  and  on  that  date  nearly  all  gathered 
for  a  picnic  in  the  grove.  Here  it  was  deter- 
mined to  organize  the  town  and  call  it  "Oak 
Grove."  As  there  was  another  town  of  that 
name  in  the  utate,  it  was  decided  at  a  meeting 


in  August,  to  change  the  name  to  "Cambridge." 
When  it  was  found  that  name,  also,  had  been 
taken,  the  old  designation  of  "J\ledo"  was 
adopted.  At  the  same  Fourth  of  July  picnic,  on 
the  suggestion  of  Mrs.  A.  W.  Barron,  it  was  de- 
cided to  start  a  Sunday  school.  Mrs.  Barron 
was  elected  the  first  superintendent,  and  she  col- 
lected $5,  that  day,  which  she  sent  to  the  Bible 
society  for  Bibles,  and  received  $15  of  books.  She 
also,  wrote  to  her  sister,  who  was  a  member  of 
Henry  Ward  Beecher's  Church  in  Brooklyn,  and 
received  from  that  church  a  $200  Sunday  school 
library.  The  Sunday  School  was  held  in  the 
grove,  except  on  rainy  or  cool  Sabbaths,  when 
an  Indian  bark  hut  was  used,  and  in  the  winter 
the  services  were  moved  to  Mr.  Goodwin's  house. 

The  sensation  of  that  first  summer  was  the 
appearance  in  the  neighborhood  of  a  monster 
snake,  16  to  20  feet  in  length,  which  finally  made 
its  lair  under  Mr.  Barron's  cabin.  Teased  by 
dogs,  it  is  claimed  to  have  committed  suicide.  It 
was  evidently  a  python  which  had  escaped  from 
some  traveling  menagerie. 

September  8,  1863,  the  town  of  Medo  was  or- 
ganized and  the  first  town  meeting  held  at  the 
iiouse  of  Hiram  H.  Stratton,  September  19,  1863. 
The  first  town  board  were :  H.  W.  Barron,  Chr., 
S.  E.  Stebbins,  and  A.  Bagley;  and  Hiram 
Stratton,  Clerk.  The  first  white  child  born  in 
the  town  was  Hiram,  son  of  H.  H.  Stratton, 
born  September,  1863.  The  first  marriage  was 
that  of  D.  Allen  and  Lovina  Webster  in  the 
spring  of  1865.  The  first  death  was  that  of 
Eifie,  a  four  year  old  daughter  of  Samuel  Good- 
win, who  died  in  February,  1864.  The  first 
school  was  taught  by  Mrs.  L.  W.  Barron  at  her 
own  home  in  the  summer  of  1864.  In  the  early 
spring  of  1865  a  log  school  house  was  built  in 
District  58  and  the  first  school  in  it  taught  that 
tummer  by  Miss  Arvilla  Keyes  (Mrs.  Napoleon 
Moody).  The  second  school  in  it  was  taught  by 
aMrs.  Sue  Stedman  and  thereafter  B.  F.  Stedman 
taught  in  the  same  school  for  nine  successive 
winters.  The  first  school  in  District  57  was, 
also,  taught  in  1865  by  Miss  Amelia  Ackerman, 
at  her  father's  house,  M.  C.  Ackerman.  The 
to^TO  now  has  nine  school  houses.  A  number 
of  the  boys  and  girls  of  these  schools  have  taken 
prominent  places  in  life.     Among  whom  are  Dr. 


278 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTl 


C.  J.  BeisCj  Dr.  R.  A.  Beise  and  Attorney  G.  W. 
Beise,  sons  of  August  Beise;  Judge  James  H. 
Quinn,  son  of  Andrew  Quinn;  Dr.  Tlios.  Murray, 
son  of  Patrick  Murray;  Attorney  Prank  Murray, 
son  of  John  Murray,  Dr.  Wm.  Will,  son  of  David 
Will;  Dr.  Chas.  Germo  and  Attorney  Thos. 
Germo,  sons  of  S.  Germo  and  many  others  whose 
names  we  did  not  learn. 

Two  murder  cases  form  a  sensational  chapter 
in  the  early  history  of  Medo.  Peb.  20,  1864, 
John  Gill  shot  and  killed  Levi  Matthews  in  a 
(]uarrel  over  some  timber.  He  was  threatened 
with  lynching  by  twelve  of  Matthews  neighbors 
from  Danville,  but  was  exonerated  by  the  Court 
OD  the  ground  of  self  defense.  The  next  unfor- 
tunate event  occurred  on  the  evening  of  Peb.  23, 
1876,  when  a  widow,  named  Jane  Gilbert,  was 
shot  through  a  window  and  killed  at  her  home 
by  Andrew  Weston.  The  murderer  was  convicted 
and  sent  to  the  penitentiary. 

The  first  postoffice  was  established  in  1867 
with  J.  W.  Vares  as  postmaster.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  B.  P.  Stedman,  and  he  in  turn  by 
W.  J.  Atcherson.  In  December,  1878,  James 
Paley  was  made  postmaster  and  the  office,  there- 
after remained  at  his  store  until  discontinued  in 
July,  1904.  Besides  the  store  and  postoffice,  a 
blacksmith  shop  and  feed  mill  formed  a  small 
center  for  the  town  for  many  years  near  the 
northeast  corner  of  Section  15.  About  August 
1,  1875,  Little  Cobb  Postoffice  was  established 
v,'ith  Wm.  Germo  as  postmaster.  December, 
1878,  he  was  succeeded  by  Ole  Ingebretson,  and 
in  Pebruary,  1889,  Englebrit  Olson  became  his 
successor.  The  office  was  discontinued  July  15, 
1904.  John  Hanson  conducted  a  small  store  in 
connection  with  the  postoffice  near  the  l^Torweg- 
ian  church.  -He  first  started  the  store  about  1880. 

In  1894  a  creamery  was  built  on  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  northeast  quarter  of  Section 
12,  and  a  store  started  at  the  same  point  by 
Geo.  L.  Blaisdell.  A  postoffice  was  established 
here  in  1895  called  "Cream,"  in  charge  of  Mr. 
Blaisdell,  who  was  succeeded  in  November,  1897, 
by  Albert  Severson.  About  1896  Ole  Ostedahl 
Luilt  another  store  at  the  same  point,  which 
burned  in  about  two  years.  Then  A.  Berentson 
built  a  store  there  in  which  his  son,  John  Ber- 
entson, and  Albert  Severson  ran  a  general  mer- 


cantile business  for  about  a  year,  when  Severson 
retired.  Then  later  Simon  Berentson  succeeded 
his  brother.  The  Blaisdell  store  burned  in  the 
winter  of  1906-7  and  the  postoffice  was  discon- 
tinued in  the  summer  of  1905.  A  blacksmith 
shop  was  started  at  Cream  about  1895  by  H.  H. 
Johnson  and  about  a  year  later  0.  Moen  opened 
another  shop. 

In  1890  a  town  hall  was  built  on  the  southeast 
corner  of   Section   16. 

Religious  services  were  started  in  Medo,  as  we 
have  seen,  shortly  after  the  arrival  of  the  first 
settlers.  Preachers  of  the  M.  E.  and  United 
Brethren  churches  conducted  services  at  private 
homes  and  school  houses  for  years,  and  a  Union 
Sunday  school  was  maintained.  During  1866 
and  1867  a  number  of  Norwegian  families  had 
settled  in  the  town  and  in  the  fall  of  1867  the 
first  religious  services  for  these  people  were 
conducted  at  the  log  cabin  of  0.  Ingebretson. 
A  church  was  partly  organized  in  the  winter  of 
1867-8  and  it  was  voted  to  hold  quarterly  ser- 
vices. The  families  forming  this  first  organiza- 
tion were  those  of  Thron  Hoverson,  Louis  Siver- 
fcon,  S.  Germo,  S.  N.  Vieg,  0.  Bngebretson,  L. 
i^recke.  Tennis  Lakeson  and  Tennis  Dahl  of 
Blue  Earth  county  and  John,  Owen  and  Tobias 
Johnson  of  Waseca  county.  Rev.  M.  Melby  of 
New  Richland  became  their  first  pastor.  Ser- 
vices were  continued  in  private  houses  until 
about  1869,  when  the  first  log  school'  house  was 
built  'in  District  63,  when  they  were  moved 
thereto.  In  a  few  years  the  log  school  house  was 
replaced  by  an  octogonal  frame  structure,  which 
fj'om  its  odd  shape  was  always  known  as  the 
"Round  School  House."  The  "Medo  Norwegian 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church"  continued  to 
worship  in  this  building,  until  a  house  of  wor- 
ship was  completed  in  the  summer  of  1876  on 
a  plat  of  ground  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
Section  25,  deeded  to  the  congregation  by  Siever 
N.  Vieg  on  July  15,  1872.  On  July  3,  1877, 
tJie  new  church  building  was  completely  wrecked 
])y  a  big  wind  storm.  Nothing  daunted,  how- 
ever, the  people,  on  the  following  summer  erected 
their  present  commodious  church  edifice  on  the 
?ame  site.  After  Rev.  Melby,  Rev.  M.  Borge  be- 
came pastor  for  a  time,  and  then  Rev.  Melby 
was   called   to   service  a  second   time.     Rev.   H. 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUXTY. 


79 


Ostedahl  followed  and  in  his  days,  about  1887, 
a  parsonage  was  built.  Eev.  J.  A.  Hammer  be- 
came pastor  next,  then  Eev.  D.  G.  Fugleback 
and  lastly  Eev.  J.  Olson,  the  present  minister. 
The  iirst  deacon  was  L.  Brecke  and  the  present 
holder  of  that  office  is  J.  Guddal.  There  are 
sixty-eight  families  now  connected  with  this 
church.  A  Norwegian  Sunday  school  was  started 
first  about  1867  in  the  settlers'  cabins.  After 
its  removal  to  the  school  house,  it  began  to  as- 
?ume  the  form  of  a  parochial  school  during  the 
vacation  periods  of  the  public  school.  It  was 
usually  taught  by  theological  students.  In  1892 
District  63  built  a  new  edifice  and  the  old 
Eound  school  house  was  sold  to  the  Norwegian 
congregation,  who  moved  it  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  Section  35,  and  have  used  it  ever  after 
for  the  parochial  school.  On  the  Waseca  side 
of  the  line  nearly  opposite  the  center  of  Medo, 
stands  the  Congregational  church  of  Freedom, 
the  society  of  which  was  organized  in  1887,  and 
the  building  erected  a  year  or  two  later.  Jan- 
uary 29,  1894,  a  Free  Baptist  church  was  or- 
ganized with  fifty-two  members  in  the  western 
part  of  the  town  as  the  result  of  a  big  revival 
season.  An  acre  of  ground  was  secured  July 
26,  1894,  from  Eobert  Ward  in  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  Section  19, 
on  which  a  commodious  chapel  was  built.  The 
trustees  at  the  time  were:  Wm.  Miliken,  Horace 
Greely,  John  Morrow,  Ira  Ward,  John  Eogers, 
Geo.  Wai-d,  Eobert  Ward  and  Albert  Gutcher. 
On  May  10,  1897,  Medo  was  visited  by  a 
tornado  which  destroyed  school  house  No.  59, 
Alma  City  Creamery,  and  Engelbret  Olson's 
house  and  the  Little  Cobb  postoffice  therein  kept. 
Sept.  25,  1906,  the  town  voted  $7,000  bonds  as 
a  bonus  to  the  Alphabet  Eailway.  This  railroad 
was  built  in  1907.  A  townsite  called  "Pember- 
lon"  was  laid  out  in  November,  1907,  near  the 
southwest  corner  of  Section  1,  whereon  a  depot, 
elevator,  store,  bank,  etc.,  have  been  erected, 
forming  a  good  nucleus  for  a  village.  A  post- 
office  was  created  in  June,  1908,  with  Marcus 
Williamson  as  postmaster. 

PLEASANT  MOUND. 

Pleasant  Mound  was  first  settled  in  1856,  but 
who  the  first  actual  settler  was  can  not  now  be 


determined.  Among  the  settlers  of  1856  may 
be  named,  Eev.  James  H.  Hindman,  Thos.  J. 
Thorp,  Wm.  A.  Clark,  Milton  Walbridge,  Lee 
Calhoon,  Eev.  John  and  Francis  A.  Clow.  Others 
who  came  that  year  or  in  1857  were:  Oriu  and 
John  Scramlin,  Hiram  Bigelow,  Knute  Thomp- 
son, Geo.  E.  Bissell,  Austin  Brown,  Wm.  S. 
Marston,  Barnard  Marble,  Wm.  P.  McKenney, 
and  Joel  and  Jesse  P.  Thomas.  1858  came 
Nathanael  Stevens,  Phineas  Lattin,  Mvnard  A. 
Chamberlin,  Henry  Eichardson,  Hiram  L.  and 
Oscar  Brown,  Pardon  B.  Day  and  Sherman  W. 
and  Wm.  Day.  In  1859  came  Frederick  0. 
Marks.  Other  early  settlers  were,  Eev.  Harrison 
F.  Longworth,  John  S.  Parks,  Oliver  E.  ]\Iather, 
Alfred  and  John  Kenney,  Horace  P.  and  Wm. 
I'errin,  John  and  Wm.  Eobinson,  Jeremiah 
Parker,  John  L.  Daboll,  Gustavus  McCollum, 
Horace  E.  Seeger,  Jas.  A.  and  Wm.  H.  Belts, 
Isaac  J.  Gardner,  L.  P.  McKibbin,  John  E. 
Wilder,  John  C.  Pratt,  Benj.  and  Eli  Preble, 
John  K.  Underwood,  John  P.  West,  Sanford 
AVebster,  Isaac  J.  and  John  A.  Wilson,  Nathaniel 
T.  York,  Chas.  N.  Eadcliff,  Jacob  Schaffer, 
Cyrus  P.  Little,  Benj.  L.  Eaymond,  Chester 
J.  Eyal,  Wm.  H.  Porter,  James  J.  Hamilton, 
Silas  W.  Graham,  Ealph  Cook,  Elijah  Carter, 
Eufus  S.  Briggs,  Jlark  Bradbury,  Philander  and 
Austin  Brown,  John  Brockenridge,  Wm.  Adams, 
Jacob  and  James  H.  Anderson,  Warren  An- 
drews, Albert  Archer,  Alson  D.  Bently,  Wm.  A. 
A'eal,  and  Dexter  Bartholcmew. 

The  town  was  named  "Otsego  by  the  County 
Commissioners  on  April  6,  1858,  and  attached 
to  Shelby  for  official  purposes.  Oct.  14,  1858, 
the  name  was  changed  to  "Willow  Creek"  prob- 
ably an  eastern  name  familiar  to  some  old  set- 
tler, appropriately  applied,  because  of  the  abun- 
dant growth  of  willows,  which  characterize  the 
principal  brook  in  the  town. 

Eunning  north  and  south  through  sections 
25  and  36  a  peculiar  chain  of  mound  shaped 
hills  rise  to  the  height  of  50  to  75  feet  above 
the  surrounding  prairie.  On  the  mounds  in 
Section  25  lay  the  claim  of  P.  0.  Marks,  who 
in  1863,  had  a  postoffice  established  at  his 
home,  which  at  his  suggestion  was  called  "Pleas- 
ant Mound." 

The  names  "Pleasant  Eidge,  "Pleasant  Hill,'' 
Pleasant  Mound"  etc.  are  found  scattered  over  the 


280 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


eastern  states  and  may  have  suggested  to  Mr. 
ilaiks  the  appropriateness  of  the  name  he  gave 
the  postoffice,  and  the  beautiful  ridge  on  which  his 
cabin  stood.  The  Indian  name  for  this  ridge  was 
"Ichokse"  or  "Eepah  Kichakse."  (To  cut  in 
the  middle,  perhaps  from  the  fact  that  the 
ridge  is  divided  into  a  number  of  mounds, 
or  it  may  mean  "Thrown  down  or  dumped 
in  heaps"  as  the  spelling  is  uncertain.) 

Another  postoffice  was  established  in  the  town 
in  1863,  called  "Willow  Creek"  with  T.  H.  Day 
as  postmaster.  Both  offices  were  on  a  weekly 
mail  route  established  that  year  between  Garden 
City  and  Fairmont. 

In  January,  1864,  an  attempt  was  made  to  or- 
ganize the  town  as  a  separate  municipality  under 
the  name  of  "Butler"  but  it  failed.  September 
fj,  1865,  the  town  was  finally  created  and  desig- 
nated "Pleasant  Mound,"  on  the  suggestion  of 
]''.  0.  Marks,  after  the  postoffice  and  ridge  just 
mentioned.  The  first  town  meeting  was  held 
Sept.  26,  18-56,  at  the  house  of  Harrison  P. 
Longworth,  when  the  following  officers  were 
cJiosen:  Supervisors — M.  A.  Chamberlin,  chair- 
man, F.  0.  Marks,  and  Isaac  J.  Gardner,  clerk — 
John  S.  Parks,  treasurer — H.  P.  Longworth, 
justices — J.  P.  West  and  J.  H.  Hindman,  con- 
btable — H.  G.  Sager,  and  J.  A.  Betts. 

About  1860,  a  brick  yard  was  started  on  Sec- 
tion 12,  by  0.  E.  Mather  and  Wm.  McQueen, 
some  claim  this  brick  yard  was  located  mostly 
in  Section  7,  of  Shelby  and  was  not  started 
until  1864  or  5.  The  earliest  known  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  was  held  in  1867,  on  top  of 
the  mounds,  where  a  booth  was  made  of  the  leafy 
branches  of  trees,  and  a  Eed  Eiver  Cart  was  used 
as    a    speaker's    platform. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  almost 
exclusively  Americans,  but  not  many  became  per- 
manent settlers.  In  June,  1866,  the  vanguard,  of 
v/hat  proved  to  be  a  large  German  Lutheran 
Colony  arrived  in  the  town  and  purchased  claims 
therein.  They  were  Carl  Schwarz,  Amil  Ludtke, 
iMichael  Mitzner,  Henry  Wilke,  John  Kroenke 
and  Chris  Schwarz,  all  from  Greenwood  Prairie, 
Olmsted  County,  Minn.  Carl  Schwarz  and  some 
of  the  others  removed  to  their  new  homes  with 
Uieir  families  about  September,  the  rest  arrived 
next  spring.    In   the   spring  of   1867,   they   were 


joined  by  Wm.  Schwarz,  August  Urban  and  Wm. 
Ulrich  and  their  families  from  Wisconsin.  In 
1868,  came  Samuel  and  John  Hensline,  and  sev- 
c'j-al  others.  All  were  religious  people  and  the 
first  German  Lutheran  services  among  them 
were  held  in  1868,  at  private  houses  by  Eev. 
Ahner  of  Blue  Earth  City.  The  Congregation 
was  organized  in  November,  1869,  by  Eev.  Ju- 
lius C.  Mueller  with  25  members.  Among  the 
charter  members  were:  Carl  Schwarz,  Herman 
Zemple,  August  Urban,  Wm.  Schwarz,  J.  Ur- 
ban, Emil  Luedtke,  Michael  Altenburg,  John 
Kroenke,  Wm.  Ulrich,  Christ  Schwarz,  Johajin 
AVeinkauf,  J.  Wester,  John  Hensline,  Wm.  Lentz 
and  Johan  C.  Witt.  In  the  fall  of  1869,  a 
church  and  parsonage  combined  under  one  roof 
■were  erected  about  half  a  mile  south  of  the 
present  buildings  and  Eev.  J.  C.  Mueller  was 
called  as  fitst  pastor.  A  parochial  school  was  start- 
ed the  same  fall  at  the  house  of  John  Weinkoff 
in  charge  of  the  pastor.  In  April,  1872,  the 
church  and  parsonage  burned.  The  same  summer 
both  church  and  parsonage  were  rebuilt  as  sep- 
arate buildings  on  a  five  acre  lot  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  Section  2  which  lot  was  deeded  Nov. 
■30,  1874,  by  John  Christian  Witt  and  wife  to 
Wm.  Schwarz,  Emil  Ludke  and  August  Urban',  as 
church  trustees.  In  1881  it  was  determined  to 
build  two  parochial  school  buildings.  Accordingly 
on  March  15,  1881,  Wm.  Ulrich  and  wife  deeded 
to  the  church  four  acres  of  land  in  the  S.  E. 
corner  of  S.  W.  %  of  S.  E.  14  Section  10, 
upon  which  a  school  building  20x30  was  erected 
that  summer.  About  1884,  a  new  school  house 
was  erected  by  the  church  on  the  S.  B.  corner 
of  Section  35,  Ceresco,-  and  the  church  has  main- 
tained both  schools  ever  since.  The  first  paro- 
cliial  school  teacher  was  Frederick  Zink  for  2 
years.  He  was  followed  by  Herman  Zemple  for 
one  year.  Then  came  Carl  Voight,  who  was  the 
first  regular  teacher  of  the  school  on  Section  10. 
A  teacher's  residence  has  been  erected  beside  each 
<.^f  the  parochial  school  houses.  The  old  church- 
building  becoming  too  small,  a  large  new  edifice 
was  erected  in  1886,  38x70  feet,  which  with  the 
steeple  in  front  and  pulpit  in  rear  made  the  to- 
tal length  90  feet,  and  the  height  of  steeple 
is  104  feet.  The  building  cost  from  $6,000 
to   $8,000.   After  serving  the   congregation  with 


RESIDENCE   OF   DR.   j.   W.   ANDREWS. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


281 


gi-eat  satisfaction  for  17  years,  Rev.  J.  C.  Muel- 
ler accepted  a  call  to  Lester  Prairie,  JMinn.,  and 
Rev.  C.  Ross  succeeded  him,  who  in  1891  accep- 
ted a  professor's  chair  in  Concordia  College,  Mil- 
waukee, Wis.  Rev.  Ernest  Starck  became  pastor 
next,  and  upon  his  death  in  1893,  Rev.  A.  F. 
Ude  took  charge  of  the  congTegation,  and  has  ser- 
ved them  with  acceptance  ever  since.  In  1902, 
the  present  parsonage  was  built  at  a  cost  of  about 
$1,700.00.  In  1908,  a  new  school  building  was 
erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  building  on  Sec- 
tion 35,  Ceresco.  In  the  lists  of  the  parochial 
teachers  are:  District  No.  1,  C.  Yoight,  P. 
Trupke,  C.  Marquardt  and  C.  Bode;  District 
;\'o.  2 ;  Carl  Frolig,  Renter  and  Y  P.  Goes- 
veiler.  The  congregation  now  numbers  about 
110  voting  members  (heads  of  families)  and  C50 
souls.  The  corporate  name  of  the  church  is 
"The  German  Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Johan- 
nes Church  of  Willow  Creek."  The  two  churches 
and  parochial  schools  in  the  Southwest  corner  of 
Ceresco  minister  to  a  number  of  German  people 
in  Pleasant  Mound.  Besides  the  parochial 
schools  the  town  contains  five  public  school  build- 
ings. No  English  church  was  ever  established  in 
tlie  town,  but  English  services  were  maintained 
in  private  homes,  and  school  houses  for  years, 
and  three  or  four  of  the  early  settlers,  as  we 
liave  seen,  were  preachers.  The  American  oc- 
cupation of  the  town,  however,  wa.s  too  transitory 
for  the  development  of  such  organizations  to  any 
extent.  The  few  American  families,  who  re- 
mained in  the  town,  united  with  the  j\r.  E.  and 
Christian  churches  just  across  the  town  lines,  in 
Shelby,  Nashville  and  Antrim  townships. 

In  October,  1865,  John  S.  Parks  succeeded 
F.  0.  Marks  as  postmaster  of  Pleasant  IMound 
postoffice,  and  continued  in  charge  until  the 
office  was  discontinued  in  1902.  The  Willow  Creek 
postoffice  was  removed  soon  after  its  creation  to 
the  home  of  Horace  Kinney  in  Shelby  township, 
thence  to  Nathaniel  Capen,  and  thence  on  Dec.  9, 
3379,  to  John  R.  Wilder's  home  in  Pleasant 
Mound  in  which  town  the  office  rema'ned  there- 
after until  discontinued  in  February,  1902.  Mr. 
Wilder  was  succeeded  as  postmaster  in  February 
1887,  by  Carl  Schwarz  and  he  by  Rich.  Jones, 
he  by  G.  H.  Perry  and  he  in  turn  by  G.  N. 
C'lrich  in  July,   1896.   In  the  fall  of   1886   two 


new  postoffices  were  established  in  Pleasant 
iiound.  One  called  "Upton"  in  charge  of  Mrs. 
S.  A.  Pattridge  on  section  5,  and  the  other 
named  "Hope"  in  the  Northwest  corner  of 
Section  30  with  Thos.  Hamilton  as  postmaster. 
l:i  1899  Carl  Nibbe  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Upton  in  place  of  Mrs.  Pattridge  resigned.  We 
have  spoken  elsewhere  in  this  volume  of  the 
Pleasant  Mound  Grange;  of  the  Blue  Earth 
Valley  Stock  company  and  its  big  fairs;  of  the 
great  wind  storm  of  June  5,  1880;  of 
John  S.  Parks  apple  orchard  with  its  two 
hundred  and  forty  varieties;  and  of  the  alleged 
jnurder  on  July  10,  1889  of  John  Schwarz  by 
Wm.  Lentz.  In  1896,  a  creamery  was  built  near 
the  west  line  of  the  Southwest  quarter  of  Sec- 
tion 13,  with  Nath.  Haas  as  first  buttermaker. 
A  store  had  been  erected  at  this  place  about  1889, 
by  Rich.  Jones.  He  sold  out  to  G.  H.  Perry,  and 
he  in  turn  sold  to  G.  H.  Ulrich  and  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Wm.  Ulrich.  A  blacksmith  shop  was 
put  up,  and  the  place  has  ever  since  been  a 
small  center  for  the  town  under  name  of  "Wil- 
low Creek."  Rural  mail  routes  and  telephone  ac- 
commodations now  reach  all  parts  of  the  town, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  prosperous  in  our  coun- 
ty- 

RAPIDAN. 

The  first  claim  in  this  town  was  located 
by  Basil  Moreland  on  Section  7  in  March,  1854. 
A  month  later  Oliver  J.  Roe  made  a  claim  in 
the  same  neighborhood.  In  August,  Williston  K. 
Greenwood,  also,  took  a  claim  in  Section  7.  The 
same  month  Isaac  Andrus  and  his  son,  Truman 
F.  Andrus,  located  with  their  families  on  Sec- 
tions 11  and  13  on  the  Maple.  In  October,  Cor- 
nelius YanNice  claimed  in  Section  21  and  moved 
thereto  with  his  family.  Wm.  P.  Coffin  and 
Joel  Cloud,  early  in  the  spring  of  1855,  located 
on  Section  5.  But  all  of  these  settlers  had  to 
abandon  their  homes  in  a  year  or  so  as  the  town 
"n'as  included  in  the  Winnebago  Reser^•ation. 
White  settlers,  were  thereafter  barred  until  the 
removal  of  the  Indians  in  1863.  The  fall  of 
1863  and  the  spring  of  18G4  saw  the  beginning 
of  white  settlements  again  in  the  town.  Among 
the  first  settlers  were:  Gottfried  and  Jacob  San- 
ger,  who  located   there  in   1863,   J.   D.   Hooser, 


282 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTS. 


James  Stratton,  Eiley  Stratton,  Martin  Strat- 
ton,  Alfred  G-.  Stratton  Henry  C.  Eberhart, 
Carl  Just,  William  Just,  G.  Schwan,  M.  Bosin, 
Wm.  L.  Stesens,  C.  P.  Cook,  Clias.  Miescke,  Theo. 
Buckholtz,  Silas  Kenworthy,  M.  A.  Eeeder,  E.  M. 
Reynolds,  Ethemer  Town,  Peter  PafE,  James 
White,  Fernando  Blodhorn,  E.  C.  Payne,  Martin 
Wotter,  John  Jones,  Joseph  Jones,  Frederick 
Dittman,  Chas.  A.  Blume,  Andrew  Yaeger, 
Wm.  Jones,  Lucius  Dyer,  and  a  little 
later  came  C.  G.  Chamberlin,  Allen  Thompson, 
Chas.   Palmer,   Wm.   and   August  Blume   and   E. 

B.  Parker. 

Eiley  Stratton  took  possession  of  the  log  cabin, 
wliich  Isaac  Andrus  had  built  and  which  during 
the  Winnebago  occupation  had  been  used  by  the 
chief,  Big  Bear.  The  town  was  first  named 
"DeSoto"  by  the  County  Board  in  yVpril,  1858. 
In  July,  1864,  C.  P.  Cook  started  a  town  site  in 
Section  6,  on  the  Blue  Earth,  which  he  called 
"Rapidan""  after  the  place  he  had  come  from  in 
the  east.  March  2,  1865,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the 
State  Ijegislature  changing  the  name  of  the  town 
to  "Eapidan"  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.   Cook. 

The  town  was  organized  April,  1865,  and 
the  first  town  meeting  held  on  April  15,  1865,  at 
the  house  of  E.  C.  Payne  in  Section  21,  when 
20  votes  ^'cre  cast  and  the  following  officers  elec- 
ted. Supervisors:  E.  C.  Payne,  (chairman),  W. 
L.  Stevens  and  J.  Sanger;  M.  A.  Eeeder,  clerk; 
J.    D.    Hooser,    assessor;    G.    Scliwan,    treasurer; 

C.  P.  Cook  and  A.  J.  Jewett,  Justices;  P.  Pafl: 
and  PI.  C.  Eberhart,  Constables. 

May  2,  1865,  occurred  the  murder  of  A.  J. 
Jewett  and  his  family  by  John  Campbell  and  his 
Indian  companions,  a  full  account  of  which 
will  be  found  elsewhere  in  this  history. 

Bears  were  found  in  the  town  in  the  early 
days.  A  black  one  nearly  7  feet  long  was  killed 
in  March,  1860,  on  the  Blue  Earth  near  the 
Northwest  corner  of  the  town,  and  another  was 
killed  by  E.  C.  Payne  in  the  fall  of  18fi£. 

In  the  summer  of  1865,  John  Morrow  pur- 
chased 120  acres  of  land  near  the  mouth  of  Ma- 
ple River,  whereon  he  erected  kilns  and  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  lime  for  two  or 
three  years.  He  also  opened  stone  quarries  on 
the  same  land.  During  the  winter  of  1866-7 
S.    Kenworthy    and    Co.,    erected    a    large    flour 


mill,  30x40  and  four  stories  high,  at  the  foot 
of  the  Blue  Earth  River  rapids.  The  mill  had 
two  runs  of  buhrs  four  feet  across.  It  was  aft- 
erwards much  enlarged,  and  for  many  years  was 
famous  as  one  of  the  principal  custom  mills  of 
the  county.  The  site  is  still  occupied  by  the 
Rogers  Roller  Mill.  During  the  winter  of  1866- 
7  Geo.  Heaton  and  Richard  Rew  built  a  saw 
mill  on  the  Blue  Earth  in  Section  31,  to  which 
in  a  year  or  two  they  added  a  flour  mill  and 
named  it  the  "Union  Mill."  The  same  winter  Lu- 
cius Dyer  put  up  a  saw  mill  on  the  Maple  in 
Section  35,  to  which  he  added  later  a  grist  mill. 
This  mill  later  passed  into  the  hands  of  Geo. 
Gerlich,  then  to  Jesse  0.  Mericle.  In  1884,  Henry 
Dyer  built  a  new  saw  mill  on  the  Maple.  In 
vVugust  1867,  Silas  Kenworthy,  J.  W.  Menden- 
hall,  James  B.  Swan  and  James  A.  Wiswell, 
laid  out  a  town  called  "Rapids"  on  land  ad- 
joining the  Rapidan  Mill.  In  December,  1865, 
PafE  and  Reynolds  opened  a  store  at  this  place. 
Nothing  further  came  of  this  townsite.  About 
1867,  a  postofEice  was  established  in  Sec.  35  with 
J  jucius  Dyer  as  postmaster  called  "Maple  River." 
It  was  on  a  newly  established  mail  route  between 
Wilton  and  Garden  City.  In  October,  1869  "The 
(.astle  Garden"  postoffice  was  created  in  charge 
of  Dr.  N.  Bixby,  who  lived  on  Section  15,  As. 
there  was  no  mail  route,  Dr.  Bixby  had  to  carry 
the  mail  from  Mankato  for  the  office.  J.  W. 
Derby  succeeded  Dr.  Bixby  as  postmaster  but 
tlie  office  was  discontinued  in  March,  1875.  In 
January,  187 G,  a  new  postoffice  was  established 
at  the  house  of  Olof  Olson  called  "Rapidan" 
on  the  Milwaukee  Railway  near  where  the  pres- 
ent station  is  situated.  In  October,  1880,  Mr. 
Olson  opened  a  store  at  the  present  site  of 
Rapidan  station,  which  he  conducted  until 
August,  1887,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  W.  0. 
Dustin  &  Co.  April  1,  1888,  Olaf  Olson  was 
succeeded  as  postmaster  by  Noah  Webster,  who 
also,  had  become  the  owner  of  the  store  at  Eapi- 
dan Station.  He  died  in  November,  1891,  and 
\\as  succeeded  by  h's  son,  Wm.  Webster.  March 
1,  1895,  Wm.  T.  Just  became  storekeeper  and 
postmaster,  and  in  1907,  Daniel  E.  and  Wm.  A. 
Bosin  became  his  successors  in  business  and 
Daniel  E.  Bosin  was  made  postmaster.  A  lum- 
ber  yard    and    blacksmith   shop    are   also,    main- 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


•2Ho 


tained  at  the  same  place.  An  ek-vator  was 
erected,  and  in  1897  a  co-operative  creamer}' 
was  built.  In  1900,  a  Woodman  Hall  was  built, 
and  a  passenger  depot  put  up  in  the  fall  of 
1906.  Theee  buildings,  with  a  church  and  number 
cf  residences,  make  now  of  Eapidan  Station,  a 
sjnall  village. 

The  first  religious  service  it  is  claimed  was 
held  in  1864,  by  Eev.  Steinner  of  Alma  City,  a 
United  Brethren  minister,  at  the  house  of  J. 
]).  Hooser,  in  the  valley  of  the  Blue  Earth  in 
ihe  Southeast  quarter  of  Section  31,  then  called 
"t;astle  Garden."  This  valley  was  noted  during 
llie  Winnebago  occupation  for  the  beauty  of  its 
situation  and  richness  of  soil.  An  Indian  \illage, 
a  store  and  farm  were  here  located  then.  A  Sun- 
day School  was  organized  here  about  1864,  with 
Mr.  Hooser  as  superintendent.  About  a  year 
later  a  log  school  house  was  built  on  the  Strat- 
ton  claim  in  District  79  and  the  services  were 
transferred  there.  A  class  was  organized  here 
about  1866  composed  of  the  Stratton  family, 
Geo.  Hadaway,  Mr.  and  ilrs.  Henry  C.  Eber- 
iiart,  and  Mr.  Hooser.  Elders  Clow,  Bookwal- 
tcr,  and  Thurston  continued  to  preach  in  the 
neighborhood.  A  Sunday  School  was  maintained 
lor  years  at  the  school  house.  Henry  Dyer  was 
its  Superintendent  for  some  time  and  Henry 
0.  Eberhart  succeeded  him.  In  the  70's  a  few 
i^orwegian  families  began  settling  along  the 
Blue  Earth  river.  x\.mong  the  first  to  locate 
M'ere,  S.  Knudson,  Ole  K.  Slvov,  A.  Hobrig,  Ole 
Amundson,  Eilef  and  Lars  Anderson  and  Olaf 
Olson. 

Lutheran  services,  in  their  own  lang"uage,  were 
started  among  them  in  1S74  by  Bev.  M.  Barge 
and  a  church  organized.  Among  the  charter  mem- 
bers were:  Eilef  and  Louis  Anderson,  Syver 
Broste,  Nels  Olson,  Ole  Stavem,  Eilef  Bjertson, 
Peter  Brandlein,  and  Ole  Anderson.  The  first 
meetings  were  held  at  the  homes  of  Syver  Broste 
and  tlie  Anderson  brothers. 

In  1885,  a  church  building  was  erected  about 
80  rods  East  of  the  Xorthwcst  corner  of  Sec- 
tion 8.  This  was  a  small  frame  structure  16x24 
feet.  It  was  replaced  in  1893  by  the  present  larger 
edifice.  There  are  about  forty  families  now  in 
the  congregation — all  prosperous  farmers.  They 
are  joined  to  Our  Savior  Norwegian  Lutheran 
church  of  Mankato  in  their  pastoral  supply. 


In  May,  1901,  a  parochial  school  was  opened 
in  charge  of  Carl  Flo. 

The  Germans  began  settling  in  the  town 
very  earl}'.  Among  whom  were  Schwan,  Just, 
Bosin,  i\liescke,  Kastner,  Hubrig,  and  their  fam- 
iJies.  For  some  years  they  attended  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  church  at  Good  Thunder.  July 
0,  1896,  "St.  John's  German  Evangelical  Church" 
V7as  incorporated  by  the  following  members: 
(Mias.  E.  Schwan,  Herman  Hausberg,  Paul  Kun- 
kel,  Carl  Sternitreke,  Gustaf  Michael,  Trangott 
Kastner,  Wm.  Geisthardt,  H.  Mieske,  Frederick 
Bosin  and  Julius  Just.  The  church  was  organ- 
ized January  28,  1893  at  school  house  No. 
i6,  which  was  then  the  usual  place  of  worship. 
The  first  board  of  trustees  were:  Trangott  Kast- 
ner, Wm.  Geisthardt,  and  Paul  Kunkel.  The 
church  building  was  erected  at  Eapidan  Station 
iD  the  summer  of  1897,  and  dedicated  on  Sep- 
tember 5,  of  that  year. 

An  English  Sunday  School  and  preaching 
service  has  been  maintained  off  and  on  for  many 
y'^ars  in  the  School  House  of  the  Eapidan  mill 
district.  In  January,  1899  a  Sunday  School 
was  organized  in  the  Yeager  school  house  with 
Mrs.  George  S.  Harris  as  superintendent.  It  was 
called  the  Mt.  Hope  Sunday  School,  and  flour- 
ished for  some  years.  The  Presbyterians  main- 
tained preaching  services  in  connection  tliere- 
with  for  some  time. 

In  1905-6  the  Congregationalists  maintained 
a  Sunday  school  and  preaching  services  at  the 
AVoodmau's  Hall  at  the  station,  and  Iacv.  J. 
A.   Clark  had  charge  of  the  work. 

The  Blue  Earth  County  Poor  Farm  is  located 
in  Section  one,  and  religious  services  were  held 
there  during  the  administration  of  Wm.  P. 
Lewis,  from  1889,  to  1895,  by  Eevs.  John  C. 
Jones,  Albert  Warren  and  others,  and  a  Sunday 
tchool  regularlj'  kept  for  years. 

Col.  B.  F.  Smith  and  General  J.  H.  Baker 
were  two  prominent  residents  of  the  town  for 
years,  and  at  the  tatter's  hospitable  home  on 
"Oak  Clift  Farm"  were  held  during  the  early 
nineties  a  series  of  annual  old  settler  gatherings, 
which  were  very  popular. 

The  first  school,  it  is  said,  was  taught  in  the 
summer  of  1866,  in  the  log  school  house  of  Dis- 
trict No.   79   by  Miss   Emma   Smith   of   Garden 


284 


HISTORY  OP  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


City,  afterwards  Mrs.  Henry  Dyer.  Miss  Nettie 
Crane  (now  Mills)  and  Elder  Thurston  were, 
also,  among  the  first  teachers  of  this  district.  The 
second  school  house  was  huilt  in  the  Chamber- 
lain district,  and  the  third  school  house  was  put 
up  in  the  Yeager  district.  All  these  first  educa- 
tional buildings  were  of  logs.  Now  there  are 
.«even  good  school  houses  in  the  town. 

February,  1891,  a  postoffice  was  established  at 
liapidan  Mills  with  W.  D.  Hall,  Jr.,  as  postmas- 
ter. In  1892  P.  E.  Nelson  became  postmaster.  In 
the  fall  of  1900  the  Pree  delivery  sj-stem  was 
inaiigurated  in  the  town.  In  October,  1896, 
a  telephone  line  was  run  from  Eapidan  to  Am- 
boy.  In  August,  1903,  The  Maple  River  Tele- 
phone Company  was  organized  with  Aleck  An- 
derson as  president,  and  in  August,  1904,  the 
Farmers  Center  Telephone  Company  was,  also, 
organized,  with  Chas.  Sperlich  as  president. 
The  Eapidan  Roller  Mill  is  still  'be- 
ing operated  by  E.  S.  Rogers,  upon  what  is 
undoubtedly  the  finest  water  power  in  the  county. 

SHELBY. 

The  first  settlers  of  Shelby  were  Norman  L. 
•Jackson,  his  son  Eli  N.,  and  stepson,  Hiram 
Luddington,  who  located  at  the  north  end  of 
Jackson  Lake  in  the  summer  of  1855.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  Edward  Brace  settled  in 
tl'.e  same  neighborhood.  In  July  Casper,  Geo. 
J.  and  Simon  Hoffman  took  claims  on  the  Blue 
Earth,  in  what  was  soon  afterwards  called  the 
Shelbyville  neighborhood.  Their  filing  seems 
"to  have  preceded  the  Jacksons,  and  they  may 
have  been  the  first  actual  settlers.  In  the  late 
fall  they  were  joined  by  Geo.  Richardson,  who 
bailt  a  log  cabin  near  where  the  townsite  next 
S]:ring  was  located,  and  batched  there  all  "win- 
ter with  0.  Nichols,  Hiram  Roberts  and  James 
Crane,  whose  claims  were  over  the  line  in  Fari- 
bault county.  Tobias  Miller,  Sanford  E.  Allen 
and  Wm.  A.  Clark  located  in  the  same  vicinity 
tiie  same  fall.  The  fall  of  1855  saw  the  begin- 
ning of  another  neighborhood  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  the  town,  in  what  was  later  called  the 
Green  Valley  neighborhood.  Among  these  were 
Chas.  C.  Mack  and  his  son,  Jesse  Mack.  The 
}ear   1856    witnessed   a   large   immigration    into 


chelby.  Early  in  April  came  Tilton  0.  Allen 
and  his  brother  Zoeth  Allen,  Albert  M.  Steph- 
ens, Wm.  Chamberlain,  Ardel  D.  Pinkerton,  No- 
ble G.  Root,  Orlando  Smith  and  Geo.  Quiggle. 
In  April,  1856,  came  also  the  noted  Methodist 
pioneer  preacher.  Rev.  John  W.  Powell,  and  laid 
out  the  village  of  Shelbyville  on  a  portion  of  the 
west  half  of  Section  35.  Other  settlers  of  1856 
were  Robert  Shannon,  Abner  Thompson,  Magnus 
Rice,  Anthony  Ritterbush,  Wm.  and  Geo.  H. 
Robbins,  Ira  J.  and  Chancellor  Darling,  Asa  P. 
Jacobs,  Benony  and  Ferris  Farley,  Thos.  H. 
Day,  James  Miller,  Geo.  W.  Marsh,  John  E. 
Romack,  Horace  Kinney,  Rudolph  Crandall,  Mil- 
ton Ross,  Rudolph  AfEholter,  Reuben  Bariott, 
Elijah  L.  and  Henry  R.  Case,  Joseph  and  Wm. 
Crandall,  John  Doke,  Hiram  Green,  Wm.  Gre- 
gory, Benjamin  S.  Stoner,  Elnathan  Kendall, 
Chas.  P.  Hutchins,  Alexander  Kennedy,  Edmund 
Kingsland,  Elwood  Knowles,  Abbington  Parrett, 
Lewis  F.  and  Hosea  S.  True,  Milton  T.  Wal- 
bridge,  Levi  Calhoon,  and  John  L.  Samson. 

Among  the  other  early  settlers  of  the  town 
were :  J  ohn  Barnard,  John  Baumgartner,  An- 
drew J.  Barr,  Geo.  Boler,  Joseph  Bowen,  Christo- 
pher M.  Brown,  Geo.  and  Richard  Buckmeister, 
Wm.  Butterfield,  Richard  Casady,  Edwin  G. 
Crosby,  Delevan  Cray,  Henry  Stock,  Thomas 
and  Henry  Comstock,  John  L.  Shank,  John  J. 
Porter,  Nathan  Powell,  John  and  Abram  T. 
Swearingen,  John  Diamond,  Edward  P.  Childs, 
Chas.  E.  Cleveland,  Marvin  E.  Colton,  Alvin  M. 
Collins,  James  Eastman,  Abram  Eastvald,  Geo. 
W.  Foot,  Chas.  N.  Gates,  Nelson  Gear,  Geo.  Har- 
riman.  Elder  C.  L.  Taylor,  Tho..  J.  Cross,  Phin- 
eas  Lattin,  Geo.  A.  Louer,  John  McCabe,  Jos- 
eph jMcKibben,  Tyrus  Peck,  Solomon  Purdy, 
Daniel  and  Blisha  E.  Eeed,  John  W.  Eunkle, 
Francis  H.  Seward,  Andrew  Shannon,  Cornelius 
Silliman,  Eichard  B.  Smith,  Chandler  Stevens, 
Benedict   Truey,   and   L.   Youngman. 

So  numerous  were  the  settlers  in  1856  that  on 
July  7  the  election  precinct  of  Shelby  was  creat- 
ed, bounded  as  follows:  Commencing  at  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  county  thence  north  to 
the  northwest  corner  of  town  106  range  39,  thence 
cast  to  the  Blue  Earth  river,  thence  up  said 
nver  to  line  between  ranges  27  and  28,  thence 
south  on  said  line  to  the  south  line  of  county, 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


285 


thence  west  to  point  of  beginning.  The  precinct 
was  named  "Shelby"  on  request  of  Rev.  J.  W. 
Powell  after  the  county  in  Indian;i,  from  which 
he  had  come.  The  first  officers  appointed  were : 
Judges  of  Election,  Noble  G.  Root,  Joseph  Mc- 
Canahan  and  A.  B.  Parrett;  Justice,  A.  P.  Par- 
]-et;  Constable,  Wm.  A.  Clark;  Supervisor,  Hor- 
ton  W.  Nelson.  The  first  election  was  held  at 
Shelbyville  on  October  15,  1856,  when  thirteen 
votes  were  cast.  In  July.  1857,  Ceresco  and 
Vernon  were-  separated  from  Shelby  precinct, 
which  still  embraced  ranges  28  and  29,  in  town- 
ship 105.  This  precinct  was  created  into  the 
town  of  Shelby  on  May  11,  1858,  and  the  fol- 
lowing officers  were  elected :  Supervisors,  Ru- 
dolph Crandall  (Chr.,)  Sylvester  Woodman,  and 
James  Miller;  Clerk,  Henry  Stoek;  Assessor,  C. 
C.  Mack;  Collector,  W.  H.  Miller;  Overseer  of 
the  Poor,  Norman  L.  Jackson;  Justices,  Horace 
Kinney  and  J.  L.  Sampson;  Constables,  John 
Diamond  and  C.  P.  Hutchins. 

Mary  A.  Root,  daughter  of  Noble  G.  Root, 
born  June  16,  1856,  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  town.  The  first  marriage  was ,  that 
cf  Elnathan  Kendall  to  Miss  Louise  A.  Richard- 
son on  July  3,  1856.  Celebrated  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
Powell  at  the  home  of  Abner  Thompson,  which 
home  consisted  of  a  covered  wagon,  a  tent  be- 
side it,  and  a  fine  oak  grove.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Thompson  and  Geo.  Richardson  witnessed  the 
solemn  compact.  The  second  marriage  was  that 
of  Simon  Hoffman  to  Miss  Phoebe  Esther  Allen 
on  August  3,  1856,  at  the  groom's  log  cabin,  Rev. 
Powell  ofPiciating.  The  marriage  of  George 
'Juiggle  to  Mary  D.  Northru]i,  often  claimed  to 
have  been  the  first  marriage  in  the  town,  really 
occurred  on  the  Watonwan  on  July  13,  1856. 
The  first  death  was  that  of  Mr.  Pierce  in  the 
autumn  of  1856,  and  the  second  death  was  that 
of  Mrs.  Rudolph  Crandall  in  August,  1857. 

Two  or  three  buildings  were  put  up  in  Shelby- 
ville in  1856.  One  of  which  was  occupied  with 
a  few  goods  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Powell.  In  1857  Ro- 
bert Shannon  built  a  double  log  house,  which 
he  used  as  a  hotel  for  a  )'car  or  two.  Rev.  Powell 
turned  over  the  store  he  had  started  to  his 
brother  Nathan  Powell.  In  the  summer  of 
1857  Thomas  and  John  Comstock,  brothers-in- 
law  of  John  J.  Shaubut  of  Mankato,  and  Henry 


Stoek  and  John  J.  Porter  came  to  Shelbyville 
from  Lancester  County,  Pa.  and  all  purchased 
a  big  interest  in  the  towTisite.  The  Com  stocks 
started  in  the  mercantile  business  there,  and 
Stoek  and  Porter  purchased  at  St.  Louis  a  steam 
saw  mill  which  they  set  up  that  fall  at  the  town- 
site.  John  Diamond,  who  had  come  with  this 
party,  was  employed  in  this  mill.  It  is  claimed 
that  President  Buchanan,  with  whom  Stoek  and 
Porter  were  personally  acquainted,  had  promised 
fheni  the  Minnesota  Land  Office,  which  had  it 
been  fulfilled,  would  have  been  a  big  boom  for 
their  townsite.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
John  Swearingen  purchased  and  put  up  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Blue  Earth,  opposite  Shelbyville 
a  small  portable  steam  saw  mill.  In  1858  Til- 
ton  0.  Allen  began  the  erection  of  a  large  frame 
hotel,  which  was  completed  that  year.  Geo.  W. 
j\larsh  assisted  by  Alfred  ]\L  Stephens,  opened  a 
l)lacksmith  shop  in  the  village  this  same  year.  A 
log  school  house  was  built,  having  only  one 
small  window.  The  seats  were  fashioned  from 
split  logs,  having  wooden  pegs  for  legs.  Here 
in  the  winter  of  1857-8  David  Grey  taught  the 
first  regular  school  in  town,  having  about  a  dozen 
scliolai's.  The  preceding  summer  a  school  had 
been  taught  by  Miss  Clarissa  A.  Jacobs,  at  her 
latliers  home,  Asahael  P.  Jacobs,  in  Section  4, 
with  eight  children  '  in  attendance,  all  from 
Shelby.  August  Hi.  1857,  j\Iiss  Jacobs  was  mar- 
ried to  Stephen  R.  Henderson,  and  later  the 
young  couple  moved  to  the  Beaver  Creek  set- 
tlement in  Renville  County.  During  the  In- 
dian outbreak  of  1862,  Mrs.  Henderson  and  her 
two  children  were  most  brutally  murdered  by  the 
ravages,  and  Mr.  Henderson  was  killed  by  them 
a  few  days  later  at  the  battle  of  Birch  Coulie. 
-'\bout  1859  the  Comstocks  sold  their  store  to 
John  J.  Shaubut  and  left  the  country.  Mr. 
Shaubut  put  Washington  Kaggerice  in  charge  of 
the  store.  The  steam  saw  mill  of  Stoek  and 
Porter  was  a  patent  affair  and  proved  a  failure. 
The  old  settlers  used  to  call  it  the  "Tri-weekly" 
because  they  claimed  the  saw  went  up  and  down 
three  times  a  week.  After  a  year  or  two  an  at- 
tachment for  grinding  corn  and  unbolted  flour 
was  added,  but  after  a  few  years  spent  in  a 
vain  attempt  to  make  the  mill  work  successfully, 
the    proprietors    abandoned    it,    and    about    1860 


286 


illSTOriY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


moved  to  Mankato,  \Yliere  Mr.  Porter  started  a 
tannery  and  Mr.  Stoek  was  elected  County  Au- 
ditor. After  operating  his  portable  saw  mill 
about  two  years,  Jolm  Swearingen  erected  a  much 
larger  mill  in  the  village.  This  was  sold  in  the 
spring  of  1863  to  Tilton  0.  Allen  and  Geo.  W. 
Marsh,  who  operated  it  under  the  tlrm  name  of 
Allen  &  Marsh.  In  the  fall  of  1865  ilr.  Marsh 
liought  out  his  partner  and  moved  the  mill  to 
a  five  acre  tract  on  the  Blue  Earth  in  Section 
?7.  He  added  to  it,  also,  a  fair-sized  grist  mill, 
which  he  operated  until  h^.s  death  in  September, 
1875. 

The  first  postofEice  was  established  at  Shelby- 
vilJe  in  1856  with  J.  W.  Powell  as  postmaster. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Eobert  Shannon,  and  he  in 
turn,  by  John  Diamond.  In  December,  1861. 
Cyrus  L.  Taylor  became  postmaster  and  was  fol- 
lowed in  April,  1872,  by  Alvin  Englebrecht,  who 
after  a  few  months  was  succeeded  by  H.  E. 
Young.  Lyman  Turner  was  appointed  in  March, 
1873  and  in  October,  1874  Virgil  Tiffany  came 
to  the  office  and  held  it  until  July  29, 1881,  when 
it  was  merged  into  the  Amboy  postoffice.  In  the 
early  sixties  C.  L.  Taylor  opened  a  store.  In 
July,  1864,  H.  A.  Buck,  started  a  store  in  Shel- 
byville,  and  in  December,  of  the  same  year,  J. 
M.  Fellows  &  Co.  established  a  store  there.  Oc- 
tober, 1865,  T.  0.  Allen  'and  Cap't  Crandall 
opened  a  new  general  store,  which  in  May,  1867, 
they  sold  to  A.  Van  Awken.  In  1869  the  latter 
Imilt  a  large  new  building  in  the  village.  The 
upper  floor  to  be  used  for  a  hotel  and  the  ground 
floor  he  occupied  with  a  double  store,  which  he 
ran  for  two  years.  The  building  was  then  moved 
to  Danville,  where  it  is  still  used  as  a  barn. 
Early  in  the  sixties  Prael  &  Dubuisson  of  Man- 
kato  opened  a  branch  store  at  Shelbyville  in 
charge  of  Alvin  Englebrecht.  In  May,  1868,  the 
latter  purchased  the  stock  of  goods  owned  by 
Elder  C.  L.  Taylor.  In  the  seventies  H.  E. 
Young  conducted  a  store  for  a  short  time  at 
Shelbyville  and  was  succeeded  by  Geo.  Turner, 
Jr.,  whose  store  was  burnt  in  September,  1874. 
Tbos.  E.  Cross  ran  a  store  in  the  village,  also, 
for  a  short  period.  The  first  religious  services 
in  the  town  were  conducted  in  1856  by  Rev. 
John  W.  Powell,  and  an  M.  E.  church  was  or- 
ganized by  him  in  the  fall  of  that  year.    Among 


its  first  members  were :  Robert  Shannon  and 
Susan  Shannon,  liis  wife,  John  L.  Samson  and 
Barbara  Samson  his  wife,  Benjamin  S.  Stoner 
and  Lydia  Stoner  his  wife,  Henry  Stoek  and 
family,  J.  JIartin  and  wife,  Abbington  Parret 
and  wife,  Henry  Comstock  and  wife,  Mrs.  Tilton 
0.  Allen  and  others,  whose  name  we  did  not  get. 
A  Sunday  School  was  started  in  1857  with 
Henry  Stoek  as  first  superintendent.  During 
1 857-8  Rev.  Ransom  Judd,  was  pastor  of  the 
cliurch.  He  was  followed  by  Elder  Cyrus  L. 
Tavlor,  during  whose  pastorate  in  1858  a  church 
building  was  erected  on  Block  32  of  the  village. 
The  corner  stone  of  the  building  was  laid  with 
due  ceremony.  Rev.  Powell  and  Rev.  Whiteford, 
w])0  had  cared  for  the  church  the  first  year, 
assisted  Elder  Taylor  at  the  services.  A  jar 
filled  with  various  mementoes  of  the  occasion 
v-as  duly  deposited  under  the  stone.  Henry 
Comstock  deeded  the  church  a  lot  for  its  use 
on  February  5,  1859.  In  the  fall  of  1859  Eev. 
S.  T.  Richardson  was  appointed  to  the  charge 
and  in  the  fall  of  1862  was  succeeded  by  Eev. 
.S.  A.  Chubbuk.  The  church  was  legally  incor- 
porated January  8,  1863,  when  Rev.  S.  A.  Chub- 
buck,  then  pastor,  appointed  the  following  trus- 
tees: Robert  Shannon,  Benjamin  Stoner,  Aaron 
S.  Rounse,  John  Lee,  Thos.  J.  Cross,  J.  A.  Lat- 
timer,  Cyrus  L.  Taylor,  Benjamin  Farley,  and 
Wm.  H.  Hunt.  Other  pastors  of  the  church  not 
ai)bve  ment^'oned  were:  Revs.  Nailer  and  Thos. 
.McClear}'. 

In  1857  an  attempt  was  made  by  S.  M.  Fol- 
som  and  others  to  start  a  towiisite  on  the  north - 
Avest  quarter  of  section  5,  but  it  was  soon  aban- 
doned. 

In  July,  1864  Wm.  H.  Blackmer  put  up  a 
saw  mill  on  the  Blue  Earth  near  where  the 
Woodland-  Mill  is  now  located.  This  mill  was 
sold  two  years  later  to  H.  C.  Capwell  and 
others,  who  added  a  grist  mill  to  it.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1866,  H.  C,  Howard  put  up  a  portable 
steam  saw  mill  on  the  James  Miller  farm  on  the 
Blue  Earth  River.  In  August,  1867,  this  mill 
burned,  but  Mr.  Howard  rebuilt  it  at  once  and 
added  thereto  a  grist  mill.  At  the  same  time 
Howard  and  Co.  opened  a  general  store  close 
to  the  mill  and  the  place  was  named  "Shelby 
Center."      In    November,    1869-,    Howard    &    Co. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


287 


sold  the  flour  mill  to  T.  Henry  Day,  and  the 
machinery  of  the  saw  mill  to  Asa  White  and  A. 
C.  Hilton  of  Winnebago  Agency.  The  flour  mill 
was  removed  by  Mr.  Day  to  his  farm  and  en- 
larged, and  was  known  as  the  "Champion  Mill." 
William  Thompson  became  a  proprietor  a  few 
years  later  and  in  1883  Frank  Bill  and  S.  V. 
naycraft  purchased  it.  In  18'?8  Robert  Eichard- 
s'ln  was  running  a  store  near  the  Champion 
Mill  and  in  August  of  that  year  the  "Champion 
Mill  PostofEice"  was  established  with  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson as  postmaster.  On  his  removal  the  fol- 
lowing year  to  the  new  townsite  of  Amboy, 
Frank  D.  Bill  succeeded  him  as  postmaster.  In 
1880  the  office  was  removed  to  the  home  of 
James   Miller   and   in   March,    1882,   Mrs.    Mary 

E.  Thompson  was  appointed  to  the  position. 
Late    in    1857    a    postoffice    called    "Liberty" 

was  created  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  north 
end  of  Jackson  Lake,  with  ISTorman  L.  Jackson 
as  postmaster.  In  1863  he  was  succeeded  by  Ed- 
ward P.  Childs,  who  kept  the  office  until  the 
fpring  of  1866,  when  he  sold  his  farm  to  Cor- 
nelius Sillman.  The  postoffice  remained  in  charge 
of  Mr.  Sillman  for  a  short  period  and  then  was 
abolished. 

The  Willow  Creek  M.  E.  Church  was  or- 
ganized in  1868  by  Eev.  Brookwater. 
.\mong     its        charter        members      were:        L. 

F.  McKibben  and  wife,  H.  E.  Salisbury  and 
v.ife,  Benjamin  Hewson  and  wife,  Joseph  Hew- 
son,  Sr.,  and  wife,  J.  Paulson  and  wife,  Price 
and  family,  Mrs.  Hiram  Gilbert,  Elvira  Gil- 
bert, Mrs.  J.  Shouts,  Mrs.  Henry  Day  and  Jesse 
Mack.  Services  at  first  were  held  in  private 
residences,  then  in  the  school  house,  until  the 
present  commodious  house  of  worship  was  erected 
in  1862.  Benjamin  Hewson  and  L.  F.  McKib- 
ben were  among  the  first  superintendents  of  the 
Sunday  School  connected  with  this  church. 

In  1867  Bardon  B.  Day,  who  had  considerable 
inventive  genius,  obtained  a  patent  on  a  wind 
inill,  which  he  applied  as  a  motive  power  for  a 
new  grist  mill  built  by  him.  He,  also,  at- 
tempted to  invent  a  perpetual  motion  power. 
The  force  generated  by  a  stream  of  water  falling 
along  a  series  of  shoots  in  a  tower,  was  supposed 
to  be  sufficient  to  pump  itself  back  to  the  top 
of  the  tower  and  have  sufficient  surplus  power  to 


drive  a  mill.  The  only  difficulty  with  this  in- 
vimtion  was  that  it  would  not  work  except  in 
theory. 

July  2,  1879,  a  wind  storm  passed  over  the 
lown  which  blew  down  the  brick  residence  of 
K'athaniel  Stevens,  killing  Mrs.  Stevens.  The 
next  year  another  hurricane  blew  down  three 
school  houses  in  the  town  and  did  much  dam- 
age. From  1858  until  1879  Shelbyville  was  a 
live  hustling  little  village.  In  1867  it  had  a 
h'.'tel,  church,  school  house,  mill,  two  stores, 
blacksmith  shop,  wagon  shop,  etc. 

Lyceums,  mock  senates,  and  various  meetings 
afforded  the  people  social  advantages  and  enter- 
tainments and  there  were  many  religious  privileg- 
es. April  1871,  a  farmers  club  was  organized  with 
Chas.  Holgate,  James  Miller,  C.  Crocker,  D.  E. 
Cross  and  R.  Crandall  among  its  officers.  July 
22,  1875,  a  big  Sunday  School  picnic  was  held 
in  the  proVe  by  the  village,  when  a  procession 
half  a  mile  long  was  marshalled  by  C.  W.  Herr- 
man,  Cap't  Dorsey  and  Henry  Goody  and  over 
500  people  participated  in  the  festivities.  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1877,  a  big  old  settlers  meeting  was 
held  in  the  village  when  Andrew  C.  Dunn  and  Rev. 
Thos.  McCleary  orated.  July  4,  1878  was  held 
another  old  settlers  celebration  in  the  village 
,?rnve,  when  an  immense  crowd  listened  to  ad- 
dresses by  Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  and  others.  In 
1870  the  branch  of  the  C.  St.  P.  M.  &  0.  Ey. 
was  built  through  Shelby.  The  proposition  to 
give  the  railway  a  bonus  of  $10,000.00  was  de- 
feated by  the  town  September  2,  1879,  by  a 
vote  of  120  to  52.  The  uncertainty  as  to  the 
depot  location  and  the  certainty  that  the  rail- 
way would  be  built  anyway  were  the  mam  causes 
of  this  defeat.  The  railway  company  immediately 
after  the  election  secured  a  tract  of  land  from  Geo. 
Quiggle  in  Section  23,  and  on  October  31,  1879, 
laid  out  the  new  townsite  of  "Amboy."  The 
name  was  suggested  by  Eobert  Richardson  after 
"Amboy,"  Illinois — his  former  home.  ■  An  at- 
tempt was  made  to  name  the  town  "Jackson 
Lake"  or  "Jacksonville,"  but  it  failed.  The  loca- 
tion of  this  townsite  recalls  an  interesting  chap- 
ter in  the  railway  history  of  our  county.  Back 
in  the  seventies  when  the  Mankato  and  Wells 
road  was  owned  by  the  Minnesota  Central  Com- 
pany, of  which  Thompson,  Hubbell  and  Willard 


288 


HISTOIJY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


were  the  chief  managers,  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux 
City  Eailway  Company  made  an  agreement  with 
its  officers  for  the  purchase  of  the  road,  which 
only  required  the  sanction  of  the  Board  of  Di- 
rectors of  the  "Central"  to  become  a  binding 
compact.  Before  this  was  done  the  Milwaukee 
Company  in  some  way  learned  of  the  matter,  and 
secretly  worked  up  a  deal  of  their  own  and  se- 
cured a  majority  of  the  d^'rectors  to  favor  it.  So 
after  the  meeting  the  officers  of  the  Sioux 
City  Eailway  were  surprised  and  chagrined 
beyond  measure  to  learn  that  the  piece  of  road 
Ihey  had  bargained  for  had  been  sold  to  tht 
Milwaukee  company.  Smarting  under  what  they 
regarded  as  a  mean,  underhanded  trick  on  the 
part  of  the  Milwaukee,  the  officers  of  the  Sioux 
City  company  determined  to  retaliate  by  build- 
ing a  parallel  road  from  Lake  Crystal  to  Blue 
Earth  City,  and  the  station  of  Amboy  was  put 
towards  the  north  end  of  Jackson  Lake,  so  that 
it  might  draw  as  much  trade  away  from  Good 
Thunder  and  Mapleton  as  possible.  This  quarrel 
between  the  two  companies,  however,  secured  to 
our  county  two  railroads  instead  of  one.  Eobert 
Eichardson  built  the  first  store  in  the  new  town, 
a  building  28x30  with  wing  12-30,  and  moved 
his  stock  of  goods  from  Champion  Mills  thereto 
in  the  fall  of  1ST9.  A  railway  depot  was  built 
the  same  fall  and  a  postoffice  established  on  Jan- 
uary 1,  1880,  with  Eobert  Eichardson  as  post- 
master. The  first  year  saw  quite  a  boom  in  the 
new  village.  By  June,  1880  Thos.  Eandall  and 
J.  M.  More  had  built  and  occupied  stores  there 
in  addition  to  Eichardson's  store.  Lathrop  & 
Conrad  had  a  hardware;  J.  H.  T3-ler,  a  drug 
store;  Fred  Affolter,  a  wagon  shop;  H.  E. 
Young,  wagon  and  blacksmith  shop;  Amos  Pisk, 
contractor  and  builder;  John  Noble,  lumber;  A. 
J.  Davis,  livery;  W.  Christe,  insurance;  F.  Cole, 
harness  shop.  There  were  two  hotels:  The 
"West  House,"  John  West,  proprietor,  and 
"Davis  House,"  A.  J.  Davis,  proprietor.  There 
were,  also,  two  warehouses  with  J.  M.  More  and 
Eandall  &  Thompson  as  buyers.  This  same 
summer  two  churches  were  erected  in  the  vil- 
lage. The  action  of  the  railroad  in  ignoring 
Shelbyville  and  locating  Amboy  just  one  and  a 
half  miles  north  of  it,  soon  proved  fatal  to  the 
older  town.    In  two  or  three  years  it  had  become 


a  deserted  place.  Even  the  buildings  had  about 
all  disappeared.  The  old  hotel  was  moved  to 
the  Counselman  farm,  now  owned  by  Thos.  Nas- 
inith,  the  Van  Awken  store  became  a  barn  in 
Danville,  and  the  M.  E.  Church  is  one  of  the  out 
buildings  on  the  John  Barnard  farm,  now  owned 
by  Michael  Snrrensen.  Other  buildings  were 
fjaulcd  to  Amboy  and  elsewhere,  and  today  the 
site  of  the  old  village  is  a  grain  field. 

Xovember  15,  1879,  a  new  M.  E.  Church  was 
organized  at  Amboy  for  which  the  following 
persons  were  appointed  trustees:  Benjamin  Far- 
ley, Wm.  S.  Aldridge,  J.  C.  Durr,  Ed.  Eeed,  G. 
J.  Louer,  and  Chas.  Holgate.  A  church  building 
was  started  in  Amboy  in  1880,  but  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1884,  though  finished  so  it  could  be 
occupied  in  1882.  It  was  dedicated  August  31, 
1884,  Elders  McKinley,  Liscomb,  and  Stockdill 
officiating.  The  Shelbyville  church  soon  sold 
their  building  and  united  with  the  Amboy 
church.  In  1891  their  house  of  worship  was 
enlarged  and  remodeled  into  the  present  fine 
structure  under  the  pastorate  of  Eev.  0.  W. 
Taylor.  The  Amboy  and  Willow  Creek  M.  E. 
Church  are  united  under  the  same  pastorate. 
They  have  a  membership  of  185,  and  property 
valued  at  $8,000.00.  Eev.  W.  H.  Irwin  is  their 
present  pastor. 

The  Amboy  Presbyterian  Church  dates  its 
orgin  to  a  meeting  held  at  the  home  of  Edward 
Brace,  when  the  following  written  request  was 
handed  to  Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  a  Presbyterian 
minister  living  in   Sterling: 

Ida    Lake.    March,    1869. 
We,  the   undersigned,   wish   to  be  organized  into  a 
Presbyterian    Church,    to    be    called     the    Presbyterian 
Church  of  Pleasant  Eidge 


John  Diamond. 
Eudolph  Crandall. 
^Varren  White. 
Gabriel  Rinehart. 
Edward  Brace. 
George  Quiggle. 
Erastus    Brace. 


'Vfary  Ann  Diamond. 
Elizabeth    Crandall. 
Emiline  White. 
Susan   Rinehart. 
Issabell  Brace. 
^  [art ha    Quiggle. 
^[argaret    Sower. 


Eev.  Conrad  at  once  organized  the  church  and 
Edward  Brace  was  elected  its  first  elder.  For 
a  year  and  a  half  services  were  held  every  alter- 
nate Sunday  at  Pleasant  Eidge  school  house  or 
at  the  home  of  Edward  Brace.  Then  for  eight 
years  the  Jackson  Lake  school  house  was  used, 
and  the  services  conducted  by  Eev.  Conrad  every 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


289 


other  week.  The  legal  incorporation  occurred  at 
Jackson  Lake  school  house,  on  January  6,  1880, 
when  the  following  trustees  were  elected:  J.  E. 
Conrad,  Geo.  Quiggle,  Warren  White,  Jabin  Ead- 
cJiffe,  and  Theodore  Sower.  A  church  building 
was  started  that  spring  at  Amboy.  'The  frame 
had  Just  been  raised,  when  the  big  wind  storm 
of  June  5,  1880,  blew  it  down.  It  was  again 
raised  and  the  building  dedicated  on  August 
28,  1881.  It  was  a  frame  structure  28x40  fee{ 
and  16  feet  posts.  The  name  was  now  changed 
to  "Presbyterian  Church  of  Amboy."  February 
27,  1893,  the  church  was  reincorporated  under 
this  name  by  Mrs.   Clara   Smith,   F.  W.   White, 

A.  M.   Hannqy,   Wm.   Eobinson,   J.   A.   McLain, 

B.  A.  Merrill,  and  Wm.  Keinholz,  and  the  fol- 
loAving  trustees  chosen:  Amos  Fisk,  J.  B.  Ead- 
cliffe,  J.  A.  McLain,  Wm.  Eobinson  and  A.  E. 
Salisbury.  Eev.  J.  E.  Conrad  continued  to  serve 
the  church  until  the  summer  of  1890,  driving 
nine  miles  from  his  home  in  Sterling  for  the 
purpose,  but  declining  years  compelled  him  to 
resign.  He  was  succeeded  by  Eev.  T.  Eosf? 
P;iden  in  the  fall  of  1890.  In  November  of  that 
year,  with  the  help  of  Evangelist  Hamilton  H. 
Hunter,  a  great  revival  occurred  and  fifty  new 
members  were  added.  The  old  building  proving 
too  small  for  the  greatly  enlarged  congregation, 
the  present  tine  structure  was  erected  in  1892-3 
at  a  cost  of  $5,200.00.  It  was  first  occupied  in 
June,  1893,  and  the  dedication  occurred  Decem- 
ber 10,  1893,  when  Eev.  W.  0.  Conrad,  son  of 
the  former  pastor,  preached  the  dedication  ser- 
mon. Eev.  PaHen  served  the  church  with  great 
acceptance  for  five  years  and  was  succeeded  by 
Eev.  J.  Milne  Smith,  who,  after  two  years  was 
succeeded  by  Eev.  J.  D.  Gibb  in  May,  1898. 
The  latter  closed  his  pastorate  in  October,  1905, 
and  the  present  pastor,  Eev.  S.  M.  Marsh,  be.G;nn 
hi?  work  with  the  church  in  April,  1906.  A 
parsonage  was  purchased  in  December,  1906. 
In  the  spring  of  1908  another  great  revival  oc- 
curred in  Amboy  and  about  200  conversions 
made.  Between  sixty  and  seventy  of  those  united 
with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  an  equal 
number  with  the  M.  E.  Church,  nearly  doubling 
the  membership  of  both  churches.  A  Sund'ay 
School  was  started  in  connection  with  the  Pres- 
byterian   Church    very    early.      John    DiamoTjd, 

19 


Erastus  Buck,  and  J.  A.  Lattimer  were  among 
its   first   superintendents. 

About  1887  the  German  Methodist  Emmanuel 
Church  was  organized  at  Amboy,  and  a  church 
building  erected.  Its  membership  embraces 
about  thirty  families.  January  14,  1889,  the 
Evangelical  Lutheran'  St.  Paul  Church  of  Am- 
boy, was  organized  and  on  January  19,  1891,  it 
^as  incorporated  by  the  election  of  the  follow- 
ing trustees:  E.  Eadke,  W.  F.  Ludtke  and  H. 
'Wiedenhaeft.  In  the  spring  of  1891  a  house  of 
worship  was  built  in  the  village,  which  was  de- 
dicated July  12,  1891.  The  membership  of 
rhis  church  embraces  about  thirty  families. 

The  Willow  Creek  Christian  Church  was  or- 
ganized July  19,  1885,  at  the  Kinney  School 
House,  by  Eev.  Edwin  Eogers,  with  thirteen 
members.  In  1891  the  church  was  incorporated 
and  the  present  fine  chapel  built  at  a  cost  of 
over  $1,450.00  and  dedicated  that  year  free  of 
debt.  Wm.  Chamberlain  was  a  prominent  leader 
and  worker  in  the  church  for  years.  In  all  there 
jiave  been  151  names  on  the  church  roll,  a  large 
number  of  whom  are  among  its  present  mem- 
bership. 

In  October,  188G,  David  E.  Cross  bought  the 
Eichardson  store  and  succeeded  the  latter  as 
postmaster  of  Amboy.  In  1887  John  C.  Nobles 
was  appomted  postmaster  and  on  his  resignation 
in  February,  1889,  D.  E.  Cross  was  again  in- 
stalled in  the  oifice.  October  1,  1893,  Anson 
j^  [a]  lory  was  appointed  to  the  position  by  Presi- 
dent Cleveland.  Under  President  McKinle}',  D. 
E.  Cross  was  again,  in  1897,  made  the  village 
postmaster,  which  ofPen  he  still  retains.  The 
first  newspaper  was  the  "Amboy  News,"  started 
about  February  3,  1885.  October  13,  1891,  the 
"Amboy  Herald"  was  started  as  a  branch  of  the 
Ivake  Crystal  Mirror  with  Carl  Strom  as  man- 
ager. After  tn'o  or  three  years  the  paper  was 
sold  to  K.  0.  Sandum,  who  in  November,  1894, 
disposed  of  it  to  Theo.  Freer,  who  in  turn  in 
April,  1895,  sold  it  to  C.  W.  Dillman.  Mr. 
Eagley  purchased  the  paper  next,  and  in  March, 
1899,  J.  A.  Krohn  became  its  proprietor.  In 
.A.u,!]:iist.  1900,  the  present  owner,  James  E, 
Brown,  assumed  control  of  the  "Herald"  and 
lias  made  an  excellent  local  paper  of  it.  The 
first  mill  in  Amboy  was  built  by  John  C,  No- 


290 


HISTOIJY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


bles  in  the  spring  of  1887.  In  1889  Jacob  PfafE 
pi'ected  a  three  story  steam  flour  mill,  32x48; 
himished  with  roller  process  machinery  at  a 
cost  of  $15,000.00.  In  November,  1893,  Mr. 
Pfaff  leased  the  mill  to  Germain  &  Howe;  diir- 
ing  which  lease  the  mill  was  burned  on  July  4, 
1894.  In  the  fall  of  1895  Peterson  &  Fuller 
built  the  present  large  three  story  mill  at  a 
cost  of  over  $15,000.00  and  in  October,  1897 
Oliver  Peterson  bought  out  his  partner,  and  be- 
came sole  owner  of  the  Amboy  Poller  Mill, 
which  he  still  operates  with  good  success.  In 
April,  1883,  Elder  Eoss  became  proprietor  of  the 
"Amboy  House"  and  in  October,  1889,  Barney 
Kilmer  became  its  landlord.  In  September, 
1897,  D.  E.  Cross  sold  his  store  to  his  son  J. 
Henry  Cross,  who  conducted  it  until  January, 
1906,  when  he  sold  it  to  the  present  proprietors, 
Woodis  &  Co.  In  1883,  Perrin  Bros,  started  in 
the  agricultural  implement  business,  which  they 
conducted  for  some  years.  In  1885  Chas.  Brown 
ocened  a  furniture  store  at  Amboy  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Chas.  E.  Durr  and  Wm.  E.  Barnard. 
Other  business  men  of  the  village  are  or  have 
been:  _^Thos.  Eandall  &  Son,  Frank  W.  White 
and  John  H.  Dredge,  Anson  Mallory,  Asa  C. 
Baker,  Fred  J.  Behm,  Geo.  E.  Wilder,  C.  D. 
Cooper  and  Henry  F.  Day,  Byron  0.  Killmer 
and  Prank  V.  Lattin,  Willis  L.  Perrin,  Edwin 
Titfany,  Laomi  B.  Smith,  Schwarz  Bros.,  G.  K. 
Stevens,  John  C.  Bakke  and  Frank  E.  Cooper, 
Eue,  Pederson  and  Eue,  and  Knute  S.  Haroldson. 
The  Bank  of  Amboy  was  started  as  private 
enterprise  about  1893,  by  Secors,  Ware  &  Co., 
but  on  July  1,  1899,  it  was  changed  to  a  state 
b.ink,  under  the  corporate  name  of  "The  Amboy 
State  Bank,"  with  a  capital  stock  of  $25,000.00. 
Its  first  officers  were:  President,  David  Secor; 
A'ice-President,    Franklin    F.    Ware;    Cashier,    S. 

C.  Berner.  This  bank  went  out  of  business  in 
1905.  The  Minnesota  State  Bank  was  organ- 
ized on  August  23,  1902,  with  J.  A.  Eeagan,  as 
president,  W.  E.  Schmidt  as  cashier.  January 
24.  1906,  the  German  State  Bank  of  Amboy  was 
started  with  A.  F.  Eempferd  as  president  and  C. 

D.  Ott   as   cashier. 

The  first  school  house  in  the  village  was 
built  in  1885,  and  in  1894,  $6,000.00  in  bonds 
were  voted  and  the  original  part  of  the  present 


school  building  erected.  The  other  part  was 
put  up  in  1906.  The  village  was  incorporated 
June  11,  1887,  by  a  vote  of  32  to  1,  and  a  cen- 
sus taken  at  the  time  showed  it  to  have  181  in- 
habitants. 

Amboy  has  water  and  sewer  systems  and  a 
gasolene  lighting  plant.  Four  rural  routes  rad- 
iate from  it. 

Eoster  of  men  who  enlisted  from  Shelby, 
(which  then  included  Pleasant  Mound),  in  the 
Civil   War: 

Barnard,  Homer,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Barnard,   John,   Co.   B,  Br.  Bat.  5th  Iowa   Cav. 

Barr,   John,    Co.    C,    6th   Inf. 

Bedford,   Patrick,    Co.   D,   9th   Inf. 

Bigelow,  Alfred  W.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Bigelow,  Hiram,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 

Briggs,  Willis  G.,   Co.   E,  2nd  Cav. 

Chamberlain,  Wm.  J.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Chapman,  Darius   N.,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Clark,   Wm.   A.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Cook,   M.   L.,   Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Crandall,   Arthur,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Crandall,   Dennis,   Co.   H,    1st    Inf. 

Crandall,  Harrison,   Co.   B,  Mt.   Rangers. 

Crandall,   Marion,    Co.   B,   Mt.   Kgrs. 

Crandall,    Nelson,    Co.    H,    2nd    Inf. 

Crandall,    Rudolph,    Captain    in    5th     Iowa    Cav. 

Crandall,   Wm.,   Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Cray,    Lorin,    Co.    D,    9th    Inf. 

Cross,   Edward,   Co.   C,   11th   Inf. 

Coulton,  Marvin   E.,  Co.  D,   9th   Inf. 

Day,    Eugene   E.,    Co.   F,    Ist   Art. 

Day,   Simon  N.,   Co.  D,   9th  Inf. 

Day,   Wm.   H.,    Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Davison,  Thos.   G.,   Co.  G,   1st  Art. 

Drake,  Levi  N.,   Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Graham,  Baker,   Co.  E,  2nd   Cav. 

Hillard,   Riley,   Co.   F,    1st  Art. 

Knowles,   Elwood,   Co.   H,  4th   Inf. 

Lattimore,   Francis   J.,   Co.   C,   11th   Inf. 

Longale,   Thos.,   Co.   C,   11th  Inf. 

Lindsey,    Chas.   H.,   Co.   F,   1st   Art. 

Loomer,  Joseph  H.,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 

McKibhen,   John,   Co.   E,   2nd    Cav.  ' 

McKibben,  Wallace,   Co.   C,  11th  Inf. 

McQueen,   Wm.,   Co.   G,    1st   Bat. 

Miller,   Wm.   H.,   Co.    B,    Br.   Bat. 

Millett,    Samuel   W.,   Co.   D,   9th   Inf. 

Perrin,  Horace  B.,  Co.  G,   11th  Inf. 

Purdy,   John,    Co.   H,   2nd   Inf. 

Randall,  Alvin  R.,  Co.  H,  Mt.  Rg. 

Raymond,   Wallace,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Richardson,  Henry,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Ross,   Clark  B..    Co.   B,  Br.   Bat. 

Ruckle,  John  Vv.,  Co.   C,   11th  Inf. 

Sampson,  .John  L.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Shank,   John    T.,    Co.   H,    4th    Inf. 

Stephens,  Galloway,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 

Svlkett,    Jacob,    Co.    B,    Br.    Bat. 

Smith,  Loren  B.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Swearengen,  Abraham  T.,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 

Swcarengen,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 

Thomas,   Jesse   P.,   Co.   F,    1st   Art. 

Terhune,  Daniel  T.,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 

Thompson,  David  L.,  Co.  C,  11th  Inf. 

Underwood,  John  K.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

VanMeter,  Joseph,   Co.   0,   11th  Inf. 


BISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EAETII  COUNTY. 


291 


Walbridge,  Milton  T.,  Co.  D,  9th  Inf. 
West,  Jed,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 
Wetherell,   Jno.   0.,   Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
Youngman,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  D,  9tli  Inf. 


SOUTH  BEND. 


Of  the  first  settlement  of  the  village  and  town- 
sliip  of  South  Bend  we  have  treated  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  Soon  after  the  founding  of  the 
village  in  the  fall  of  1853  by  D.  C.  Evans  and 
Lyman  Mathews  it  became  an  important  pioneer 
trading  point. 

In  the  early  period  the  two  story  log  house  of 
D.  C.  Evans,  built  in  1854,  on  lot  6,  block  64 
of  South  Bend,  was  the  center  of  activity.  Here 
was  held  the  first  election  in  18.54,  when  every 
voter  got  an  office.  Here  was  preached  the  first 
English  sermon  west  of  the  Blue  Earth  in  1854, 
and  the  first  Welsh  sermon  in  1855,  here  Joshua 
Barnard  organized  the  first  Sunday  school  in  the 
town  in  1854  and  Dr.  Edward  Thomas  organ- 
ized the  first  Welsh  Sunday  school  in  the  spring 
of  1855,  here  were  held  the  first  debating  socie- 
ties, the  first  singing  school  and  the  first  Eistedd- 
fod. In  185?,  the  South  Bend  hotel  was  built 
by  Mathew  Thompson  and  Jehiel  Cheney  and  on 
Jan.  1,  1858  opened  to  the  public  by  L.  Abbott  & 
Co.  Mr.  Thompson  and  Mr.  Slepier  were,  also, 
among   its    early    landlords. 

The  first  saw  mill  in  the  town  was  built  in 
1854  by  Isaac  Lyons  on  Minneopa  Creek.  The 
first  saw  mill  in  the  village  was  put  up  by  D.  C. 
Evans  and  E.  D.  Price  in  the  fall  of  1855.  A 
year  or  two  later  a  run  of  stones  was  attached  to 
this  mill  for  grinding  corn.  In  1858  Rev.  Eich- 
ard  Davis  and  John  P.  Williams  erected  a  second 
saw  mill  in  the  village.  In  1860  McCauley  & 
MciSTamara  built  a  large  stone  grist  mill,  which 
tiiey  operated  for  two  or  three  years.  In  1802 
Louis  Seppman  began  the  erection  on  his  farm  of 
a  stone  windmill,  which  was  completed  in  1864. 
It  was  constructed  of  boulders  and  other  native 
stone  and  is  circular  in  form.  It  is  thirty 
feet  in  diameter  at  bottom  and  twenty  feet  at 
the  top.  It  's  thirty-two  feet  in  height  from  the 
ground  to  the  eaves  and  the  walls  are  two  feet 
thick  at  the  base  and  one  and  one-half  feet  thick 
at  top.  The  roof  is  doomshaped  and  hung 
on   a  center   shaft,    so    it    can  be    turned    clear 


around,  that  the  sails  might  be  shifted  to  face 
the  wind  in  any  direction.  The  arms  of  the  mill 
were  wooden  frames  covered  with  sail  cloth,  each 
thirty-five  feet  long,  making  with  the  diameter  of 
the  hub  a  spread  of  seventy-five  feet.  For  sixteen 
years  Mr.  Seppman  used  the  mill  to  grind 
flour,  and  many  of  the  old  settlers  testify  to  its 
excellent  quality.  It  had  a  capacit}'  of  150  bush- 
els per  day.  June  ",  1873  lightning  demolished 
two  of  the  arms,  but  they  were  replaced  next  year. 
In  1880  a  big  wind  storm  again  carried 
off  two  of  the  arms  and  as  modern  inven- 
tion rendered  the  making  of  flour  by  this  prima- 
live  method  unprofitable,  they  were  never  re- 
:^tored.  The  mill  was  used  to  grind  feed  until 
the  summer  of  1890,  when  the  two  remaining 
sails  were  wrecked  in  another  storm.  The  old 
tower,  however,  still  stands  like  an  ancient  sen- 
iinel  on  the  hill,  as  strong  and  sturdy  as  ever — 
the  most  picturesque  of  all  the  ancient  landmarks 
of  the  county. 

About  1860  South  Bend  had  the  distine- 
tion  of  being  the  home  of  D.  A.  Allen  (Tom 
Thumb  ISTo.  2),  who  was  then  reported  to  be 
tlie  smallest  man  in  the  United  States.  He 
was  at  that  time  twenty-two  years  old  and  only 
thirty-one  inches  in  height,  half  an  inch  shorter 
than  Barnum's  famous  Tom  Thumb.  His  weight 
was  only  thirty-five  pounds,  much  less  than  the 
great  showman's  prodigy-.  Mr.  Allen's  parents 
lived  in  those  days  upon  a  farm,  just  west  of 
Minneopa  Creek  on  the  Mankato  and  New  Ulm 
road. 

A  number  of  stores  and  shops  were  built  at 
South  Bend  village  during  1856  and  1857. 
Pi'ominent  among  the  stores  in  the  fifties,  were 
those  owned  by  Eckstrom  Bros,  and  Brown,  Wm. 
Hewitt,  McGibbon  and  Purnell,  W.  W.  Davis  and 
Lnrs  Lee.  During  the  same  period  A.  K.  Dahl 
had  plow  works;  E.  D.  Price,  D.  D.  Evans  and 
E.  K.  Bangs  had  blacksmith  shops;  Peter  Potts 
sold  ready  made  clothing,  Jonas  Mohr  (who  in 
1862  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  Butternut 
Valley)  had  a  hardware ;  John  D.  Evans  ran  a 
=hoemakers  shop ;  Cake  had  a  cooper  shop ;  Dr. 
Geo.  W.  Havens  looked  after  the  sick;  Daniel 
Buck,  the  well  known  lawyer  and  jurist,  and  B. 
Parke  Dewey,  son  of  Judge  Dewey,  for  many 
years  on  the  Supreme  bench  of  Indiana,  assisted 


292 


HISTOT^Y  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


people  in  their  legal  quarrels;  Geo.  McGiviiey 
]]ad  a  harness  shop;  And.  Johnson  conducted  a 
tailor  shop;  Ever  Severson  had  a  cabinet  shop; 
Joe  -Barker,  Hans  Peter  Olson,  Joe  Miller  and 
Everett  &  Wright,  (vi'ho  were  in  the  Lake 
Shetek  massacre  in  1862),  helped  to  relieve  the 
thirst  of  the  pioneers;  Horton  W.  Nelson,  John 
IT.  Goodsell,  Wm.  J.  McCauley  and  J.  T.  Wil- 
liams looked  after  the  real  estate  booms  of  the 
growing  metropolis;  while  Hon.  D.  C.  Evans 
was  General  in  Chief.  In  those  early  days. 
South  Bend  was  a  busy,  bustling,  trade  center, 
full  of  hope  and  promise.  It  contained  in  its 
j)almy  period  nearly  a  hundred  houses  of  all 
Irnds,  and  a  population  of  200  to  300.  It  con- 
tinued to  flourish  until  about  1868,  when  it  was 
dealt  a  mortal  blow  by  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux 
City  Railway  Co.  in  its  refusal  to  make  it  one 
of  its  stations.  From  that  day  forward  it  went 
down  hill  rapidly.  W.  W.  Davis  maintained  a 
s-tore  there  off  and  on  until  May  1,  1896,  when 
he  sold,  out  to  A.  Lincoln,  who  was  burned  out 
in  October,  1897.  D.  P.  Davis  and  son  conduct- 
ed a  store  there  continuously  from  the  summer 
of  1867  until  October,  1900,  when  he  sold  out 
to  one  Dethier  and  on  the  11th  of  that  month, 
this  store  and  the  old  hotel  building  were  burned 
to  the  ground.  Since  which  time  South  Bend 
lias  been  a  truly  deserted  village.  The  school 
house,  the  old  Congregational  church  and  the 
ancient  stone  building  of  Eckstrom  Bros.,  which  of 
late  years  has  been  transformed  into  a  town 
hall,  with  a  few  scattered  dwellings  are  all  that 
remain  of  the  town  which  once  rivaled  Mankato. 
South  Bend  postoffice  was  established  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1856,  with  Matthew  Thompson  as  post- 
master. He  was  succeeded  by  Daniel  Buck,  who 
lield  the  office  until  November,  1861,  when  Lars 
Ijce  was  appointed  under  the  Eepublican  admin- 
istration. Paul  P.  Eckstrom  in  September,  1864, 
became  his  successor,  and  held  the  office  until 
his  departure  from  the  village  about  1870,  when 
Wm.  E.  Price  was  appointed.  March  19,  1878, 
David  P.  Davis,  Jr.,  became  postmaster,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1885  by  David  P.  Davis,  Sr.  W. 
W.  Davis  was  appointed  to  the  posifon  in  July, 
1889,  and  in  May,  1896,  A.  Lincoln  succeeded 
him  as  postmaster  and  owner  of  the  store.  The 
store  and  postoffice  were  burned  out  in  October, 


1897.  After  this  catastrophe  G.  A.  Hultengren 
took  the  office.  He  was  followed  by  H.  D.  Bur- 
nett, and  he  in  turn,  by  James  Steele.  While 
held  by  the  latter  in  1900  the  office  was  abol- 
ished and  the  free  delivery  system  inaugurated. 

The  first  toA¥n  meeting  was  held  at  the  vil- 
lage. May  11,  1858,  when  the  officers  elected 
'u'ere:  Supervisors,  Lyman  Matthews,  (Chair- 
man), Luther  G.  Barrett  and  John  A.  Jones; 
Clerk,  Edmund  Purnell;  Assessor,  David  J. 
Lewis;  Collector,  Lars  Lee;  Justices,  Elijah  K. 
Bangs  and  L.  Abbott;  Constables,  Lars  Lee  and 
W.  P.   Goodell. 

The  first  school  in  the  town  was  taught  in  the 
summer  of  1855  by  Mrs.  Joshua  Barnard,  at 
her  house  in  the  village  of  South  Bend.  A  log 
school  house  was  built  there  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year,  which  stood  near  the  present  residence 
of  D.  P.  Davis.  The  town  now  has  four  good 
frame  school  houses. 

Of  the  beginning  of  religious  services  in  the 
town  we  have  spoken  elsewhere.  The  first 
church  was  organized  on  August  1,  1855,  by 
Eev.  Eichard  Davis  at  his  own  house  in  the 
village.  It  was  a  Welsh  Union  church  with 
forty-three  members.  Its  officers  were  Evan 
H.  Evans,  Evan  Evans  (Pant),  William  E. 
Price,  William  J.  Eoberts  and  ■  Edward  Thomas, 
Sr. 

September,  1856,  the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Metho- 
dist church  of  Zion  was  started.  A  church  build- 
ing was  erected  near  Minneopa  Creek  in  the 
spring  of  1858,  wh'ch  was  dedicated  July  11,  of 
that  year.  The  present  fine  building  of  this 
church  was  erected  in  1883  and  dedicated  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1884. 

The  South  Bend  Congregational  Church  was 
organized  December  11,  1859,  in  a  vacant  log 
cabin,  belonging  to  Evan  Evans  (Pant)  in  South 
Bend  village,  by  Eev.  Jenkin  Jenkins,  assisted 
by  Henry  Hughes,  who  was  then  lay  preacher. 
The  charter  members  were:  W.  W.  Davis  and 
viie,  Griffith  Eoberts  and  wife,  Thomas  W. 
Evans,  Edward  Thomas,  Sr.  and  wife,  Edward 
Thomas,  Jr.,  Mrs.  John  A.  Jones,  Mrs.  D.  C. 
Evans,  Griffith  Williams  and  wife,  John  G. 
Eoberts  and  wife,  and  Mrs.  Jennette  Jones,  the 
latter  being  then  received  on  confession  of  faith. 
In  1861  the  present  house  of  worship  was  erected 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAKTH  COUXTY. 


293 


and  dedicated  in  June,  1863.  Eev.  Jenkins  con- 
linued  as  pastor  until  March,  1870,  when  Kev. 
Griffith  Samuel  was  put  in  charge.  In  18  iG  the 
church  was  joined  to  the  Cambria  church  under 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  T.  G.  Jones.  This  union 
continued  during  the  pastorates  of  Rev.  Wm. 
Powell  (1881-5)  and  Humphrey  Jones  (1889- 
[Ki).  The  Sabbath  School  was  kept  up  under 
the  superintendency  of  W.  W.  Davis  until  his 
departure  in  1895.  In  the  meantime  the  Welsh 
membership  had  moved  away  or  died  and  a  new 
population  that  knew  not  the  old  Cambrian  tongue 
liad  taken  their  place. 

In  August,  1895,  W.  A.  Whitcomb,  a  young 
theological  student,  had  gathered  to  an  English 
service  the  parents  and  children  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  on  the  24th  of  that  month  he  or- 
ganized an  English  church  with  sixteen  members, 
i^evs.  F.  M.  Washburn,  Wm.  Griffith,  E.  L. 
Ileermance  and  Messrs.  Roerback,  Baldwin  and 
J.  A.  Clark  have  each  taken  part  in  the  work 
t.ince.  The  old  church  was  repaired  in  1904  un- 
der the  energetic  leadership  of  Mr.  Baldwin  and 
Rev.  Ileermance  and  a  reopening  service  held  on 
August  6,  1904. 

October  19,  1856,  a  Wesleyan  Methodist 
C^hurch  was  organized  at  South  Bend  village  by 
Kev.  E.  D.  Price,  which  continued  its  service 
until  the  Indian  outbreak. 

About  1860  a  Welsh  Cal.  Methodist  Church 
was  organized  in  the  village,  but  after  a  few 
years  it  disbanded.  In  1865  a  Welsh  Presby- 
terian Church  was  started  and  Rev.  James  M. 
Price  ministered  to  it  for  a  few  years,  when  it, 
also,  disbanded. 

A  Sunday  School  and  preaching  service  have 
been  maintained  off  and  on  for  many  years  in 
the  Spring  Island  neighborhood.  There  the 
renovraed  pioneer  M.  E.  preacher,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Powell,  spent  the  declining  years  of  his  life. 

In  South  Bend  is  found  the  famous  Minneopa 
Falls,  which  have  been  a  noted  pleasure  resort 
for  the  past  fifty  years.  Minneopa  townsite  was 
laid  out  beside  it  in  1870  by  D.  C.  Evans  and 
T.  P.  Gere.  A  depot,  warehouse,  store  and 
lumber  yard  were  conducted  here  for  a  few 
years.  The  store  which  was  owned  by  Eev.  Dan- 
iel Rowlands,  burned  March  2,  1881.  During 
the  seventies  the  place  was  noted  for  the  great 


M.  E.  camp  meetings  conducted  there  in  June  of 
each  year.  Rev.  Powell  was  the  main  instiga- 
tor of  these  meetings,  some  of  which  were  at- 
tended by  4,000  to  5,000  people. 

In  1888-9  the  big  artesian  well  on  the  farm 
cf  Wm.  R.  Williams  was  sunk  by  a  company, 
who  were  prospecting  for  natural  gas.  In  April, 
1905,  the  Legislature  passed  a  bill  establishing 
a  state  park  at  the  picturesque  falls,  and  in 
1906-7  seventy  acres  of  land  on  which  they  are 
situated  were  bought  by  the  State,  and  several 
thousand  dollars  spent  in  improvements.  J.  B. 
Hodge  was  appointed  its  first  keeper,  and  in 
1907  he  was  succeeded  by  Wm.  R.  Williams.  In 
1S59  Miner  Porter  built  a  summer  hotel  on 
his  farm  adjoining  the  village  of  South  Bend, 
which  he  called  "Llinneineopa."  In  1868  Mr. 
Porter  greatly  improved  and  beautified  both  ho- 
tel and  grounds.  Planting  trees,  shrubbery  and 
flowers,  building  arbors,  swings  and  artistic 
walks,  and  surrounding  all  with  a  tasty  fence, 
v.ith  high  arching  gateways.  In  the  nineties 
the  farm  was  purchased  by  W.  W.  P.  McConnell 
and  Mrs.  D.  A.  Swan,  who  conducted  thereon  for 
several  years  a  fine  dairy  of  high  bred  Jersey 
cattle.  The  old  house  burned  February  1,  1906. 
in  1857  LeHillier  was  platted  as  a  townsite 
and  a  stone  hotel  and  about  two  dozen  houses 
built  thereon.  In  1889  Samuel  C.  and  Geo. 
Pond  laid  out  Riverside  Park  Addition  adjoin- 
ing LeHillier  on  the  west.  A  brick  yard  was 
started  here  by  0.  R.  Mather,  I.  K.  Flanagan, 
E.  A.  Gibson  and  S.  C.  Pond.  This  yard  for 
many  years  has  been  owned  and  operated  with 
good  success  by  F.  G.  Pannenberg  &  Co.  Ex- 
cellent cement  stone  in  inexhaustible  quantity  is 
iound  underlying  the  tableland,  which  lies  just 
i-ast  of  the  old  village  of  South  Bend.  This  for 
some  years  has  furnished  all  the  material  use3 
by  Mr.  Carney  in  the  manufacture  of  the  well 
kno^^Ti  Mankato  Standard  Cements.  In  South 
Bend  is,  also,  found  the  famous  blue  and  green 
clay,  used  as  a  pigment  by  the  Indians,  and  mis- 
taken for  copper  by  the  French,  and  from  which 
is  derived  the  names  "Mankato"  and  "Blue 
Earth."  In  1869  Buck,  Sowers  and  Co.  started 
the  manufacture  of  stoneware  at  South  Bend 
village  from  the  clays  there  found,  and  it  is 
very  probable  that  the  future  will  see  the  clays 


294 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


of  the  town  again  utilized  among  the  industries 

cl  our  county. 

Eoster   of   soldiers    furnished   by    South    Bend 

for  the  Civil  War: 

Alden  Florence  G.,  Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 

Barker,   Joseph   H.,    Co.   B,   Br.   Bat. 

Barrett,  Luther  G.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Breese,    David,    Co.    E,    9th    Inf. 

Brown,  Hans  M.  L.  T.,  Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 

Burgher,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  2ud  Inf. 

Cheney,   Jehiel,   Co.   H,  2ud   Inf. 

Christensen,  Francis,  Co.  E,  10th  Inf. 

Christopherson,   Geo.,   Co.    E,   9th   Inf. 

Cramer,   Francis   M.,   Co.   E,   9th  Inf. 

Edwards,   Hugh   H.,    Co.    E,   2nd    Cav. 

Erickson,   Erick,   Co.   I,   6th   Inf. 

Evans,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Farnham,   Solomon,    Co.   B,   Br.   Bat. 

Gregory,  Wm.,  Co.  H,  4th  Inf. 

Ilenningson,   Christian,   Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 

Hughes,   Richard  H.,   Co.   E,  2nd   Cav. 

Jones,   John   J.,   Co.   E,   9th  Inf. 

Johnson,  Iver,  Co.   H,  4th  Inf. 

Jones,  Wm.,  Co.   E,  2nd  Cav. 

Jones,   Robert   E.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 

Keegan^  Peter,   Co.  H,  4th   Inf. 

Lewis,  Griffith  J.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Lamaraux,   Thomas,   Co.   H,  4th  Inf. 

Lieberg,   Eberhardt  P.,   Co.  H,   4th   Inf.,   Pro.   Capt. 

Littletield,   Augustus   W.,   Co.  H,   4th   Inf. 

Lillie,  James  T.  F.,  Co.  F,  1st  Inf. 

Laird,   Alonzo   E.,    Co.    E,   2nd    Cav. 

Lyons,    Elmore    C.,    Co.    E,    2nd    Cav. 

Matthews,  Lyman,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Matthews,    Thadeus    L.,    Co.    E,   9th    Inf. 

Norcutt,  Winslow   C.^   Co.   B,  Br.   Bat. 

Olson,   Olans,   Co.   I,   6th  Inf. 

Olson,  Hans   P.,   Co.  I,   6th   Inf. 

Olson,    Ole,    Co.    G,    10th    Inf. 

Pritchard,  Robert  S.,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

Roberts,   John   G.,   Co.   E,  9th   Inf. 

Ross,  Walter   S.,   Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 

Thomas,  James  P.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Wigley,  Joshua,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 

STEELING. 


This  town  is  located  in  the  center  of  the 
sunthern  tier  of  townships  and  is  flanked  by  two 
large  lakes^  which  take  up  nearly  1,900  acres  of 
its  territory.  On  its  eastern  flank  lies  Lake 
Jjura,  so  designated,  ft  is  said,  by  one  of  the 
early  settlers  from  the  name  "Lura"  being 
carved  on  a  tree  upon  its  shore.  The  name  was 
probably  taken  from  "Lura"  township  in  Fari- 
bault County.  It  had  two  Indian  names,  "Te- 
wapa  (Water  Lily)  and  "Ata'kinyan"  or  "Ksank- 
san'^  (crooked  or  irregular).  Tewapa  is  a  spec- 
ies of  water  lily  having  an  edible  root  very 
abundant  in  this  lake,  and  which  roots  were 
much  used  by  the  Indians  for  food.  The  other 
name   of   the   lake   was   probably    applied   to    it 


from  its  very  irregular  outline,  or  maybe  from 
the  crooked  shape  of  its  outlet.  Rice  Creek.  Some- 
times the  two  names  were  combined  "Tewapa- 
jta'kinyan"  (The  Crooked  lake  of  the  water 
lilies).  On  the  western  flank  of  the  town  in 
found  Jackson  Lake,  so  called  after  Norman  L. 
Jackson,  the  first  settler  of  Shelby,  who  located 
upon  its  banks.  Its  Indian  name  was  "Sinkpe" 
(Muskrat),  from  the  fact  that  the  southern  half 
of  its  bed,  being  shallow,  was  thickly  populated 
by  these  animals,  whose  rush-built  homes  liter- 
ally covered  that  portion  of  the  lake.  The  spot 
was  noted  among  both  the  Indians  and  pioneers 
for  trapping  these  fur  bearing  rats.  Indepen- 
dence Creek,  the  outlet  of  this  lake,  and  Rice 
Creek,  the  outlet  of  Lake  Lura,  flow  through 
Sterling  and  empty  into  the  Maple  River,  which 
passes  through  the  northeast  portion  of  the 
town.  As  stated  elsewhere  in  this  volume  the 
first  settlers  were,  Vespucius  Highland,  Horace 
-M.  DeWolfe,  and  Dr.  Hiram  Harrington.  In 
1856  came  the  Mapleton  Colony,  the  majority 
of  whom  made  claims  in  this  town.  Among 
these  were  Robert  Taylor,  Wm.  Wilde,  Alexander 
Graig,  Joseph  Dobie,  James  G.  Morris,  Gilbert 
Webster,  John  Johnston,  Dr.  C.  F.  Francis. 
James  Cornell,  Artemus  Stephens,  John  Dixon, 
John  Mound,  and  R.  A.  Judd.  Other  early  set- 
tlers were:  Ezra  Annis,  James,  Levi  and  Ro- 
bert Boyer,  Rev.  Jacob- E.  Conrad,  George  Clark, 
Robert  Curry,  A.  J.  Ellis,  William  Ellis,  S.  M. 
Kieth,  Chas.  H.  Roberts,  A.  B.  Re^d,  M.  M. 
Pratt,  W.  H.  Johnston,  Luke  A.  Cornell,  Chas. 
Jones,  Abram  Moses,  Wm.  Randall,  Alpheus  M. 
Hewitt,  Wm.  Webb,  John  Price,  Levi  Lamp. 
Eev.  N.  A.  Hunt,  Wm.  N.  Bissell,  Sylvanus  E. 
Hicks,  John  J.  and  Henry  J.  Lewis,  Stenor 
Olson,  Wm.  Russell,  Josiah  Russell,  Bendt  Ped- 
crson,  Geo.  Conrad,  Andrew  Anderson,  Wm.  S. 
'ildredge,  Aslec  Torstensen,  M.  Munson,  Solo- 
mon Harriman,  Hiram  Roberts,  G.  L.  Rinehart, 
John  Buel,  Benjamin  Stoner,  Hugh  Hazel,  and 
Gideon  B.  and  Geo.  W.  Doty.  The  present  towns 
of  Sterling,  Mapleton  and  Danville  were  created 
into  one  election  precinct  under  the  name  of 
"Mapleton"  on  July  9,  1856.  The  first  officers 
were:  Judges  of  election,  Vespucius  Highland. 
James  Cornell  and  0.  B.  Marsh;  Justices,  Ro- 
bert Taylor  and  Albert  A.  Wessells;  Constables, 


RESIDENCE   OF   A.  0.   EBERHART,   LIEUT.   GOVERNOR. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


295 


John  Dixon  and  James  Dobin;  Eoad  Super- 
visor, Wm.  Wilde.  The  same  territory  was  on 
the  same  date  created  into  a  new  school  district 
designated  No.  5.  When  the  towns  were  created 
and  named  in  April,  1858,  Sterling  was  called 
"Mapleton"  and  the  present  town  of  that  name 
under  the  appellation  of  "Sherman"'  was  joined 
to  it  for  administrative  purposes.  At  a  meeting 
held  in  December,  1859,  it  was  decided  to  change 
the  name  to  "Sterling."  Eobert  Taylor  first  sug- 
gested the  name  "Stirling"  after  the  Scotch  pa- 
triot, and  urged  it  in  this  meeting;  but  Wm. 
Eussell  contended  for  the  name  "Sterling"'  an 
more  appropriate  and  expressive  of  the  quality 
of  the  soil  and  people,  and  the  majority  sided 
with  him.  The  name  is  common  as  a  place 
name  in  a  number  of  the  eastern  states  and  this 
may  have  influenced  the  selection.  On  April  3, 
1860,  Sherman  was  detached  and  made  into  an 
independent  town  under  the  name  "Mapleton." 
The  first  store  was  probably  conducted  by  A. 
Wessells  for  the  Mapleton  Colony.  The  next 
store  was  started  by  Wm.  Eussell,  Sr.,  early  in 
the  sixties  at  his  home  on  Eice  creek.  In  fall  of 
1865  G.  B.  Doty  built  a  two  story  frame  build- 
ing on  the  present  site  of  Sterling  Center.  The 
lower  story  was  occupied  by  Wm.  Bissell  with  a 
store,  while  the  upper  story  was  used  for  a  pub- 
lic hall  and  school  room.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Henry  Brink  and  he  by  Joseph  Eusho. 

In  1864  Eussell  removed  east  of  Eice  creek  and 
next  year  built  a  store  a  few  rods  still  further 
east,  near  the  present  CongTCgational  Church, 
and  took  his  son  into  partnership.  In 
October,  1867,  Mr.  Eussell  bought  three-fourths 
of  an  acre  on  the  present  site  of  Sterling  Center 
and  built  thereon  a  store  building  which  he  oc- 
cupied with  his  stock  of  goods  and  the  post- 
office.  It  stood  nearly  opposite  the  present  town 
hall.  In  the  fifties  Middlebrook  Bros,  had  built 
a  saw  mill  on  the  Maple  just  beyond  the  east 
]ine  of  Sterling.  This  mill  burnt  in  Juno,  1863. 
Later  McCormick  and  Smith  put  up  a  saw  mill 
near  the  same  place.  Smith  sold  his  interest  in 
:\Iay,  1869,  to  Wm.  McQueen.  In  1868  Thomas 
Eandall  built  a  store  two  miles  southvs'est  of  this 
mill.  A  congregational  Church  had  been  erected  in 
the  summer  of  186T  at  the  same  location.  A  school 
house  and  blacksmith  shop  were,  also,  located  in 


ll:e  same  vicinity,  and  Dr.  C.  L.  Francis,  the 
pioneer  physic;an  of  the  town,  resided  here. 
All  this  gave  the  place  a  little  prominence  as  a 
center,  and  it  was  designated  "iliddletown."  On 
the  Maple  at  the  outlet  of  Independence  Creek 
in  Section  9,  Geo.  W.  Doty  had  built  a  mill 
and  a  few  rods  up  the  creek  Gideon  B.  Doty  had 
built  another  mill.  Between  the  two  mills  was 
the  old  Bissell  store  building.  In  February, 
1866,  Geo.  W.  Doty  sold  his  mill  and  site  to 
Ezra  Fuller  and  Allen  Miller,  who  in  turn  dis- 
posed of  it  i;o  Henry  Spickerman,  who  operated 
it  for  many  years.  In  August,  1860,  Sterling  post- 
off'ce  was  created  with  Wm.  Eussell,  Sr.,  as 
postmaster.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  Josiah 
Eussell  was  appointed,  but  in  December,  1866,  he 
resigned  and  Wm.  Eussell  was  reappointed.  The 
office  was  first  kept  at  the  Eussell  home,  but 
after  the  store  was  started  it  was  transferi'ed 
thereto  and  followed  its  migrations.  When  the 
store  and  office  were  located  finally  near  the 
Spickerman  and  Doty  mills,  Mr.  Eussell  had 
the  postofl'ice  name  changed  to  "Sterling  Center," 
which  became  the  name  of  this  business  point. 
Quite  a  rivalry  occurred  for  some  years  between 
"Sterling  Center"  and  "Middletown,"  and  the 
t'lrmer  was  nicknamed  "Gougeville"  by  its  rival. 
In  1869  V\'m.  Eussell  sold  his  store  to  his  son- 
in-law,  Eev.  E.  0.  Burnham,  father  of  Cap't 
Fred  M.  Burnham,  the  noted  British  Scout.  In 
June,  1870,  the  store  burned.  The  Eusho  Bros, 
about  this  time  opened  a  store  in  the  old  Doty 
building,  which  was  now  owned  by  the  school 
district,  and  in  March,  1871,  they  sold  their 
stock  to  Thos.  Eandall  and  Wm.  Ellis,  who  for 
two  and  a  half  years  conducted  the  business  un- 
der the  firm  name  of  Eandall  &  Ellis.  In  the 
fall  of  1873  Mr.  Ellis  sold  out  to  his  partner 
and  in  the  spring  of  1874  built  a  new  two  story 
building,  18x24.  a  few  rods  southeast  of  the  old 
site,  and  started  therein  a  second  store.  Eandall 
had  succeeded  Eussell  as  postmaster  in  1871  and 
continued  in  business  at  the  old  stand  until 
1880,  when  he  removed  to  Amboy.  In  1875  Wm. 
Ellis  was  appointed  postmaster  and  held  the  of- 
fice in  connection  with  his  store  until  the  fall  of 
1903,  when  he  sold  to  Geo.  H.  Perry.  He  was 
succeeded  by  W.  Barnes,  who  in  turn  sold  the 
business  in  July,  1905,  to  M.  B.  Mandell,  who 
removed   it  to  Mapleton  in  the  spring  of   1908. 


206 


HISTORY  OP  BLtJE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


AVm.  R.  Johnston  had  a  blacksmith  shop  at  Sterl- 
ing Center  during  the  seventies,  but  sold  out  in 
March,  1886,  to  Chas.  Troy.  He  was  succeeded 
b}'  Joe  Latourell.  The  Present  blacksmith  is 
Richard  Koul. 

In  January,  1880,  W.  G.  Furnham  bought 
the  Spickerman  mill  at  Sterling  Center,  and  ran 
it  ofE  and  on  for  a  few  years.  Mrs.  G.  W.  Rima 
opened  a  millinery  at  the  "Center."  January  1, 
1867,  a  contemporary  wrote:  "Sterling  has 
about  120  voters,  all  Americans  except  31.  Of 
the  latter  10  are  Norwegians,  4  Scotch,  3  Eng- 
lish, 3  Canadian,  2  Irish.  It  has  five  school 
houses,  three  of  which  have  had  eight  months 
school  each,  last  year.  There  are  two  good  Sun- 
day schools  and  preaching  at  two  school  houses 
nearly  every  Sunday.  The  Baptist,  Congrega- 
tionalists  and  Methodists  have  church  organiza- 
tions, and  the  Congregationalists  have  just  en- 
closed a  new  large  building  to  be  completed  in 
the  spring.  This  is  the  oldest  religious  organi- 
zation in  the  town,  dating  almost  from  the  first 
settlement.  The  town  contains,  also,  one  store, 
and  two  mills." 

Jacob  C.  Morris  was  the  first  white  child 
born  in  the  town,  his  birth  occurring  in  the  win- 
ter of  1856-7.  The  first  school  was  taught  by 
Elisha  Horton  at  the  cabin  of  Joseph  Dobie  on 
Section  5,  in  the  summer  of  1857.  Tuition  was 
charged  to  pay  the  teacher.  At  the  same  time 
another  private  school  was  conducted  at  the  home 
of  James  Little  in  Section  10  with  Isabella 
VcinNice  as  teacher.  The  first  settlers  of  this 
town  were  mostly  of  the  best  American  stock 
and  above  the  average  in  intelligence  and  cul- 
ture. Good  schools  were  started  by  them  early, 
and  literary  and  religious  societies  organized. 
The  educational  atmosphere,  which  gave  tone  to 
Ihe  town  from  the  beginning,  has  resulted  in 
Sterling  furnishing  the  largest  quota  of  young 
men  for  the  professions  of  any  town  in  the 
county.  As  early  as  1880  the  town  had  pro- 
duced forty-three  teachers.  It  has  given  the 
ministry  five  or  six  prominent  clergymen.  Among 
whom  are  Rev.  A.  Z.  Conrad,  D.  D.  of  Boston, 
Mass.,  Rev.  W.  0.  Conrad  of  Harrisville,  N.  H., 
Rev.  Eugene  P.  Hunt  of  Maynard,  Mass.,  Rev. 
W.  Sherman  Hunt  of  Pocattello,  Ida.  To  the 
medical  world  it  has  given  Dr.   Wm.   Morris   of 


N.  Y.,  Dr.  D.  Winslow  Hunt  of  Glendale,  Cal., 
and  Dr.  Fred  N.  Hunt  of  Blue  Earth  City, 
Minn.  Others  have  taken  up  legal  and  educa- 
tional work.  During  the  eighties  there  was 
special  activity  along  the  line  of  literary  and 
debating  societies.  In  school  house  No.  30  the 
"Y.  P.  M.  I."  society  held  forth.  At  the  Ster- 
ling Center  school  was  organized  the  "S.  C.  M. 
L.  Society."  "The  -Lura  literary  Society," 
"The  Ridge  Lyceum"  and  "The  Old  Mapleton 
Literary  Society,"  furnished  opportunities  for 
literary  and  forensic  culture  in  their  several  lo- 
calities. The  societies  sometimes  met  each  other 
m  debating  contests.  Monthly  papers  were  is- 
sued, such  as  the  "Sterling  Chief,"  "The  Tor- 
pedo," "'The  Lura  Lake  Echo,"  etc.  Among 
the  leaders  were:  EUiam  Johnston,  Jud.  Cor- 
nell, C.  L.  Benedict,  Manfred  Benedict,  Wm., 
John,  and  Geo.  Johnston,  Allie  and  Mary  Ro- 
berts, Chas.  and  Geo.  Stevens,  Byron  Mitchell, 
A.  J.  Hollenbeck,  Robert  Taylor,  A.  J.  and  Ro- 
bert Ellis,  Harry  and  Geo.  Ackerman,  James 
and  Andy  Howieson,  J.  L.  Stevens,  John  Drews, 
Wm.  Roberts,  Geo.  Conrad,  0.  T.  Oleson,  Alice 
Benedict,  Emma  Lewis,  Emily  Cornell,  Nellie 
and  Lizzie  Johnston,  Sarah  Stevens,  C.  D.  Ged- 
des  and  H.  J.  Lewis.  There  are  now  four  pub- 
lic school  buildings  in  the  town,  besides  the 
Parochial  school  house  of  the  Norwegian  Luth- 
erans. The  now  famous  "Blue  Earth  Valley 
Burns  Club,"  was  started  by  Joseph  Dobie  at 
his  own  home  in  Sterling  township,  on  Decem- 
ber 35,  1866.  Mr.  Dobie  was  president  of  the 
club  for  many  years  and  it  usually  met  at  his 
home  or  at  the  home  of  James  Ellis.  The  club 
generally  met  at  Sterling  until  within  the  past 
ten  years,  when  for  convenience  it  has  been  re- 
moved to  Mapleton. 

Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  church,  Sunday 
school  and  lodge  picnics  have  frequently  gathered 
on  the  banks  of  Lura  Lake,  and  for  some  twenty 
years  or  more  a  public  Christmas  tree  function 
was  observed  at  the  halls  in  Sterling  Center.  It 
originated  with  the  local  grange  in  1875.  In 
1385  a  town  hall  was  built,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  the  present  town  hall  erected  in 
1892. 

In  1857  a  Congregational  church  was  started 
with   fourteen   members.     The   record   of   its   or- 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


297 


ganization  reads  as  follows :  "The  "undersigned 
met  at  the  Franklin  School  House  on  July  12, 
1857,  and  made  request  to  be  organized  into  a 
Congregational  church.  On  August  4,  1857, 
they  met  and  after  adopting  rules  and  articles 
of  faith  they  were  duly  organized  into  a  Con- 
gregational church  by  Eev.  Eichard  Hall  and 
Egv.  Jacob   E.   Conrad. 


Wm.   Russell. 
George    Conrad. 
V.'m.  Russell,  Jr. 
Ivobert  Taylor. 
Artemas    Stevens. 
Gilbert  Webster. 
Joseph   Uobie. 


James    iXorris. 
Asa   Sherman. 
Christina    ilorris. 
Rebecca  Russell, 
l.ucinda  Russell. 
Jennett    Taylor. 
Helen   Dobie. 


In  1863  Eev.  Nehemiah  A.  Hunt  became  the 
pastor  of  this  church.  A  church  building  was 
firocted  in  1867  at  Middletown,  which  was  de- 
dicated on  January  10,  1868,  Eev.  Huiit  preach- 
ing the  dedication  sermon  from  1  Kings  7 :  51 
and  8:27.  May  13,  1882,  under  the  pastorship 
of  Eev.  0.  0.  Eundell  the  church  was  made  a 
legal  body  with  the  following  trustees:  Wm. 
McQueen,  James  Morris,  James  Ellis,  John 
Johnston  and  Abraham  Moses,  and  John  Taylor 
as  clerk.  July  23,  1882,  it  celebrated  its  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary,  Eevs.  Conrad,  Hunt  and  Pratt 
officiating.  These  men  had  all  ministered  to  the 
church,  and  the  first  two  were  residents  of  Ster- 
ling for  many  years.  The  church  was,  also, 
served  for  several  years  by  various  pastors  from 
Mapleton  and  Amboy.  In  time,  however,  its 
membership  became  so  diminished  by  death  and 
removals  that  the  church  disbanded  for  a  time 
and  sold  the  building.  It  was  first  sold  to  Eev. 
Parr  of  Mapleton  on  June  18,  1897.  To  save 
it  from  being  removed  from  the  neighborhood  or 
destroyed,  John  T.  Morris  purchased  it  in  1902 
and  in  1904  it  was  repurchased  by  the  com- 
.mmity,  removed  to  its  present  location  on  the 
farm  of  Geo.  B.  Lamp,  and  rededicated  to  its 
original  divine  purpose.  Union  services  are  now 
regularly  held  therein.  At  Sterling  Center  the 
>I.  E.,  Presbyterians  and  other  denominations 
have  maintained  Sunday  schools  and  preaching 
.-ervices  at  the  hall  off  and  on  since  the  earliest 
period. 

The  western  end  of  Sterling  is  occupied  by  a 
very  thrifty  Norwegian  settlement.  They  are  an 
excellent  class  of  people — industrious,  honest,  and 


religious.  They  belong  to  the  Lutheran  faith. 
The  first  two  settlers'  were  Andrew  E.  Anderson 
and  Abraham  Estvold,  who  came  from  Keokuk, 
iowa,  and  located  on  the  banks  of  Jackson  Lake 
in  1857.  In  1859  they  were  joined  by  Bendt 
Pederson  and  Andrew  A.  Dahl  from  Hesbor,  la. 
From  the  same  place  came  in  1861,  Stenor  01- 
i;(:n,  Ole  Jorgeson,  Bendt,  Eilef  and  Johannes 
Lief.  In  1862  came  Aslak  Torstenson  and  As- 
lak  Storkeson  from  Dane  Co.,  Wis.  The  first 
Norwegian  sermon  was  preached  by  Eev.  Fred- 
erickson  in  Bendt  Pederson's  log  cabin  in  1859. 
Eev.  B.  J.  Muus  preached  at  the  same  cabin  in 
1360  and  Eev.  L.  M.  Bjorn  in  1861.  May  25, 
1862,  the  Congregation  was  organized  by  Eev. 
MuuB  at  the  home  of  Kute  Thomson,  over  the 
line  in  Delevan  Township.  Stenor  Olson  was 
chosen  the  first  delegate  from  the  church  to  the 
"Norwegian  Lutheran  Synod  of  America."  The 
legal  organization  of  the  church  occurred  March 
:i5,  1864,  by  the  following  corporate  members. 


J  ohannes   Johanneson. 
iVndres   A.   Dahl. 
Pder  Johnson. 
■UJe  Jorgenson. 
Bondt   i'ederson. 
Svend   Saammundson. 
Ivjiudt    Thompson. 
Aslek    Stoeskerson. 


Stener  Olson. 
Bendt    Johanneson. 
Elef  Johannerson. 
John  F.  Olson. 
Jorgen  Hanson  Mokland. 
Bjorn    Thorstenson. 
Aslek   Torstenson. 
Bennett   Johnson. 


The  three  last  being  trustees.  The  organiza- 
tion was  named  "The  Jackson  Lake  Norwegian 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church."  Eev.  Muus  and 
Eev.  T.  L.  Johnson  of  Nicollet  County  continued 
to  serve  the  church  as  pastors  off  and  on  from 
its  organization  until  1867.  December  8,  1867, 
Eev.  T.  H.  Dahl  began  his  labors  as  the  first 
settled  pastor,  and  continued  until  1876.  May 
21,  1871,  the  corner  stone  of  the  present  house 
of  worship  was  laid,  but  the  superstructure  was 
not  completed  until  1879.  The  dedication  ser- 
vice was  conducted  by  Eev.  Muus  on  July  8,  of 
that  3'ear.  A  number  of  young  men  connected 
with  this  church  had  just  organized  themselves 
into  what  was  called  the  "Jackson  Lake  Band." 
This  band  added  to  the  joy  of  the  occasion  by 
its   music. 

Early  in.  his  pastorate,  Eev.  Dahl  started  a 
parochial  school  in  the  parish  at  a  farmer's  log 
cabin.  This  school  continued  at  private  houses 
until  District  No.  32,  built  a  frame  school  house, 


298 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


when  the  old  log  school  house  was  purchased  by 
the  Norwegians  for  their  church  school.  In 
1891j  the  present  frame  structure  was  built  for 
this  school.  May  30,  1902,  the  fortieth  anniver- 
sary of  the  organization  of  the  church  was  cele- 
brated with  great  rejoicing  in  the  grove  by  Mrs. 
Mary  Anderson's  home  on  Jackson  Lake.  Since 
the  departure  of  Eev.  Dahl  in  1876,  the  church 
has  been  yoked  with  the  Norwegian  church  at 
Mankato  in  its  pastoral  supply.  The  names  and 
dates  of  the  pastors  are  as  follows:  Eev.  M. 
Borge,  1876-'84,  Eev.  K.  G.  Fagre,  1884-'87, 
Eev.  A.  G.  H.  Overn,  1887-'92,  Eev.  H.  Allen, 
1892-'94,  Eev.  B.  Hove,  1894-'01,  Eev.  J.  E.  Inge- 
britson,  1901-'04,  and  Eev.  Nils  Norgaard,  1904, 
to   present  time. 

Eoster    of   soldiers    furnished    by    Sterling   for 
the  Civil  War: 

Adams,  John  D.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 

Anderson,    Andrew,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Boyer,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Eg. 

deary,  James   F.,   Co.  E,   9th  Inf. 

Cornell,  Benjamin  B.,  Co.   C,  11th  Inf. 

Cornell,  Luke   H.,   Co.   F,   1st   Heavy   Art. 

Crocker,    George,    Co.    H,    3rd   Inf. 

Curry,  Robert,  Co.  C,  Br.  Bat,  5th  Iowa  Cav. 

Davis,   Morrill   J.,    Co.   K,    1st    Heavy   Art. 

Eldredge,    Albert   L.,    Co.   D,    1st    H.    Art. 

Eldredge,  George  W.,  Co.  D,   1st  H.  Art. 

Elmore,   Lewis,    Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Griflfith,  Thos.  R.,  1,  Bat.  L.  Art. 

George,  Jacob,  Co.  C,   1st  Inf. 

Hall,   Wm.,    1,    Bat.   L.   Art. 

Hungerford,    Asel,    Co.    B,    Mt.    Rgrs. 

Hunt,  David  W.,  Co.  C,  Br.  Bat. 

Johnson,  Geo.  W.,   Co.   D,  1st  H.  Art. 

Johnson,   Peter,   Co.   H,   Mt.   Rg. 

Jones,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rg. 

Knutson,  Knut,  Co.   C,   11th  Inf. 

Lamp,  Isiah,  5th  Iowa  Cav. 

Loudon,  Samuel,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Lamp,  Levi,  5th  Iowa  Cav. 

Miller,  Frederick,   Co.   E,   9th   Inf. 

Nickerson,  David  R.,  Co.  E,   9th  Inf. 

Olds,   John,   Co.  H,  2nd   Cav. 

Olson,    Steller,    Co.   E,   Mt.   Rgs. 

Olson,   Stener,   Co.   F,   1st   H.   Art. 

Olson,   Andrew,   Co.   C,    11th  Inf. 

Oliver,   David,   Co.   H,   3rd   Inf. 

Reed,  John  A.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat.,  Captain. 

Russell,  Josiah,   Co.  H,   2nd  Inf. 

Russell,  Wm.,  Co.  K,  1st  H.  Art. 

Roberts,  Hiram  L.,  Co.  F,  1st  H.  Art. 

Sprague,  John  H.,   Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Scott,  Henry  A.,   Co.  H,   4th  Inf. 

Stevens,  Augustus  A.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 

Smith,  Whiteford,  Co.   C,  Uth  Inf. 

Taylor,  John,   Co.   B,   2nd   Cav. 

Tweed,   Andre,   Co.   C,   11th   Inf. 

Vale,   John,   Co.   H,   2nd  Inf. 

Webb,   Henry   P.,   Co.   H,   4th   Inf. 

Webb,  Jr.,  Wm.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 

Wells,  WiUoughby,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 

Wilcox,  Wm.  R.,   Go.  F,   1st  H.  Art. 


VEENON  CENTEE. 

The  first  white  man  to  settle  in  Vernon  Cen- 
ter was  isreal  \iing,  who  located  in  Section  26, 
m  the  spring  of  1855.  Other  settlers  of  that 
3'ear  were:  Kobert  Marley,  James  Taylor,  Thos. 
JJoak,  Joseph  McClanahan,  Alexander  Arledge, 
ijarcus  L.  Elumb,  Marcus  L.  Johnson,  John  Dar- 
ling, (Jyrus  i'oot,  Geo.  Keenan,  Eobert  Hopper, 
Asa  Barney,  Chas.  liarney  and  Matthew  Galla- 
ger.  In  1856,  came  Christian  Detamore,  Elna- 
than  Kendall,  Horton  W.  Nelson,  David  Car- 
penter, C.  C.  Washburn,  Malon  Warren,  Lory 
and  Solomon  Harriman,  Lucian,  Nathan  and 
Wm.  Bass,  Harney  G.  Browning,  Geo.  W.,  Eich- 
ard  M.,  Martin  V.  and  Lewis  C.  Johnson,  Sol- 
omon Halmick,  John  Miller,  Jonathan  Leavitt. 
Among  the  settlers  of  1857  were  Col.  B.  P. 
Smith,  Benjamin  McCracken,  Thos.  Ha\e,  Ezra 
Cooper,  Franklin  Barnes,  Elias  Carpenter,  Levi 
Cord,  Elkanah  Davis,  Edward  Dolan,  John  P. 
Dooley,  Ed.  and  Peter  Webber  and  Chas.  W. 
Beckwith.  Other  early  settlers  were:  Theodore 
Sowers,  Hon.  E.  T.  Champlin,  Peter  Mertes- 
dorf,  John  and  E.  C.  Wilber,  E.  D.  Cornish,  S. 
H.  and  S.  E.  Grannis,  L.  S.  Terry,  A.  M.  Han- 
nay,  Martin  Conroy  and  S.  J.  Nimms. 

For  about  a  year  the  town  formed  a  part  of 
Shelby  precinct.  In  the  winter  of  1856-'57  a 
townsite  company  was  formed  at  Mt.  Vernon, 
Ohio,  called  "The  Blue  Earth  Company."  Two 
of  its  most  active  promoters  were  Col.  Benjamin 
F.  Smith  and  Benjamin  McCracken,  and  its 
object  was  to  start  a  town  on  the  Blue  Earth 
river  in  our  County.  To  this  end  McCracken 
came  to  Blue  Earth  County  early  in  the  spring 
of  1857,  as  agent  for  the  company  and  bargained 
for  a  section  of  land  in  Sections  26,  27,  34  and 
35  of  Vernon.  In  June,  1857,  he  had  M.  B. 
Haynes  survey  and  plat  a  townsite  on  this  land. 
About  this  time  Col.  B.  F.  Smith  arrived  on  the 
scene  to  aid  in  developing  the  new  enterprise. 
He  brought  with  him  the  machinery  for  a  saw 
mill,  which  the  company  had  purchased  at  Mt. 
Vernon,  il.  B.  Haynes  and  his  father,  Eeuben 
Haynes,  were  induced  to  buy  a  half  interest  in 
the  mill,  which  was  erected  in  the  fall  and  win- 
ter of  1857,  and  operated  by  Smith  and  Haynes 
until    about   the   time    of    the    Indian    outbreak. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


299 


July  8,  1857,  the  town  was  made  into  a  separate 
election  precinct  called  "Vernon''  at  the  insti- 
gation of  Col.  Smith  and  i\Ir.  iVicCracken,  after 
iMt.  Vernon,  Ohio.  The  first  election  was  held  at 
McCracken's  house,  and  Horton  \V'.  jS;elson,  C.  C. 
Mack  and  T.  B.  Northrup  were  the  Judges  of 
election.  The  townsite  was,  also,  called  "  V  ernon" 
and  the  plat  made  by  Mr.  Haynes  was  executed 
on  May  5,  1858,  by  B.  F.  Smith,  as  agent  of  the 
company,  Henry  Shaubut,  James  Connell,  as 
secretary  and  Benjamin  McCracken  as  trustee  of 
the  company.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1858,  Col. 
Smith  erected,  from  the  first  lumber  sawed  at 
the  mill,  a  fair  sized  frame  hotel,  of  which  he 
was  the  first  landlord.  The  same  year  a  post- 
ofiice  was  created,  with  John  P.  Dooley  as  first 
postmaster.  The  first  school  was  taught  in  a 
small  building  built  by  James  Connell  for  an 
ofiice,  by  Miss  Henrietta  Smith  in  the  fall  of 
1868.  The  spring  of  1859,  a  frame  school  house 
was  built  and  during  the  summer  Miss  Phoebe 
Haynes  taught  the  first  school  therein.  For  the 
first  year  of  its  existence,  Vernon  yillage  had  a 
formidable  rival  located  upon  the  Blue  Earth 
about  two  miles  above,  on  Section  34  and  called 
"Montevideo."  This  townsite  was  started  in 
July,  1857,  by  Horton  W.  Nelson,  Jonathan  Lea- 
vitt  and  others.  A  mill  was  erected  there  by 
Caleb  Leavitt,  and  Jacob  L.  Taylor  in  the  fall  of 
■  that  year,  which  was  operated  until  November, 
1858,  when  it  was  removed  to  Madelia.  Horton 
W.  Nelson  began  the  erection  of  a  hotel,  but 
after  the  removal  of  the  mill,  it  was  abandoned,, 
and  the  town  fell  through. 

The  Smith  and  Haynes  saw  mill  at  Vernon 
was  operated  until  about  1862,  by  its  owners. 
About  1859,  B.  F.  Smith  purchased  of  A.  N. 
Dukes  at  Mankato,  a  stock  of  goods  which  he 
took  to  Vernon  and  opened  a  store  there,  which 
he  put  in  charge  of  his  son,  John  S.  Smith,  who 
in  November,  1861,  succeeded  Mr.  Dooley  as 
postmaster. 

Col.  Smith  continued  to  run  the  hotel  until 
the  fall  of  18()3,  when  for  two  or  three  years  it 
became  a  soldier's  barracks.  In  1860,  Wm.  and 
David  Post  opened  a  store  which  was  run  by 
Wm.  Post  until  his  death,  during  the  Indian 
trouble.      In    1863,    Theodore    Sowers    was    ap- 


pointed postmaster  and  held  the  office  for  about 
three  years,  durmg  which  period  his  home  on 
top  of  the  blutt  south  of  the  village  was  a  stop- 
ping place  for  the  Mankato  and  Blue  Earth 
stages,  as  well  as  for  the  traveling  public.  A.  0. 
PerJdns  succeeded  Mr.  bowers  as  postmaster  and 
was  sacceedeU  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  JL)rake. 

\\'m.  McCracken  was  the  first  blacksmith  in 
the  village,  having  a  sliop  there  prior  to  the 
Sioux  outbreak.  in  186?,  J.  i).  Blanchard 
opened  a  blacksmith  and  wagon  shop  there,  which 
he  still  conducts,  being  now  sole  business  occu- 
pant of  old  Vernon.  About  1865,  Mason  and 
Perkins  started  a  general  store  at  the  village. 
About  the  same  year  Franklin  Barnes  leased  the 
old  \  ernon  hotel.  A.  D.  Mason  then  took  charge 
of  it  for  a  short  time,  and  in  July,  1867,  was 
succeeded  by  E.  F.  Beebe,  who  in  turn  was  suc- 
ceeded in  April,  1868,  by  A.  0.  and  T.  L.  Per- 
kins, who  as  early  as  1866,  had  succeeded  Ma- 
son &  Perkins  In  the  mercantile  business,  and  A. 
0.  Perkins  had  been  made  postmaster.  In  1869, 
John  Morrow  took  charge  of  the  hotel.  After 
his  death  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  the  old  hos- 
telery  was  kept  by  various  parties  until  about 
1883.  After  standing  vacant  for  a  number  of 
years,  it  was  finally  sold  to  Deforest  Carpenter, 
who  removed  it  to  his  farm  and  fitted  it  up  for 
a  barn.  Its  massive  frame  of  solid  oak  is  still 
good  for  a  hundred  years. 

In  April,  1863,  Captain  Sullivan's  company 
of  the  10th  Minnesota,  while  stationed  at  Ver- 
non during  the  Indian  outbreak,  fitted  up  the 
Smith-Haynes  saw  mill  and  out  of  the  hundreds 
of  logs  piled  in  the  yard  about  it,  sawed  a  large 
quantity  of  timber,  eight  inches  thick,  where- 
with they  built  a  good  stockade  around  the  hotel 
and  store.  Much  of  the  timber  was  of  the  finest 
black  walnut  and  oak  in  the  country.  The  stock- 
ade was  used  by  the  settlers  as  a  place  of  refuge 
during  the  Indian  scare. 

That  Minnesota  was  truly  the  Gopher  state, 
the  annuals  of  Vernon  in  1864,  well  attest,  for 
it  is  recorded  that  on  May  20,  of  that  year  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  held  a  big  gopher  hunt 
and  1276  of  the  pests  were  slaughtered.  The 
hunters  were  divided  into  two  companies,  each 
with  a  captain,  and  the  company  which  brought 


300 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


in  the  largest  number  of  gophars  was  considered 
the  victor,  for  which  the  defeated  party  had  to 
furnish  a  big  supper. 

May  18,  1885,  the  Smith-Haynes  mill,  which 
had  been  leased  by  AVm.  Reed,  burned.  During 
the  summer  of  the  same  year,  Mason  and  Reed 
built  a  new  saw  mill  just  above  the  present 
wagon  bridge.  In  the  spring  of  1867  G.  W. 
Doty  built  a  new  water  power  grist  mill  on  the 
.^ite  of  the  old  Smith-Haynes  mill,  and  the  fol- 
lowing December  sold  a  half  interest  to  Alex. 
AVestover.  The  following  August,  R.  Hoover 
purchased  this  mill.  In  April,  1868,  Franklin 
}>arnes  purchased  the  interest  of  Wm.  Reed  in 
the  lower  mill  and  the  firm  became  "Mason  and 
Barnes."  These  mills  changed  owners  about 
every  year  for  a  time.  In  1882  Cap't  J.  R. 
Randall  became  proprietor  of  the  grist  mill. 
During  the  winter  of  1885-6  the  flour  mill  was 
]'cbuilt  as  a  roller  mill  of  seventy-five  barrels 
capacity  by  Randall  and  Kimble.  The  next 
spring  C.  M;  Green  bought  Randall  out  and 
completed  the  improvements  and  the  firm  of 
Green  and  Kimble  ran  the  mill  for  some  years. 

In  the  spring  of  1866  Thurston  &  Schuler 
had  a  store  at  old  Vernon.  In  1867,  Henry 
Schuler  sold  his  interest  to  G.  G.  Young.  At 
the  same  time  A.  0.  and  J.  B.  Perkins  ran  a 
store  there.  In  1868  B.  Sherwood  opened  a 
small  store.  From  1873  to  1879,  E.  W.  Wash- 
burn was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  at  the 
old  town,  and  was  appointed  postmaster  there 
in  March,  1876,  to  succeed  Mrs.  Drake.  On  his 
removal  to  the  new  town  in  1879,  A.  0.  Per- 
kins succeeded  him  as  postmaster. 

When  the  Blue  Earth  branch  of  the  C.  St.  P. 
M.  and  0.  Ry.  was  built  in  1879,  it  passed  by 
Vernon  about  half  a  mile  to  the  east,  and  a 
new  townsite  was  laid  out  on  the  north  side  of 
the  river  by  Elnathan  Kendall  in  August,  1879, 
called  "Vernon  Center."  The  railway  company 
laid  out  another  small  townsite  adjoining  the 
Kendall  town  called  "East  Vernon."  The  new 
station  and  town  were  at  first  called  "Edge- 
wood."  For  two  or  three  years  there  was  a 
warm  contest  between  the  two  towns.  But  the 
railway  station  gave  the  new  town  the  sure  ad- 
vantage, which  in  a  short  time  made  it  the  vic- 
ior.     In  March,  1881,  Edgewood  won  from  old 


Vernon  the  distinction  of  being  the  place  for 
holding  future  town  elections  by  a  vote  of  94 
to  48.  The  same  year  it  secured  the  site  for  the 
new  Baptist  church.  September  30,  1883,  the 
old  school  house  in  Vernon  burned  and  Edge- 
wood  was  successful  in  having  the  new  school 
house  built  in  her  borders.  In  July,  1883,  a 
new  postofEice  called  "Edgewood"  was  created 
with  E.  W.  Washburn  as  postmaster.  In  1885, 
J.  B.  Pierce,  who  had  been  the  main  champion 
of  the  old  town  and  its  only  storekeeper,  moved 
his  stock  to  the  new  town,  and  the  two  postofiices 
were  consolidated  under  the  name  of  "Vernon 
Center"  with  Mr.  Pierce  as  postmaster.  This 
practically  ended  the  fight.  The  name  of  the 
new  village  had  been  changed  first  in  October, 
1881,  to  "Vernon  Center,"  but  the  name  "Edge- 
wood"  was  not  entirely  dropped  until  1885. 
Among  the  first  merchants  of  the  new  town  be- 
sides E.  W.  Washburn  were  Franklin  Barnes 
and  Hiram  R.  Barnard.  In  1885,  H.  W.  Thew 
'  opened  a  hardware  there.  Another  hardware  was 
opened  soon  afterwards  by  Ira  Warren.  A.  W. 
Petrich,'  also,  built  a  store,  occupying  the  first 
story  with  his  merchandise  and  using  the  upper 
fiory  for  a  hall.  July,  1886,  E.  W.  Washburn 
sold  out  to  C.  M.  Lathrop.  About  the  same  time 
Jklward  Kendall  had  a  harness  shop,  George 
Halverson,  a  shoe  shop  and  Frank  Bosh,  a 
blacksmith  shop.  Dr.  Oliver  H.  McMichaels 
ij'rst  located  in  old  Vernon  in  May,  1871,  and 
later  moved  to  the  new  town.  He  still  continues 
The  beloved  physician  of  the  community.  In 
1894,  Barnes,  Morrow  &  Morrison  built  a  new 
general  store.  Warren  &  Kendall  had  a  gen- 
eral store  about  the  same  time.  In  February, 
]899,  E.  W.  Washburn  bought  out  Kendall.  In 
1896,  Porter  Bros,  purchased  the  Thew  hard- 
^^'are  business,  which  they  sold  later  to  Faley. 
Hiram  E.  Young  for  many  years  has  had  a  black- 
srjiith  shop.  Cooper  and  Day  started  a  hardware 
and  farm  implement  store.  Babcock,  Robinson 
and  Cornish  have  each  served  as  village  inn- 
keepers. S.  H.  Grannis  did  much  in  developing 
the  creamery  and  grain  markets,  having  started 
about  the  first  creamery  in  the  county.  In  Au- 1 
gust,  1889,  A.  W.  Petrick  was  appointed  post- 
master to  succeed  J.  B.  Pierce.  He  was  in  turn 
succeeded   by   Dr.    0.    H.    McMichaels    in   May, 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  EARTH  COUNTY. 


301 


1894.  In  1898  Mr.  Petrick  was  again  appointed 
postmaster,  and  has  continued  in  office  ever 
since. 

On  May  20,  1897,  the  "Vernon  Center  News" 
was  started  by  M.  H.  Galer,  who  has  conducted 
ihe  paper  to  the  present  time.  In  August,  1900, 
a  rural  free  delivery  was  established  from  Ver- 
non. In  August,  1899,  the  mill  owned  by  Mrs. 
Green  was  struck  by  lightning  and  burned,  and 
in  1906  a  new  mill  was  erected  by  Lawrence  W. 
Kimball  of  which  he  is  still  manager.  The 
Vernon  Center  State  Bank  was  incorporated _  De- 
cember 12,  1904,  with  a  capital  of  $10,000.00. 
F.  H.  Barnes  was  its  first  president  and  A.  E. 
Quimby  its  first  cashier.  In  October,  1899,  War- 
ren &  Washburn  built  their  brick  block.  In 
January,  1900,  Vernon  Center  was  made  an  in- 
dependent school  district  and  a  fine  new  brick 
school  house  was  completed  in  the  fall  of  1902 
at  a  cost  of  about  $18,000.00.  Some  say  Eev. 
J.  W.  Powell  conducted  the  first  religious  ser- 
vices in  the  town  in  1857,  others  say  Eev.  C.  L. 
Taylor  of  Shelbyville,  preached  the  first  sermon. 
About  1858,  the  United  Brethren  began  holding 
services  at  the  home  of  C.  C.  Washburn  under 
the  auspices  of  Eev.  Joseph  Cassellman.  Later 
Revs.  Clow,  Gardner  and  Boolrwalter  continued 
ihe  work,  and  a  church  was  organized  and  a 
parsonage  erected  in  1868,  when  the  board  of 
trustees  comprised  the  following  persons:  C.  C. 
Washburn,  Isaac  L.  BookTi-alter,  Geo.  Harriman, 
A.  Webster,  and  A.  Robinson.  Nov.  23,  1872, 
the  church  was  legally  incorporated  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  following  trustees:  C.  C. 
Washburn,  A.  0.  Perkins,  I.  H.  Gardiner,  Geo. 
Harriman  and  C.  Lewis.  After  a  few  years  the 
church  disbanded.  About  1867,  a  Congregational 
church  was  organized  by  Eev.  N.  A.  Hunt,  com- 
prsed  of  six  members  as  follows:  Geo.  Boler 
and  wife,  M.  B.  Haynes  and  wife  and  Eonald 
Morrison  and  wife.  In  a  few  years  this  church 
ceased  to  exist. 

The  M.  E.  Church  started  very  early  in  Ver- 
non. January  13,  1866,  it  became  a  legal  body 
under  the  pastorship  of  Eev.  S.  A.  Chubbuck, 
l)y  the  selection  of  the  following  trustees:  Wm. 
Bead,  Samuel  H.  Grannis,  Benoni  Farley,  Hor- 
ton  W.  Nelson  and  Wm.  M.  -Buck.  In  1866,  a 
c'lurch  building  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  about 


$1,200.00,  which  was  completed  and  dedicated 
in  March,  1867.  All  the  denominations  had 
really  united  in  the  building  of  this  house  of 
^'orship,  and  for  a  time  it  was  used  as  a  union 
church.  In  the  summer  of  1887  a  new  church 
vvas  built  at  A'ernon  Center,  the  strong  oaken 
frame  of  the  old  church  being  used  in  construc- 
tion of  the  new.  March  21,  1896,  the  society 
incorporated  as  "Grace  M.  E.  Church  of  Ver- 
non Center"  and  the  following  trustees  were  ap- 
pointed by  Presiding  Elder  John  Stafford :  J. 
H.  Thew.'  S.  W.  Snyder,  W.  H.  Horton,  E.  L. 
AVarren,  H.  W.  Thew,  H.  H.  HoUister,  F.  E. 
Lovell,  G.  F.  Grannis  and  F.  H.  Barnes.  The 
church  is  still  doing  good  work. 

The  Baptist  Church  was  organized  November 
14,  1868,  by  Eev.  A.  Case  and  Eev.  C.  A.  Stone. 
The  society  was  incorporated  at  a  meeting  held 
at  the  house  of  D.  G.  Wilworth  on  April  19, 
1880,  when  the  following  persons  were  chosen 
trustees:  A.  C.  Wilber,  Geo.  Green  and  E.  W. 
'Washburn.  A  church  building  was  erected  in 
1881  and  dedicated  on  October  8,  1882,  when 
Rev.  J.  W.  Whitney  of  Mankato  preached  the 
sermon.  This  church  is,  also,  a  live  religious 
body,  doing  faithful  work.  The  village  of  Ver- 
non Center  was  incorporated  on  August  2,  1899, 
by  a  -(-ote  of  42  to  34.  A  census  taken  March 
olst  that  year  showed  the  population  to  be  2o^. 
In  1907  a  system  of  water  works  was  constructed 
at  a  cost  of  $9,000.00.  The  village  now  has  four 
grain  elevators,  one  flour  mill,  one  lumber  yard, 
one  bank,  one  hotel,  two  churches,  one  newspaper 
and  numerous  stores  and  shops. 

The  temperance  sentiment  of  the  village  has 
always  been  quite  strong,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  or  three  years,  no  saloons  have  been 
allowed. 

The  town  has  five  good  school  houses  outside 
of  the  village,  which  have  sent  out  a  number  of 
young  men  and  women,  who  have  made  their 
mark  in  the  professions.  Among  these  are  Geo. 
"^V.  Champlain  and  Francis  V.  Cornish,  both 
prominent   attorneys   and   Dr.   Edwin   Cornish. 

Roster  of  men  enlisted  for  the  Civil  War  from 
Vernon  Center : 

Andrews,  Geo.,   Co.  K,  Mt.  Rgrs. 

Bancroft,  James   E.,   Co.  B,  Br.   Bat.,   5th   Iowa   Cav. 

Barnuni,  Chester  C,  Co.  K,  1st  Art. 

Buck,  Wm.  M.,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf, 


302 


IIISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETIi  COUNTY. 


Bass,  Nathan,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Betts,   Norman   C,    Co.   B,    Br.   Bat. 
Bell,  Luther   G.,   Co.   E,  9th   Inf. 
Bixby,   Nahum,    Co.   B,   3rd   Inf. 
Carpenter,   John   A.,   Co.   I,  6th   Inf. 
Card,   Dwight,   Co.   E,  9th   Inf. 
Cooper,   Ezra  A.,   Co.  I,   6th   Inf. 
Cole,   Leander,    Co.   F,    1st   Art. 
Warling,  John  A.,  Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 
Doak,  Fleming,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 
Doland,   Chas.  W.,   Co.   H,  3rd  Inf. 
Detamore,  Samuel,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rgrs. 
Eaton,  Henry,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Eaton,  John,  Co.  H,  3rd  Inf. 
Eldridge,  Dwight,  Co.  M,  2nd   Cav. 
Farmer,   John,    Co.    I,    6th   Inf. 
Grannis,  H.   S.,   Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
Grannis,   Samuel   H.,   Co.    F,    1st   Art. 
Haslip,   Wm.   B.,   Co.   C,    11th   Inf. 
Kelley,  Eugene  J.,  Co.  B,  Br.  Bat. 
Markett,   Michael,   Co.   F,   1st   Art. 
Nickerson,  David  R,   Co.   B,  Mt.  Rgrs. 
Faff,   Samuel  E.,   Co.   E,   2nd   Cav. 
Parks,  Milton  B.,  Co.  B,  Mt.  Rgrs. 
Pay,   Byron  E.,   Co.   H,  2nd  Inf. 
Pepper,  James,  Co.  F,   1st  Art. 
Plumb,  Chas.  N.,  Co.  F,  1st  Art. 
Porter,  Fred  J.,  Co.  E,  9th  Inf. 
Reed,   Geo.   L.,    Co.   I,   6th   Inf. 
Smith,  Benjamin  F.,  Lieut.  Col.,  3rd  Inf. 
Wagner,  John  H.,  Co.  I,  6th  Inf. 
Ward,   Ira,    Co.   H,    3rd   Inf. 
Westover,  Alexander,  Co.  C,   Uth  Inf. 
Williams,  B.  F.,  Co.  H,  2nd  Inf. 
Wood,  Josiah,  Co.  E,  2nd  Cav. 


REPRESENTATIVES. 

Parsons  K.  Johnson,   1856. 

Henry   Stoelc,   1859-60. 

L.   D.    Patterson,    1861. 

John  J.   Porter,    1862-3. 

James   A.   Wiswell,    1862-3-4. 

John   F.    Meagher,    1864. 

L.   Z.    Rogers,    1865. 

L.    0.  Harrington,    1865. 

Daniel    Buck,    1866. 

J.  G.  Thompson,   1866. 

J.    A.    Reed,    1867-8. 

0.   0.   Pitcher,   1868-9. 

R.    Crandall,    1870. 

John   F.   Meagher,    1870-1. 

James    B.    Hubbell,    1871. 

James    A.    Wiswell,    1872. 

Charles   H.   Shelby,   1872. 

Clark   Keysor,    1872   and    1879. 

H.  Capwell,  1872. 

Henry    Foster,    1872. 

Jacob   Pfaff,   1873. 

H.    S.    Howe,    1873. 

Thomas    C.    Charles,   1873. 

John   A.   Peterson,    1873. 

John    A.    Reed,    1873. 

Isaac   Smith,    1874. 

D.  W.  Burlison,  1874-5. 

Silas  Kenworthy,  1874. 

N.   W.   Dickerson,    1874. 


Members  of  the  Legislature  from 
Blue  Earth  County. 

Note:     Until    1871    Blue    Earth    was    joined    to    one 
or   more   other   counties   to   form   a   legislative   district. 

The    following   lists    give    only    members    from    Blue 
Earth   County: 

STATE    SENATORS. 

Basil    Moreland,    1857-8. 

D.  C.   Evans,    1859-60. 
Sheldon    F.    Barney,    1861. 
John  J.   Porter,   1864-5. 
Lewis   Porter,    1867. 

E.  P.   Freeman,    1868-9. 

B.  F.    Smith,    1870-1. 
John  F.  Meagher,   1872-3. 

Morton  S.  Wilkinson,   1874-5-6  and   7. 

F.  H.    Waite,    1878. 
Daniel    Buck,    1879-81. 

L.   G.   M.   Fletcher,    1883-5. 

E.   M.    Pope,    1887-9. 

George  T.  Barr,   1891-3-5  and  7. 

C.  L.    Benedict,    1899-1901. 
A.   0.   Eberhart,   1903-5. 

S.  D.  Works,  1907-9. 


J.   A.   James,    1875-6-7. 

E.  T.  Champlin,  1875  and  1887  and   1891. 

Lysander  Cook,   1875   and   1883. 

Hiram  Gerlieh,   1876. 

Wm.  P.  Marston,  1876. 

M.  M.   Clark,    1876. 

Wm.   Webb,  Jr.,   1876-7. 

Horace    Cummins,    1877    and    1879. 

Wm.    P.    Jones,    1877. 

George   Green,   1877. 

0.   E.   Harvey,   1878. 

James  McBroom,   1878. 

Wm.    Perrin,    1878. 

Thos.   Bohan,    1878. 

John   S.  Larkin,   1878. 

E.  B.   Parker,   1879. 

F.  V.    GofF,    1879. 
Thos.   Bohan,    1879. 

J.   D.   Hawkins,    1881. 
Joseph   Burger,    1881. 
Richard  Lewis,   1881. 
Wm.    Hall,    1881. 
Joseph   Bookwalter,    1881. 
Owen  Morris,  1883. 
C.   G.    Spaulding,    1883-5. 
James    Brown,    1883. 
Eli  S.  Warner,   1885. 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


303 


Richard   Wigley,    1885. 
P.  A.  Foster,   1885. 
Wm.  K.  Jones,   1887. 
Chas.   Bennett,    1887. 

C.  M.  Green,   1887. 
Fred  W.  Lassow,   1889. 
Alfred    Davis,    1889. 

H.    B.    Perrin,    1889. 

Geo.   T.   Barr,    1889. 

F.   M.    Currier,    1891. 

K.  Knutson,   1891. 

Gilbert  Guttersen,  1893-5  and   1899. 

Nicholas    Brules,    1893. 

W.  L.   Comstoek,   1893. 

David   E.    Cross,    1895. 

Nicholas   Juliar,    1895   and    1905. 

Nils  Nyquist,  1897-9-1901  and  3. 

Wm.  Jamieson,    1897.- 

H.    C.    McLean,    1897. 

Q.    G.    Argetsinger,    1899. 

Geo.  W.  Norman,   1901-3. 

Geo.   R.   Wilder,    1901-3. 

John   T.  Lewis,   1905-7. 

Ezra  W.   Gates,    1905-7. 

Wm.   L.   McQueen,    1907. 

Hans    Jorgenson,    1909. 

Chas.   Herzberg,    1909. 

Frank    L.    Kelly,    1909. 

DISTRICT   COURT  JUDGES. 
(Territorial). 
Andrew    G.    Chatfield,    Oct.    1853    to    April,    1857. 
.  Chas.  E.  Flandrau,  April,   1857   to   May,   1858. 

(State). 
Lewis   Branson,   May   24,    1858    to   Dec.    31,    1864. 
Horace  Austin,  January  1,  1865  to  Sept.  30,  1800. 
M.  G.  Hanscome,  Oct.  1,  1869  to  Dec.  31,  1869. 
Franklin  H.  Waite,  January  1,  1870  to  Oct.   1;  1874. 
A.  C.  Woolfolk,  Oct.  1,  1874  to  Dec.  31,  1874. 

D.  A.   Dickinson,  January    1,    1875   to   June   27,    1881. 
M.  J.  Severance,  June  27,  1881  to  January  1,  1900. 
Lorin  Cray,  January  1,  1900  to  May   1,   1008. 

Albert  R.  Pfau,  May  1,   1908— 

COUNTY   COMMISSIONERS. 

Joseph  W.   Babcock,  Aug.  6,   1853  to   February,   1855. 

James  Hanna,  Aug.   6,   1853  to  January   1,   1854. 

John  S.  Hinckley,  Aug.  6,   1853  to  January   1,   1854. 

Ephriam  Cole,  January  1,  1854  to  January  1,   1856. 

Jacob  Guenther,  January   1,   1854  to  January  1,   1855. 

D.  C.  Evans,  January   1,   1855  to  .July  7,   1856. 

Theron  Parsons,  January  1,  1856  to  January  5,  1858. 

Wm.  R.  Robinson,  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  April 
7:   1856   to   January   1,    1857. 

Elijah  K.  Bangs,  appointed  to  fill  vacancy  caused 
by  resignation  of  D.  C.  Evans  July  7,  1856,  held  of- 
fice until  January  1,  1857.  Served  again  from  Jan- 
uary 1,  1858  to  May,  1858. 


Robert  Patterson,  January,   1857  to  January  1,  1858. 

Matthew   Thompson,   Jan'y    1,    1857   to  Jan'y   1,    1858. 

Norman  L.  Jackson,  January  1,  1858  to  May,  1858. 

Samuel  L.  Wallcer,  appointed  in  place  of  Theron 
Parsons    resigned,    January    7,    1858    to    May,    1858. 

When  the  State  law  first  went  into  effect  the  Board 
of  County  Commissioners  was  done  away  with  and  u. 
Board  of  County  Supervisors  substituted.  The  latter 
board  was  composed  of  the  chairmen  of  the  various 
boards   of   town   supervisors. 

"We  have  given  a  list  of  these  elsewhere  in  this 
history.  January  1,  1860  this  board  was  abolished 
and   the   Board   of   County   Commissioners   restored. 

Robert  Taylor,   1861. 

G.  W.   Havens,   1861. 

A.  P.  Davis,  1861. 

G.   W.   Mead,    1861. 

Wm.    Bierbauer,    1861. 

S.  C.   Clark,   1862,  3  and  4. 

J.  C.  Rausch,  1862  and  3. 

Nelson  Gray,  1862  to  April,  1864,  resigned.  John  J. 
Lewis    appointed   balance    1864. 

Michael    Hund,     1863. 

P.    J.    Davies,    1862    and    3. 

A.    C.    Johnson,    1862. 

Andrew  Hanna^   1864  to   1870. 

John   I.   Jones,   1864,   5   and   6. 

Henry   Goodrich,    1864   and   5. 

Horace    Kinney,    1865    and    6. 

S.    R.    Grannis,    1865,    6    and    7. 

Geo.  Andrews,  1866,  resigned  Nov.  23,  1867,  James 
E.   Brown   appointed,   served   to    1869. 

David   D.    Evans,    1867,   8    and   9. 

R.    J.   Marvin,    1868.   9    and   '70. 

R.  J.   Eew,   1868,   9  and  70. 

Henry    Foster,    1869,    70    and    1. 

Andrew   Strom,    1870,    1    and   2. 

W.   J.   Duley,   1870,   1   and  2. 

C.   W.   Herinan,    1871,   2   and   3. 

John   Hughes,    1871,   2   and  3. 

Jacob    Born,    1872    to    1881. 

J.  J.  Thompson,  1873  to  Mar.  15,  1877.  Resigned. 
John   F.   Meagher  appointed  balance   1877. 

David    C.    Evans,    1873. 

N.  W.   Conger,   1874   and   5. 

\\'ni.    McQueen,    1874,    5   and   6. 

^Ym.    Perrin,    1874,    5    and   6. 

Richard   Wigley,    1876,    7   and   8. 

Thron   Hoverson,    1877,    8   and   9. 

E.   T.   Champlin,    1877,   8   and   9. 

James    Kelley,    1878,   9    '80   and    1. 

Wm.    S.    Hughes,    1879,    '80    and    1. 

Malachi  Gainor,  18S0  to  1887. 

James  B.  Swan,  1880  to  Sept.,  1885,  resigned.  C. 
H.    Piper    appointed.   Served   to   January,    1887. 

Chas.  Forster,  1881  to  March  1883,  when  he  resigned. 
Philip  Mueller  appointed  for  balance  1883. 

I.   N.  Dean,   1882. 

Timothy  Rees,   1882,  3   and  4. 


Mm  U'- 


304 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUB  EARTH  COUNTY. 


John   Klein,    1883    to    1887. 

John  Diamond,  1884  to  1889. 

Olaf   Martinson^    1885   and   6. 

John    S.    Jones,    1887    and    8. 

Chas.   H.   Dietz,    1887,    8   and   9. 

H.   K.   Lee,    1887    to   June   13,    1890.     When   he    died 

John   Jlahowald,  June    1890  to    1895. 

A.   M.   Hannay,    1887   to    1899. 

Hugh  H.  Edward,   1889,   '90,   1   and  2. 

>ficholas  Brules,   1889,  90,   1  and  2. 

Kobt.    S.    Hughes,    1893    to    1901. 

Chas.    Graf,    18^3    to    1901. 

James   Mountain,    1893    4,   5    and   6. 

Robert   Roberts,    1895    to    fall   1897,   resigned. 

W.    W.    Paddock,    fall    1897    to    1907. 

Wm.   Borchart,   1897   to    1905. 

Barney    0.    Kilmer,    1899,    1900,    1    and    2. 

Elliott    Upson,     1901    to    1905. 

Hubert    Brules,    1901    to    1905. 

Wm.   Schultz,    1903— 

Robert    Madigan,    1905— 

Chas.    E.    Jones,     1905— 

Alee    Hanson,    1905 — 

Delos   P.   Young,    1907— 

COUNTY    AUDITORS. 

Parsons    K.    Johnson,    clerk    of    County    Board,    with 
duties   similar  to   County  Auditor,   1853,  4  and   5. 

Geo.  H.  Marsh,  by  Geo.  W.   Cummings,  deputy   clerk 
of    Board    1856    to   May,    1858. 

Wm.  S.   Sargeant,  May,  1858  to  January,   1859. 
County  Auditor. 

Isaac   Andrus,    1859,   '60   and    1. 

Henry    Stoek,    1862. 

C.    A.     Chapman,     1863    and    4. 

Wesley    JIaxfield,    1865,    6    and    7. 

A.   D.   Seward,   1868   to    1875. 

Christ    Arvold,    1875    and    6. 

Edwin    Bradley,   1877    and   8. 

J.    J.    Thompson,    1879    and    '80. 

Theodore   Scattergood,   1881   to   1891. 

L.   0.   Randal],   1891   to    1895. 

P.   A.   Gunders,   1895   to    1901. 

Edgar   Weaver,   1901 — 

COUNTY  TREASURERS. 

Basil    Moreland,  ,  1853. 

Hiram   Fuller,    1854. 

James   Thompson,   1855. 

John   Q.  A.  Marsh,  1856. 

A.  D.   Seward,   1857. 

Stephen  Lamm,  1858,  9. 

Herman   Du   Bisson,   1860  and    I. 

J.   T.   Williams,    1862   and   3. 

E.    D.    B.   Porter,    1864. 

John    F.    Meagher,    1865. 

John   Wm.   Hoerr,   1867   to    1874. 

t>.  C,  Evans,.  1874  to  1882, 


Wm.   Jones,    1882   to   1887. 

John  P.  Kremer,  January  4th,  to  9th,  1887    (Died.) 

Wm.   Jones,  January   10th,   1887   to    1889. 

Peter   Lloyd,   1889   to    1897. 

James   A.   Ewing,    1897    to    1901. 

Lewis    Davis,    1901    to    1905. 

Thos.    W.    Hart,    1905— 

REGISTERS  OF  DEEDS. 

Parsons    K.    Johnson,    1853,    4   and    5. 

Geo.  H.  Marsh,   (Geo.  W.  Cummings  deputy),  1856-7. 

Wm.    Sargeant,    1858-9. 

Jas.    B.    Hubbell,    1860-1. 

E.    C.    Payne,    1862-3. 

B.  F.    Smith,    1864    to    1870. 
P.   B.    Sparrow,   1870-1. 

J-Iugh   G.   Owens,   1872   to   1876. 
J.   G.    Fowler,    1876   to    1882. 
Jacob   Wagen,    1882   to    1887. 
Oscar   Bierbauer,    1887   to   1896. 
Benj.   Bangerter,  Jr.,    1897   to    1909. 
J.   G.   Fowler,    1909— 

JUDGES  OF  PROBATE. 

Minard    Mills,    1853    to    1858. 

E.   D.   Bruner,    1858   to    1860. 

Benj.   Parke   Dewey,    1860   to   January   4,    1801. 

David  Wilcox,  January  4,  1861  to  1873. 

J.    E.   Porter,    1873   to    1881. 

Geo.   W.    Mead,    1881    to    1891. 

Wm.   B.   Torrey,    1891  to    1895. 

Geo.  W.   Mead,  1895  to  April,   1898,    (resigned). 

S.  B.  Wilson,  appointed  balance   1898. 

Wm.    F.    Hughes,    1899— 

CLERKS  OF   DISTRICT  COURT. 

Jeffrey   T.   Adams,    1854   and   5. 

Geo.    W.    Cummings,    1856    and    7. 

J.    T.    Williams,    1858   to    1862. 

Z.   Paddock,    1862    to   1870. 

W.  C.  Durkee,   1870  to  date  of  death   Oct.,   1882. 

^V.    B.    Torrey,   Oct.,    1882    to    1887. 

Stephen    Thorne,    1887— 

SHERIFFS. 

Geo.    \y.    Cummings,    1853. 
Basil  Moreland,  1854. 
Edwin  Howe,  Sept.  4,   1854  and   5. 
Francis    Bunker,    1856    to    1800. 
Daniel  H.  Tyner,   1860  to   1864. 
Elijah   Middlebrook,    1864   and   5. 
Milton  T.  Walbridge,  1866  and  7. 
Evan    Bowen,    1868    and    9. 
John    Diamond,    1870    to    1876. 
Sherman   E.   Finch,    1876   and   7. 
Peter   Schweitzer,    1878   to    1882. 
Geo.   W.   Monks,   1882  to   1887. 

C.  H,  Piper,   1887   and  8. 


HISTORY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


305 


W.    R.    Geddea,    1889    and    '90. 
W.  J.  Glynn,  1891   to   1895. 
Daniel   T.   Bowen,   1895   to   1899. 
Fred  Gerlich,   1899   to   1903. 
Ben   Williams,    1903    to    1907. 
John  W.   Donahue,    1907— 

COUXTY    ATTORNEYS. 

,T.  McMahon  Holland,   1853. 

Henry  Jackson,  1854. 

Lewis   Branson,   1855  and   6. 

John  A.   Willard,    1857   to    1859. 

B.    Parke   Dewey,    1859,    resigned    Feb.    13,    1800. 

S.  F.  Barney,  Feb.,  1860  to  fall  1860. 

Cramer  Burt,  Fall  1860  to  spring  1861. 

0.   0.   Pitcher,   spring    1861   to    1865. 

E.  P.   Freeman,    1865,   resigned   fall,    1866. 

G.  K.  Cleveland,  fall  1866  to   1871. 

Daniel  Buck,   1871   to   1875. 

A.  R.   Pfau,   1875   to   1879. 

E.  P.  Freeman,    1879   to    fall    1883,    (resigned). 

A.  R.  Pfau  appointed  and  elected   1884   to    1887. 

B.  D.  Smith,  1887  to  1891. 
Byron  Hughes,    1891    and   2. 

C.  L.  Benedict,  1893  to   1897. 
Thos.   Hughes,    1897    to    1901. 
S.  B.  Wilson,  1901   to   1907. 
Walter   A.   Ply  mat,    1907—. 

*SUPER1NTENDENTS  OF  SCHOOLS. 

David  Wilcox,  May   3,   1864   to   Jan.   1,    1866. 

E.  D.  B.  Porter,  lS66. 

John  R.  Beatty,   1867-8. 

H.  S.  Goff,   1869,   '70  and   1. 

E.   C.   Payne,    1872,    3,    4   and   5. 

David   Kirk,    1876    and    7. 

E.  C.  Payne,   1878,  9  and  '80. 

Edwin  Rogers,   1881    to   1887. 

E.  W.  Parker,   1887   to   1892. 

Mrs.   S.   C.   Stevens,   1892,  3   and  4. 

(-ico.  W.   Seherer,   1895,   6,  7   and  8. 

yy.   E.  Freeman,    1899   to   1905. 

0.    0.    Ulvin,    1905— 


COUNTY    SURVEYORS. 

D.  E.  Turpin:     To  July,   1854. 

Evans  Goodrich,  July,  1854  to  July  20,  1855  when 
L.  G.  M.  Fletcher  was  appointed. 

Basil    Moreland,    1856    (to    falH- 

C.  C.  Whitman,  appointed  fall,  1856. 

Basil   Moreland,   first   half   1857. 

Anthony  D.  McSweeney,  last  half  1857  and  1858, 
9    and    '60. 

S.    C.    Clark,    1861. 

C.  A.  Chapman,   1862. 

Elijah   Middlebrook,   1862  to    1866. 

Samuel  E.  Stebbins,   1866. 

C.  H.  Chapman,   1867,  8  and  9. 

51.   B.   Haynes,    1870,    1,   2   and   3. 

L.    Z.   Torrey,    1874. 

John   Lilly,    1875   to   fall    1890. 

James    Thompson,   fall   1890  to    1895. 

A.    M.   Haynes,   1895   and   6. 

Walter   F.   Brooks,    1897— 

CORONERS. 

Philip    Krummell,    1854. 

James  Titus,  1858  and  9. 

C.  E.  Gillen,  first  half  1860. 

A.    P.   Davis,   last   half    1860. 

H.  M.   Gale,   1861   and   2. 

Ephraim  Cole,  1863  to  1867. 

John  Fresholtz,  1867. 

Benj.  Durkee,  1868  to  his  death  in  1883. 

Z.  Paddock,  1884  to  his  death  in  1895. 

W.  W.  Paddock,  1895  to  fall  1898,  (resigned). 

E.  R.   Kennedy,  fall  1898  to  present  time. 

POOR  FARM   OVERSEERS. 

H.  F.  Main,    1860. 

Miner   Porter,   Oct.    1st,   1867,   to   May    1st,   1868. 

Hiram   Yates,   May,    1868,    to    1875. 

M.    A.    Chamberlin,    1875. 

N.  W.  Conger,  1876  and  7. 

Richard  Faircbild,  1878. 

J.  A.  H.  Hauerwas,  1S79,  1880. 

Thos.   McGarry,    1881   to    1887. 

S.  M.   Marston,   1887   and   8. 

Wm.  P.  Lewis,  1889  to  1903. 

Fred  G.  Kifl^e,  1903  and  4. 

Geo.    Panter,    1905    and    6. 

James  Mullin,   1907— 


*The  office  of  County  Superintendent  of  Schools  was 
rreat<>d  by  an  Act  of  the  Legislature  approved 
March  3d,  1864,  wliich  left  the  matter  of  coming  under 
the  law  at  all  optional  with  the  commissioners  of 
each  county.  The  office  was  to  be  filled  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  Board  and  the  salary  fixed  by  it.  Our 
County  Board  voted  to  adopt  the  provisions  of  the  law 
on  Jlay  3d,  1864,  and  fixed  the  amount  of  the  salary 


at  $200.00  per  annum.  January  4th,  1865,  the  salary 
\\as  made  $300.00  per  annum,  and  on  January  let, 
1868.  it  was  raised  to  $900.00  per  annum.  It  was 
raised  later  to  $1,000.00.  $1,200  and  $1,500.00  per  an- 
num, flith  an  .allowance  for  expenses  besides.  In  the 
fall  of  1877  the  office  was  made  elective  for  the  first 
time. 


i-l  fe 


306 


HISTOEY  OF  BLUE  BAETH  COUNTY. 


Population  of  Blue  Earth  County  for  Ten  Census  Years. 


I860 

1865 

1870 

1875 

1880 

1885 

1890 

1895 

1900 

1905 

156 

230 
156 

221 
173 

'230 
2  4 

69 
234 

972 
686 
315 

316 
453 

'462 

105 
309 

265 
422 

669 

205 
451 

'203 
320 

'596 

1.'973 
565 
399 

'385 

'125 
604 
494 
462 

468 

'3;w 

690 
3.39 
313 

557 
262 

'mh 

368 

'234 
661 
360 
448 
744 
495 
433 
903 

3^482 

1,272 

f83 

'712 
448 
449 
728 
596 
661 

'665 

'm 

647 
337 
528 
618 
413 

871 

'447 
650 
320 
920 
565 
534 
701 
957 

1,197 
731 

'907 
636 
5R0 
778 
504 
654 

676 

598 
614 
344 
520 
707 
673 

8i7 

'565 
651 
483 

1,170 
592 
515 
903 

1,023 

■  5!  550 
1,284 
584 
351 
850 
595 
796 
883 
514 
704 

'673 

'652 
e31 
357 
497 
1190 
818 

725 

556 

611 

H5 

1.556 

748 

4:9 

1.063 

1,149 

7,845 
1,378 
616 
447 
850 
574 
891 
88 1 
520 
741 

669 

215 
725 
659 
356 
560 
738 
1.011 

774 

861 

676 

834 

1,576 

610 

458 

1,159 

1,2)2 

8^838 
1,364 
610 
607 
865 
688 
1,060 
728 
547 
7.30 

■729 

422 
774 
701 
340 
602 
707 
1,007 

'827 
335 
421 
579 
711 

1,124 

1,595 
629 
566 
808 

1,324 

366 

10,173 

1,434 
655 
823 
866 
769 

1.119 
795 
586 
714 

's's 

432 
706 
661 
303 
588 
681 
994 

683 

'565 
458 
695 

1,215 

1,437 
650 
586 
794 

1,114 

300 

10,599 

1,367 
543 

1,008 
773 
736 

1,075 

•  819 
620 
663 

712 
311 

490 

Beauford  

694 
618 

319 

Ceresco 

Danville 

583 
621 

828 

»09 

Garden  Cifcv  ('Town)            

557 

(Tarrlpn  CAtv  fVillae-pl               

263 

448 

Jamestown 

Judson 

460 

709 

1,231 

929 

575 

561 

Lyra 

McPherson  

Madison  Lake    

694 
796 
328 

10,996 

Mankato  (Town)      

1,376 

460 

Mapieton  (Village)      

938 

Medo 

664 

Pleasant  Mound 

Rapidan 

Shelby 

757 

1,000 

712 

.571 

615 

St.  Clair 

210 

Vernon  Center  (Town)  

Vernon  Center  (Village) 

603 
313 

Totals 

4,803 

9,201 

17,302 

20,942 

22,889 

26,462 

29,210 

32,295 

32,263 

31,228 

NOTE:  —  Prior  to  the  Census  of  1870,  Cambria  was  enumerated  with  Butternut  Valley,  Lincoln  with 
Ceresco,  Pleasant  Mound  with  Shelby  and  Decoria  with  Beauford-  In  1860  Winnebago  A  gency  was  counted 
with  Mankato  Towship.  and  Sterling  with  Mapleton.  In  the  foregoing  table,  where  no  figures  are  given  for 
any  village,  it  is  enumerated  as  a  part  of  the  township  wherein  located.  According  to  a  census  taken  in  Octo- 
ber 1867.  preparator.y  to  the  admission  of  Minnesota  as  a  state.  Blue  Earth  County  had  a  population  of  3.629; 
of  whinh  922  were  in  the  village  of  Mankato,  632  in  Mankato  township  and  Winnebago  Agency,  and  the  remain- 
ing 2,075  in  the  rest  of  the  counts.  In  1860  there  were  1,137  families  in  the  county,  in  1865, 1,706;  in  1875,  3,899;  in 
1886,  4.913;  in  1890,  5,806,  and  in  1900.  6,779.  Prior  to  1875  two-thirds  of  our  population  lived  on  farms.  By  1891 
not  more  than  one-half  lived  on  farms-  In  1905  there  was  about  one-fourth  more  in  the  Cit.v  of  Mankato  and 
the  villages  than  on  the  farms.  In  1900  there  were  3.171  farm  homes.  1,526  of  which  were  free  from  encumbrance 
and  occupied  b,y  their  owners,  926  were  encumbered  and  occupied  by  their  owners,  649  were  occupied  by  ten- 
ants, and  70  were  unknown.  The  same  year  there  were  3,553  other  than  farm  homes;  1,449  of  which  were 
occupied  b.y  their  owners  and  free  of  encumbrance.  476  occupied  by  owners  and  encumbered,  l,4l9  occupied  by 
tenants  and  183  unknown.  In  1905  there  were  3,247  farmers  in  the  county  and  6,291  engaged  in  other  occupa- 
tions as  follows:  Skilled  laborers— 1,473;  Common  laborers— 2,687;  Lumbtrmen— 4;  Merchants— 416;  Kailroad 
emplo.vees— 262;  Liquor  dealers— 87;  Clerks,  Agents  and  Salesmen— 705;  Professional  men— 237;  Teachers— 407 : 
Capitalists— 4;  Unclassifled— 109.  Of  those  enumerated  in  the  last  Cen.sus  18,787  were  born  in  Minnesota,  6,043 
in  the  other  states  of  the  Union.  3-02S  in  Germany,  817  in  Norway,  783  in  Sweden,  Wales  352.  Canada  310,  Ire- 
land 252,  Denmark  220,  England  177.  Austria  88,  Scotland  62.  and  all  other  countries  309.  The  birthplaces  of 
the  fathers  of  those  enumerated  in  the  last  census  were:  United  States— 14.440,  Germany— 7,562.  Norway— 2,519, 
Sweden— 1,828.  Wales— 1,241,  Ireland— 1,142,  Canada— 598,  EDgland-587,  Denmark-462,  Scotland— 275  and  all 
other  countries  -  571. 


Public  Charity  and  Otherwise. 


Under  date  of  May  nth,  1865,  our  County  Commissioners  passed  the  following  Kesulution :  "Eesolved  that 
the  County  of  Blue  Earth  will  pay  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  for  each  and  every  Sioux  Indian  hereafter 
killed  within  the  limits  of  the  County  until  this  resolution  shall  be  recinded,  said  sum  or  sums  to  be 
paid  to  the  peison  or  persons  killing  the  same,  in  the  orders  of  said  County,  upon  the  production  to  the 
board  of  County  Commissioners  of  said  County  at  any  meeting  thereof  the  scalp  of  said  Indian  and  proof  to 
the  satisfaction  of  such  board  that  such  Sioux  Indian  was  killed  b.v  the  person  or  persons  claiming  pa.y  thereof 
within  the  limits  of  this  County  and  after  the  passage  of  this  Resolution." 

It  may  be  hard  to  distinguish  the  foregoing  resolution  from  such  a  one  as  might  have  been  passed  b.v  a 
council  of  Little -Crow's  select  Warriors— especially  that  portion,  which  requires  the  claimant  to  scalp  his 
human  victim,  and  bring  the  grewsome,  gory  trophy  in  his  belt  to  feast  the  e.ves  of  the  County's  angust  repre- 
sentatives therewith  It  certainl.y  shows  how  near  of  kin  we,  with  all  our  boasted  civilization,  are  to  the 
savage,  when  really  put  to  the  test-  But  the  resolution  was  passed  in  very  trying  days — at  the  close  of  a 
terrible  Indian  massacre,  attended  with  all  the  diabolical  torture  of  innocent  women  and  children,  and  imme- 
diately after  the  atrocious  murder  of  the  .lewett  family  in  our  own  County,  No  application  was  ever  made  of 
the  resolution  and  its  very  exist  ance  was  soon  forgotten,  and  for  that  reason  remained  unrepealed  until  March 
20, 1872.  This  is  the  only  page  in  the  long  annals  of  the  doings  of  our  County  Commissioners  which  Is  soiled 
with  an  unchristian  spirit,  while  the  pages  devoted  to  deeds  of  kindness,  in  ministering  to  the  poor  and  un- 
fortunate are  without  number.  More  than  half  a  million  dollars  has  been  paid  out  b.v  our  County  to  public 
charity  during  its  history,  and  about  as  much  more  has  been  distributed  by  our  churches,  lodges  and  private 
charities. 

Disbursed  to  the  poor  by  County  during  past  20  years; 


1889  $  8,896.93 

1890 11.659,83 

1891 12,742.91 

1892 9,091-45 

1893  9  240-,38 

1894  10,050..59 

1895 11,281.75 

1896    ...-  10,575.97 

1897 10,054-00 

1898  13,864.38 


1899 $  13,962,95 

1900 10,1.33-58 

1901 10,750.83 

1902  11,505.75 

1903  11.807.55 

1904  11,823.99 

1905 11,379.42 

190t 11,622.8'i 

1907 12.69162 

1903 -  10,584  23 

Total $223,726.95 


HISTOKY  OF  BLUE  EAETH  COUNTY. 


307 


Bridges  Built  in  Blue  Earth  County  by  the  County. 


Name  of  Bridge 


Blue  Eartli  bridge 

Garden  City  bridge 

Tivoli  bridge 

Poor  Farm  bridge  

Kearns  bridge 

Butterfleld  bridge 

Shelby  bridge    

Vernon  bridge 

Good  Thunder  bridge 

Cambria  bridge 

Beauf ord  bridge 

Ceresco  bridge 

Minneopa  bridge 

Medo  &  Danville  bridge   ■ . . 

Rapidan  bridge 

Hilton  bridge  

Minnesota  river  bridge 

Garden  City  bridge 

Gaiden  City  bridge 

Blue  Earth  bridge 

Jones'  Ford  bridge 

Tivolt  bridge 

Little  Cottonwood  bridge  . . 

Sterling  bridge 

Hainke's  Big  Slough 

Whitney's  (Maple) 

Kramer  (Cobb) 

O'Conner  (Le  Sueur) 

Britt  (Madison  Lake  outlet) 

Kennedy  (Le  Sueur) 

Bryson  ( Blue  Earth) 

Willow  Creek 

Mineral  Springs 

Tivoli  (Le  Sueur) 

Frey  (BigCob)  

Doland  ( Little  Cobb)  

Manglus(BigCobl))  

Baker  (Blue  Earth)     

Wilder  (Willow  Creek) 

Wigley (Minneopa  Creek).. 
Cable  Mills  i  Blue  Earth) .... 

Ohilds  (Big  Cobb). 

Shannon  (Big  Cobb)  . 
Pagenkopf  (Little  Cobb). . . 

Boesch  (Willow  Creek) 

Bussell   (Perch  Creek) 

Boelke         "  "     

Jamieson      "  "     

Lewis  (Maple) 

Buell  (Rice  Creek) 

Carpenter... 

Severson  (Little  Cobb) 

Swartout  (Le  Sueur) 

St.  Clair  "  

Taylor  (Maple)     

Frey  (Little  Cobb ) 

McCarthy  (Watonwan)  

William.son  (Bull  Run)    

Dodds  Ford  ( Blue  Earth) . . . 

Sibley  (Maple) 

Perch  Creek 

Cary(BigCobb) 

Atcherson  (Little  Cobb) .    . 

Lake  Alice 

Ziegler  Ford  (Big  Cobb) 

Eelnhart  (Rice  Creek) 

County  Line  

Cooling  ( Perch  Creek) 

Judson  (Minnesota) 

Meservy  Ford  (Watonwan). 

Vernon  Center  

Inlet  Lake  lUadison 

McCuaig 

Minneopa  Park  

Zabel  &  Kremer 

Weaver  (Little  Cobb) 

Erickson  (Maple) 

Cobb  River 

County  Line 

Count.v  Line 

County  Line 

Anderson's  Ford 

Olson  (Rice  Creek) 

Cambria  Creek 


Where  Located 

Kind  of  Bridge 

Length 
in  ft. 

When 
bi-ilt 

Cost 

M  ankato  and  South  Bend 

Wood  Howe  Truss 

232 

1869 

%  18,001  58 

Garden  City 

160 

187.] 

14,102  00 

Mankato 

It           .>         t. 

104 

1870 

5,462  76 

Decoria 

Iron  A  rch 

143 

1872 

5,558  57 

Mankato  and  South  Bend 

190 

1873 

10,524  00 

Garden  City 

*'       " 

147 

1874 

6.829  00 

Shelby 

"       "              " 

13U 

1875 

7,574  20 

Vernon 

*'       "              " 

146 

1875 

9,128  !>0 

Lyra 

**       *■              ** 

90 

18/5 

4,059  64 

Cambria 

Wood 

40 

187.5 

769  10 

Beauford 

Iron  Truss 

90 

1876 

3,701  00 

Ceresco 

ro 

1877 

3,520  00 

South  Bend 

.33 

1878 

1,583  00 

Medo  and  Danville 

"           '* 

4.jyj 

1878 

2,185  00 

Rapid  an 

"           " 

230 

1878 

8,509  40 

McPherson 

"           '■ 

70 

1879 

2,918  00 

City  of  Mankato 

'* 

510 

1879 

30,000  00 

Garden  City 

'*           '* 

175 

1881 

6,31  0  00 

Garden  City 

t.           .1 

100 

1882 

4,150  00 

Mankato  and  South  Bend 

Wood  Howe  Truss 

232 

1881 

2,143  00 

South  Bend 

Iron  Truss 

195 

1881 

9,266  34 

Le  Ra.v 

2.000  00 

Cambria 

"           " 

70 

1882 

3,850  00 

Sterling 

" 

75 

1883 

3,125  00 

Mapleton 

60 

1875 

1.900  00 

Mapleton 

*■          *' 

64 

1878 

1,865  00 

Danville 

"           '■ 

45 

1883 

9.50  00 

McPherson 

"          " 

146 

1883 

6  345  00 

Le  Ray 

*'           " 

40 

1883 

2,200  00 

Mankato  Township 

150 

1883 

6,000  00 

Lyra 

194 

1884 

6,900  00 

Shelby 

..           .. 

40 

1885 

1.000  00 

Le  Ra.y 

"          •' 

30 

1885 

1.800  00 

Le  Ray 

It           It 

130 

l«8-i 

4,99.5  00 

Beauford 

ti          It 

48 

1888 

1,037  00 

Medo 

It           ti 

50 

1x89 

1,000  00 

Beauford 

ti          It 

50 

1890 

500  00 

Rapid  an 

It 

167 

1890 

4,475  00 

Pleasant  Mound 

It           .1 

if, 

1890 

900  00 

Judson 

32 

1891 

450  00 

Lyra 

.11                    1 

219 

1891 

7.800  00 

Repaired  in 

190! 

5,000  00 

Beauford 

Iron  Truss 

55 

1891 

2,400  00 

Danville 

t.           t. 

38 

1892 

705  00 

Medo 

ti          It 

32 

1892 

1.500  00 

Pleasant  Mound 

40 

1892 

850  00 

Ceresco 

" 

70 

1892 

1,29.-,  00 

Ceresco 

" 

40 

1892 

700  00 

Ceresco 

*' 

48 

1892 

840  00 

Sterling 

" 

100 

1893 

2,490  00 

Sterling 

32 

1895 

1,000  00 

Vernon  Center 

" 

20 

1895 

500  00 

Medo 

'* 

.TO 

l)-96 

830  00 

Rapidan 

'* 

134 

1896 

.  4,000  00 

McPherson 

" 

70 

1897 

2,918  00 

Mapleton 

" 

60 

1897 

1,900  00 

Beauford 

48 

1898 

800  00 

Cere.sco 

** 

60 

1897 

1,160  00 

Medo 

*' 

40 

1901 

800  00 

Shelby 

" 

150 

1901 

4,923  00 

Mapleton 

60 

1902 

1,850  00 

Cei'esco 

50 

1903 

948  00 

Danville 

New  '^pan  Added 

72 

1903 

1,885  00 
2,200  00 

Medo 

Iron  Truss 

27 

1904 

1,500  00 

Le  Ray 

20 

1904 

650  00 

Decoria 

ti          It 

72 

1904 

2.365  00 

Sterling 

It          tt 

24 

19.'4 

920  00 

Sterling 

It           It 

50 

1904 

600  00 

50 

1904 

l,ij00  00 

Judson 

.1           ti 

465 

1904 

8,500  00 

Garden  City 

.t          It 

90 

1905 

2,800  00 

Vernon  Center 

It           It 

90 

1905 

4,000  00 

Jamestown 

II           tt 

1906 

639  00 

Mapleton 

It          It 

20 

1906 

405  00 

South  Bend 

Concrete 

20 

1906 

1,200  00 

Danville 

Iron  Truss 

Repair  on  Old 

32 

1907 

848  00 
800  00 

Medo 

Iron  Truss 

30 

1907 

900  00 

Rapidan 

It           t. 

70 

1907 

1,547  00 

Danville 

Steel  Tube 

32 

1908 

1.000  00 

McPherson 

Low  Truss 

60 

1908 

1.956  00 

Mapleton 

iron  Truss 

45 

1908 

1,359  00 

Mapleton 

It          It 

40 

1908 

1,214  00 

Beauford 

Concrete 

50 

1908 

1,600  00 

Sterling 

Iron  Truss 

.38 

1908 

1,800  00 

Cambria 

Concrete 

TOTAL 

24 

1907 

780  00 

$295,744  74 

308 


HISTOEY  OP  BLUB  BAETH  COUNTY. 


School  Statistics  of  Blue  Earth  County. 

Abbreviations:  M-Males;  F-Females;  W-Winter  Term;  S-Summer  Term;  Ind.-Independent 
School  Districts;  Com.-Common  Scliool  Districts. 


1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 

1867] 
1868] 
1869] 
1870  ] 
1872] 
1875] 
1877] 
1880  ] 
1885  ] 
1886] 
1888  I 


1895  ■! 
1900  ] 
18C5J 
1908] 


Tnd. 
Com 
Ind. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Ind. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 
Tnd. 
Com 


Teacher 


M. 


9 

H 

11 

20 

92 

26 

6 

W36 

S     8 

W46 

S    17 

W57 

S    25 

W64 

S    31 

59 

16 

'6h 


120 
138' 


132 
68 
119 


167 

171  ■ 

44 
124 

57 
166 

63 
145 


$13.25 
18.18 
19.73 
25.37 


Average 
Wages 


M. 


$9.18 
9.82 
11.68 
15.94 


32.81 
29.87 


38.12 
30  18 
38  33 
29  80 

'36  00 
33.33 

'32' 50 
32 '50 


36  61 
79  75 
35 
73  00 
36.00 
89  80 
55  90 
100.00 
63.00 


F. 


23  20 
18.78 


28.58 
22.89 
29.20 
25.50 

26.40 

25 '.66 

23^50 

'23' 56 


25  52 
41,40 

26  86 
39.00 
30.00 
46.60 
33.25 
51.00 
38.00 


PUPILS 


No.  of 
School  Age 


1,165 

"3^153 
'  4,376 
'  '5i2i6 
'  '5,761 
'  '6,280 

7,217 

"sisss 

'  7^786 


10,817 


11,326 


No 
Enrolled 


646 


1,193 
1,499 
1,932 


2,933 


4,108 
'  '6,444 


6,420 
2.580 
4.696 
2,713 
4.419 
2,670 
3.770 
2.693 
3,386 


Average 
Attendance 

435 
435 
7.33 
882 
1,230 


1,104 
'i,4i6 
'  1,786 
'  'l',755 


2,259 
2,300 
2,000 


W  2,954 
S    2,659 


3,250 
'  3i697 
'3,129 


2.888 
1.831 
2,335 


SCHOOL  HOUSES 


Log 


12 
13 
17 
24 
26 


41 
41 
39 
35 
24 

is 

12 
6 

'7 
'4 


Frame 


107 

'128 

'129 

'i25 

'137 

5 

133 


4 
137 

3 
137 


Brick 


Stone 


NOTE:  —  Tn  the  above  table,  while  separate  sets  of  figures  are  given  for  certain  items 
opposite  some  years  for  winter  and  summer  terms  and  opposite  others  for  independent  and 
common  schools,  under  other  items  opposite  these  same  years  but  one  set  of  figures  is  given. 
Tn  such  cases  the  one  set  of  figures  are  intended  to  cover  both  summer  and  winter  or  inde- 
pendent and  common  as  the  case  may  be.  The  Cit.v  of  Mankato  is  a  special  school  district 
but  for  brevit.v  in  above  table  it  is  classed  among  the  independent  districts.  The  Indepen- 
dent School  IJistricts  are:  Ambo.v,  Garden  City,  Lake  Cr.vstal  and  Mapleton.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  in  1861  there  was  but  one  frame  school  house  in  the  count.v.  In  1869  the  frame 
and  log  buildings  were  about  eaual,  and  with  1888  the  last  log  structure  disappeared.  It,  also, 
appears  that  there  has  been  a  decided  falling  off  of  late  years  in  the  number  of  male  teach- 
ers, though  wages  have  gradually  advanced.  It  further  appears  that  since  the  seventies 
the  number  of  persons  between  five  and  twent.v-one  .vears  of  age  in  our  county  has  not  kept 
pace  with  the  increase  of  our  population.  Families  of  eight  to  ten  children  are  becoming 
less  common,  while  families  having  no  children  and  those  having  but  two  or  three  are  more 
frequent  in  both  town  and  country.  Hence  in  the  countr.v  districts,  into  which  there  has 
been  but  little  immigration,  the  number  of  children  of  school  age  have  decreased  consider- 
ably. To  show  the  great  increase  in  e.xpenditure  for  school  purposes  we  select  a  few  ave-t  age 
years;  I861— $1,282.00;  1868 -$';4.45i.78;  1872— $58,603.98;  1875-$67.502.15;  1883— $67,416.24 ;  1895— In- 
dependent Districts;  .'648,124.00.  Common:  $.56,973.01.  Total  $105.097  01:  1900— Independent: 
$43,553.05,  Common:  $.52,686.6i,  Total  $96,239.67;  1905-Independent:  $50,777.20.  Common:  $6-;.- 
000.34,  Total,  $112,777.64;   1908-Independent:  $66,802.01;  Common;  $61,7«8.15,  Total,  $128,570.16. 


Biographical   History 


BIOGRAPHICAL   HISTORY 


ACKEEMAN,  GEORGE  G.— The  colonial  pe- 
riod of  our  country's  history  witnessed  the  ar- 
rival upon  our  shores  of  a  large  number  of  he- 
roic, adventurous  men,  who  aided  in  the  early 
development  of  the  untilled  soil  and  whose  de- 
scendants in  their  turn  contributed  to  the  grad- 
ual growth  and  prosperity  of  the  nation.  Such 
is  the  record  of  the  Ackerman  family,  founded 
in  the  east  prior  to  the  war  of  the  Eevolution 
and  established  on  the  bleak  New  England  coast 
by  a  sturdy  German.  At  a  somewhat  later  date 
members  of  the  family  resided  in  the  city  of 
j\ew  York  and  acquired  property  now  occupied 
by  the  famous  Trinity  church.  Through  imper- 
fect titles  caused  by  the  crude  conditions  of 
that  era,  the  land  passed  out  of  their  possession. 
Some  fifty  years  ago  the  then  representatives  of 
the  family  made  a  contest  for  the  real  estate,  but 
could  not  fully  prove  their  claim. 

Drifting  a  little  further  toward  the  unsettled 
regions  of  the  frontier,  John  Ackerman  removed 
from  the  vicinity  of  Saratoga  to  Jefferson  county, 
jSTew  York,  and  settled  on  the  shores  of  Lake  On- 
tario, where  his  son,  Albert,  became  a  sailor  on 
the  lakes.  Civilization  was  rapidly  building  up 
the  west  and  the  call  of  the  frontier  came  to  Al- 
bert Ackerman,  impelling  him  to  seek  a  home 
far  distant  from  the  associations  of  his  youth. 
For  some  time  he  remained  in  Ohio,  whence  he 
returned  to  New  York  for  a  brief  sojourn,  and  in 
3859  became  a  pioneer  of  Wisconsin.  During 
June  of  1864,  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  Minnesota,  where  he  bought  a  farm  in 
Medo  township.  Three  years  later  he  bought 
land  five  miles  west  of  Mapleton  in  the  township 
of  that  name.  Eetiring  from  agricultural  pur- 
suits about  1891,  he  removed  to  Mapleton  and 
there  his  death  occurred  April  30,  1901.  During 
the  long  period  of  his  residence  in  this  county 
it  was  his  privilege  to  witness  the  gradual  in- 
crease in   population,   the   constant   improvement 


of  farm  lands,  the  steady  building  up  of  the  vil- 
lages, and  the  increasing  prosperit-y  of  the  people; 
and  to  these  results  his  own  quiet,  industrious 
and  energetic  life  contributed. 

The  marriage  of  Albert  Ackerman  united  him 
with  Annis  S.  Burlingame,  of  Norway,  Herki- 
mer county.  New  York,  and  to  their  union  were 
born  five  children.  The  eldest,  Frederick  E.,  car- 
ries on  farm  pursuits  in  Sterling  township.  Blue 
Earth  count),  and  the  fourth,  George  G.,  con- 
tinues on  the  old  homestead  of  the  family  in 
Mapleton  township.  The  three  other  members  of 
the  family,  ^YiIlis  G.,  Edith  (now  Mrs.  Frank 
Eoberts)  and  Harold,  make  their  home  at  Mill- 
bank,  Grant  county,  South  Dakota.  While  the 
family  were  living  in  Jefferson  county.  New 
York,  George  G.  Ackerman  was  born  March  8j 
1858.  Being  an  infant  at  the  time  of  the  re- 
moval to  Wisconsin,  his  earliest  recollections  clus- 
ter around  what  was  then  called  the  frontier. 
When  six  years  of  age  he  was  brought  to  Blue 
Earth  county  and  here  he  attended  the  district 
schools  near  the  home  farm.  As  a  boy  he  al- 
ternated attendance  at  school  with  work  on  the 
home  place,  and  thus  gained  a  fair  common- 
school  education  and  a  thorough  practical  knowl- 
edge of  agriculture.  Continuing  on  the  farm 
purchased  many  years  ago  by  his  father,  he  has 
maintained  its  high  state  of  cultivation  and  has 
added  such  buildings  as  the  equipment  of  the 
estate  rendered  necessary.  During  1880  he 
brought  a  bride  to  the  home,  his  marriage  unit- 
ing him  with  Mis?  Ella  Eoberts,  member  of  a 
ivell-known  family  represented  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  They  became  the  parents  of  seven  child- 
ren, namely :  Burton,  who  i=  employed  in  the 
.mail  service;  Josie  E.,  Earl,  Louis,  Wilna,  (de- 
ceased),  Iva  F.  and  Eay.  In  the  social  circles 
of  the  townpliip  the  family  are  well  known  and 
universally  honored  as  people  of  substantial 
worth  and  intelligence. 


311 


312 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


ACKEEMAN,  GEOEGE  N.— During  the  ear- 
ly half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  Ackerman 
family  was  founded  in  America  by  three  broth- 
ers who  emigrated  from  Germany,  one  settling 
in  New  York  City,  another  going  into  Canada 
and  the  third,  (John)  proceeding  to  Jefferson 
county,  JSfew  York,  where  he  took  up  a  tract  of 
raw  land  and  developed  an  improved  farm. 
Among  the  children  of  John  Ackerman  was  a 
son,  Mark  C,  bom  and  reared  in  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, New  York,  and  there  married  to  Cynthia 
Kead,  member  of  an  old-established  family  ol 
that  region.  As  early  as  1853  Mark  C.  Acker- 
mnn  became  a  pioneer  of  Wiseonsia,  whither 
emigration  was  rapidly  drifting.  From  the  age 
of  fourteen  years  until  he  moved  to  the  west  he 
had  been  engaged  as  a  sailor  on  the  great  lakes, 
but  after  hie  removal  to  Wisconsin  he  became 
interested  in  farming  in  Adams  county  and  de- 
veloped an  improved  farm  from  a  tract  of  raw 
land.  Eemoving  to  Minnesota  in  June  of  1864, 
he  bought  eighty  acres  on  section  fifteen,  Medo 
township.  Blue  Earth  county,  the  tract  lying 
within  the  limits  of  the  Winnebago  Indian  re- 
serve. Eor  more  than  twenty  years  he  remained 
on  that  farm,  meanwhile  bringing  it  into  a 
state  of  high  productiveness,  and  here  his  death 
occurred  in  1886  at  the  age  of  eighty  years  and 
nine  months.  His  wife  passed  away  in  June  of 
1895  at  the  age  of  eighty-one  years. 

The  youngest  son  of  the  eleven  children  of 
Mark  C.  and  Cynthia  Ackerman  was  the  gentle- 
man whose  name  introduces  this  narrative  and 
whose  birth  occurred  in  Jefferson  county,  New 
York,  May  14,  1853.  During  infancy  he  wafe 
taken  to  ,  Wisconsin  and  at  the  age  of  eleven 
years  he  accompanied  his  parents  to  Minnesota, 
where  he  attended  the  country  schools  near  his 
home.  December  1,  1878,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Susan  Eamsey,  a  native  of  Adams 
county,  Wificonsin,  and  a  daughter  of  William 
W.  Eamsey  of  Ohio,  whose  father,  James,  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  and  descended  from  an  old 
and  honored  Scotch  family.  The  children  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ackerman  are  named  as  follows: 
Amy,  who  married  E.  P.  Davidson  and  lives  on 
a  farm  in  Medo  township;  Ennis  and  Luther, 
who  reside  in  Lamoure  county.  North  Dakota; 
Abbie   and    Mark,    who    are    deceased;    Wallace, 


Floyd,  Ora,  Archie,  Alta  and  Edith,  who  remain 
with  their  parents  on  the  home  farm. 

The  original  claim  taken  up  by  his  father  is 
now  owned  and  operated  by  Mr.  Ackerman,  who 
has  proved  himself  to  be  energetic  in  action, 
prompt  in  decision,  industrious  in  disposition, 
and  genial  in  temperament.  Through  his  wise 
oversight  of  the  property  it  has  steadily  increased 
in  valuation  by  reason  of  improvements  being 
made.  The  land  is  maintained  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation  and  crops  are  rotated  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  maintain  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 
Considerable  attention  is  devoted  to  stock-raising, 
a  specialty  being  made  of  Poland-China  hogs, 
Norman  horses  of  good  grades  and  shorthorn  cat- 
tle of  fine  types  of  that  breed.  In  addition  to 
maintaining  a  close  supervision  of  the  home- 
stead he  has  found  leisure  to  mingle  with  ac- 
quaintances, identify  himself  with  public  affairs 
and  contribute  to  the  material  growth  of  the 
community  by  his  wise  judgment  and  active  co- 
operation in  enterprises  for  the  common  good. 
For  seventeen  consecutive  years  he  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  township  clerk,  for  twelve  consecutive 
years  he  has  served  with  the  utmost  efficiency  as 
treasurer  of  the  school  board,  and  for  a  number 
of  years  he  has  been  justice  of  the  peace,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  proved  familiar  with  the  laws 
and  impartial  in  their  administration.  In  frater- 
nal relations  he  holds  membership  with  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America. 


ALLEN,  SILAS  LOCHE.— At  a  time  when 
Blue  Earth  county  was  first  attracting  the  at- 
tention of  home-seekers  the  Allen  family  became 
established  in  this  part  of  the  country  and  since 
then  have  aided  in  the  agricultural  upbuilding 
of  the  county  and  state.  The  first  of  the  name 
to  come  to  the  northwest  was  T.  0.  Allen,  who 
was  born  near  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  now 
makes  his  home  near  Winnebago  City,  Minne- 
sota, where  he  owns  large  and  valuable  landed 
interests.  It  was  during  April  of  1856  that 
chance  brought  him  to  Blue  Earth  county  while 
he  was  inspecting  the  country  with  a  view  to 
settlement.  With  him  was  a  cousin,  the  two  hav- 
ing come  from   Chickasaw  county,   Iowa.     Soon 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


313 


after   his   arrival   he   pre-empted   a   claim   three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  northwest  of  old   Shelby,  but 
after  a  year  or  more  he  sold  the  claim  and  re- 
moved to   Shelby,   where  he  bought   a  log  hotel 
from  G.  Shannon.    The  management  of  the  hotel 
eno;aged  his  attention  for  some  years  and  in  time 
he  replaced  the  log  structure  with  a  more  sub- 
stantial  building   of    frame.     For   a   number   of 
years   he  also   conducted   a  country   store  in   his 
hotel  building,  and  he  became  interested  in  saw- 
milling  as   a   partner    of   N.    W.    Powell   in  the 
spring  of  1861,  where  he  continued  until  1864, 
when  he  formed  a  partnership  in  the  mercantile 
business  with  Captain  Rhodes  Crandall,  an  oSi- 
cer  in  the  Union  army.     For  some  five  years  the 
partnership    continued,    after    which    Mr.    Allen 
sold  out  and  settled  on  section  thirty-two,  where 
previously  he  had  taken  up  a  tract  of  raw  land. 
At  the  expiration  of  about  six  years  he  sold  a 
part  of  the  estate  and  moved  to  Woodland  Mills, 
I'aribault  county,  but  later  he  moved  to  a  farm 
near  Winnebago  City,  his  present  home. 

In  a  family  of  nine  children,  four  of  whom 
am  now  living,  Silas  Loche  Allen  was  second  in 
order  of  birth,  and  was  born  January  84,  1858, 
in  the  frame  house  which  his  father  had  built  for 
a  hotel,  at  Shelby,  Blue  Earth  county.  Primar- 
ily educated  in  country  schools,  later  he  had  the 
advantages  of  the  high  schools  at  Mankato,  Min- 
nesota, and  Charles  City,  Iowa,  after  which  he 
took  a  course  in  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College, 
at  Ames.  Upon  leaving  college  he  began  to 
teach  school.  For  three  years  he  had  charge  of 
ilie  school  at  Lawler,  Iowa,  for  one  year  taught 
at  Fredericksburg,  that  state,  and  for  a  similar 
period  had  supervision  of  the  Floyd  school. 
Later  for  two  years  he  was  in  charge  of  the  high 
school  at  Amboy,  Jlinnesota,  and  for  one  year 
taught  at  Sherburn,  Martin  County,  after  which 
he.  went  to  Delavan,  Faribault  county,  and  for 
two  years  clerked  in  a  store  owned  by  his  father. 
Next  he  went  to  Browns  Valley,  Minnesota,  and 
resumed  teaching,  which  occupation  he  followed 
there  for  a  period  of  five  years.  Since  resigning 
that  position  he  has  owned  and  occupied  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section  thirty- 
two,  Shelby  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
hp  has  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  During 
April   of  1896  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 


Maggie  Brovm,  a  native  of  Delavan,  Minnesota, 
and  a  daughter  of  William  Brown,  a  farmer  and 
painter  residing  in  Delavan  township.  In  the 
family  of  Mr.  Allen  there  are  two  children, 
Beatrice  and  Jay.  Always  stanch  in  his  support 
of  the  country  schools,  he  has  rendered  efficient 
service  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  In 
fraternal  relations  he  is  identified  with  the  blue 
lodge  of  Zvlasonry,  also  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of 
America. 


ANDERSON,  GEORGE.— For  little  less  than 
one-half  century  the  Anderson  family  has  been 
identified  with  the  agricultural  and  commercial 
development  of  Blue  Earth  county.  Hither 
came  Henry  Carl  Anderson  as  early  as  1860, 
purposing  to  improve  from  the  primeval  wilds 
a  homestead  that  would  bring  to  his  declining 
years  independence  and  a  competency.  Both  he 
and  his  wife,  Sarah,  were  natives  of  Knoxville, 
Ohio,  and  traced  their  ancestry  to  England. 
Immediately  after  he  arrived  in  this  county  he 
secured  a  claim  of  three  hundred  acres  in  Judson 
township.  The  land  was  in  the  raw  state  of 
nature;  no  attempt  had  been  made  at  perma- 
nent improvement,  but  his  was  the  pleasant 
though  difficult  task  of  erecting  needed  build- 
ings, dividing  the  land  into  fields  of  suitable 
size  by  substantial  fencing,  placing  the  soil  un- 
der cultivation  and  instituting  a  rotation  of 
crops  adapted  to  the  land  and  the  climate.  The 
quiet  cares  of  agriculture  gave  to  his  later  years 
a  strange  contrast  to  the  eventful  happenings  of 
his  youth,  when  he  followed  the  life  of  a  sailor 
for  a  time  and  also  had  some  experiences  in 
mining  for  gold.  His  was  a  kindly  disposition, 
generous  to  those  in  need,  liberal  toward  en- 
terprises for  the  community's  good,  and  upright 
in  every  relation  of  life,  and  when  death  came 
to  him,  February  13,  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  3'ears,  he  left  many  warm  friends  to  mourn 
his  loss..  Surviving  him  are  his  widow  and 
eight  of  their  ten  children. 

The  second  in  order  of  birth  among  the  ten 
children  was  George  Anderson,  who  was  born 
in  Judson  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  in  1865, 
and  received  a  district  school  education,  supple- 


314 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


mented  by  attendance  at  the  high  isehool  of  Lake 
Crystal.  LTntii  1899  he  remained  on  tlie  home 
farm,  but  during  that  year  he  came  to  Man- 
li:ato  and  entered  a  hardware  store  as  clerk,  re- 
maining for  three  years.  Next  he  took  up  the 
painter's  trade  under  J.  Manderfeld,  with  whom 
he  continued  until  1904.  During  that  year 
he  bought  from  L.  W.  Grant  a  paper-box  manu- 
facturing establishment,  which  he  has  since  con- 
ducted at  JSTo.  57U  South  Front  street,  mean- 
while doubling  the  output  of  the  factory.  The 
products  are  sold  to  the  local  trade  or  shipped 
to  neighboring  towns,  but  it  is  the  intention 
of  the  proprietor,  if  prosperity  attends  the  plant, 
to  increase  its  output  sufficiently  so  that  he  may 
be  able  to  supply  demands  from  points  in  other 
parts  of  the  state  as  well  as  in  other  states.  In 
1899  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Amy, 
daughter  of  Daniel  Edwards,  of  Judson  town- 
ship, and  they  have  one  son,  Willard.  In  fra- 
ternal identification  Mr.  Anderson  belongs  toN;he 
Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  Samaritans,  National  Ee- ' 
serves,  and  along  the  line  of  business  organiza- 
tions he  gives  stanch  support  to  the  Commercial 
Club,  with  whose  ambition  to  promote  the  pros- 
perity  of   the   city  he   is   in  hearty   sympathy. 


Julius  A.  Anderson  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  the  Badger  State  until  he  was 
fourteen  years  of  age,  w;hen  he  became  self-sup- 
porting by  "going  out  to  work  by  the  month." 
He  entered  into  his  first  independent  venture 
when,  in  December,  1899,  he  removed  to  Decor- 
ia  township,  this  county,  and  was  placed  in 
charge  of  the  large  farm  of  Professor  Searing, 
which  ho  successfully  conducted  for  seven  yoars. 
In  1906  he  located  in  Mankato  and  purchassd  the 
interest  of  John  H.  Macbeth  in  the  livery  firm 
of  Macbeth  &  Harlin,  in  June  of  that  year  Wil- 
liam B.  Harlin's  interest  in  the  business  being 
bought  by  John  IST.  Lang,  thereby  forming  the 
partnership  of  Lang  &  Anderson.  This  lirm 
operated  a  first-class  livery,  creditable  alike  to 
their  business  judgment  and  their  good  t&'^te 
till  disposed  of. 

Mr.  Anderson  was  married  on  the  22nd  of  De- 
cember, 1899,  to  Miss  Mary  Anderson,  daughter 
of  Hans  Anderson,  of  Brooklyn,  Minnesota,  and 
she  has  borne  him  two  children — George  L.,  and 
Mildred  D.  A  member  of  the  fraternity,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  Mr.  Anderson  is  popular 
and  straightforward,  a  credit  to  any  order,  and 
promises  to  advance  in  whatever  field  of  endeavor 
he  may  enter. 


ANDBESON,  JULIUS  A.— Sturdy  of  pur- 
pose, and  energetic  and  enterprising  of  tempera- 
ment, the  Danish-Americans  of  Blue  Earth  Coun- 
ty are  coming  into  the  front  ranks  of  its  business 
men  and  citizens,  and  of  the  younger  generation 
none  could  be  a  greater  credit  to  their  Father- 
land and  the  country  of  their  adoption  than 
Julius  A.  Anderson,  of  Mankato.  He  is  an  hon- 
est, industrious  citizen,  who  has  made  the  most 
of  himself  and  his  opportunities — ^and  what  more 
can  be  said  of  any  man?  A  native  of  Den- 
mark, born  on  the  22d  of  July,  1876,  he  is  the 
son  of  Hans  and  Dorothea  Anderson,  also  born 
in  that  country,  who  came  to  Brooklyn,  Rock 
county,  Wisconsin,  when  the  boy  was  five  years 
of  age.  Neither  is  now  living,  the  mother  hav- 
ing died  in  Iowa  leaving  the  following  children: 
Ferdinand,  of  Brooklyn,  Wisconsin;  Julius  A.; 
and  Charles  M.,  also  a  resident  of  that  Wiscon- 
sin town. 


ANDERSEN,  JENS  C— Jens  C.  Andersen, 
engineer  of  the  City  Water  Works,  Mankato, 
presents  a  type  of  Americanism,  in  which  natives 
of  America  take  as  much  pride  as  those  Scandi- 
navian brothers  who  so  enthusiastically  and 
faithfully  adopt  the  cities  and  institutions  of 
the  United  States  as  their  own.  Often,  in  fact,^ 
those  who  come  to  this  country  from  the  Old 
World  seem  to  have  a  more  hearty  appreciation 
of  the  extent  of  their .  opportunities  than  those 
who  are  bom  to  them.  Thus  it  is  that  it  is  a 
true  pleasure  to  present  a  brief  record  of  so  in- 
telligent, successful  and  grateful  an  American, 
adopted  from  Denmark,  as  Mr.  Andersen.  He 
was  born  August  31,  1865,  son  of  Rasmus  and 
Christena  (Andersen)  Andersen,  his  parents 
spending  their  lives  in  Denmark — the  father  dy- 
ing in  1883,  at  the  age  of  forty-seven,  and  the 
mother  in  1905,  sixty-nine  years  old. 

Jens  C.  Andersen  is  the  fifth  child  in  a  fam- 


Ou-  /L-*-^  cZ^Xj^-^t.^/:^  Hi.  /J 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


315 


ily  of  nine  brothers  and  sisters,  he  being  the 
only  one  to  venture  to  America.  In  the  Dajiish 
country  schools  he  received  two  hours'  daily  in- 
struction in  both  English  and  German,  so  that 
as  a  boy  he  vi^as  in  training  for  his  future  career 
in  the  United  States.  Until  he  was  fifteen  he 
was. an  industrious  farmer's  boy  and  school  boy, 
by  which  time  he  had  made  such  progress  in 
hit  studies  and  general  intelligence  that  he  se- 
cured employment  in  the  International  Mail 
Service  between  Denmark  and  Germany,  being 
thus  engaged  for  eighteen  months. 

In  1884,  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  Mr.  An- 
dersen emigrated  to  the  United  States,  first  lo- 
cating on  a  farm  near  Austin,  Minnesota,  and 
after  a  short  time  removing  to  Eochester,  where 
for  two  years  he  was  employed  in  a  brick  yard. 
He  became  a  resident  of  Mankato  in  1887  as  an 
employe  of  the  Hubbard  &  Palmer  mill,  his  posi- 
tion— that  of  assistant  engineer — being  held  for 
five  years,  while  he  has  most  creditably  served 
as  engineer  at  the  City  Water  Works  since  1893. 

June  8,  1885,  before  he  had  reached  his  twen- 
tieth year,  Mr.  Andersen  married  Miss  Christena 
Thyggeeon,  also  a  native  of  Denmark,  and  the 
union  has  resulted  in  four  children:  Eliza  A., 
Walter  E.,  Harvey  P.  and  Florence  S.  Era- 
temally  he  is  a  member  of  the  A.  0.  U.  W.  and 
Modern  Samaritans,  and  his  religious  faith  is 
Presbyterian. 


ANDEEWS,  JOHN  WESLEY.— M.  D.  Many 
years  ago  there  sailed  on  the  high  seas,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Andrews,  a  ship  that 
bore  the  flag  of  England  and  carried  her  com- 
merce to  many  remote  harbors  of  the  world. 
Little  is  known  concerning  the  captain,  but  it 
may  be  inferred  that  he  was  a  man  of  dauntless 
courage,  close  observation  and  unwavering  loy- 
alty. These  qualities  in  his  son,  John  E.,  led 
to  another  occupation  in  which  they  were  no  less 
necessary  than  on  the  ocean.  As  a  pioneer 
Methodist  preacher  in  the  sparsely  settled  re- 
gions of  the  United  States,  he  was  called  upon  to 
endure  untold  privations.  Within  his  home  pov- 
erty was  ever  present,  yet  out  of  his  scanty  sup- 
ply he  was  ever  ready  to  help  some  unfortunate 
family  or  suffering  pioneer,  and  no  distance  was 


too  great  and  no  road  too  dark  for  him  to  re- 
fuse to  go  to  the  aid  of  the  needy.  The  duties 
of  hie  calling  led  him  from  Illinois  to  Minne- 
sota in  the  autumn  of  1856  and  made  him  a 
pioneer  of  St.  Peter.  In  the  spring  of  1857  he 
pre-empted  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  what 
was  known  as  the  Big  Woods  district.  Scarcely 
had  he  settled  the  family  in  their  lonely  home 
when  the  panic  of  1857  came  upon  the  country. 
During  the  two  following  years  the  family  and 
their  few  neighbors  suffered  privation  and  want. 
Elour  was  $9  per  barrel  and  other  necessities 
were  almost  as  high.  Were  it  not  for  the  high 
price  paid  for  ginseng  and  the  abundance  of  the 
root,  many  a  time  the  children  and  the  older 
ones  would  have  gone  hungry  to  bed.  With  the 
return  of  prosperity  to  the  nation  the  family 
giadually  entered  into  happier  circumstances,  yet 
tliey  never  became  well-to-do,  and  it  was  not 
possible  to  give  the  children  many  advantages. 

In  the  family  of  Eev.  John  E.  and  Delilah 
(Armstrong)  Andrews  there  was  a  son,  John 
Wesley,  born  at  Eussellville,  Lawrence  county, 
Illinois,  April  6,  1849,  and  brought  to  Minnesota 
at  the  age  of  seven  years.  While  it  was  not  pos- 
sible for  his  parents  to  give  him  any  advantages, 
such  was  his  energy  and  determination  that  he 
met  destiny  with  a  brave  spirit  and  carved  out 
opportunities  for  himself.  In  1868  he  became 
a  student  in  the  Minnesota  State  Norman  School 
at  Mankato,  but  on  account  of  suffering  an  at- 
tack of  typhoid  fever  he  was  not  able  to  con- 
tinue his  studies.  On  regaining  his  strength  he 
secured  a  position  as  teacher  in  the  St.  Peter 
Jiigh  school,  where  he  remained  for  three  years. 
]\leanwhile  he  had  become  interested  in  the  study 
of  medicine  and  had  determined  to  gain  an  edu- 
cation in  that  profession.  This  was  made  pos- 
sible by  his  tireless  exertions.  After  a  course  of 
lectures  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  he  entered  Eush  Medical 
College  in  Chicago  and  enjoyed  the  advantages 
offered  by  that  renowned  institution,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  February  of  1877.  After 
a  preliminary  practice  of  two  years  he  sougM 
further  advantages  in  the  science  of  therapeutics 
by  admission  into  one  of  the  most  famous  in- 
stitutions of  the  east,  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical 
College,   where   he   took   the   regular   lectures   in 


316 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


medicine^  surgery  and  allied  branehee,  graduat- 
iag  in  March  of  1880.  On  his  return  to  Min- 
nesota he  resumed  his  practice  at  ilarshall,  and 
alter  three  years  located  at  Mankato,  but  again 
in  1886  he  allowed  himself  a  vacation  in  order 
CO  prosecute  medical  studies  in  the  hospitals  and 
colleges  of  Berlin  and  Vienna.  Since  then  it 
Jias  been  his  custom,  every  two  or  three  years, 
to  spend  six  weeks  or  two  months  in  study  in  the 
large  hospitals  of  different  cities,  by  which  means 
he  has  kept  in  touch  with  every  phase  of  devel- 
opment made  in  medicine  and  surgery. 

Various  professional  associations,  including  the 
ilinnesota  State  Medical  Society  of  which  he 
was  one  time  president,  and  the  Minnesota  Val- 
ley Medical  Society,  number  Dr.  Andrews  among 
their  members.  Dr.  Andrews  has  always  voted 
the  Eepublican  ticket  and  he  has  taken  great  in- 
terest in  politics.  During  1893  his  friends 
placed  his  name  in  nomination  for  mayor  of 
Mankato  and  he  lacked  only  seven  votes  of  be- 
ing elected.  Two  years  later  he  was  induced  to 
take  a  seat  in  the  city  council  as  the  represen- 
tative of  the  fourth  ward,  and  in  April,  1907, 
was  elected  mayor  by  a  large  majority.  In  fra- 
ternal relations  he  is  a  Mason  and  for  four 
consecutive  years  acted  as  master  of  Mankato 
Lodge  No.  12,  A.  P.  &  A.  M.,  besides  which  he  was 
t'cnior  warden  for  two  years.  The  Mankato 
board  of  trade  has  his  name  enrolled  among  its 
members  whom  he  served  one  term  as  president, 
as  has  also  the  Social  Science  Club.  At  the  age 
of  twenty  years  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  in  which  faith  he 
had  been  reared  by  his  earnest  Christian  parents 
and  to  which  he  has  since  been  a  liberal  contrib- 
utor. April  4,  1878,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Jennie  French,  formerly  of 
Wellsville,  New  York,  but  a  resident  of  Mar- 
shall, Minnesota,  at  the  time  of  their  marriage. 
They  have  one  son,  Eoy  N".  Andrews,  who  was 
one  of  five  who  were  elected  to  membership  in  the 
Honorary  Fraternity  Alpha  Omega  Alpha,  the 
requirements  of  which  are  to  be  at  the  head  of 
the  classes  in  deportment  as  well  as  studies,  and 
in  1908  was  elected  its  president,  he  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Pi.  On  July  12th, 
1906,  he  was  married  to  Mi.ss  Florence  Burgess 
of  Minneapolis,  and  finished  his  course  in  medi- 


cine   at   the    University    of    Minnesota    in    June, 
1908. 


ANNIS,  EICHAED  STEPHEN.— Very  early 
iji  the  colonial  history  of  our  country  the  Annis. 
family  crossed  the  ocean  from  England  and  es- 
tablished themselves  among  the  farmers  along  the 
bleak  coasts  of  New  England.  The  family  gen- 
ealogy records  that  Solomon  Annis,  born  at 
Lebannon,  Grafton  county.  New  Hampshire,  Nov- 
ember 8,  1765,  was  united  in  marriage  March 
12,  1791,  with  Susannah  Botsworth,  who  was 
born  February  28,  1770,  and  died  August  14, 
1832.  In  their  family  of  ten  children  there 
was  a  son,  James,  who  was  born  at  Lebanon, 
New  Hampshire,  January  22,  1792  (?),  ajid 
died  at  Chelsea,  Vermont,  July  31,  1830, 
while  yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood.  While 
jnnking  liis  home  at  Chelsea  he  had  married, 
December  16,  1811,  Miss'  Sally  Clifford,  who 
was  born  April  4,  1792,  and  died  May  2,  1838. 
Eleven  children  were  born  of  their  union,  among 
these  being  a  son,  Ira,  whose  birth  occurred  at 
Chelsea,  July  12,  1816,  (?),  and  who  passed 
from  earth  October  10,  1882.  His  marriage  took 
place  November  25,  1844,  and  united  him  with 
Erilla  J.  Corey,  who  was  born  February  14, 
1819,  and  died  January  17,  1862.  The  ceremony 
v.hich  united  them  in  marriage  was  solemnized 
at  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  by  Eev.  Lemuel  Por- 
ter. The  bride  was  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Corey 
and  a  descendant  of  a  Eevolutionary  hero. 

Following  the  tide  of  emigration  toward  the 
west,  Ira  Annis  in  1853,  removed  to  Wisconsin, 
accompanied  by  two  brothers,  Azro  and  Darius, 
and  they  became  pioneers  of  Eipon,  Fond  du 
Lac  county.  During  1856  Ira  and  his  family 
and  his  brother,  Azro,  traveled  with  wagon  and 
oxen  to  Minnesota,  where  they  proceeded  to  Blue 
Earth  county  and  joined  the  pioneers  near  the 
]\Iaple  river,  arriving  there  on  the  20th  of 
June.  Azro  settled  in  Sterling  township  four 
miles  west  and  two  and  one-half  miles  south 
of  the  present  town  of  Mapleton.  Ira  selected  as 
his  location  a  tract  of  land  four  miles  south  and 
one  mile  west  of  Mapleton,  the  Maple  river  run- 
ning through  his  farm.  To  his  original  home- 
stead he  added  by  purchase  until  he  became  the 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


317 


owner  of  several  farms  in  his  immediate  vicin- 
ity and  held  rank  with  the  most  extensive  land 
owners  of  the  county. 

The  deep  interest  in  religious  affairs  which 
Mr.  Annis  displayed  throughout  his  entire  life 
led  him  to  aid  generously  in  all  work  for  the 
benefit  of  the  church  and  the  spiritual  uplifting 
of  humanity.  In  the  building  of  the  Free  Bap- 
tist church  at  Mapleton  he  was  a  large  contribu- 
tor and  afterward  remained  one  of  its  strongest 
.supporters  until  his  death.  Of  his  ten  children 
the  two  eldest  -nere  daughters  and  died  in  Ver- 
)nont.  The  third,  Eichard  Stephen,  was  born  in 
Orleans  county,  Vermont,  January  27,  1846,  and 
i't  an  early  age  accompanied  the  family  in  their 
removal  to  the  then  frontier.  When  he  was  ten 
tlie  family  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
since  he  has  made  his  home.  The  schools  of 
those  days  were  few  and  widely  scattered,  and  it 
was  not  possible  for  him  to  attend  school  as  reg- 
ularly as  might  have  been  desirable,  yet  he  man- 
aged to  gain  an  excellent  education  through  self- 
culture,  close  reading  and  habits  of  careful  ob- 
servation. 

Prom  the  opening  days  of  the  Civil  war  Eich- 
ard S.  Annis  was  staunch  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
Union  cause.  August  26,  1864,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years  he  enlisted  in  Company  C,  Elev- 
enth Minnesota  Infantry,  under  Colonel  Gil- 
/iUian  and  Captain  Theodore  E.  Potter.  The 
company  was  mustered  into  service  at  Fort  Snell- 
mg  and  ordered  to  Tennessee,  where  they  were 
detailed  to  guard  trains  on  the  road  from  Nash- 
ville to  Chattanooga.  A  colored  regiment  that 
had  engaged  in  guard  duty  on  the  Louisville  & 
N"ashville  Eailroad  was  annihilated  by  the  gueril- 
las, and  the  Minnesota  regiment  was  ordered  to 
take  their  place,  with  headquarters  at  Gallatin, 
Tennessee,  where  he  remained  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  and  July  10,  1865,  was  honorably  dis- 
charged on  his  return  to  Fort  Snelling. 

Shortly  after  his  return  home  from  the  war 
Mr.  Annis  purchased  land  four  miles  south  and 
two  miles  east  of  Mapleton,  and  here  he  embark- 
ed in  agricultural  pursuits.  .From  time  to  time 
he  added  to  his  original  purchase  until  now 
he  has  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  fine  farm 
land  which  he  rents  to  tenants.  During  1887  he 
sold  his  personal  property  and  removed  to  Brain- 


erd.  Crow  Wing  county,  Minnesota,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  mercantile  business.  However,  the 
confinement  to  indoor  work  proved  unhealthful 
and  after  three  years  he  sold  the  business,  re- 
turning in  1890  to  Mapleton,  where  he  now 
makes  his  home.  August  8,  1869,  he  married 
Melissa  Foster,  of  Eipon,  Wisconsin,  a  daughter 
of  Warren  Foster,  who  removed  to  Minnesota 
(luring  the  fall  of  1865.  Four  children  came  to 
bless  their  union.  The  sons  are  Elwin  E.  and 
Chester  A.,  the  former  of  whom  was  employed 
in  a  drug  business  for  a  year,  then  attended  the 
]\linnesota  State  TTniversity,  where  he  won  the' 
degree  of  D.  D.  S.  Since  then  he  has  established 
a  growing  practice  at  Winnebago  City,  Faribault 
county.  The  two  daughters.  Alberta  and  Laura 
E.,  were  given  excellent  literary  and  musical  edu- 
cations, and  became  accomplished  and  popular 
vfiung  ladies,  beloved  in  the  home  circle  and  ad- 
jiiired  by  hosts  of  friends.  Thc'r  death  in  early 
^\'omanhood  was  a  bereavement  from  which  their 
parents  have  not  recovered,  bringing  to  them  the 
iieaviest  sorrow  of  their  otherwise  happy  wedded 
lives. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Annis  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  town  supe^^^snrs  and  was  honored 
by  being  chosen  chairman  of  the  board..  During 
1900  he  took  a  census  of  the  township  and  vil- 
lagp  of  ilapleton,  for  some  years  he  filled  the 
office  of  town  clerk,  and  he  also  has  been  a  mem- 
hev  of  the  town  council  and  a  director  of  the 
town  schools.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the  Grand 
Vrmy  of  the  Eepublic  and  has  officiated  as 
adjutant  of  the  local  post.  Among  the  people 
of  the  town  he  is  respected  as  a  man  of  saga- 
cious judgment,  one  whose  careful  economy  has 
rendered  possible  his  present  prosperity,  and 
whose  interests,  bound  by  a  lifetime  of  association 
with  those  of  the  township,  link  him  by  ties  of 
warmest  friendship  to  the  people  and  the  com- 
I'lunity  itself. 

The  family  which  Eichard  S.  Anna's  represents 
(■■insisted  of  ten  children,  of  whom  six  are  now 
living.  His  sister,  Irene,  is  married  and  lives 
at  Minnesota  Lake.  Another  sister,  lona,  is  the 
wife  of  C.  F.  Wallace,  of  IMaploton  township; 
^frs.  Flora  E.  Heath  is  a  resident  of  Faribault 
( 'ity,  and  Sarah  married  Judge  J.  H.  Quinn  and 
makes  her  home  in  Fairmont,  Faribault  county. 


318 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


His  only  surviving  brother,  Ira  D.,  is  a  resident 
of  Weetbrook,  Cottonwood  county,  this  state.  The 
early  days  of  the  residence  of  the  family  in  Min- 
nesota were  marked  by  many  hardships.  The 
winters  were  bitterly  cold  and  the  cabins  of  the 
pioneers  were  illy  fitted  to  withstand  the  rigors 
of  the  weather.  Suffering  fell  to  the  lot  of  all, 
but  was  borne  without  a  murmur  and  sacrifices 
were  made  cheerfully.  No  braver  heroes  ever  fell 
on  field  of  battle  than  those  men  and  women  who 
bore  without  a  whisper  of  discontent  the  suffer- 
ings caused  by  cold  and  hunger.  They  had  come 
hither  to  found  homes  where  their  children 
might  live  in  happiness  and  prosperity,  and  they 
counted  no  sacrifice  too  great  that  would  aid  in 
Ihe  accomplishment  of  their  ambition.  Long 
after  their  bodies  shall  have  returned  to  the  dust 
ihe  memory  of  their  privations,  sacrifices  and  un- 
ceasing toil  will  remain  to  stimulate  to  greater 
ambition  those  who  proudly  trace  their  lineage 
to  these  brave  pioneers. 

When  the  Annis  family  found  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  the  desolate  conditions  prevalent 
during  the  '50's  in  Blue  Earth  county,  they  began 
the  task  of  making  a  home.  For  a  few  months 
they  lived  in  a  tent.  Meanwhile  they  built  one 
of  the  first  houses  in  Mapleton  township.  This 
was  a  crude  structure,  scarcely  more  habitable 
tiian  the  tent.  When  they  moved  in,  December 
'',  1856,  it  was  necessary  to  place  the  tent  inside 
the  house  in  order  to  withstand  the  extreme  cold 
(if  the  winter.  The  cabin  was  plastered  outside 
and  inside  with  mud  mortar  mixed  in  a  hole  in- 
tended for  a  cellar.  While  the  father  applied  the 
mortar  to  the  outside  of  the  building,  the  mother 
was  similarly  engaged  inside  of  the  cabin.  Soon 
afterward  it  became  necessary  to  secure  flour. 
St.  Paul,  about  one  hundred  miles  distant,  was 
the  nearest  market,  and  Hastings  was  an  equal 
distance  from  the  frontier  settlement.  With  a 
neiglibor,  Mr.  Samuel  Atkins,  Mr.  Ira  Annis 
started  with  horses  for  Hastings,  and  accom- 
plished the  first  half  of  their  journey  success- 
fully. Mr.  Atkins  proceeded  on  to  Wisconsin. 
On  Mr.  Annis'  return  alone  he  had  reached  old 
St.  Mary's  when  he  and  another  party  were 
caught  in  a  severe  snow  storm.  All  day  they 
wearily  pushed  forward  through  the  blinding 
enow,    but   the    drifts   became    so    deep   that    at 


night  they  were  forced  to  return  to  the  place 
they  had  left  in  the  morning.  About  noon  of  the 
following  day  he  alone  .started  out,  unloaded  hie 
fiour,  piled  it  up  against  a  small  oak  tree,  and 
started  onward  as  rapidly  as  the  condition  of 
the  weather  permitted.  That  night  he  was  over- 
taken by  a  terrible  blizzard.  Unable  to  face  the 
ptorm  and  darkness  coming  on,  he  tied  his  horses 
to  the  sled,  wrapped  blankets  around  his  limbs 
and  all  through  the  long  night  ran  around  the 
sled  to  keep  from  freezing  to  death.  By  the 
next  day  the  storm  had  passed  and  he  was  able 
to  proceed  to  his  home  in  safety.  When  spring 
came  he  returned  and  found  his  fiour  under  the 
tree  where  he  had  left  it  during  the  blizzard  of 
the  winter.  This  is  a  record  of  but  one  ex- 
perience; were  all  related  the  present  generation 
would  realize  to  what  extent  they  are  indebted 
to  their  fathers  and  grandfathers,  who  endured 
such  dreary  isolation  from  civilizing  influences, 
such  exposure  to  the  rigors  of  winter,  and  such 
continued  hardships  and  privations,  in  order  that 
the  civilization  of  the  twentieth  century  might  be 
made  possible  to  this  part  of  our  state. 


AEEND,  JOHN.— The  fair  degree  of  success 
i\hich  came  to  Mr.  Arend  in  the  management 
cf  his  farm  and  the  accumulation  of  land  proves 
that  he  was  a  man  of  ability,  for  he  was  heavily 
iiandicapped  for  many  years  by  ill  health  result- 
ing from  the  hardships  of  army  service  during 
the  Civil  war.  In  spite  of  a  constitution  far 
from  robust  he  continued  the  active  supervision 
oi  his  interests  and  resolutely  refused  to  permit 
himself  to  be  relegated  to  the  ranks  of  invalids. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he  often  worked 
beyond  the  limit  of  his  strength,  his  life  was 
prolonged  to  three  score  years  and  ten  and  he 
went  to  his  grave  in  an  honored  old  age.  Among 
the  people  in  whose  midst  he  made  his  home  for 
many  years  he  is  remembered  as  a  capable  man, 
progressive  citizen  and  loyal  to  the  welfare  of  his 
adopted   commonwealth   and   country. 

Mr.  Arend  was  born  December  30,  1830,  in 
Luxemburg,  Germany,  where  his  parents,  Ni- 
cliolas  and  Susanna  Arend,  were  farmers  and 
life  long  residents.  On  both  sides  of  the  family 
the  ancestors  had  been  long  and  intimately  as- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


319 


cociated  with  affairs  in  Luxemburg.  After  hav- 
ing received  a  fair  German  education  in  the 
Roman  Catholic  schools,  John  Arend  began  to 
earn  his  own  livelihood  by  working  on  a  farm, 
and  in  1850  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  America  in 
search  of  better  opportunities  than  awaited  him 
in  the  old  country.  For  some  years  he  worked 
on  farms  in  Wisconsin.  During  the  year  1856  he 
became  a  pioneer  of  Minnesota  and  settled  in 
Blue  Earth  County,  where  he  pre-empted  from 
the  government  forty  acres  of  raw  land.  Not 
a  furrow  had  been  turned  in  the  primeval  soil 
and  no  attempt  had  been  made  at  any  improve- 
ment; thus  his  was  the  pioneer  task  of  trans- 
forming the  little  tract  into  an  improved  farm. 

While  busily  engaged  in  developing  his  land 
Mr.  Arend  responded  to  the  call  of  his  adopted 
country  in  her  hour  of  need,  and  August  19, 
1862,  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  K, 
Seventh  Minnesota  Infantry,  which  regiment  he 
accompanied  to  the  south.  The  hardships  of 
forced  marches  and  the  other  privations  of  army 
life  impaired  his  health  and  when  he  was  hon- 
orably discharged,  at  the  expiration  of  the  war, 
he  went  back  to  Minnesota  with  strength  so 
feeble  as  to  preclude  active  work  for  some  years. 

On  regaining  partial  health  he  took  up  farm 
work  and  busily  engaged  in  cultivating  such 
crops  as  suited  the  soil  and  climate.  March  4, 
1868,  he  married  Miss  Mina  Schlichting,  who 
was  born  in  Germany  February  12,  1841.  When 
she  was  a  mere  infant  she  last  her  father,  who 
was  a  fanner  by  occupation.  Some  time  after- 
ward her  mother  married  again,  but  in  1855  the 
mother,  step-father,  grandmother  and  younger 
fister  died  within  one  week  of  that  dread  dis- 
ease, the  cholera.  Mina  made  her  home  for 
seven  years  in  Germany  with  a  family  bearing 
Ihe  name  of  Schwartz  and  she  accompanied  tliem 
to  America,  settling  in  Minnesota.  The  only 
son  of  her  marriage,  Louis,  was  born  January 
■23,  1870,  and  died  June  15,  1888.  An  adopted 
son,  John,  now  occupies  and  operates  the  Arend 
homestead,  which  was  increased  from  its  original 
size  by  the  purchase  of  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  acres  and  through  the  efforts  of  the  owner 
was  transformed  into  a  valuable  estate. 

On  this  homestead  Mr.  Arend  died  June  4, 
1901,  and  later  his  widow  removed  to  Mankato, 


where  she  owns  a  comfortable  home  at  No.  1005 
North  Sixth  street.  In  religion  she  is  identified 
with  the  German  Lutheran  church,  while  Mr. 
Ai'end  adhered  to  the  doctrines  of  the  German 
Catholic  denomination.  In  politics  he  always 
A'oted  the  Democratic  ticket,  but  was  not  active 
in  such  matters  and  had  not  official  aspirations. 
Possessed  of  a  kindly,  home-loving  disposition, 
he  was  the  happiest  on  his  farm  and  busy 
vrith  such  work  as  his  strength  permitted,  but 
he  was  always  willing  to  aid  in  local  enter- 
prises and  was  especially  interested  in  aiding  the 
unfortunate  and  the  needy. 


ATCiSERSON,  JOSEPH  W.— Indians  still 
roamed  at  vrill  throughout  the  northwestern  fron- 
tier, and  Blue  Earth  county  was  yet  a  reserva- 
tion, when,  in  1863,  W.  J.  Atcherson  brought 
Ills  family  to  Minnesota  and  took  up  a  tract  of 
raw  land.  The  progress  of  the  .Civil  war  had 
left  the  settlers  of  the  northwest  more  or  less  at 
the  mercy  of  the  savages,  and  tales  of  depreda- 
tions were  heard  on  every  hand,  but  this  indomi- 
table frontiersman  was  not  dismayed  by  condi- 
tions; on  the  contrary,  he  patiently  toiled  and 
sowed  and  reaped,  and  at  no  time  was  he  mo- 
lested by  the  Indians,  toward  whom  he  always 
displayed  a  friendly  consideration.  Born  and 
reared  in  Vermont,  he  had  married  a  ynung  lady 
from  that  state  in  early  life  and  three  children 
had  been  born  to  them,  Frederick,  Joseph  W., 
and  Julia,  of  whom  the  second  son  is  the  sole 
survivor.  The  wife  and  mother  died  while  yet 
a  young  Avoraan  and  later  he  married  Sarah  Ar- 
cher, who  since  his  death  in  1905  had  continued 
to  reside  in  the  neighborhood  endeared  to  her  by 
years  of  associations.  Of  the  second  marriage 
there  were  three  children,  namely:  Frank,  a 
farmer  of  Medo  township ;  Mack,  who  is  repre- 
i-cnted  elsewhere  in  this  volume ;  and  Clara,  Mrs. 
Frederick  Aldrich,  of  Mankato,  this  county. 

During  the  res'dence  of  his  parents  in  Ver- 
mont Joseph  W.  Atcherson  was  born  May  23, 
1845,  and  from  the  east  he  accompanied  the 
family  to  the  frontier  regions  of  the  northwest, 
where  he  received  such  meager  advantages  as  the 
locality  and  day  afforded.  At  the  age  of  nine- 
teen years  he  enlisted  under  General   Gerard   in 


320 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


tlie  Sixteenth  army,  corps,  western  division,  and 
was  stationed  principally  at  Fort  Spanish  until 
lie  was  mustered  out  of  the  service,  August  19, 
1865.  After  his  return  to  Blue  Earth  County 
he  took  up  agricultural  pursuits  and  in  1881 
purchased  a  farm  on  section  sixteen,  Medo  town- 
ship, where  he  was  engaged  in  stock-raising  and 
general  fanning  with  noteworthy  success.  His 
specialties  have  been  dairying  and  the  raising  of 
Norman  horses,  Poland-China  hogs  and  Short- 
horn cattle.  The  farm  comprises  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  and  represents  his  unaided  ef- 
forts. The  improvements  bear  testimony  to  his 
thrift,  wise  judgment  and  industrious  applica- 
tion. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Atcherson  took  place  in 
1878  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  J.  Mc- 
Kibbon,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Quinn) 
McKibbon,  natives  of  Ireland,  but  from  early 
life  residents  of  the  United  States,  first  sojourn- 
ing in  Pennsylvania  and  during  1863  becoming 
pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county.  For  a  long  pe- 
riod Mrs.  McKibbon  has  been  dead,  and  he  is 
now  making  his  home  with  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Atcherson.  Another  daughter,  Isabelle,  is  de- 
ceased. There  were  two  sons,  William  McKib- 
bon, now  a  resident  of  Medo  township;  and 
James,  who  died  in  infancy.  Five  children  com- 
prise the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atcherson. 
The  eldest,  Olive,  married  Hilmer  Hoverson  and 
has  one  son,  Kenneth.  They  reside  at  Lidger- 
wood,  N".  D.,  where  he  acts  as  manager  of  a 
creamery.  The  second  son,  Harry,  resides  with 
Ivs  parents;  Gertrude  is  engaged  in  educational 
Avork ;  Elsie,  a  student  of  the  Albert  Lea,  Minn., 
School  of  Music,  and  Sadie  is  a  student  in  the 
Mapleton  high  school.  For  years  Mr.  Atcherson 
has  been  identified  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Pepublic.  Politically  he  affiliates  with  the  Demo- 
crats and  on  the  party  ticket  was  several  times 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
bf-sides  which  he  has  served  as  pathmaster  and 
held  office  as  school  director. 

ATCHEESON,  MACK.— ISTo  name  in  Blue 
Earth  county  carries  Avith  it  greater  weight  in 
stock  raising  circles  than  that  of  Atcherson. 
The  Shorthorn  cattle,  registered  Percheron  horses 


and  Poland  China  hogs  which  attain  maturity 
under  the  direction  of  Mack  Atcherson,  on  his 
farm  in  Medo  township,  may  be  equalled  but  not 
surpassed  by  any  breeder  in  this  north  country. 
Mr.  Atcherson  inaugurated  his  independent  ca- 
reer in  1879  by  purchasing  a  part  of  his  present 
farm, .  and  he  since  has  added  to  it,  until  he 
owns  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  in  one  body. 
Practically  all  of  his  property  is  under  cultiva- 
tion, and  he  has  the  most  approved  of  imple- 
ments and  general  farm  appliances. 

Mr.  Atcherson  is  a  long  way  from  his  early 
surroundings  in  Vermont,  where  he  was  born 
Kovember  11,  1853.  The  Green  Mountain  state 
was  the  family  work  ground  for  many  years, 
and  in  it  were  born  W.  J.  and  Sarah  (Archer) 
Atcherson,  parents  of  Mack,  as  well  as  the  lat- 
ter's  paternal  grandfather,  Thomas  Atcherson. 
The  whole  family  came  to  Wisconsin  from  Ver- 
mont in  1854,  or  rather  all  were  assembled  there 
at  that  time,  W.  J.  joining  his  sons  who  had 
immigrated  a  short  time  before.  Location  was 
made  on  a  farm  near  Kilbourn  City,  Adams 
county,  Wisconsin,  where  all  remained  but  the 
father,  who,  in  1863,  came  to  Minnesota  and 
pre-empted  the  farm  in  Medo  township,  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  his  widow.  He  had 
five  children,  of  whom  Mack  was  the  fourth  eld- 
est, and  the  latter  remained  at  home  until  mov- 
ing to  the  farm  he  now  owns  and  lives  on. 

October  14,  1887,  Mr.  Atcherson  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Mary  A.  Doland,  daughter  of 
George  Doland,  who  now  lives  at  Waterville, 
Minnesota,  and  is  one  of  the  very  early  pioneers 
of  Blue  Earth  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Atcherson 
are  the  parents  of  the  following  children:  Net- 
tie C,  now  Mrs.  Walter  Bromaghim,  of  Waseca 
county;  Clara  L.,  now  Mrs.  Fremont  Severance, 
of  Medo  township;  Cleo  M.,  living  at  home; 
and  James  M.,  also  with  his  father.  Mr.  Atch- 
erson possesses  the  qualities  which  insure  suc- 
cess in  any  walk  of  life,  and  which  particularly 
are  appreciated  in  the  upbuilding  of  farming 
communities.  A  pleasing  address  and  invariable 
approachability  add  to  his  popularity,  and  tend, 
with  his  shrewd  business  ability  and  interest  in 
general  affairs  to  make  him  a  factor  of  county 
as    well    as    township    importance. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


321 


ANTKY,  ISAAC— The  well  directed  life  of 
Tfaac  Antry  spanned  the  years  between  his  birth 
in  Indiana  in  1836,  and  his  death  in  South  Bend, 
the  same  state,  in  1902.  His  name  is  enrolled 
among '  those  self  sacrificing  pioneers  of  Blue 
Earth  county  who  arrived  about  1856,  and  whose 
calm  acceptance  of  the  dangers,  deprivations  and 
exactions  of  the  frontier  seem  a  marvel  to  we  of 
a  later  generation.  Those  were  the  times  that 
tried  the  souls  of  men,  and  either  made  or  un- 
made them  with  its  demand  upon  their  strength 
and  endurance.  Isaac  Antry  proves  his  mettle 
on  many  occasions,  but  at  no  time  more  em- 
phatically than  during  the  Indian  outbreak  of 
1862-3,  when  he  was  one  of  the  bravest  members 
of  the  local  guard. 

Mr.  Antry  had  common  school  advantages  in 
liis  youth,  but  for  the  greater  part  he  was  a  self 
made,  well  made  man,  learning  more  in  the  hard 
ichool  of  practical  experience  than  from  between 
the  covers  of  books.  In  this  county  he  was  unit- 
ed in  marriage  in  1871,  to  Charlotte  M.  O'Con- 
nor, of  Indiana,  and  of  his  large  family,  six  sons 
and  four  daughters  are  living.  Of  the  daughters, 
Alice  is  the  wife  of  Albert  Neeno,  a  farmer;  Mary 
C,  is  now  Mrs.  Fox,  wife  of  an  employe  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Eailroad  Company;  Laura  is  the 
wife  of  Mr.  Maloney,  a  farmer;  and  Agnes  is  liv- 
ing at  home.  Of  the  sons,  James  is  farming  the 
home  place;  Charles  is  in  California;  Thomas  is 
«  resident  of  St.  Paul,  this  state;  John  is  a  farm- 
er in  Dakota;  and  Paul  and  Felix  T.,  are  living 
at  home. 

To  his  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
Mr.  Antry  devoted  the  best  years  of  his  life. 
He  made  many  fine  and  expensive  improvements, 
and  his  widow  now  profits  by  his  enterprise  and 
forethought.  He  was  quite  a  politician,  in  the 
broader  sense  of  the  word,  and  while  never  seek- 
ing official  honors,  served  as  assessor  twelve  years^ 
and  also  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion. In  religious  atfiliation  he  was  a  Catholic, 
and  always  contributed  generously  towards  the 
maintenance  of  the  local  church  of  that  denomi- 
nation. He  lived  a  life  of  activity,  integrity 
and  worth,  accomplishing  much  through  hon- 
orable purpose  and  unflagging  industry,  and  at 
the    same    time    laboring    for    the    public    good 


through  active  co-operation  in  measures  tending 
towards   that   end. 


AXTELL,  AYMBE  D.— The  farming  contin- 
gent of  Blue  Earth  county  has  no  more  respected 
and  useful  member  than  Aymer  D.  Axtell,  en- 
gaged in  general  agriculture  and  stock-raising, 
and  the  owner  of  eighty-three  acres  of  land  in 
ilcPherson  township.  Mr.  Axtell  has  gained  ex- 
perience in  many  parts  of  this  continent,  in  Can- 
ada, where  he  was  born  July  22,  1849,  in  Illi- 
nois, where  he  lived  with  the  rest  of  his  family 
for  ten  years  in  Calumet  county,  Wisconsin, 
where  also  he  lived  ten  years,  and  in  Blue  Earth 
county,  Minnesota,  to  which  he  came  in  1873. 

Mr.  Axtell  is  the  oldest  of  seven  sons  of  Jack- 
son and  Mary  (Yoemanns)  Axtell,  the  former  of 
whom  was  horn  in  England  and  the  latter  in 
Canada.  Jackson  Axtell  died  in  1894,  having 
devoted  the  active  years  of  his  life  to  general 
farming  and  mill-wrighting.  In  the  fall  of  1871 
Aymer  D.  Axtell  married  Eliza  J.  Watrous  of 
Wisconsin,  and  to  whom  has  been  born  four  sons 
and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living,  save 
one  daughter,  Mabel,  who  passed  on  at  the  age 
of  two  months.  Of  those  living,  Margaret  is 
thirty-one  years  old,  and  now  is  the  wife  of 
Frank  Slocum  of  Blue  Earth  county;  Arthur  is 
a  farmer,  twenty-nine  year  old  and  married; 
Eichard  is  twenty-seven  years  old  and  lives  in 
North  Dakota;  Leon  is  twenty-four  years  old  and 
if-  a  mail-carrier  at  Foley,  this  state;  and  Eobert 
aged  twenty-one,  lives  with  his  father  on  the 
home  place. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Axtell  is  a  Eepub- 
lican,  but  he  never  has  sought  or  been  willing 
to  accept  official  honors.  With  the  rest  of  his 
family  he  finds  a  religious  home  in  the  Congre- 
gational church. 


BABCOCK,  MILEN  E.— The  man  who  goes 
into  the  real  estate  business  ought  to  have  a 
broad  and  varied  experience,  since  he  is  to  meet 
customers  in  all  walks'  of  life  and  usually  those 
whose  circumstances  are  above  the  average 
breadth  of  view,   elasticity   of  temperament   and 


322 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


versatility  in  meeting  objections,  are  primary 
requisites,  as  Mr.  Babeock  has  found  during  the 
decade  of  his  growing  business  in  this  line  at 
Mankato.  The  record  which  follows  indicates  an 
unusually  broad  and  varied  experience  as  a 
business  man;  so  that  he  has  lived  up  to  the 
well  settled  requirements  of  success  in  the  field 
which  he  is  so  creditably  occupying. 

Milen  E.  Babeock  is  a  native  of  Wisconsin, 
born  to  Chauncey  and  Fidelia  (Tyler)  Babeock, 
on  the  4th  of  June,  1864.  His  New  England 
parents  came  to  Wisconsin  in  the  'fifties,'  re- 
moved their  home  in  1889  to  Mason  City,  Iowa, 
and  in  later  years  to  Spokane,  Washington,  where 
they  now  reside.  Milen  is  the  third  child  of 
their  family,  and  remained  in  Wisconsin.  He 
passed  his  earlier  years  in  that  state,  attending 
country  school  and  working  on  the  home  farm, 
going  to  Iowa  when  a  youth  and  attending  the 
Osage  High  School,  and  afterward  entering  the 
employ  of  various  mercantile  establishments  in 
that  city.  In  1887  he  removed  to  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota, where  he  was  associated  with  a  wholesale 
commission  house  and  later,  for  six  years,  as  a 
traveling  salesman  for  a  stationery  establishment 
of  the  same  city.  This  long  experience  both  in 
the  store  and  on  the  road  gave  Mr.  Babeock  an 
admirable  insight  into  the  mysteries  of  salesman- 
ship, which  are  never  divulged  by  lonely  study 
or  reflection;  they  only  come  to  those  who  'go 
out  and  hustle,  and  mix  with  people." 

In  1898  Mr.  Babeock  located  in  Mankato  to 
engage  in  the  real  estate  business,  his  most  im- 
portant line  being  the  sale  of  farm  lands  in 
Minnesota  and  North  Dakota,  although  his  trans- 
actions cover  important  deals  in  city  property. 
Besides  establishing  this  business  he  has  become 
quite  well  known  as  a  promoter  of  large  enter- 
prises, having  organized  the  Mankato  Malting 
Company  and  the  German  Land  Company.  Mr. 
Babeock  votes  the  republican  ticket,  and  that  is 
as  far  in  politics  as  his  many  other  activities 
will  allow  him  to  go.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
jovial  United  Commercial  Travelers  of  America, 
and  is  identified  with  the  fraternities,  Knights 
of  Pythias  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

Married  April  19,  1890  to  Miss  Fannie  E. 
Page  of  Argentine,  Michigan,  Mr.  Babeock  and 
his   wife  have  been  blessed   with   a  large  home 


circle,   their   children  being  Mable   M.,    Cora  L., 
Vernon  F.,   Gladys  W.,  Mazie  D.  and  Neva  D. 


BAKEE,  GENEBAL  JAMES  H.— To  be- 
come distinguished  in  any  field  is  the  lot  of  but 
few  and  the  ambition  of  many,  but  to  achieve 
distinction  in  several  walks  of  life,  as  has  Gen- 
eral Baker,  is  proof  of  earnest  self  forgetfulness 
and  unusual  talents.  In  his  journalistic  work, 
his  military  career  and  his  public  record  gener- 
ally an  intensity  of  purpose,  a  facility  of  execu- 
tion and  a  versatility  of  ability  little  short  of 
phenomenal  have  been  his  distinguished  traits. 
He  is  an  Ohio  man,  born  in  Monroe,  Butler 
county.  May  8,  1829,  son  of  Henry  and  Hannah 
(Heaton)  Baker.  His  father  was  a  cultured  and 
able  physician,  born  in  Baltimore,  Maryland,  and 
engaged  in  practice  for  forty  years  in  Ohio, 
while  his  grandfathers,  William  Baker  and  James 
Heaton,  were  Eevolutionary  soldiers.  When 
young  Baker  was  three  years  old  his  parents 
moved  to  Lebanon,  Ohio,  whence,  upon  his 
mother's  death,  he  was  sent  to  his  grandfather's 
home  near  Middleton,  Ohio,  and  for  two  years 
attended  Sherman  Academy.  An  honored  grad- 
uate of  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  class  of 
1852,  three  years  after  leaving  college  he  re- 
ceived a  second  degree  of  A.  M.  He  then  taught 
school  for  a  time,  but  soon  became  proprietor  of 
the  Scioto  Gazette,  the  oldest  paper  in  Ohio, 
and,  as  a  reward  for  his  services  to  the  Eepubli- 
can  party,  and  a  tribute  to  his  ability  and  hon- 
orable character,  he  was  elected  secretary  of 
state. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office,  as 
above,  General  Baker  removed  to  Minnesota,  in 
May,  1857,  soon  thereafter  settling  on  a  farm 
near  Garden  City,  and,  such  was  his  faculty  for 
inspiring  confidence  and  drawing  an  enthusiastic 
personal  following,  that  in  1859,  and  again  in 
1861,  he  again  was  elected  secretarv  of  state  for 
Minnesota.  Upon  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war 
he  resigned  his  office  and  offered  his  services  to 
the  government,  and  by  Governor  Eamsey  was 
commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Tenth  Minnesota 
Volunteers,  November  16,  1862,  and  during  that 
and  the  following  year  he  assisted  in  the  sup- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


323 


pression  of  the  Sioux  outbreak.  After  the  In- 
dian war,  being  ordered  South  in  October,  1863, 
he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  post  of 
St.  Louis,  which  subsequently  embraced  seven 
counties  in  its  jurisdiction,  and  finally  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Secretary  of  War,  Provost  Mar- 
shal General  of  the  Department  of  Miss'^uri, 
For  the  able  discharge  of  his  duties  in  this  im- 
portant position,  which  virtually  created  him 
military  governor  of  the  state,  he  was  made  a 
Brevet  Brigadier  General,  and  was  not  mustered 
out  of  the  service  until  October,  1865. 

After  the  war.  General  Baker  -  returned  to  his 
farm  in  Blue  Earth  county,  and  in  1871  General 
Grant,  then  president  of  the  United  States,  ap- 
pointed him  United  States  Commissioner  of  Pen- 
sions. After  a  faithful  service  in  this  capacity 
for  four  years,  he  resigned  the  office  and  was 
appointed  by  General  Grant  surveyor  general  of 
Minnesota,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  this  term 
returned  to  his  home,  which  in  the  meantime  he 
had  changed  from  the  farm  to  Mankato.  While 
surveyor  general  he  did  much  through  newspaper 
and  magazine  correspondence  towards  advertis- 
ing the  great  iron  deposits  of  the  state.  In  1879 
he  purchased  the  Union  and  Eecord,  the  two 
Eepublican  journals  of  Mankato,  united  them 
into  the  Free  Press,  thereafter  publishing  the 
isame  for  two  years.  He  then  was  elected  and 
served  two  years  as  Eailroad  commissioner,  and 
subsequently,  upon  the  creation  of  the  Eailroad 
Commission,  was -made  its  president. 

General  Baker  for  years  has  been  recognized 
as  one  of  the  most  brilliant  orators  in  the  state, 
and  no  man  within  its  bounds  has  delivered 
more  public  popular  addresses  than  he.  He  has 
long  been  a  member  of  the  State  Historical  So- 
riciy,  mil  has  materially  contributed  to  the  his- 
tory of  Minnesota  by  his  authorship  of  such 
papers  as  the  "History  of  Lake  Superior,"  "The 
Sources  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver,"  "The  History 
of  the  Minnesota  Valley,"  "Transportation  in 
Minnesota,"  and  "The  Lives  of  the  Governors 
of  Minnesota.  The  last  named  volume  is  con- 
sidered the  most  important  of  his  literary  under- 
takings, and  it  gives  him  a  prominent  place  in 
the  literature  of  the  state.  Some  years  since, 
the  General  retired  from  business,  and  in  Man- 


kato has  devoted  himself  almost  exclusively 
to  literary  pursuits.  As  a  writer  he  has  achieved 
enviable  reputation,  and  takes  front  rank  among 
those  similarly  employed  in  Minnesota. 

Married  in  Delaware,  Ohio,  September  25, 
1851,  to  Eose  Lucia  Thurston,  General  Baker 
has  become  the  father  of  two  sons.  Dr.  Arthur 
Heaton  Baker,  deceased,  of  Washington  Cit]^; 
and  Harry  Adgar  Baker,  of  Ogden,  Utah.  Mrs. 
Baker  died  at  Washington  City  IMarch  20,  1873, 
and  December  23,  1879,  the  General  married  his 
present  wife,  Zulu,  daughter  of  George  W.  Bart- 
lett,  of  Paris,  Illinois,  whose  great-grandfather 
was  the  second  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. Of  this  union  there  is  one  son, 
James   Henry   Baker,  now  in   college. 


BAILEY,  CHESTEE.— ITo  county  in  the 
commonwealth  of  Minnesota  surpasses  Blue  Earth 
in  the  fertility  of  its  farms  or  the  progressive 
spirit  exhibited  by  its  farmers,  among  whom 
mention  belongs  to  Chester  Bailey,  the  owner 
and  operator  of  a  valuable  estate  situated  in 
Shelby  township.  ITearly  forty  years  have  passed 
since  he  came  to  this  county  and  settled  on 
the  farm  which  since  has  been  his  home.  The 
land  lies  three  miles  north  of  Amboy  and  two 
miles  south  of  Vernon  Center,  so  that  he  has  the 
advantage  of  being  within  close  proximity  to  two 
market  towns.  When  he  purchased  the  quarter- 
section  it  was  wholly  unimproved  and  he  has 
expended  large  sums  since  in  the  making  of  de- 
sirable improvements,  including  the  erection  of  a 
neat  set  of  buildings  and  the  expenditure  of  $700 
for  a  system  of  tiling.  Diversified  farming  finds 
more  favor  with  him  than  specialities,  and  we 
find  him  in  exemplification  of  this  idea,  devoting 
some  attention  to  the  dairy  business,  engaging 
in  the  raising  of  Poland-China  hogs,  carrying  a 
good  grade  of  Shorthorn  cattle  in  his  pastures 
and  also  raising  horses,  besides  raising  such  grains 
and  other  crops  as  suit  the  soil  and  climate. 

Chester  Bailey  was  born  in  Lacking  county, 
Ohio,  June  9,  1840,  being  a  son  of  Chester, 
Sr.,  and  Mary  (Eoberts)  Bailey,  natives  of  the 
same  county  as  himself.  The  paternal  grand- 
father, who  was  of  French  extraction,  was  an  ear- 
ly settler  of  Licking  county,  where  he  made  his 


324 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


home  Tintil  death.  The  father  started  out  in 
early  manhood  to  settle  on  the  cheap  lands  of 
the  ¥'est,  but  after  a  brief  sojourn  in  Illinois  he 
returned  to  Ohio,  where  he  married.  Somewhat 
later  he  again  removed  to  Illinois,  where  he 
took  up  farm  pursuits.  Shortly  afterward 
he  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  took  up  state  land 
in  Juneau  county,  where  he  improved  a  good 
farm,  remaining  there  until  his  death  in  1898. 
His  wife  passed  away  three  years  later.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  namely: 
Chester,  of  Minnesota ;  Oliver,  of  Madison,  Wis- 
consin; Herbert  and  Eachel  A.,  deceased;  Martha 
J.,  William,  deceased;  and  John,  a  farmer 
who  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  near  Amboy. 

Such  advantages  as  country  schools  afforded 
fell  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  Bailey,  but  subsequent 
reading  and  observation  have  broadened  his  fund 
of  information.  On  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
AVar  his  sympathy  was  with  the  Union  cauee 
and  with  all  the  eagerness  of  his  twenty-one 
years  he  offered  his  services  promptly  to  th6 
government.  His  enlistment  gave  him  a  place 
in  the  Tenth  Wisconsin  Battery,  but  soon  he  was 
transferred  to  the  ISTinth  Wisconsin  Battery  in 
the  western  division,  stationed  principally  in 
Colorado,  engaged  in  scout  duty  and  Indian 
campaigning.  At  the  expiration  of  three  years 
he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returned  to  his 
Wisconsin  home,  where  he  remained  on  the 
farm  until  1869,  the  year  of  his  removal  to 
Minnesota.  Since  then  he  has  risen  to  promi- 
nence among  the  farmers  of  Blue  Earth  county. 

Sharing  with  Mr.  Bailey  in  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  the  people  is  his  wife,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  1865,  and  who  was  Mary  A.  Kewen,  a 
native  of  Juneau  county,  Wisconsin.  Two  sons 
blessed  their  union.  Both  are  still  living  and' 
occupy  farms  adjoining  the  old  homestead,  so 
that  the  parents  have  the  pleasure  and  satisfac- 
tion of  entering  upon  the  twilight  of  life's  day 
surrounded  by  their  loved  ones.  Both  sons  have 
homes  of  their  own.  Theodore  married  Margaret 
Shear  and  Ernest  .was  united  with  Anna  Shear, 
members  of  a  prominent  family  in  the  locality. 


BALLAED,  COLUMBUS.— Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty in  1854  was  a  wilderness  which  still  echoed 


the  war  whoop  of  the  Indian  and  the  shot  of  the 
marksman  which  brought  down  big  game.  Lit- 
tle save  the  primeval  trees  intercepted  the  chill 
winds  of  winter  or  protected  from  the  glare  of 
the  summer  sun.  They  were  truly  men  of  pur- 
pose and  well  defined  ideals  who  could  thus  leave 
settled  communities  and  face  not  only  desolation 
and  deprivation,  but  the  slow  rewards  which 
come  to  him  who  depends  solely  upon  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil.  To  this  class  of  toilers  belongs 
Columbus  Ballard,  who  arrived  in  this  county 
April  1,  1854,  and  ever  since  has  made  this  his 
home,  devoting  his  energies  to  the  accumulation 
of  a  competence  as  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser. 

ilr.  Ballard  comes  of  old  southern  stock,  and 
was  born  in  Shelby  county,  Kentucky,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1829.  He  was  one  in  a  family  of  four- 
teen children,  his  father  being  twice  married, 
and  he  early  was  obliged  to  contribute  his  share 
towards  the  family  support.  He  was  twenty-four 
years  old  upon  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
from  Kentucky,  and  he  pre-empted  a  farm  in 
Mankato  township,  which,  with  a  few  changes, 
always  for  the  better,  ever  since  has  been  his 
home.  He  has  been  interested  in  Democratic 
politics  ever  since  the  beginning  of  his  voting 
days,  and  has  served  as  Justice  of  the  Peace  and 
member  of  the  board  of  education.  In  the  early 
'go's  he  was  active  in  the  last  of  the  Indian  wars. 
In  religious  affiliation  he  is  a  Baptist. 

January  1,  1856,  two  years  after  coming  to 
Minnesota,  Mr.  Ballard  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Lois  Gregory,  of  Michigan  who  died  in  1878. 
Of  this  union  there  were  eleven  children,  seven 
sons  and  two  daughters,  eight  of  whom  are  liv- 
ing. All  of  the  sons  are  prosperous  farmers.  Mr. 
Ballard  is  a  man  of  noble  impulses  and  kindly 
d'sposition,  and  commands  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  a  large  circle  of  friends  and  associates. 


BANGEETEE,  BENEDICT— On  completion 
of  his  last  term,  Benedict  Bangerter  had  giv- 
en twelve  years  of  continuous  service  as  re- 
gistrar of  deeds  of  Blue  Earth  county.  First 
elected  in  1896,  he  has  succeeded  himself  every 
two  years,  and  his  conscientious  discharge  of  duty 
has  won  the  approbation  of  all  classes  regardless 
of  differences  of  political  belief.     Mr.  Bangerter 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


325 


is;  a  stanch  Eepublican,  and  as  such  has  mater- 
ially strengthened  the  local  standing  ol  his  party. 
His  faithfulness  to  community  interests  has  "been 
further  evidenced  during  hie  twenty-seven  years' 
connection  with  the  fire  department,  of  which 
he  now  is  first  assistant  chief. 

The  claims  of  Mr.  Bangerter  upon  the  confi- 
dence of  his  fellow  townsmen  does  not  rest  solely 
upon  his  work  in  the  political  arena.  He  is  a 
business  man  of  strict  integrity  and  progrcssive- 
ness,  and  has  for  many  years  been  identified  with 
the  boot  and  shoe  and  hardware  business.  The 
former  occupation  came  to  him  naturally,  and 
was  learned  from  his  father,  Benedict  Bangerter 
Sr.,  who  established  his  family  in  Mankato  in 
18C8.  The  elder  Bangerter  was  born  in  Switzer- 
land, and  came  as  a  single  man  to  America,  lo- 
cating first  in  Illinois,  where  he  married  Mary 
Sahli,  also  a  native  of  Switzerland.  The  young 
people  came  soon  after  their  marriage  to  Brown 
county,  Minnesota,  later  settling  on  a  farm  at 
New  Ulm,  from  which  they  were  driven  during 
the  Indian  outbreak  of  the  early  '60s.  Mr.  Ban- 
gerter learned  the  shoemaking  trade  in  his  native 
land,  and  in  America  was  a  journeyman  for 
many  years,  finally  establishing  the  boot  and  shoe 
business  which  he  .still  conducts  in  Mankato.  He 
is  a  thrifty  and  successful  business  man,  and  a 
fair  representative  of  the  better  class  of  Swiss 
sojourners  who  find  congenial  occupations  and 
happy  homes  on  this  side  of  the  water. 

Benedict  Bangerter  Jr.  had  the  many  advan- 
tages of  being  reared  in  a  large  family,  for  his 
devoted  mother  sang  and  wept  and  prayed  above 
thirteen  cradles,  and  each  child  in  turn  became 
the  guardian  and  helper  of  the  one  that  followed. 
Benedict  learned  to  handle  tools  as  soon  as  he 
was  old  enough  to  be  trusted  with  them,  and 
when  he  had  mastered  the  trade  of  shoe  making, 
was  variously  employed  thereat  for  several  years. 
He  finally  gave  up  the  bench  and  useful  imple- 
ments of  his  time  honored  trade  and  embarked 
in  the  hardware  business  with  Gerhard  LulsdorfE, 
remaining  with  him  seven  years,  and  continuing 
in  the  same  business  for  eleven  years  more  after 
the  firm  name  had  been  changed  to  LulsdorfE  & 
Son.  January  29,  1887,  Mr.  Bangerter  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Anna  K.  Eoss,  daughter 
of  George  and  Philipine  Eoss,  of  Mankato,  and 


four  children  have  been  born  to  the  union : 
Benedict  E.,  Margaret  E.,  Marie  E.,  and  John 
G.  The  lengili  ol  his  service  in  various  capac- 
ities indicates  the  good  judgment  and  depend- 
ability of  Mr.  Bang'erter.  He  is  a  quiet  and  un- 
assuming man,  utterly  devoid  of  ostentation  and' 
display,  and  finding  always  in  his  work  much 
tlicit  is  pleasant  as  well  as  profitable. 


BAENES,  EEANIvLIN.— During  the  early 
portion  of  the  nineteenth  century  John  Barnes 
came  from  his  native  country,  England,  to  the 
United  States  and  settled  in  Vermont,  where  he 
became  a  farmer.  Not  many  years  after  his  ar- 
ri\al  he  married  a  young  lady  of  French  birth 
and  ancestry,  and  their  son,  Franklin,  was  born 
at  Highgate  Falls,  Franklin  county,  Vermont, 
June  22,  1834,  being  one  of  a  family  of  seven 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  still  survive.  The 
parents  remained  in  Vermont  until  their  death. 
The  common  schools  of  Vermont  afforded  Frank- 
lin a  fair  education  and  while  still  quite  young 
he  was  taught  lessons  of  self-reliance  and  indus- 
try that  aided  him  in  later  years.  During  1852 
lie  came  to  the  west  and  spent  a  short  time  in 
Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  later  removing  to  St. 
Anthony's  Falls,  now  known  as  East  Minnea- 
polis. The  year  1857  found  him  among  the 
pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  during  Sep- 
tember he  secured  a  tract  of  land  one  and  one- 
half  miles  from  the  present  site  of  Vernon  Cen- 
ter village.  In  addition  to  bringing  this  tract 
under  cultivation  he  engaged  in  the  mejcantile 
business  for  four  years  and  for  a  similar  period 
was  interested  in  bujdng  and  selling  grain. 

After  having  conducted  farm  pursuits  about 
thirty  years,  in  1890,  Mr.  Barnes  relinquished 
agricultural  activities  and  came  to  Lake  Crystal. 
Purchasing  what  was  known  as  the  old  Mitchell 
place,  formerly  the  estate  of  a  banker  of  the 
town,  he  remodeled  the  place  and  converted  it 
into  one  of  the  most  beautiful  homes  in  the  vil- 
lage. A  natural  grove  adorns  the  grounds  and 
1he  beauty  of  the  place  is  heightened  by  its  lo- 
cation on  the  northeast  side  of  Lake  Crystal.  "While 
enjoying  his  beautiful  home  Mr.  Barnes  also  has 
had  the  privilege  of  considerable  travel  through- 
out the  United  States,  and  has  spent  one  year 


326 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


in  the  south^  one  winter  at  Biloxi,  Mississippi, 
and  ten  winters  at  San  Diego,  California,  thus 
escaping  the  rigors  of  our  Minnesota  blizzards. 
While  enjoying  his  travels  he  believes  no  state 
can  surpass  Minnesota  and  he  remains  intensely 
loyal  to  the  commonwealth  of  his  adoption. 

During  1857  Mr.  Barnes  married  Frances  E., 
daughter  of  William  and  Frances  (Doble)  Reed, 
natives  of  Maine.  As  early  as  1855  Mr.  Eeed 
came  west  and  settled  at  St.  Anthony's  Falls, 
Minnesota,  where  he  followed  the  millwright's 
trade,  building  the  second  sawmill  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis.  The  year  1857  found  him  joining 
the  tide  of  emigration  that  had  turned  toward 
Blue  Earth  county.  Here  he  took  up  land  in 
Vernon  Center  Township  and  gave  his  attention 
to  converting  a  tract  into  a  productive  farm. 
After  ten  years  here  he  moved  to  Eenville  county, 
Minnesota,  and  built  a  sawmill  there,  also  erec- 
ted similar  plants  at  other  places,  including  one 
at  Vernon  Center.  During  a  visit  to  Minne^ 
apolis  he  died  in  1883,  and  seven  years  later  his 
wife  also  passed  away. 

The  eldest  son  of  Mr.  Barnes  is  William  E., 
T.'-ho  is  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  at 
Mankato  and  also  deals  extensively  in  lands  as 
a  trader  and  speculator.  The  second  son,  F. 
H.,  is  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
The  older  daughter,  Hattie  L.,  was  the  wife  of 
Ernest  Gleason  and  after  his  death  she  mar- 
ried Edward  Washburn,  a  merchant  at  Vernon 
Center.  The  youngest  son,  Edward  A.,  married 
Sadie  Warren  and  carries  on  a  general  store  at 
Vernon  Center.  The  youngest  member  of  the 
family  circle  is  Louise,  wife  of  Frank  Rich, 
a  banlcer  at  Willow  City,  ISTorth  Dakota.  In  ad- 
dition to  his  attractive  homo  at  Lake  Crystal  Mr. 
Barnes  owns  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in 
Vernon  township  and  has  other  property  interests. 
Politically  he  votes  with  the  Eepublican  p^arty 
and  in  religion  is  identified  with  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church.  Public  spirited  and  loyal  to 
the  welfare  of  his  township,  he  has  consented  to 
serve  as  a  school  officer  and  pathmaster,  and 
in  other  local  positions  where  his  services  would 
promote  movements  of  importance  to  the  com- 
munity. Aside  from  his  agricultural  and  busi- 
ness interests,  he  has  taken  pleasure  in  saving 
specimens  of  shells  and  stones  and  by  the  work 


of  years  he  has  secured  the  finest  collection  of  the 
kind  in  Minnesota.  In  an  early  day  he  bought 
tlie  first  steam-thresher  in  the  vicinity  of  Vernon 
Center  and  for  twenty-eight  consecutive  seasons 
he  operated  the  same  in  his  own  fields  and  those 
of  his  neighbors.  But  his  memory  goes  back 
further  than  the  days  of  steam  threshers,  for  he 
recalls  the  times  when  horse  power  and  tread 
power  were  utilized,  and  he  rejoices  in  the 
contrasts  afforded  by  present  methods  with  the 
slow  processes  of  years  gone  by.  Many  years 
ago  he  invented  the  first  zinc  sieve  for  wheat 
and  other  grain  to  pass  through  and  still  later 
he  invented  a  sieve  of  wood,  these  proving  val- 
uable aids  in  the  work  of  facilitating  the  sep- 
aration of  the  grain  from  the  straw.  As  a  pio- 
neer he  bore  his  share  of  the  hardships  and 
discouragements  of  frontier  life,  but  he  has  lived 
to  reap  the  benefit  of  his  privations  and  now,  in 
the  twilight  of  his  busy  life,  he  enjoys  the  com- 
for.ts  amassed  during  those  days  of  toil  and 
struggle. 


BAENES,  FEANK  H.— The  business  interests 
of  Vernon  Center,  Blue  Earth  county,  have  num- 
erous and  influential  representatives  in  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Barnes  family,  not  the  least  success- 
ful of  whom  is  Frank  H.  Barnes,  since  188?  pro- 
prietor of  a  lumbering  and  furniture  business  in 
the  town.  Upon  coming  to  this  place  from  the 
farm  he  embarked  in  business  upon  a  very  small 
scale,  but  success  justified  him  in  undertaking 
larger  things  and  he  has  therefore  built  up  an 
important  establishment  on  a  firm  financial  basis. 
Meanwhile  for  fourteen  years  he  also  acted  in 
the  capacity  of  contractor  and  builder,  and  dur- 
ing that  period  had  the  contract  for  the  greater 
number  of  the  houses  erected  in  the  village.  In 
addition  to  his  other  interests  he  is  the  owner  of 
Rve  hundred  acres  situated  about  one  and  one- 
half  miles  from  town  and  representing  the  fruits 
of  wise  investment  and  industrious  application 
to  business. 

The  Barnes  family  is  of  eastern  extraction. 
Franklin  Barnes,  a  native  of  Highgate,  Vermont, 
born  in  1832,  left  his  native  locality  in  boyhood 
and  after  a  considerable  period  spent  in  eastern 
states  he  came  to  the  northwest,  then  an  unknown 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


327 


and  ■  undeveloped  region.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Minneapolis,  where  he  conducted 
a  hardware  store.  From  there  in  1857  he  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county  and  settled  at  Vernon 
Center,  where  he  took  up  land  under  the  home- 
stead laws.  In  1892  he  moved  to  the  vicinity 
of  Crystal  Lake,  this  county,  where  he  lived  until 
1907,  at  which  time  he  bought  a  home  in  Ver- 
non Center,  where  he  now  resides,  being  now  the 
owner  of  one-half  section  of  well-improved  land. 
During  the  long  period  of  his  residence  in  the 
county  he  has  proved  a  public-spirited  citizen, 
solicitous  to  promote  the  general  welfare,  pro- 
gressive in  spirit  and  patriotic  in  devotion  to 
commonwealth  and  nation. 

The  marriage  of  Franklin  Barnes  united  him 
ivith  Frances  Eeed,  who  was  born  in  Maine  in 
1837.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  children, 
namely :  William  E.,  who  is  engaged  "  in  the 
real-estate  business  at  Mankato;  Frank  H.,  wBo 
was  born  at  Vernon  Center,  September  23,  1860, 
and  always  has  made  his  home  in  this  township; 
Ilattie,  wife  of  E.  W.  Washburn,  proprietor  of 
a  general  store  at  Vernon  Center;  Edward,  also 
a  well-known  business  man  of  this  village;  and 
Louise  D.,  who  married  P.  M.  Eich,  a  banker 
in  North  Daltota.  Born,  reared  and  educated  in 
the  locality  where  he  now  resides,  Frank  H. 
Barnes  is  well-known  by  the  people  of  the  lo- 
cality, and  has  a  large  circle  of  friends  among 
the  refined  and  progressive  citizens.  Fraternally 
lie  is  identified  with  Vernon  Center  Lodge  No. 
'^28,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  Amboy  Lodge  No.  97, 
I.  0.  0.  F.,  while  in  religious  views  he  is  in 
sympathy  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist 
,  Episcopal  church.  His  marriage,  in  January  of 
1901,  united  him  with  Miss  Jessie  Dredge,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  and  Margaret  (McMillan)  Dredge. 
The  father  came  from  England  to  America  in 
boyhood  and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  where  he  mar- 
ried. Later  he  removed  to  Minnesota  and  es- 
tablished a  home  on  a  farm  in  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty. From  there  he  removed  to  Lake  Crystal  on 
retiring  from  agricultural  pursuits  and  since  has 
made  that  place  his  home. 


BAENEY,  ASA  C— At  a  time  when  the  set- 
tlements   along    the    Watonwan    in    Blue    Earth 


county  were  first  attracting  the  attention  of 
home-seekers,  Asa  C.  Barney  came  hither  from' 
the  east  and  established  himself  in  1857  among 
the  few  courageous  pioneers  of  the  locality.  For 
some  years  he  labored  as  a  struggling  farmer, 
suffering  the  hardships  incident  to  rigorous  win- 
ters and  insufficient  protection  from  the  inclem- 
ent weather.  The  life  was  one  of  self-denial 
and  struggle,  and  after  some  years  he  decided  that 
he  would  remove  to  Mankato  and  identify  him- 
self with  the  business  interests  of  this  growing 
town,  a  decision  which,  he  has  had  no  reason  to 
regret.  A^arious  vocations  have  provided  for  him 
a  means  of  support,  but  during  the  major  portion 
of  his  residence  in  tlie  city  he  has  engaged  in 
the  real-estate  and   insurance  business. 

From  Summerhill,  Cayuga  county.  New  York, 
where  he  was  born  September  26,  1835,  Asa  C. 
Barney  removed  with  his  parents  at  the  age  of 
four  years  to  Chautauqua  county,  and  in  the 
schools  of  the  latter  section  he  received  a  prac- 
tical education,  qualifying  himself  for  the  active 
duties  awaiting  him  in  manhood's  years.  When 
he  attained  his  majority  and  sought  a  location 
for  himself,  he  found  that  the  great  northwest 
was  attracting  hosts  of  thrifty  farmers,  and  de- 
termined to  seek  a  home  in  ilinnesota.  On  the 
rth  of  May,  1857,  he  arrived  in  Blue  Earth 
county  and  secured  a  claim  to  a  tract  of  un- 
broken land  in  Vernon  township,  continuing 
there  until  1865,  when  he  removed  to  Mankato. 
For  three  years  after  coming  to  the  city  he 
clerked  in  a  dry  goods  store  and  for  two  years 
he  held  a  position  as  bookkeeper  at  the  Novelty 
works.  In  1870  he  first  became  interested  in 
the  real-estate  and  insurance  business,  in  which 
much  of  his  time  has  since  been  passed.  Mean- 
while he  has  represented  various  old-line  insur- 
ance companies  in  this  section  and  also  has 
acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  real-estate 
values,  his  judgment  as  to  the  worth  of  land 
being   often    sought   by   interested    parties. 

For  years  Mr.  Barney  has  been  an  enthusiastic 
disciple  of  Masonry,  in  which  he  has  been  an 
active  worker  in  Mankato  Lodge  No.  12,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M.  and  for  some  years  officiated  as  re- 
corder of  Mankato  Commandery,  No.  4  Knights 
Templar.  For  some  years  after  coming  to  this 
county   he   remained    a  bachelor,   but   eventually 


328 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


established  domestic  ties,  being  united  in  mar- 
.riage,  September  12,  1870,  with  Miss  Mary  E. 
Wood,  daughter  of  Abial  C.  Wood,  of  this  county. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  children,  the  eld- 
est of  whom  is  Mrs.  Blache  B.  Carleton.  The 
others  are  sons,  Paul  W.  and  Harry  C.  The 
family  hold  an  honored  place  in  social  circles, 
and  Mr.  Barney  ranks  among  those  pioneers  to 
whose  self-sacrificing  efforts  the  early  growth  and 
development  of  Blue  Earth  county  may  in  large 
degree  be  attributed. 


BAENEY,  CHARLES.— The  genealogy  of  the 
Barney  family  is  traced  back  to  the  days  of  Wil- 
liam the  Conqueror,  whom  a  representative  of 
the  Norman  house  of  Barney  accompanied  to 
England  and  aided  in  conquering  that  country. 
For  a  number  of  centuries  the  family  held  posi- 
tions of  honor  and  influence  in  Great  Britain. 
The  first  of  the  name  to  settle  in  the  new  world 
was  Jacob,  who  in  1634  crossed  the  Atlantic 
ocean  and  joined  the  feeble  colony  planted  along 
the  eastern  coast  of  Massachusetts.  His  descend- 
ants became  connected  by  marriage  with  the  de- 
scendants of  Benjamin  Franklin.  The  first  of  the 
family  to  seek  a  home  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river  was  Charles  Barney,  an  honored  pioneer  of 
Minnesota  now  residing  at  Lake  Crystal  and  well 
known  throughout  Blue  Earth  county,  whose 
agricultural  development  he  personally  aided  for 
years. 

Bom  at  Summerhill,  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  January  8,  1833,  Charles  Barney  was  a 
son  of  Judiah  and  Philurah  (Cummings)  Bar- 
ney, natives  respectively  of  Vermont  and  New 
York.  The  father  died  in  1855  at  Chautauqua, 
New  York;  ten  years  later  the  mother  died  at 
Vernon,  Minnesota.  Upon  completing  the  stud- 
ies of  common  schools  Charles  Barney  took  a 
course  in  the  academy  at  Westfleld,  New  York, 
and  later  engaged  in  teaching  school  two  suc- 
cessive winters.  Attracted  to  Minnesota  by  re- 
ports concerning  fertile  lands  that  could  be  se- 
cured at  low  prices,  in  1855  he  made  the  then 
long  journey  to  the  frontier  of  the  northwest 
and  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  Be  pre- 
empted a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
By  dint  of  persevering  effort  continued  through 


many  years,  he  brought  the  land  under  cultiva- 
tion and  made  of  it  a  valuable  farm.  The  pro- 
perty is  still  owned  by  him,  but  of  recent  years 
he  has  rented  it  to  others  and  has  retired  from 
active  agricultural  labors. 

Ever  since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Barney 
has  voted  with  the  Democratic  party  and  has  been 
a  staunch  believer  in  its  platform  and  principles, 
but  has  never  sought  official  honors  nor  wielded 
political  influence  among  others.  His  is  the 
highest  type  of  citizenship,  giving  and  never  ask- 
ing, loyal  without  thought  of  special  reward,  pa- 
triotic from  principles  and  sincere  in  the  effort 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  town  and  county.  At 
the  time  of  the  trouble  with  the  Sioux  in  1857 
he  entered  the  military  service  and  aided  in  sub- 
duing the  savages  after  the  massacre  at  Spirit 
lake.  In  religious  belief  he  and  his  family  are 
Universalists.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
:1870,  and  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Carrie 
A.  Moore,  and  shares  with  him  the  esteem  of 
the  community.  They  are  the  parents  of  a  son 
and  two  daughters,  the  latter  being  twins.  Mark 
T.,  who  was  born  December  26,  1873,  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  son.  Maude  Helen  and  May 
Eliza  were  born  May  6,  1878;  the  latter  is  the 
wife  of  Walton  Friend  and  has  one  daughter. 

During  the  long  period  of  his  residence  in 
Blue  Earth  county  Mr.  Barney  has  witnessed 
many  changes.  The  lands  have  been  taken  up 
and  brought  under  cultivation.  Towns  have  been 
planted;  thriving  villages  with  their  neat 
churches  and  schools  furnish  an  index  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  region.  Freight  trains  are  filled 
with  the  products  of  the  county.  Wheat  and 
other  grains,  stock  of  all  kin3s,  find  ready  sale 
in  the  great  markets  and  their  quality  attests 
the  skill  of  the  farmers  of  Blue  Earth  county. 
It  has  been  his  privilege  to  contribute  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  present  age  and  as  one  of  our  hon- 
ored pioneers  his  name  deserves  to  be  perpet- 
uated in  the  annals  of  the  county. 


BAETLETT,  HENBY  C— No  citizens  stand 
higher  in  the  esteem  and  veneration  of  their 
fellow-countrymen  than  do  the  veterans  of  the 
Civil  War,  who  during  a  long  and  sanguinary 
struggle  bravely  served  the  cause  of  the  Union 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


329 


and  on  many  a  bloody  battlefield  fought  for  the 
preservation  of  our  nation.  Numbered  among 
these  honored  veterans  is  Henry  C.  Bartlett,  a 
well-known  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  county,  resid- 
ing in  Lake  Crystal,  on  the  line  of  rural  route 
jS'o.  1,  out  from  Lake  Crystal.  At  the  opening 
of  the  war  he  was  a  stahvart  }oung  man,  qualified 
to  endure  the  severe  physical  strain  incident  to 
army  service.  Eager  to  serve  his  country,  he 
offered  himself  in  response  to  an  early  call  for 
volunteers,  and  August  24,  1861,  his  name  was 
enrolled  in  the  Second  New  York  (commonly 
known  as  Harris'  Light)  Cavalry.  Eor  almost 
four  years  he  remained  at  the  front  and  June 
34,  1865,  he  was  mustered  out  at  Washington. 
The  regiment  of  which  he  was  a  member  took 
part  in  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  engagements, 
among  them  being  Brandy  Station,  Culpeper, 
Winchester,  Five  Eorks,  Appomattox,  and  Wil- 
son's 'raid.  In  these  battles  the  young  volunteer 
proved  himself  eourageouB,  devoted  to  duty  and 
easily  inured  to  the  hardships  of  camp  life. 
While  fighting  bravely  at  Winchester  he  was 
wounded  and  again  at  Gettysburg  he  suffered  at 
the  hands  of  the  enemy,  but  neither  wound  prov- 
ed serious,  and  he  quickly  returned  to  his  place 
in  his  company.  Long  years  have  passed  since 
those  times  of  hardships  and  danger ;  the  step 
that  then  was  quick  has  grown  slow;  the  youth- 
ful form  has  bowed  before  the  hand  of  time, 
but  with  all  of  his  three-score  years  and  more, 
the  veteran  feels  young  again  as  he  tells  of 
the  exciting  times  when  the  life  of  the  nation 
trembled  in  the  balance. 

Descended  from  English  ancestors  who  early 
settled  in  Connecticut,  Henry  C.  Bartlett,  was 
born  in  Delaware  county,  New  York,  May  7, 
1842,  being  a  son  of  Charles  and  Harriet  (Ga- 
ger)  Bartlett,  who  for  years  lived  upon  a  farm  in 
New  York.  Both  died  in  that  state,  the  father  in 
1860  and  the  mother  in  1876.  During  the  boy- 
hood years  of  Henry  C.  Bartlett,  he  attended 
the  common  schools  of  Delaware  county  in  the 
winter  months  and  labored  on  the  home  farm  in 
the  summer  seasons.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he 
left  the  farm  and  went  to  town,  where  he  secur- 
ed employment  in  a  general  store,  and  from 
that  time  until  the  war  he  was  busily  engaged  in 
gaining  a  knowledge  of  mercantile  pursuits  while 


filling  a  clerkship.  L'pon  his  return  from  the 
ai-my  he  engaged  in  general  merchandising  in 
Delaware  county  and  at  Otsego,  New  York,  but  in 
1864  he  removed  from  the  east  and  established 
himself  in  the  northwest,  taking  up  land  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  For  some  time  he  has  resid- 
ed on  his  present  homestead  and  has  devoted  his 
attention  assiduously  to  the  improvement  of  the 
land,  which  has  been  brought  under  excellent  cul- 
tivation and  made  to  yield  bountiful  harvests  in 
return  for  untiring  labor.  For  years  he  has  been 
interested  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  A.  J.  Murphy 
Post  No.  108,  at  Lake  Crystal.  Though  not 
identified  with  any  denomination  he  is  in  sjm- 
pathy  with  all  Christian  work  and  contributes 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  Presbyterian  church, 
which  his  family  attend. 

While  living  in  New  York  Mr.  Bartlett  was 
married  at  UnadiUa,  Otsego  county,  that  state, 
ill  1867,  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Green,  who  died  in 
1876.  Three  sons  and  one  daughter  blessed  that 
union ;  two  of  the  sons  are  engaged  in '  busi- 
ness at  Lake  Crystal.  In  1879  Mr.  Bartlett  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Samantlia  Mills, 
v^ho  was  born  in  185i_).  One  pair  of  twins  blessed 
their  union  namely:  Harriet  and  Charlotte. 

BASHAW,  ALEXANDEE.— The  world  af- 
fords no  finer  example  of  manhood  and  filial  af- 
fection than  that  a  son  should  first  follow  in  the 
footsteps  of  his  father's  honest  labor  and,  with 
conscientious  pride  and  industry,  amid  broader 
opportunities  and  more  favorable  conditions,  im- 
prove upon  the  more  modest  but  equally  noble 
work  of  his  sire.  In  the  development  of  such  a 
career  there  are  blended  that  faithfulness  and  en- 
ihusiasm  which  converts  work  into  consecration, 
and  carries  with  it  the  invariable  assurance  of 
practical  success.  Alexander  Bashaw,  the  widely 
known  contractor  and  prominent  citizen  of  Man- 
kato,  has  the  honor  of  thus  continuing  the  re- 
cord of  his  father  and  his  family  as  being  a  large 
factor  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  useful  and 
practical  work  which  makes  for  the  prosperity  of 
communities,  having,  by  the  good  fortune  of 
American  birth,  been  able  to  improve  upon  the 
scope  of  the  paternal  labors  commenced  so  many 
years  ago  in  the  sister  republic  of  France. 


330 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Mr.  Bashaw  was  born  in  Franklin  county, 
Vermont,  September  9,  1857,  the  son  of  Perdi- 
nand  and  Edvesk  (Goyette)  Bashaw,  both  na- 
tives of  that  country.  In  1848  the  family  first 
located  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  Canada,  but, 
although  the  Bashaws  found  there  many  of  their 
countrymen,  they  decided  to  venture  across  the 
border  into  Vermont,  locating  in  Franklin  coun- 
ty, in  1856.  Ferdinand  Bashaw  was  a  master 
stone  mason,  and  so  skilled  and  honest  in  his 
work  that  after  he  had  become  a  resident  of  the 
-Dominion  he  assisted  in  the  construction  of  the 
great  Victoria  Bridge  at  Montreal.  The  great 
stone  quarries  of  Vermont  naturally  appealed  to 
him,  and  in  Franklin  County  he  lived  and  work- 
ed for  many  years  prior  to  his  death  at  the  age 
of  fifty-four  years.  His  wife  who  lived  to  be 
seventy-six  years  old,  was  the  mother  of  three 
children:  Alexander,  Clarissa,  wife  of  P.  Lucia, 
a  resident  of  Boston;  and  Melvina,  now  Mrs. 
Peter  Gowette,  also  of  that  city. 

Alexander  Bashaw  obtained  his  sole  schooling 
in  a  primitive  establishment  of  mountainous  Ver- 
mont, which  he  attended  three  months,  and 
which  entailed  a  walk  of  three  miles,  but  com- 
menced to  engage  in  the  work  of  the  world  at 
the  age  of  eleven  and  has  not  since  withdrawn 
from  it.  He  labored  as  farmer  boy  and  youth 
and  worked  as  a  mason,  a  blacksmith  and  a  car- 
penter, and,  following  the  biblical  injunction, 
"whatever  thy  hands  find  to  do,  do  with  all  thy 
might."  Thus  thoroughly  fitted  to  make  his  way 
in  a  new  unformed  country,  in  the  winter  of 
1880-1  the  young  man  came  to  Minnesota,  first 
working  on  a  farm  in  Belgrade  Township,  Nicol- 
let County,  for  Geo.  W.  Fletcher.  Two  years 
later  he  became  interested  in  the  old  Empire 
Sione  Quarries,  in  Mankato,  and  has  since  con- 
tiimed  to  develop  them,  with  the  prosecution  of 
his  important  enterprises  in  masonry  and  quarry 
contracting.  For  two  years  of  the  intervening 
period,  however,  he  was  a  non-resident,  being  en- 
gaged in  the  construction  of  masonry  for  bridges 
along  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  railroad  in 
Jndiana,  Ohio  and  Virginia. 

Mr.  Bashaw  began  his  career  as  a  regular  con- 
tractor in  1894,  under  the  name  of  Mankato 
Lime,  Stone  and  Fuel  Company,  associated  with 
him  being  George  Pass,  Albert  Schipple  and  D. 


V.  Williams.  In  1898  he  purchased  the  inter- 
ests of  his  partners,  and,  as  president  and  man- 
ager, has  virtually  owned  and  conducted  the  busi- 
ness since  that  year,  being  one  of  the  largest 
a  ad  most  widely  known  stone  and  masonry  con- 
tractors in  the  state.  Among  the  numerous  sub- 
stantial foundations  which  he  has  laid  for  public 
and  other  buildings  in  Mankato  are  those  of  the 
'rovernment  Building,  Public  Library,  the  Third 
Presbyterian,  Episcopal  and  M.  B.  Norwegian 
churches,  the  stores  of  the  Wholesale  Mercantile 
Company  and  the  Landkamer  Brothers.  He  has 
tlie  further  distinction  of  having  constructed  at 
Minneopa  Palk,  in  1906,  the  first  concrete  bridge 
built  in  Blue  Earth  County,  which,  with  its 
graceful  massiveness,  is  a  credit  to  his  workman- 
ship. 

Mr.  Bashaw  is  a  substantial  Eepublican,  and 
in  1896  represented  the  First  Ward  of  Mankato 
in  the  City  Council,  proving  a  working,  usdful 
member  of  that  body.  He  has  also  served  on  the 
Charter  Commission,  and,  did  his  large  private 
interests- permit,  would  be  called  upon  more  often 
than  he  is  to  actively  assist  in  the  conduct  of 
public  aft'airs.  He  has  been  twice  married  to 
natives  of  his  own  Vermont  county,  first  to 
Eunice  Eussell,  who  died  in  1883  leaving  their 
daughter,  Nellie,  and  secondly,  to  Evaline  Hall, 
in  1888.  Bound  by  so  many  close  ties  to  the 
Green  Mountain  State,  Mr.  Bashaw  indulged  in 
a  specially  pleasurable  journey  in  1905,  when  as 
a  prosperous,  influential  and  honored  citizen  he 
visited  the  scene  of  hie  struggling  boyhood  in 
Franklin  County,  reaching  his  old  home  twenty- 
four  years  to  a  day  after  he  left  his  small  op- 
portunities for  the  broader  fields  of  the  west. 


BEACH,  ALVA  D.— Alva  D.  Beach,  member 
of  the  firm  of  Williams  &  Beach,  manufacturers 
and  repairers  of  wagons,  at  Mankato,  this  county, 
is  descended  from  old  New  England  forefathers, 
but  later  from  substantial  families  of  the  Em- 
pire State.  He  himself  is  a  true  Westerner,  al- 
though the  far  West  of  his  early  years  was 
bounded  by  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  when  he 
came  to  Mankato  nearly  forty  years  ago  it  was 
little  more  than  a  settlement.  He  has  lived  to 
see  the  valley  become  one  of  the  most  populous 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


331 


and  opulent  sections  of  the  eartli  and  has  per- 
formed his  good  part  in  making  his  adopted 
town  a  brisk  and  substantially  growing  city. 

Mr.  Beach  was  born  in  Flint,  Michigan,  Sep- 
tember 6,  1843,  his  parents  Ashiel  A.  and  Har- 
riet (Day)  Beach,  being  natives  of  New  York 
State.  His  father  was  engaged  in  various  mer- 
cantile pursuits  to  the  last,  and  died  in  Denver, 
Colorado,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years,  while 
his  mother  spent  her  last  days  with  him.  Of 
the  eight  children  born  to  Ashiel  A.  Beach  and 
his  wife,  Alva  D.  was  the  fourth,  and  there  ar# 
two  living  besides  himself,  viz. :  John,  who  is 
living  in  California,  and  Seth,  a  resident  of 
Toledo,   Ohio. 

Alva  D.  Beach  was  trained  in  the  common 
schools  and  at  the  blacksmith's  forge,  as  well  as 
by  the  merciless  dicipline  of  the  Civil  War.  For 
three  years  he  was  connected  with  Company  H 
Twenty-third  Michigan  Volunteers,  and  as  a 
unit  of  Sherman's  great  army  was  promoted  from 
the  ranks  of  a  sergeancy.  After  his  honorable 
discharge  he  returned  to  his  Michigan  home  and 
resumed  his  trade  for  three  years.  In  1869  he 
came  to  Mankato,  the  place  being  then  a  very 
small  village,  and  opened  a  little  blacksmith 
shop  on  the  site  of  his  present  place  of  business 
at  South  Front  Street.  In  November,  of  that 
year,  he  associated  himself  with  Charles  D.  Wil- 
liams, and,  as  Williams  &  Beach  they  have  since 
developed  a  fine  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
wagons,  while  still  retaining  the  repair  feature 
which  was  the  basis  of  the  original  enterprise. 
Mr.  Beach  has  been  active  in  other  ways  than 
in  this  connection.  His  democracy  has  remained 
unshaken  these  many  years,  and  he  has  been 
prominent  as  a  local  leader  and  a  man  of  public 
affairs,  his  identification  with  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment as  its  Chief  lasting  from  1903  to  1906. 

Mr.  Beech's  marriage  to  Miss  Mercy  McCarthy, 
of  Corrunna,  Michigan,  occurred  in  November, 
1869,  and  she  has  borne  him  two  children — 
Emma,  now  the  wife  of  George  D.  Eggabroad, 
of  Winnebago  County,  Minnesota,  and  Laura. 
Mr.  Beach  has  confined  his  fraternal  relations 
to  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  of  which  order  he  has  been 
a, member  for  many  years. 


BEISB,  AUGUST.— It  is  typical  of  German 
thrift  and  economy  that  almost  invariably  tlie 
people  of  that  nationality  who  immigrate  to 
America  meet  with  gratifying  success,  and  such 
has  been  the  case  witli  August  Beise  of  Blue 
Earth  county.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he 
accompanied  his  father  to  the  United  States  and 
for  some  time  afterwards  he  gave  his  labors 
toward  the  work  of  establishing  a  home  and  farm 
for  the  family,  later  taking  up  the  task  of  inde- 
pendent farming  and  always  displaying  pru- 
dence, energy  and  frugality  as  an  agriculturist. 
Prussia  is  his  native '  province  and  October  30, 
1835,  the  date  of  his  birth.  His  parents,  Henry 
and  Frederica  (Steiven)  Beise,  were  bom  in 
Germany  in  1813,  and  lived  in  their  native  land 
until  attaining  middle  age,  when  they  determined 
to  seek  a  new  home  across  the  ocean.  The  year 
1850  found  them  newcomers  in  Dodge  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  the  father  cleared  and  im- 
proved a  tract  of  raw  land.  From  there  he  came 
to  Minnesota  in  1866  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Winona  county,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death  in  1876.  His  widow  survived  him  many 
years,  passing  away  in  1905.  They  were  people 
of  integrity  and  high  principles,  and  their  mem- 
ory is  revered  by  the  eight  survivors  among 
their  eleven  children.  In  the  early  days  of 
struggle  they  made  every  sacrifice  in  order  to 
give  their  children  educations  fitting  them  for 
contact  with  the  business  world,  and  their  sole 
ambition  was  to  aid  their  sons  and  daughters  in 
improving  every  opportunity  for  advancement. 

At  the  time  of  the  family's  removal  to  Minne- 
sota in  1866  August  Beise  took  up  a  tract  of 
raw  land  in  Medo  township.  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  labored  with  the  utmost  patience  and 
unwearied  endeavor  to  transform  the  bare  land 
into  an  improved  farm,  a  task  in  which  gradu- 
ally he  gained  success.  After  many  years  of  per- 
sistent labor  as  a  farmer  he  sold  his  homestead 
and  in  1901  moved  to  the  village  of  Mapleton, 
where  he  purchased  property  in  block  eleven, 
lots  nine  and  ten.  Here  he  has  a  comfortable 
home,  surrounded  by  well-kept  grounds,  and 
bearing  evidence  of  the  thrift  and  prosperity  of 
the   owner.     A   deep   sorrow   came  into   his   life 


332 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


when  the  wile  and  mother  was  removed  from  the 
iiome  by  death  during  July  of  1904.  Mrs.  Beise 
was  born  in  the  state  of  Aew  York  and  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  iSopiiia  Loder.  The  family 
genealogy  shows  that  Jacob  Loder  was  born  and 
reared  in  li'ranee,  where  his  ancestors  had  lived 
as  far  back  as  the  records  can  be  traced.  During 
early  manhood  he  left  France  and  crossed  the 
ocean  to  the  United  States,  where  for  a  time  he 
sojourned  in  York  state,  but  eventually  became 
a  pioneer  of  the  northwest.  The  family  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Beise  comprised  ten  children,  of  whom 
Lizzie  is  deceased.  The  nine  now  living  are 
Amelia,  Edward,  Ida,  Charles,  Emma,  Henry, 
George,  Rudolph  and  Mina.  The  sons  and 
daughters  share  with  their  father  the  esteem  and 
good-will  of  neighbors.  Prom  the  time  of  attain- 
ing manhood  until  he  retired  from  life's  activ- 
ities Mr.  Beise  followed  agricultural  pursuits, 
never  permitting  himself  to  change  his  interests 
to  other  occupations,  and  by  steady  and  persist- 
ent dev.otion  to  duty  he  accumulated  a  compe- 
tency. Early  in  life  he  became  familiar  with 
politics  in  the  United  States,  but  he  never  allied 
himself  with  any  party  and  has  always  been  in- 
dependent in  his  vote.  While  not  caring  for 
official  honors  he  consented  to  serve  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  board  and  as  a  school  director, 
but  it  is  his  preference  to  refrain  from  public 
activities  and  devote  his  attention  solely  to  the 
conduct  of  private  business,  matters. 


BEISE,  GEORGE.— Although  not  one  of  the 
earliest  settlers  of  Blue  Earth  county,  Mr.  Beise 
has  risen  to  a  position  of  prominence  among  the 
agriculturists  of  Medo  township  and  has  dis- 
played such  energy,  perseverance  and  intelligent 
t^agacity  as  to  win  the  confidence  of  acquaintance 
besides  securing  for  himself  a  comfortable  pro- 
portion of  this  world's  goods.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  in  the  county  in  1878  he  purchased  a 
tract  of  land  on  section  thirty-two,  Medo  town- 
ship, lying  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  Cot- 
tonwood lake  and  rounded  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  permit  of  thorough  drainage,  thus  ensuring 
fair  crops  even  in  wet  seasons.  His  place  is  im- 
proved with  a  handsome  modern  brick  residence 


as  well  as  substantial  barn  and  other  buildings 
erected  under  his  own  supervision. 

Several  of  the  most  influential  farmers  of  this 
county  came  from  Germany  and  were  born  in 
Pommern,  which  is  the  native  place  of  George 
Beise,  the  date  of  his  birth  being  July  5,  1846. 
His  father,  Henry,  was  born  and  reared  in  the 
same  place  and  married  a  Miss  Stevens,  also  of 
Pommern.  Years  after  their  marriage,  as  they 
saw  their  children  growing  up  around  them  and 
desired  better  advantages  for  their  future  years 
than  Germany-  could  offer,  they  crossed  the  ocean 
to  the  United  States  in  1850,  settling  on  a  tract 
of  raw  land  in  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin.  About 
1866  they  removed  thence  to  Minnesota  and  set- 
tled in  Winona  county,  where  eventually  they 
passed  away,  surrounded  by  the  comforts  "accu- 
mulated by  years  of  '  toil,  and  esteemed  by  the 
neighbors  to  whom  their  kindly  qualities  had 
endeared  them.  They  were  the  parents  of  eleven 
children,  of  whom  five  sons  and  three  daughters 
are  now  living.  George,  who  was  the  fifth  in 
order  of  birth,  was  four  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  coming  to  the  new  world,  hence  his  schooling 
was  secured  in  American  schools  and  in  the  Eng- 
lish language. 

The  marriage  of  George  Beise  took  place  Nov- 
ember 30,  1872,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Wil- 
li elmina  Krensky,  a  native  of  Germany,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  Krensky,  who  became  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  Winona  county,  where  she  grew 
to  womanhood.  Five  children  comprise  the  fam- 
ily of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Beise.  The  eldest,  Mrs. 
Julia  DeWolf,  is  the  wife  of  a  minister  holding 
a  pastorate  in  South  Dakota.  John  H.  is  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business  at  Fergus  Palls,  Min- 
nesota. Mary  married  Henry  Obitz  and  makes 
her  home  in  Ottertail  county,  this  state.  Wil- 
liam carries  on  a  farm  which  was  formerly  a 
part  of  the  old  homestead  and  is  situated  in 
Medo  township.  The  youngest  member  of  the 
family  is  Ida,  who  remains  at  home.  The  farm 
is  considered  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  the  lo- 
cality and  its  improvements  bear  mute  testimony 
to  the  energy  and  thrift  of  the  owner,  who  has 
been  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  the  best.  In 
the  raising  of  stock  he  has  aimed  to  keep  only 
good  grades,  and  the  animals  now  on  his  farm 
include   some    fine    Percheron    horses,    shorthorn 


,  i/  W.,A^-X.yU 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


333 


cattle  of  blooded  types  and  Poland-China  hogs 
from  thoroughbred  ancestry.  Stock-raising  he 
has  found  to  be  a  profitable  adjunct  of  general 
farming  and  hence  he  has  devoted  considerable 
attention  to  the  work,  the  result  being  that'he  is 
considered  an  excellent  judge  of  fine  stock  as 
well  as  an  authority  in  the  best  methods  of  rais- 
ing the  same. 


BENEDICT,  HON.  CLIFFOED  L.— There 
iife  probably  few  men  in  the  c'ty  of  Mankato 
whose  circle  of  acquaintances  is  larger  than  that 
of  Mr.  Benedict,  the  popular  ex-postmaster.  Bear- 
ed in  Blue  Earth  county  from  an  early  age,  he 
has  been  familiar  from  childhood  with  the  names 
ynd  personalities  prominent  in  th^'s  region.  Fur- 
thermore his  acquaintanceship  throughout  the 
county  had  been  extended  by  reasons  of  the  fact 
I  hat  he  has  been  more  or  less  before  the  pub- 
lic as  a  Eepublican  local  leader  and  the  incum- 
bent of  official  positions  of  trust.  The  first  of- 
fice to  which  he  was  chosen,  that  of  county  at- 
torney, came  to  him  in  1898  four  years  after 
his  admission  to  the  bar,  and  his  acceptable  ser- 
vice resulted  in  his  re-election  to  the  office  in 
1894,  remaining  in  the  position  for  four  )'ears 
altogether.  Later  higher  honors  were  conferred 
upon  him.  In  recognition  of  his  prominence  in 
the  Eepublican  party  and  also  of  his  high  men- 
tal endowments,  in  1898  the  party  selected  him 
as  their  nominee  for  the  state  senate,  and  he 
'vas  elected  without  opposition  from  any  party. 
During  the  period  of  his  service  in  the  senate  he 
gave  support  to  measures  for  the"  benefit  of  the 
l>eople,  always  having  in  view  the  ultimate  de- 
velopment and  prosperity  of  the  state.  Since 
October  of  1902  he  has  filled  the  position  of  post- 
master at  Mankato.  Besides  his  other  political 
associations  he  has  been  for  years  the  manager  of 
the  congressional  campaigns  of  Hon.  J.  T.  Mc- 
Cleary,  for  which  important  task  his  pleasing  ad- 
dress, political  sagacity  and  tactful  manners  ad- 
mirably qualified  him. 

Born  in  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin,  October  31,  1862, 
Clifford  L.  Benedict  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Har- 
riet (Brown)  Benedict,  natives  of  Ohio  and 
I'pnnsyh'ania  respectively.  In  an  early  day  the 
father  brought  the  family  to  Minnesota  and  took 


up  land  in  the  Indian  reservation  near  Good 
'.rhunder,  Blue  Earth  coimty.  Besides  tilling  the 
soil,  he  took  .  an  interest  in  local  afEairs,  was  a 
prominent  Eepublican  in  his  township  and  aided 
in  the  promotion  of  the  community's  welfare. 
(m  this  place  he  died  in  1893  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
nine  vears  and  here  his  widow  still  makes  her 
]\ome.  During  the  early  period  of  the  family's 
residence  on  this  farm  the  neighborhood  was 
sparsely  settled  and  schools  had  not  yet  been  in- 
troduced into  each  district,  for  whicli  reason  the 
son,  Clifford  L.,  found  it  impossible  to  attend 
school  until  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  Under 
tlie  careful  training  of  his  mother  he  meantime 
secured  the  rudiments  of  an  education  and  native 
ability  enabled  him  to  atone  for  early  deficiencies. 
After  starting  to  school  he  attended  the  Good 
Thunder  schools  and  later  was  a  student  in  the 
State  Normal  at  Mankato.  The  knowledge  gained 
in  the  Normal  prepared  him  for  the  work  of 
reaching  and  for  two  terms  he  taught  in  the 
home  district,  later  was  chosen  principal  of  the 
Good  Thunder  school  and  after  a  year  became 
principal  of  the  Mapleton  schools,  where  he  re- 
mained for  two  years.  During  liis  leisure  hours 
he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law  and  after 
resigning  at  Mapleton  he  entered  the  office  of 
Freeman  &  Pfau  at  Mankato,  wliere  he  prepared 
himself  for  a  professional  career.  May  22,  1888, 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  since  which  time  he 
lias  engaged  in  practice  in  Mankato. 

The  marriage  of  Clifford  L.  Benedict  and 
i\label  Goodell  of  Nicollet  county  was  solemnized 
June  29,  1892,  and  has  been  blessed  with  three 
children,  Harold  L.,  Florence  G.  and  James  L. 
Tlie  family  have  a  high  social  posit'on  and  num- 
ber their  friends  among  the  most  refined  and 
cultured  people  of  their  home  city.  The  fra- 
ternal relations  of  Mr.  Benedict  are  varied  and 
important,  and  include  membership  in  the  Ma- 
sonic order.  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
B.  P.  0.  E.  No.  225,  Knights  of  P\thias,  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen,  Eoyal  Arcanum 
and  Samaritans. 


BENNETT,  HON.  CHAELES.— From  the 
time  of  his  early  youth  Mr.  Bennett  has  been  a 
resident    of    Minnesota    and    during    almost    the 


334 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


whole  of  that  period  he  has  been  a  resident  of 
Blue  Earth  county,  since  1891  making  his  home 
in  Mankato,  where  he  is  engaged  in  the  buying 
and  selling  of  live-stock.  There  are  few  men  in 
the  county  more  familiar  with  current  topics 
than  he,  and  from  early  life  he  has  been  stanch 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican  party.  The 
opinions  which  he  formed  concerning  the  tariff, 
currency  and  other  party  issues  have  not  been 
changed  by  the  careful  study  of  his  mature  years, 
and  he  continues  as  devoted  in  his  allegiance  to 
Eepublican  principles  as  when  the  ardor  of  youth 
l"d  him  to  ally  himself  with  the  cause.  During 
1877-78  he  had  the  honor  of  representing  his  dis- 
trict in  the  state  legislature  and  during  Iiis  ser- 
vice in  the  lower  house  he  gave  his  support  to 
tlie  high  license  bill,  the  bill  for  the  soldiers' 
heme  relief  fund,  and  other  measures  that  he 
considered  important  to  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  record  which  he  made  as  a  legislator 
was  creditable  to  his  ability  and  loyalty  and 
gave  prestige  to  his  district.  At  this  writing  he 
holds  the  office  in  Mankato  of  city  treasurer. 

Born  in  Kenosha  county,  Wisconsin,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1839,  Charles  Bennett  was  a  son  of 
Moses  0.  and  Esther  (Carpenter)  Bennett,  na- 
tives of  Eutland  county,  Vermont,  who  on  remov- 
ing from  New  England  established  themselves 
near  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  site  of  their  home 
came  to  be  known  as  Bennett's  Corners,  this 
name  being  given  in  honor  of  Moses  0.  Bennett. 
Prom  there  the  family  removed  to  Wisconsin  and 
as  early  as  April  of  1856  became  pioneers  of 
Minnesota,  settling  on  the  LeSueur  river  in 
Mankato  township.  Blue  Earth  county.  Their 
new  location  afforded  an  excellent  water-power 
for  a  mill  and  it  was  natural  that  the  father 
should  establish  milling  interests.  These  he  con- 
ducted with  fair  success  for  many  years.  A  man 
of  religious  devotion  and  generous  nature,  he 
felt  the  need  of  a  meeting-house  in  the  community 
and  accordingly  erected  the  first  church  at  Ti- 
voli.  This  building,  a  block-house,  was  used  for 
school  purposes  until  the  township  was  divided 
off  into  districts  and  houses  erected  for  school 
purposes.  Had  he  been  spared  longer,  undoubt- 
cilly  he  would  have  accomplished  even  more  for 
the   benefit   of   his    community,    but    eight    years 


after  he  became  a  resident  of  the  county  his 
death  occurred  in  1864  at  the  age  of  sixty-four 
years.     His  wife  lived  to  be  seventy. 

In  a  family  of  fourteen  children  all  of  whom 
attained  years  of  maturity,  Charles  Bennett .  was 
third  youngest,  Levi  and  Lewis  being  younger. 
Only  four  now  survive,  those  besides  himself 
being  Josiah,  a  resident  of  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia; Nathan,  living  in  Mankato  township; 
and  Levi,  whose  home  is  in  Kebraska.  There 
being  a  large  family  of  children  and  the  father 
having  only  limited  means,  it  was  not  possible 
to  give  them  good  educational  advantages,  and 
the  broad  knowledge  which  Charles  Bennett  ac- 
quired he  owes  to  self-culture  and  habits  of  close 
observation.  Spending  his  early  years  on  a 
farm,  he  learned  lessons  of  self-help  and  self- 
reliance. 

Mr.  Bennett's  identification  with  the  condi- 
tions evolved  by  the  Civil  war  began  August 
19,  1862,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  company  of 
Captain  William  Bierbauer,  under  general  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Charles  E.  Elandrau,  and  was 
present  at  the  second  attack  of  the  Indians  on 
the  town  of  New  Ulm.  During  the  entire  day 
he  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  on  the  outside 
line,  and  at  night,  with  eight  others,  he  lay  under 
a  garden  fence  as  an  outside  guard.  He  was  an 
eye  witness  to  the  shooting  of  Captain  Dodd,  of 
St.  Peter,  on  East  Main  street,  by  the  Indians 
during  Saturday  afternoon,  and  also  was  in  the 
charge  against  the  Indians  along  the  Bluff  about 
sunset,  when  Newel  Houghton,  of  the  Winne- 
bago Agency,  was  killed.  Mr.  Bennett  was  pres- 
ent at  the  hanging  of  thirty-eight  Indians  at 
Mankato,  and  two  at  Port  Snelling  during  the 
winter  of  1863-64,  he  at  that  time  being  a  sol- 
dier in  Company  E,  Second  Minnesota  Cavalry, 
imder  Captain  E.  P.  Slaughter,  in  which  he  en- 
listed in  1863,  serving  three  years.  At  this  grew- 
some  hanging  hi«  company  served  as  guard  at 
llie  scaffold. 

Eeturning  from  the  war,  Mr.  Bennett  pur- 
chased his  father's  saw  mill  on  the  LeSueur  river 
at  Tivoli,  and  with  Nathan  Bennett,  his  brother, 
and  0.  E.  Harvey,  his  brother-in-law,  continued 
to  operate  the  mill  for  some  time.  His  next 
venture  was   the  purchase   of  land  in  EedwQod 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


335 


county,  this  state,  where  he  engaged  in  general 
farming  about  four  years.  While  there  he  was 
a  member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners, 
resigning  at  the  end  of  a  year  to  remove  to 
Eagle  Lake,  Blue  Earth  county,  in  187?.  For 
sixteen  years  he  engaged  in  the  buying  and  sell- 
ing of  live  stock,  but  since  1891  has  made  Man- 
kato  his  home.  During  his  residence  at  Eagle 
Lake  he  was  treasurer  of  the  school  board  seven 
years  and  took  a  keen  interest  in  educational 
work. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bennett  which  united 
him  with  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edwin  Davis, 
of  Utica,  New  York,  occurred  at  Mankato  Feb. 
35th,  1873,  where  she  died  Sept.  22nd,  1907. 
They  are  the  parents  of  three  daughters,  namely: 
Maude  E.,  wife  of  P.-  J.  Stower,  of  Frederick, 
Wisconsin;  May  B.,  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  Blue  Earth  county;  and  Imogene, 
who  married  Edward  J.  Harris  and  lives  at  Spo- 
Icane,  Washington.  Fraternally  connected  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Mr.  Ben- 
nett has  filled  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodge  and 
Las  represented  it  in  the  grand  lodge.  In  mem- 
ory of  his  war  service  he  mainta'ins  membership 
in  Wilklns  Post,  G.  A.  E.,  and  during  the  pe- 
riod of  his  residence  at  Eagle  Lake  was  honored 
with  the  office  of  commander  of  that  post. 


BENNETT,  OSCAE  E.— Of  the  men  who  are 
lending  dignity,  practicability  and  special  quali- 
fications to  the  manufacturing  interests  of  Man- 
kato, none  are  held  in  higher  esteem  than  Oscar 
E.  Bennett,  junior  member  of  the  brick  making, 
firm  of  Wheeler  &  Bennett.  Mr.  Bennett  is  ap- 
proaching his  sixtieth  year,  and  forty  of  these 
years  have  been  devoted  to  the  brick  industry. 
Many  of  the  buildings  which  make  for  the  ar- 
tistic and  substantial  appearance  of  this  and 
other  towns  in  the  state  are  constructed  of  the 
products  of  these  kilns,  the  brick  being  noted  for 
its  strength  and  durability,  and  its  successful 
weathering  of  the  heat  and  cold  and  storms  of 
many  succeeding  seasons. 

On  both  sides  of  his  family  Mr.  Bennett  claims 
kinship  with  the  men  who  laid  the  foundations 
of  civilization  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  His  fath- 
ei',  Enfus  S.  Bennett,  was  bom  among  the  shut 


in  hills  of  Vermont,  and  his  mother  Lydia 
A.  Bennett,  was  a  native  of  Maine.  Bufus  Ben- 
nett and  his  wife  spent  the  first  year  of  their  mar- 
riage in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  they  con- 
tracted the  western  fever,  and  removed  to  Green 
Bay,  Wisconsin,  later  taking  up  their  residence 
in  Calumet  county,  the  same  state.  Here  Mr. 
Bennett  operated  a  hotel,  country  store  and  post- 
office  for  many  years,  his  honesty  and  geniality 
winning  him  the  popularity  and  prestige  so  often 
accorded  men  who  are  so  closely  identified  with 
the  every  day  needs  of  the  people.  At  the  end 
of  the  Civil  war  he  abandoned  merchandising 
and  inn-keeping  and  returned  to  farming  in 
Calumet  county,  thus  renewing  his  youth  in  the 
many  sided  occupation  in  which  he  was  reared 
in  Vermont.  Five  years  later  he  removed  to  Jop- 
lin  count]',  Missouri,  where  his  death  occurred 
in  1885,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  3'ears,  his  wife 
surviving  him  until  1897,  in  her  seventy-fifth 
year.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bennett  had  ten  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  living,  Oscar  being  the  sixth 
oldest  in  the  family:  Frank  L.,  of  North  Man- 
kato ;  Elvira,  wife  of  Abel  Osgood,  of  McLeod 
county,  this  state;  Helen,  wife  of  James  Cook,  of 
Baker  county,  Oregon;  Amos  C,  of  Lovelace,  Col- 
orado; Arthur  C,  of  Joplin,  Missouri;  Mar]',  wife 
of  James  German,  of  Joplin :  Maude,  wife  of  Mr. 
Madison,  of  Joplin;  George  E.,  who  was  shot  and 
killed  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  during  the 
Civil  war;  and  Willard,  who  di'ed  when  young  in" 
Wisconsin. 

The  youth  of  Oscar  E.  Bennett  did  not  differ 
from  that  of  other  country  bred  lands  of  his 
time  and  place.  The  years  passed  uneventfully 
in  work,  attendance  at  the  district  school,  and 
the  usual  diversions  of  the  neighborhood  until 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  opened  up  inter- 
minable avenues  of  interest  and  discussion.  Mr. 
Bennett  was  about  seventeen  years  old  when  he 
enlisted  in  Company  K,  Seventh  Wisconsin 
Cavalry,  and  served  for  thirteen  months.  He  saw 
much  of  the  hideous  side  of  the  conflict,  and  re- 
turned to  his  home  with  broadened  perceptions 
and  intensified  humaiiity.  The  monotony  of  the 
farm  no  longer  seemed  to  serve  his  life  purpose, 
and  soon  after  his  martial  experience  he  sot  him- 
self the  task  of  learning  to  make  brick,  an  occu- 
pation which  he  followed  in  various  yards  until 


336 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


1886,  his  last  position  being  with  the  0.  E. 
Mather  Company,  of  whose  yards  he  was  super- 
intendent for  several  months.  After  forming  a 
partnership  with  A.  L.  Wheeler,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Wheeler  &  Bennett,  in  1866,  he  built 
the  present  yards,  and  has  so  increased  the  busi- 
ness that  a  branch  has  been  established  at  Duluth^ 
Minnesota,  both  plants  being  in  fine  working 
order  and  running  to  full  capacity. 

Mr.  Bennett  is  one  of  the  civic  fathers  of 
North  Mankato,  and  has  done  much  to  bring 
this  community  up  to  its  present  high  municipal 
standard.  His  large  brick  house,  with  its  spa- 
cious and  well  kept  grounds  is  a  distinct  addi- 
tion to  the  architectural  dignity  of  the  place,  and 
he  has  promoted  its  schools  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  education,  aiding  its  first  and  infantile 
progress  as  a  member  of  the  fi-rst  board  of  alder- 
man after  North  Mankato  was  incorporated. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Pellows,  and  he  also  is  a  member 
of  the  Commercial  Club.  He  is  an  ardent  sports- 
man, fond  of  hunting  and  fishing  and  is  decid- 
edly a  social  as  well  as  business  factor  in  the 
community.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Bennett  and 
Kate  Cook  occurred  in  1869,  and  of  the  union 
there  is  a  son,  Frank  L.  Mrs.  Bennett  is  a 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Phoebe  Cook,  of  Stock- 
bridge,  Wisconsin,  the  former  of  whom  first  set- 
tled in  South  Bend,  later  moved  to  McLeod 
county,  Minnesota,  and  still  later  to  Mankato, 
where  he  died  at  an  advanced  age.  Mr.  Bennett 
is  one  of  the  sterling,  dependable  men  of  this 
part  of  Blue  Earth  county,  and  his  rise  to  promi- 
nence upon  the  invisible  assets  of  perseverance, 
grit  and  good  judgment,  should  commend  itself 
to  the  youthful  aspirant  for  maniTfacturing  and 
general  success. 


BESTMAISr,  JOHF.— The  industrial  success 
of  John  Bcstman  is  centered  around  his  splendid 
farm  of  two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  in  section 
17  McPherson  township,  his  connection  as  direc- 
tor and  stock-holder  in  the  St.  Clair  State  Bank, 
and  his  presidency  of  the  Home  Insurance  Com- 
pany. Mr.  Bestman  lias  been  a  resident  of  Blue 
Enrth  county  since  1865,  and  during  this  time 
has  evidenced  the  ability  to  rise  above  difficulties 


and  discouragements,  and  -from  a  very  small  be- 
ginning carve  his  way  unaided  to  comparative 
wealth  and  assured  influence  and  position. 

Coming  to  America  in  1864,  from  Holstein, 
Northern  Germany,  where  he  was  born  in  1842, 
J[r.  Bestman  is  one  of  the  three  survivors  of  the 
seven  children  of  Henry  and  Anna  Bestman,  the 
former  of  whom  was  an  artisan  who  spent  his 
ent'ire  life  in  his  native  land.  Arriving  in  Man- 
kato in  1865,  Mr.  Bestman  had  but  an  imperfect 
knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  realm,  also  of 
its  customs  and  possibilities.  He  was  equipped, 
however,  with  a  thorough  training  in  blacksmith- 
ing,  and  this  he  followed  in  Mankato  about  four 
years,  and  in  St.  Clair  for  ten  years.  He  then 
engaged  in  farming  on  the  place  he  now  occupies, 
and  has  made  a  decided  success  of  produce  and 
stock-raising.  He  has  invested  heavily  in  im- 
provements of  all  kinds,  especially  high  grade  ma- 
chinery, and  his  family  and  stock  are  comfort- 
ably  and  modernly   housed   and  maintained. 

In  1869  Mr.  Bestman  married  Henrietta  Beyrs- 
dorff,  a  native  also  of  Germany,  and  of  the  union 
there  are  three  sons  and  one  daughter  living, 
two  children  being  deceased.  Of  the  living  child- 
ren, Charles  H.  Lives  in  St.  Paul;  John  H., 
and  Helena  A.,  are  at  home,  and  Herbert  F.  is 
assistant  cashier  of  the  New  Eichland  State 
Bank.  Mr.  Bestman  takes  commendable  interest 
in  politics,  and  at  the  present  time  is  treasurer 
of  the  St.  Clair  school  board.  He  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  St.  Clair  State  Bank  since  1907, 
and  with  the  Home  Insurance  Company  since 
1881.  Both  enterprises  are  a  credit  to  the  lo- 
cality, and  an  index  to  the  sterling  character 
and  public  spiritedness  of  the  men  directing  their 
destiny.  The  career  of  this  well  know  farmer, 
hanker  and  business  man  should  be  an  inspiration 
to  the  youth  struggling  against  odds,  and  es- 
pecially to  the  stranger  from  foreign  shores  who 
arrives  here  without  money  or  influence. 


BEYEE,  FEEDEEICK.— Into  whatever  por- 
tion of  the  United  States  the  members  of  the 
Teutonic  race  have  established  their  name  and 
brought  their  families,  they  have  been  charac- 
terized by  the  thrift  that  marks  an  orderly  spirit 
and  the  economy  that  wins  success.  The  national 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


337 


traits  are  noticeable  in  the  character  and  life  of 
Frederick  Beyer,  who  since  1866  has  been  iden- 
tified with  the  farming  population  of  Blue  Earth 
county  and  who  has  been  sufficiently  successful 
to  be  enabled  to  pass  his  declining  days  in  com- 
fort besides  assisting  his  sons  materially  in  se- 
curing a  start  for  themselves.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  ;n  this  county  he  purchased  land  on 
section  twenty-five,  Danville  township,  and  here 
he  improved  a  valuable  farm,  with  a  substantial 
set  of  buildings  and  all  the  appurtenances  of  a 
first-class  estate.  In  the  raising  of  stock  he 
proved  himself  to  be  an  expert,  having  constant 
and  gratifying  success  with  his  cattle,  hogs  and 
sheep,  and  also  keeping  a  number  of  horses  of 
fine  breed  on  the  farm. 

Born  in  Pommern,  Germany,  August  8,  1834, 
Frederick  Beyer  was  a  son  of  Charles  and  Louisa 
Borchert  Beyer,  natives  of  the  same  place  as 
himself.  During  1855  the  family  crossed  the 
ocean  to  America  and  settled  in  Dodge  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  the  father  engaged  in  farming 
until  his  death  six  years  later.  There  were  ten 
children  in  the  family,  eight  of  whom  remained 
in  Wisconsin ;  one  daughter  removed  to  South 
Dakota  and  Frederick  was  the  only  one  to  settle 
in  Minnesota.  The  year  after  he  came  to  Blue 
Earth  county  he  established  a  home  of  his  own, 
being  united  in  marriage  with  Wilhelmina  Yoecks, 
who  was  born  in  Pommern,  Germany,  and  died 
on  the  home  farm  in  1904.  Eleven  children 
Were  born  of  the  union;  namety:  Matilda,  wife 
of  William  Tolzmann,  of  Vivian,  "Waseca  county, 
Minnesota ;  Robert,  deceased ;  Charley,  a  farmer 
of  Danville,  married  to  Louisa  Brigger,  of  Fari- 
bault county;  William,  a  farmer  of  Danville, 
who  married  Bertha  Brandt,  of  Wells,  Fari- 
bault county;  Ida,  deceased  wife  of  Aiigust  Bur- 
meister;  Herman,  deceased;  Amelia,  wife  of  Wil- 
liam C.  Brandt,  of  Wells,  Faribault  county; 
Martha,  deceased;  Robert,  deceased;  Otto,  a 
farmer  in  Danville;  and  Lena,  wife  of  Fred 
Grote,  of  Wells,  Faribault  county. 

The  youngest  son  of  Frederick  Beyer  is  Otto, 
born  in  Danville  township,  Blue  Earth  county, 
December  4,  1875,  and  educated  in  the  schools 
of  the  district.  He  has  remained  on  the  old 
homestead  and  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 


which  he  cultivates  comprise  the  original  farm, 
the  supervision  of  which  now  rests  in  his  hands. 
Inheriting  the  industry  and  capability  charac- 
teristic of  his  father,  he  is  proving  a  progressive 
farmer,  and  maintains  his  land  in  a  high  state 
of  fertility.  Supplementing  the  raising  of  gen- 
eral crops  is  the  raising  of  stock,  and  in  both 
of  these  departments  of  agriculture  he  is  ener- 
getic and  sagacious.  October  13,  1898,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Wilhelmina  Eiewe, 
daughter  of  John  Eiewe,  a  respected  resident  of 
Blue  Earth  county.  Four  children  blessed  their 
union,  Frederick,  Ernest,  Esther  and  Walter. 
The  family  suffered  a  bereavement  in  the  death 
of  the  only  daughter  at  a  very  early  age. 


BIEEBAIJEE,  ALBERT  G.— Is  a  son  of 
William  and  Louisa  Bierbauer.  He  was  bom  at 
the  city  of  Mankato,  Minnesota,  on  September 
13,  1859  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  said  city  and  at  the  Englemann's  school  at 
Milwaukee,  Wis.  On  completing  his  education 
he  went  into  the  brewing  business  with  his 
father  and  on  the  latter's  death,  in  November, 
1893,  he  became  the  head  of  the  great  brewing 
plant  of  William  Bierbauer  at  Mankato.  Under 
his  efficient  lead  the  business  has  grown  to 
nearly  double  its  former  size  and  is  now  one  of 
the  best  and  most  substantial  brewing  plants 
in  Southern  Minnesota.  In  July,  1906,  the 
business  was  incorporated  with  a  capital  stock 
of  $150,000  under  the  name  of  the  William 
Bierbauer  Brewing  Company,  of  which  Albert 
G.  Bierbauer  is  president.  In  December,  1908, 
this  company  purchased  the  good  will  and 
much  of  the  machinery  of  the  Standard 
Brewing  Company.  Mr.  Bierbauer  was  united 
in  marriage  on  February  6,  1894  to  Miss  Tillie 
Yj.  Heidel,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank 
Heidel,  of  Nicollet  county,  Minnesota,  and  four 
children  were  born  to  them  namely.  Vera  Louisa, 
Lillian  Elsa,  Helen  Gertrude  and  Dorothy.-  He 
was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Elks 
Lodge  of  Mankato  and  for  over  ten  years  he 
has  also  been  a  prominent  rnember  of  the  Sons 
of  Herman.  Hunting  and  fishing  have  been  his 
principal   recreation.     As  big  of  heart  as  he  is 


338    ■ 


BIOGHAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


big  of  body,  Mr.  Bierbauer  has  a  large  circle 
of  warm  friends  and  his  splendid  business  ability 
and  integrity  make  him  a  prominent  fig\ire 
among  the  captains  of  Blue  Earth  county  indus- 
tries. 


BIBRBAUEK,  JACOB.— A  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  pioneer  population  of  Mankato  con- 
sisted of  men  of  German  birth  or  parentage. 
Thus  was  given  to  the  early  development  of  the 
village  the  element  of  Teutonic  thrift  so  indis- 
pensable to  permanent  prosperity.  Conspicuous 
among  the  men  who  brought  from  Germany  to 
Jlinnesota  the  sterling  traits  of  character  and 
keen  energy  associated  with  the  primary  growth 
of  the  northwest,  we  mention  the  name  of  the 
late  Jacob  Bierbauer,  who  was  born  August  38, 
18]  9,  in  Ehenish  Bavaria,  Germany,  near  the 
shores  of  the  beautiful  stream  whose  name  was 
borne  by  the  province  and  whose  charm  has  form- 
ed the  theme  of  countless  songs  and  poems.  The 
family  owned  one  of  the  large  vineyards  so  nu- 
merous in  that  valley  and  they  engaged  in  the 
m.anufacture  of  wine,  from  which  they  gained 
considerable  wealth.  The  son  was  given  excel- 
lent advantages  in  local  schools  and  acquired  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  cabinet-maker's  trade, 
so  that  when  he  left  home  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  he  was  qualified  to  earn  his  own  livelihood. 
For  a  time  he  followed  his  trade  in  Switzerland, 
but  returned  to  Bavaria  at  the  time  of  the  rebel- 
Ton  and  became  a  captain  of  infantry.  The 
efforts  of  the  people  to  secure  liberty  failed  and 
he  returned  to  Switzerland  in  1849  in  company 
with  two  brothers,  but  the  three  soon  decided 
to  seek  a  home  in  the  new  world  and  in  1849 
crossed  the  ocean  to  Kew  York,  where  they  se- 
cured  employment. 

After  two  years  as  a  ear2>enter  in  a  piano  fac- 
tory Jacob  Bierbauer  removed  to  Erie,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  during  October  of  1856  he  came 
to  the  little  village  of  Mankato,  Minnesota,  where 
soon  he  was  joined  by  his  brother,  William.  In 
the  summer  of  1857  they  started  here  the  first 
brewery  west  of  St.  Paul.  The  plant  was  small 
at  that  time,  but  since  has  been  developed  into 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  state.  Disposing  of  his 
interest  to  his  brother  in  1862,  he  associated  him- 


self with  a  brother-in-law,  William  H.  Eockey, 
and  purchased  the  South  Bend  flour  mill  and  saw 
mill  located  near  the  present  site  of  the  Blue 
Earth  river  bridge.  Both  mills  they  removed  to 
ilankato.  One  was  placed  on  Rock  street  and 
for  years  was  known  as  the  City  flour  mills.  The 
other  was  located  on  Vine  street  west  of  Front. 
The  conduct  of  the  plants  engrossed  the  atten- 
lion  of  the  partners,  who  built  up  a  large  custom 
trade  and  became  very  popular  with  their  patrons. 

Eeturning  to  h's  old  Bavarian  home  in  1866, 
]\fr.  Bierbauer,  spent  six  months  amid  the  scenes 
familiar  to  his  childhood  and  enjoyed  a  visit  with 
relatives  and  early  friends.  On  his  return  in 
January,  1867,  he  sold  h's  milling  interests  to 
his  brother-in-law  and  erected  a  large  woolen  fac- 
tory on  Yine  street  east  of  Front,  which  he  oper- 
ated until  1874  and  then  sold  out  to  Christian 
Eoss.  Soon  afterward  he  went  to  Oregon  and 
spent  two  and  one-half  jea.TS  in  that  state.  On 
his  return  to  Mankato  he  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  a  middlings  purifier  which  he  had  in- 
vented. During  1882  he  again  took  charge  .of 
the  City  mills  and  for  ten  years  acted  as  man- 
ager of  the  plant.  This  was  the  last  business 
with  which  he  was  identified  and  his  identifi- 
cation therewith  was  terminated  a  few  years  be- 
fore his  death,  which  occurred  March  1,  1896. 
His  body  was  interred  in  Glenwood  cemetery, 
near  the  scenes  familiar  to  his  active  manhood 
)-cars.  In  religion  he  was  identified  with  the 
German  Lutheran  church,  fraternally  held  mem- 
bership with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  politically  voted  the  republican  ticket 
and  took  a  warm  interest  in  city  politics,  though 
never  aspiring  to  office. 

The  marriage  of  Jacob  Bierbauer  took  place 
December  14,  1854,  and  united  him  with  Bertha, 
daughter  of  Dr.  A.  G.  and  Christina  (Schultz) 
Dornberg,  natives  of  Germany.  Mrs.  Bierbauer 
was  born  in  Germany  May  9,  1832,  and  accom- 
panied her  parents  to  the  United  States  in  1848, 
settling  in  Pennsylvania,  where  she  remained  un- 
til her  marriage.  During  1858  Dr.  Dornberg 
removed  to  Minnesota  and  settled  at  Mankato, 
wliere  he  became  a  popular  pioneer  physician 
and  won  a  host  of  friends  throughout  this  re- 
gion. He  survived  Vs  wife  two  years  and  passed 
away  in   1878.    Six   children   came  to  bless  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


339 


union  of  Jacob  and  Bertha  Bierbauer,  namely; 
Oscar,  who  is  now  a  dealer  in  grain  and  proprie- 
tor of  the  Mankato  malt  works ;  Ida,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  makes  her  home  in  Milwaukee;  Mrs. 
Emma  Bettinger,  a  resident  of  Portland,  Oregon; 
iliss  Alma  Bierbauer,  Mrs.  Mattie  Paddock  and 
Herman,  who  are  well-known  residents  of  Man- 
kato. 


Captain  Bierbauer  was  married  in  1858  to 
Miss  Louisa  Dornberg,  daughter  of  Dr.  A.  G. 
Dornberg,  of  Mankato,  and  of  their  seven  child- 
ren the  following  six  are  living:  Albert,  Bruno, 
liudolph,  "R'Tlliam,  Addie  and  Ella.  He  died  in 
this  city  November  30,  1893,  and  his  honored 
remains  are  buried  at  Glenwood  Cemetery. 


BIEBBAUEE,  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM.— The 
Bierbauer  brothers,  of  Mankato,  were  two  of  three 
brothers  who  became  involved  in  the  German  re- 
volution of  1848,  which  sent  Carl  Schurz,  the 
Bierbauers  and  other  valuable  personal  contri- 
butions to  America.  The  latter  were  born  in  one 
of  the  greatest  brewing  districts  of  the  world, 
and  it  was  but  natural  when  they  settled  in  what 
n'as  then  the  far  west  they  should  engage  in  the 
manufacture  of  malt  and  malt  liquors.  The  lo- 
cation of  William  and  Jacob  Bierbauer  at  Man- 
kato, in  1856,  resulted  in  the  establishment  of 
the  first  brewery  in  the  United  States  west  of 
St.  Paul. 

Wilham  Bierbauer  was  born  in  Einselthurn, 
Bavaria,  February  36,  1826,  received  a  good  edu- 
cation in  the  Fatherland,  and,  prior  to  the  Eev- 
olution,  served  a  term  in  the  German  army. 
Landing  at  New  York  in  1849,  he  became  inter- 
ested in  the  brewing  business  first  at  Seneca 
Falls,  and  subsequently  at  Milwaukee,  Wiscon- 
sin, with  the  pioneer  brewer  of  the  Cream  City, 
Phihp  Best.  Seven  years  after  coming  to  Amer- 
ica he  located  at  Mankato,  with  liis  l)rother 
Jacob,  and  founded  a  brewery  which  grew  to  be 
a  large  and  prosperous  plant.  At  first  he  occu- 
pied a  small  frame  building  erected  in  1858,  on 
North  Front,  but  in  1863'  removed  to  the  pres- 
ent site,  having  liy  purchase  from  his  brother 
become  sole  proprietor  of  the  business  in  1865. 

In  the  latter  year  occurred  the  Indian  out- 
break, which  threw  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
v«t.ate  into  pan'c,  and  Mr.  Bierbauer  evinced  his 
patriotism  and  braAery  by  raising  a  company  of 
volunteers,  of  which  he  was  made  captain,  and 
going  to  the  relief  of  New  Ulm,  where  he  ren- 
dered valiant  service.  He  was  not  only  a  brave 
iiian  physically,  but  an  honorable  business  man 
and  a  gentleman  of  culture  and  fine  presence. 


BISHOP,  lEA,  ]\r.  D.— The  genealogy  of  the 
Bishop  family  in  the  United  States  is  traced  to 
three  brothers  who  crossed  the  ocean  from  Eng- 
land during  the  seventeenth  century  and  settled 
in  New  England.  The  male^fgpresentatives  of 
later  generations  bore  an  honorable  part  in  the 
development  of  that  then  primeval  wilderness 
and  in  the  wars  that  secured  supremacy  for  the 
English-speaking  races.  During  the  Eevolution- 
ary  war  Ira  Bishop  went  to  the  front  and  served 
the  cause  of  the  patriots  with  fidelity  and  brav- 
ery. A" ears  afterward  one  of  his  sons,  who  bore 
the  same  name  as  himself,  took  part  in  the  sec- 
ond struggle  with  England,  and  a  son  of  the  lat- 
ter, Albert,  was  a  participant  in  the  Civil  war. 
Those  members  of  the  family  to  whom  Destiny 
did  not  bring  the  privilege  of  fighting  for  their 
country  proved  themselves  valuable  citizens  along 
oiher  lines  of  activity,  and  in  every  locality 
where  represented  the  name  has  been  known  to 
its  honor. 

Not  the  least  distinguished  member  of  the 
family  was  Edward  Bishop,  M.  D.,  who  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Chicago  with  re- 
markable success,  and  at  the  same  time  became 
connected  with  John  Appelby,  the  famous  in- 
ventor, in  the  manufacture  of  the  setf-binder. 
Eventually  he  sold  his  interest  for  $100,000  and 
shortly  afterward  removed  to  Charles  City,  Iowa, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1906.  The 
family  of  which  Dr.  Ira  Bishop  is  a  member 
comprised  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  tie  being 
the  eldest.  Six  of  the  number  are  still  living. 
Of  these  John  and  Frank  at  one  time  resided  at 
Mapleton,  Minnesota,  for  some  years,  but  have 
since  removed  elsewhere,  John  establishing  his 
home  in  Princeton,  this  state,  while  Frank  went 
to  Whitewater,  Wisconsin.  Another  brother,  5on. 
C.  A.  Bishop,  is  chief  justice  of  Iowa  and  re- 
sides at  Des  Moines. 


340 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


The  Eevolutionary  hero  who  bore  the  name  of 
Ira  Bishop  was  born  in  Connecticut.  His  son, 
Ira,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Vermont,  and  the  latter's 
son,  M!  P.  Bishop,  was  likewise  a  native  of  Ver- 
mont, but  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  settled  in 
Waukesha  county  in  1847.  Agriculture  and  edu- 
cational work  occupied  his  attention,  and  during 
t!ie  course  of  his  active  life  he  taught  forty-two 
terms  of  school.  In  early  manhood  he  married 
Eoxanna  Alvord,  who  was  born  in  Syracuse, 
New  York,  descended  from  a  Scotch  family  that 
was  represented  among  the  colonial  settlers  of 
America.  No  great  financial  success  crowned  his 
life  and  labors,  but  be  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  as- 
sociates as  a  genial  companion,  honorable  man 
and  careful  teacher.  It  was  not  possible  for  him 
to  give  his  children  the  educational  advan- 
tages he  desired  them  to  enjoy,  but  they  fortu- 
nately possessed  cons^'derable  will  power,  great  de- 
termination and  the  ability  to  surmount  obsta- 
cles, so  they  were  enabled  to  secure  such  advan- 
tages for  themselves  by  their  own  exertions. 
When  Ira  Bishop  had  completed  his  early  edu- 
cation he  taught  school  and  later  spent  three 
years  in  the  Normal  school  at  Whitewater,  Wis- 
consin. As  early  as  1870  he  made  his  first  visit 
to  Minnesota,  traveling  overland  with  Eichard 
Credicott  and  family,  who  settled  in  Mapleton. 
The  young  man  remained  from  June  until  the 
middle  of  October  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  vi- 
cinity, Avorking  at  various  occupations.  On  his 
return  he  traveled  by  train  from  Wells  to  his 
old  home  in  Wisconsin.  Prom  an  early  age  he 
had  been  ambitious  to  enter  the  medical  profes- 
sion and  this  desire  saw  the  beginning  of  its 
fruition  in  1874,  when  he  entered  Bush  Medical 
College,  Chicago,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1876. 

After  having  practiced  for  one  year  at  Palmy- 
ra. Wisconsin,  Dr.  Bishop  came  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  concerning  which  he  had  pleasant  recol- 
lections. It  had  been  necessary  for  him  to  bor- 
row money  in  order  to  secure  his  medical  edu- 
cation, so  he  was  entirely  without  funds  on  leav- 
ing Palmyra,  and  it  took  his  last  penny  to  buy 
a  ticket  to  Minnesota  Lake.  Prom  there  he 
walked  to  Mapleton  and  found  his  old  friends, 
the  Credicott  family.  In  a  comparatively  short 
time   he   had    established    an    excellent   practice. 


Farms  were  then  smaller  than  now  and  there 
were  more  people  in  Mapleton  township  than  at 
tlae  present  time.  In  addition  there  were  fewer 
physicians;  indeed,  for  twenty  years  he  was 
practically  the  only  doctor  in  this  section.  A 
few  years  after  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county  he 
established  domestic  ties,  being  married.  May 
10,  1880,  to  Jennie  Berry,  a  native  of  Lowell, 
Wisconsin,  her  father,  John  Berry,  having  been 
a  pioneer  of  Wisconsin  and  also  of  Martin  coun- 
ty, Minnesota.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Bishop  have  seven 
children,  Kathryn,  Mary  Anna,  Ira,  Elizabeth, 
Eernice,  Euth  and  Clara. 

For  a  number  of  years  Dr.  Bishop  served  as 
health  officer,  also  held  office  as  county  physi- 
cian. Always  interested  in  educational  work,  he 
ably  filled  the  office  of  inember  of  the  school 
board  and  in  other  ways  has  been  instrumental 
in  promoting  the  standard  of  education  in  his 
town  and  county.  Fraternally  he  holds  mem- 
l)ership  with  the  Yeoman,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  Mutual  Benefit  Association,  Mod- 
p]-n  Woodmen  of  America,  and  Ancient  Order  of 
United.  Workmen.  For  thirty  years  or  more  he 
has  been  an  earnest  and  contributing  member  of 
the  Baptist  church  and  a  supporter  of  its  so- 
cieties. Personally  he  is  a  man  of  genial  na- 
ture and  optimistic  temperament,  with  a  fund 
of  anecdote  always  at  his  command,  and  with  the 
cheerful  presence  that  is  no  small  factor  of  Kis 
professional  success.  When  at  leisure  from  pro- 
fessional work  he  has  found  pleasure  in  manag- 
ing his  farm  and  caring  for  the  stock,  orchard 
and  creamery,  and  finds  in  such  work  a  health- 
ful relaxation  from,  ordinary  cares.  It  has  'been 
his  policy  as  a  physician  to  recommend  to  his 
patients  a  "return  to  nature,"  and  he  advocates 
the  theory  that  fresh  air  and  correct  food  are 
raore  important  as  health  factors  than  most  of 
the  medicine  prescribed  for  human  ailments.  To 
the  people  of  Mapleton  and  Blue  Earth  county 
he  is  known  and  admired  for  those  sterling  traits 
of  character  and  the  high  mental  endowments 
that  have  brought  him  prominence  as  a  citizen 
and  as  a  physician. 


BIXBY,  A.   E.— The  birth   of  A.   B.  Bixby, 
in   a  log  house  in  Winnebago   City,  Minnesota, 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


341 


February  15,  1849,  was  coincident  with  the  prep- 
arations being  carried  on  in  hundreds  of  homes 
throughout  the  country  for  the  arduous  six 
month's  journey  across  the  western  plains  in 
search  of  the  hidden  treasure  of  tlie  great  coast 
country.  No  less  earnest  m  their  quest  than 
the  gold  seekers  were  the  parents  of  Mr.  Bixby, 
H.  A.  and  Mary  B.  (Palfrey)  Bixby,  who,  in 
very  early  days,  journeyed  by  stage  and  water- 
Tv'ays,  and  with  ever  increasing  difficulties,  from 
their  native  state  of  Vermont  to  the  tlien  wilder- 
ness of  Wisconsin.  When  the  scourge  of  the 
Civil  war  had  lifted  from  the  land  the  family 
moved  during  the  summer  of  186G,  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  settling  on  the  farm  in  Garden  City 
Township  which  now  is  owned  and  occupied  by 
A.  E.  Bixby.  Here  the  mother  died  in  1882,, 
and  the  father  in  1891.  Of  the  six  sons  born 
to  this  courageous  pioneer  couple  A.  E.  only  is 
a  farmer,  F.  H.  being  deceased,  while  A.  W. 
J.  C,  H.  W.,  and  William  H.,  are  residents  of 
Garden  City. 

An  entirely  modern  and  up-to-date  aspect  is 
presented  in  the  Bixby  farm,  which  contains  a 
hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  is  well  equipped 
with  buildings,  implements  and  general  improve- 
.ments.  The  owner  is  engaged  in  the  rai.sing  of 
general  produce  and  stock,  having  a  good  breed 
of  cattle,  horses  and  Poland-China  hogs.  He 
is  a  painstaking  and  conscientious  farmer,  main- 
taining neatness  and  order  in  all  departments  of 
his  farm,  and  through  rotation  and  modern  sci- 
entific methods  securing  the  best  possible  results 
from  a  given  amount  of  land.  In  1866  ilr.  Bix- 
by married  j\Iary  E.  King,  whose  parents  were  na- 
tives of  New  York  state,  and  A^ho  also  were  early 
arrivals  in  Wisconsin,  ilr.  and  Mrs.  Bixby  have 
no  children  of  their  own,  but  they  adopted  a  son, 
Herbert,  who  in  1905  married  Mable  Smith. 

The  political  preference  of  j\Ir.  Bixby  is  with 
the  republican  party,  but  he  has  never  been  an 
office  seeker,  although  he  has  acceptably  served 
on  the  town  board.  He  is  fraternally  connec- 
ted with  the  Knights  of  Pythias  of  Garden  City. 
Mr.  Bixby  is  an  upright  and  intelligent  man, 
faithful  to  friends  and  duties,  and  is  known  as 
one  of  the  county's  helpful  and  progressive  up- 
builders. 


BLISSENBACH,  JOSEPH.— The  man  who 
would  succeed  in  photography  in  the  early  pan 
of  the  Twentieth  century  is  a  long  way  removed 
from  his  prototype  of  ten  or  even  live  years  ago. 
The  mechanical  operator  lias  become  the  master 
of  chairo-scuro,  the  student  of  character,  harmony 
and  proportion,  in  short  the  artist  whose  pleas- 
ure and  profit  it  is  to  recognize,  and  portray 
instantaneously,  and  in  their  proper  relation,  the 
things  which  shall  beautify,  enlighten  and  in- 
spire the  future  environment  of  mankind.  So 
congenial  an  opportunity  has  been  selected  by 
Joseph  Blissenbach,  whose  ambition  and  inde- 
fatigable industry  has  raised  him  to  the  front 
ranks  of  photographic  expression  in  the  state 
of  Minnesota,  and  who,  in  recognition  of  super- 
ior merit,  was  given  the  silver  medal  in  the  por- 
trait class  at  the  convention  held  in  Minneapolis, 
September  3-4-5,  1906.  At  this  convention  were 
delegates  from  Wisconsin,  Jlinnesota,  Iowa  and 
North  and  South  Dakota,  and  the  competition 
was  such  as  to  try  the  metal  of  the  most  expert 
and  experienced.  Mr.  Blissenbach  excels  in 
enlarging  and  portraiture,  and  in  his  galleries 
are  to  be  found  the  faces  of  many  of  the  fore- 
most people  of  the  central  northwest.  Pie  has 
been  learning  the  business  since  he  was  twenty 
}-ears  old,  apprenticing  to  his  brother,  Augttst 
Blissenbach  in  1891,  and  in  June,  1904,  pur- 
chasing the  entire  business,  which  he  since  has 
continued  alone  at  105  N(.)rth  Front  street. 

Mr.  BlissenbaclTs  thoroughness  and  applica- 
tion largely  are  inherited  from  his  Teutonic  an- 
cestors, and  he  himself  spent  the  early  years  of 
his  life  in  Cologne,  Germany,  where  he  waa 
born  January  10,  1873.  His  parents,  Peter  and 
Katherine  (Kirch)  Blissenbach,  also  were  na- 
tives of  Germany,  and  the  former  came  to  Jlin- 
nesota  in  1868,  locating  on  a  farm  in  Murray 
county,  where  with  the  exception  of  two  years 
spent  in  Mankato,  he  passed  the  balance  of  his 
life.  His  death  occurred  in  the  S2>ring  of  1900, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-one  years,  his  wife  surviving 
him  until  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years. 
This  couple  had  in  all  fifteen  children,  of  whom 
five  are  living,  Joseph  being  the  thirteenth  old- 
est in  the   family. 

Mr.  Blissenbach's  early  opportunities  were  of 
the  practical   kind,   including   a   year's   study   in 


342 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Germany^  and  later  attendance  at  tlie  country 
schools  of  Murray  county,  this  state.  He  was  a 
diligent  worker  on  the  home  farm,  contributing 
his  share  towards  the  support  of  the  large  fam- 
ily, but  his  ambition  soared  beyond  his  sur- 
roundings, to  the  more  satisfying  occupation  as 
his  brother's  photographic  assistant  in  Mankato. 
November  8,  1899,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Eosa  Dahm,  of  Mankato,  and  of  the  union 
there  is  a  son,  Walter  J.  Mr.  Blissenbach  is  a 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club,  and  otherwise 
is  identified  with  the  business- and  social  life  of 
the  community.  Fraternally  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Catholic 
Order  of  Foresters.  A  helpful  accompaniment 
of  his  work  is  an  optimistic  temperament,  the 
faculty  of  seeing  the  best  in  people  and  condi- 
tions, and  a  never  failing  desire  to  please. 


BOEHLAND,  THEODOEB.— The  first  per- 
sonal knowledge  which  Mr.  Boehland  acquired 
concerning  the  United  States  came  to  him  at^the 
end  of  a  voyage  of  eight  weeks  in  a  sailing  ves- 
sel, which  during  the  year  1856  brought  him 
from  his  native  home  in  Germany  to  the  new 
world  with  its  possibilities.  For  more  than  one- 
half  century  he  has  been  identified  with  our 
country  and  during  more  than  forty  years  of 
that  time  he  has  been  a  contributor  to  the  ag- 
ricultural development  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  has  developed  from  the  wilderness  one 
of  the  fine  farms  of  Lime  township.  A  long 
re.sidence  in  the  northwest  has  given  him  a  thor- 
ough acquaintance  with  the  resources  of  this 
region  and  no  one  is  more  enthusiastic  than  he 
concerning  the  opportunities  which  the  land  of- 
fers to  the  young  and  energetic  young  farmers 
of  the  world. 

Born  in  Prussia  November  13,  1832,  Theodore 
Boehland  is  a  son  of  Frederick  and  Mary  (Boel- 
ner)  Boehland,  also  natives  of  Prussia,  but  emi- 
grants of  1853  to  the  United  States,  where  they 
established  a  home  about  twelve  miles  from  Mil- 
i\aukee,  Wisconsin.  The  father  died  there  in 
1854  and  eventually  the  mother  removed  to  Min- 
nesota, where  her  death  occurred  in  1886  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  They  were  the  parents  of 
thirteen  children,  but  of  this  large  family  Ernest 


and  Theodore  are  the  sole  survivors.  The  last- 
named  was  reared  on  a  farm  in  Germany  and 
received  the  advantages  of  the  excellent  schools 
of  his  native  land,  after  which  he  worked  as  a 
farm  laborer.  As  previously  stated  he  came  to 
the  new  world  in  the  year  1856.  Shortly  after 
ills  arrival  he  settled  on  land  twelve  miles  from 
Milwaukee,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  had 
saved  enough  to  Justify  him  in  the  establiph- 
ment  of  a  home  of  his  own.  In  October  of  1858 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Amelia  Tischen- 
dorf,  who  was  born  in  Prussia  December  3,  1834, 
being  a  daughter  of  David  and  Theresa  (Vogt)' 
Tischendorf,  natives  and  lifelong  residents  of 
I'russia.  During  the  year  1857  Miss  Tischen- 
dorf immigrated  to  the  United  States  and  set- 
tled in  Wisconsin,  where  she  remained  for  a  con- 
siderable period  after  her  marriage. 

The  first  property  owned  by  Theodore  Boeh-  ' 
land  consisted  of  twenty  acres  situated  twelve 
miles  from  Milwaukee.  This  he  later  sold"  and 
invested  the  proceeds  in  the  purchase  of  fifty 
acres  of  timber  land,  where  he  settled,  remain- 
ing on  that  tract  until  May  of  1867,  the  date  of 
his  removal  to  Minnesota  and  his  settlement  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  Immediately  after  coming 
to  this  region  he  bought  the  farm  where  he  since 
has  made  his  home  and  where  he  has  busily  oc- 
cupied himself  with  the  improvement  and  cul- 
tivation of  a  productive  estate.  While  laboring 
to  provide  for  his  family  he  at  the  same  time 
has  proved  an  accommodating  neighbor  and  help- 
ful friend,  and  with  his  wife  he  is  highly  hon- 
ored in  the  community.  In  his  family  there 
were  thirteen  children,  namely:  Anna,  Ernest, 
Sidonie,  Gustaf,  Emma,  Theresa  and  Fredericka 
(twins,  of  whom  the  latter  is  deceased),  Eobert 
(deceased),  Amelia  (deceased),  Frank,  Oscar 
(deceased),   Helen  and   Theodore,  both  deceased. 


BOMBEEGEE,  M.  D.  FEANKLIN  J.— The 
genealogy  of  the  Bomberger  family  in  America 
is  traced  back  to  Charles  Bomberger,  a  member 
of  a  party  of  religious  exiles  from  Switzerland 
who  fled  to  England  for  refuge  and  were  assisted 
by  Queen  Anne  to  come  to  the  United  States. 
The  first  location  on  the  Schoharie  river  proved 
lo  be  unsatisfactory  on  account  of  the  condition 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


343 


of  the  land.  Accordingly  the  little  expedition 
built  a  raft  and  on  it  proceeded  down  the  Sus- 
quehanna river  to  the  present  site  of  Middletown, 
Dauphin  county,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  made 
the  first  settlement,  also  making  the  original 
settlements  in  Lebanon  and  Berks  counties. 
Charles  had  a  son,  Benjamin,  whose  son,  Ben- 
jamin, Jr.,  was  the  father  of  Elias  and  the 
grandfather  of  Franklin  J.  Bomberger.  The 
family  has  been  noted  for  patriotic  spirit  and 
one  of  the  ancestors,  Benjamin,  was  a  faithful 
6:>ldier  during  the  Eevolutionary  war,  taking 
part  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island  and  the  mem- 
oi'able  retreat  across  Xew  Jersey.  Elias  Bomber- 
ger was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  engaged  in 
stock-dealing  throughout  his  active  life,  dying  in 
1897  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years.  His  -^vife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ellen  Snyder,  died 
i;r  1886  at  the  age  of  forty-five.  They  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  namely:  Mary,  wife 
of  Daniel  Swope,  of  Pennsylvania;  Franklin  J.; 
Anna,  who  married  Manford  D.  Poyntz  and  lives 
at  Marshfield,  Oregon;  and  Emma,  Mrs.  George 
Chute,  of  Two  Elvers,  Washington. 

Born  at  Bethel,  Berks  county,  Pennsylvania, 
February  18,  1866,  Franklin  J.  Bomberger  at- 
tended the  common  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  the  State  Normal  at  Kutztown,  Pennsyl- 
vania, from  which  he  was  graduated  witli  the 
'  class  of  1885.  A  year  later  he  was  graduated 
from  the  Palatinate  C^ollege  at  Myerstown,  Penn- 
sylvania. For  a  year  he  taught  school  near  his 
old  home,  after  which  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
secured  a  position  in  the  school  at  Lake  Crystal, 
Blue  Earth  county,  a  year  later  becoming  super- 
intendent of  the  schools  at  Blue  Earth  City. 
For  six  years  he  filled  the  position  with  effic- 
iency and  success,  after  wdiich  he  resigned  in 
order  to  make  a  tour  of  Europe.  A  portion  of 
the  year  1892  he  spent  in  France,  Belgium  and 
Great  Britain,  where  he  enjoyed  visiting  spots 
of  historic  interest  and  learned  much  of  value 
concerning  the  customs  of  the  people.  On  his 
return  to  Minnesota  he  taught  at  Chatfield  and 
/iumbrota.  Meanwhile  he  had  determined  to 
take  up  the  medical  profession  and  accordingly 
ho  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota,  from  which  he  was  grad- 
uated with  the  class  of  1903.     At  the  conclusion 


of  his  college  work  he  opened  an  office  at  ilaplc- 
ton.  Blue  Earth  county.  During  1905  he  tooTi 
a  post-graduate  course  in  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University  at  Baltimore.  He  has  gained  a  high 
place  among  the  physicians  of  this  county  and 
commands  an  increasingly  important  practice. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  Bomberger  took  place  Au- 
gust 5,  1896,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Clara 
i'rye,  daughter  of  Daniel  Frye,  of  Elk  Biver, 
this  state.  They  are  the  parents  of  two  children, 
Alice  and  Charles.  In  fraternal  relations  Dr. 
Jiomberger  has  been  an  enthusiastic  j\Iason,  be- 
longing to  the  blue  lodge,  Eoyal  Arch  chapter 
and  Knights  Templar  Commandery.  All  mat- 
ters pertaining  to  his  profession  receive  his 
thoughtihil  attention.  It  is  his  aim  to  keep  post- 
ed concerning  every  advance  made  in  therapeutics. 
.Journals  of  a  professional  character  find  in  him 
a  thoughtful  reader,  and  he  has  further  enlarged 
ids  professional  interests  by  associations  with  so- 
cieties of  physicians,  being  a  member  of  the  state 
and  national  organizations,  also  president  of  the 
I)lue  Earth   County  Medical   Society. 


BOECHEET,  CHAELES  W.— One  of  the 
noteworthy  financial  institutions  of  Blue  Earth 
county  is  the  First  National  Bank  of  Mapleton, 
which  owns  and  occupies  a  substantial  building 
on  Main  street,  erected  for  their  own  use  in  the 
spring  of  1903.  The  structure  is  of  fire-proof 
brick  with  stone  facings  and.  contains  two  stories, 
the  second  fioor  being  rented  for  otfices  to  pro- 
fessional men.  The  eastern  corner  of  the  first 
floor  is  occupied  by  the  bank,  while  in  the  rear 
are  directors  room  and  cashier's  offices.  A  large 
burglar-proof  and  fireproof  safety-deposit  vault 
affords  to  citizens  an  opportunity  for  the  storing 
of  valuable  papers  in  quarters  absolutely  safe. 
The  modern  appointments  of  the  bank  and  the 
many  conveniences  would  do  credit  to  a  bank 
in  a  much  larger  city  than  ilapleton,  and  the 
fact  that  the  institution  has  been  successful  from 
the  first  proves  that  a  progressive  small  town 
appreciates  the  presence  of  a  substantial  finan- 
cial concern,  occupying  its  own  building  and  pro- 
vided with  every  convenience  of  modern  bank- 
ing. 


t:       t 


344 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


The  cashier  of  the  bank,  Charles  W.  Bor- 
chert,  is  a  member  of  an  old  family  of  the  state 
and  was  born  in  Vivian  township,  vVaseca  coun- 
ty, November  Zl,  1880,  being  a  son  of  Harmon 
uorchert  and  a  nephew  of  tne  mayor  of  Maple- 
ton  (see  his  sketch  on  another  page  for  the 
family  history.)  The  eldest  in  a  family  of  nine 
children,  Charles  VV.  Borchert  received  his  pri- 
mary education  in  the  schools  of  Vivian  town- 
ship and  later  was  sent  to  the  high  school  at 
Minnesota  Lake,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  honors.  On  the  completion  of  tliat  course 
he  entered  the  Mankato  Business  College,  where 
he  took  a  complete  commercial  course.  Shortly 
after  leaving  the  college  he  came  to  Mapleton 
and  secured  a  position  with  the  Mapleton  State 
Bank,  with  which  he  remained  until  January  1, 
1906,  and  since  then  he  has  been  cashier  of  the 
First  National  Bank. 

The  establishment  of  the  First  National  dates 
back  to  1903,  when  it  was  founded  with  a  capi- 
tal of  $26,000,  to  which  since  has  been  added  a 
surplus  of  $1,000.  The  original  officers  were 
as  follows:  W.  A.  Hanna,  president;  William 
Troendle,  vice-president;  M.  W.  Mattecheck, 
cashier;  and  William  Stroebel,  assistant  cashiej'. 
The  officers  of  the  present  administration  (1907) 
are  as  follows:  E.  "Hadley,  president;  William 
Troendle,  vice-president;  C.  W.  Borchert,  cash- 
ier; and  C.  M.  Credicott,  assistant  cashier.  The 
growing  prestige  enjoyed  by  the  institution  is 
due  to  the  high  standing  of  its  officers,  whose 
careful  and  able  management  and  whose  ability 
to  make  investments  without  unduly  risking  the 
funds  of  the  depositors  are  recognized  by  the 
people  throughout  the  community,  thus  winning 
to  the  management  that  confidence  without 
which  successful  banking  cannot  be  conducted. 


BOECHBET,  WILLIAM.— The  mayor  of 
Mapleton  is  a  prominent  representative  of  an 
honored  German-American  family  identified 
v/ith  the  history  of  Blue  Earth  coimty  for  a 
period  of  more  than  thirty  years,  its  founder  in 
this  part  of  the  country  having  been  William  B. 
Borchert,  a  native  of  Pommern,  Germany,  and 
a  man  possessing  many  sterling  traits   of   char- 


acter. While  he  was  in  his  young  manhood  he 
married  Erederica  Kidder  of  Pommern,  and 
they  established  a  home  in  their  native  land, 
where  they  gained  many  friends  and  a  high 
standing  for  industry  and  energy.  However, 
they  were  unable  to  earn  more  than  a  mere  live- 
lihood and  became  dissatisfied  with  conditions 
as  they  existed  in  Germany.  Ambitious  to  aid 
their  children  in  securing  a  start  in  the  world, 
they  determined  to  establish  a  home  across  the 
ocean  in  a  new  country,  where  opportunities  were 
greater  than  in  the  thickly-settled  region  where 
they  had  always  lived.  Accordingly  they  crossed 
the  ocean  in  1872  and  came  west,  spending  a 
month  in  Wisconsin,  (Dodge  county)  where  they 
had  friends.  Prom  there  they  came  to  Minne- 
sota and  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
they  soon  won  the  friendship  of  their  neighbors 
and  secured  a  substantial  footing  as  worthy  citi- 
zens of  the  community. 

In  a  family  of  seven  children  born  to  the 
union  of  William  B.  and  Frederica  Borchert,  the 
next  to  the  youngest  was  William,  who  is  a 
native  of  Pommern,  Germany,  born  May  3, 
1854.  His  education  was  received  in  the  ex- 
cellent schools  of  Pommern  and  gave  him  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  German  language. 
When  the  family  came  to  America  he  was  eight- 
teen  years  of  age  and  therefore  was  able  to  be 
of  the  greatest  assistance  in  the  developing  of 
a  raw  tract  of  land  into  a  productive  farm.  The 
family  secured  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
Danville  township  and  here  they  engaged  in 
general  farm  pursuits.  At  this  writing  the 
estate  is  owned  by  .William  Borchert,  who  has 
charge  of  its  cultivation.  About  1899  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  within  the  village  limits  of  Maple- 
ton and  by  additional  purchases  he  has  acquired 
a  quarter-section  in  one  body,  all  within  the  cor- 
poration limits.  On  this  place  he  makes  his 
home.  By  reason  of  its  proximity  to  town  the 
farm  represented  a  large  moneyed  investment 
and  its  improvements  are  of  a  character  har- 
monious with  its  location  in  the  suburbs. 

The  marriage  of  William  Borchert  took  place 
in  March  of  1881  and  united  him  with  Louisa 
Beyer,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  a,  daughter  of 
William  Beyer,  who  now  makes  his  home  in  Wa- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


345 


seca  county.  Their  family  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing-named children :  Ella,  who  married  Frank 
Eehse  and  lives  in  Sterling  township,  Blue 
Earth  county;  Lizzie,  who  is  employed  in  the 
store  owned,  by  L.  Troendlo  at  ]\Iapleton;  Emma, 
who  is  employed  as  bookkeeper  in  ^lapleton; 
Delila,  who  is  engaged  in  teaching  school; 
Arthur,  Lilly,  Eosie,  Alvin,  William,  Eoland  and 
Louisa,  who  are  being  educated  for  positions  of 
usefulness  and  honor  in  whatever  localities  their 
lots  may  be  cast.  From  early  life  J\Ir.  Borchert 
has  been  interested  in  educational  matters  and 
it  is  his  ambition  that  his  children  shall  have  all 
the  advantages  the  local  schools  afEord.  For 
nine  years  he  served  as  clerk  of  the  school  dis- 
trict in  Danville  township  and  for  a  similar 
period  he  held  office  as  township  clerk,  while 
for  eight  years  he  was  a  county  commissioner 
during  his  residence  there.  Since  coming  to 
Mapleton  he  has  been  treasurer  of  the  school 
board  for  three  years  and  in  ]\Iarch  of  1907  he 
was  honored  by  election  to  the  responsible  ofEice 
of  mayor.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is  identified 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
Yeomen  and  the  Sons  of  Herman. 


BOSIN",  FEED.— The  identification  of  the 
Bosin  family  with  Blue  Earth  county  began  dur- 
ing the  third  year  of  the  Civil  War,  and  has  con- 
tinued with  growing  influence  and  larger  co- 
operation with  local  affairs  up  to  the  present 
time.  Betaining  those  sterling  teutonic  qualities 
which  make  the  transplanted  German  a  welcome 
addition  to  any  community  in  which  he  elects  to 
reside,  and  also  evidencing  the  German  adapta- 
bility to  strange  prevailing  opportunities,  this 
family  represents  the  best  German-American  ele- 
ment in  the  county,  both  commercially,  morally 
and  politically.  Born  in  Prussia,  northern  Ger- 
many February  3,  1847,  Fred  Bosin  is  second 
eldest  of  the  three  children  of  ^Michael  S.  and 
Predericka  (Mizner)  Bosin,  the  other  children 
being  Sophia  and  August.  Fred  Bosin  was  a  year 
old  when  his  parents  came  to  America  in  1848,  lo- 
cating in  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  where  the 
father  engaged  in  general  farming,  and  from  where 
he  moved  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1864.    He  im- 


proved a  large  farm  in  Eapidan  township,  and 
with  his  worthy  wife  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 

ilr.  Bosin  is  indebted  to  the  public  schools 
for  his  educational  start,  and  for  his  own  enter- 
piise  and  progressivenese  for  the  fact  that  he  is 
a  well  posted  and  up-to-date  farmer.  He  has  ex- 
pended the  best  work  of  his  life  on  his  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-two  acres  in  Eapidan 
township,  and  in  addition  he  owns  a  one  and  a 
half  section  tract  of  wild  land  near  Dickinson, 
North  Dakota.  While  living  on  the  farm  he  was 
particularly  successful  in  the  raising  of  high- 
grade  cattle  and  Poland-China  hogs.  He  made 
all  of  the  improvements  on  his  place  save  the 
dwelling,  and  here  his  children  were  reared,  his 
fortunes  grew,  and  in  1903  he  gave  up  the  ac- 
tive cares  of  the  farm  and  since  has  made  nis 
home  in  Eapidan.  The  wife  of  Mr.  Bosin  for- 
merly was  Amanda  Just,  daughter  of'  W.  Just, 
elsewhere  represented  in  this  work.  The  marriage 
occurred  in  1874,  and  of  the  union  there  arc  seven 
children:  Otto,  born  September  13,  1875;  Fred 
W.,  born  October  24,  1877;  Martha,  born  January 
15,  1880;  Daniel,  born  February  15,  1883;  Wil- 
liam, bom  July  39,  1885;  Karl,  born  March  24, 
1888;  and  Edmund,  born  October  28,  1893.  Of 
the  children  of  Jfr.  Bosin,  two  are  maintaining 
with  special  emphasis  the  enterprise  and  progres- 
siveness  of  their  father.  Daniel  is  operating  a' 
general  merchandise  store,  and  William  and 
Daniel  as  partners  are  conducting  a  hardware  and 
implement  enterprise.  Both  are  successful  busi- 
ness men,  and  promoters  of  sound  commercial 
and  general  conditions. 


BOS"\VELL,  WILLIAM.— Blue  Earth  county 
has  no  more  honored  men  than  those  whose  active 
life  tasks  have  been  accomplished,  and  who,  from 
tlii.'ir  vantage  ground  of  well  earned  leisure,  look 
cidmly  and  approvingly  upon  the  struggle  for 
existence  being  conducted  by  a  later  generation. 
Among  these,  few  have  more  conscientious  labor 
to  recommend  them  than  William  Boswell.  Only 
one  year  the  other  side  of  fifty  years,  he  has 
accomplished  much  more  than  the  average  in  a 
given  number  of  years,  and  there  still  burns  with- 
in him  the  hres  of  youth  and  sjonpathy.  He  sug- 
gests the  man  who  has  lived  broadly  and  usefully, 


346 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


and  whose  character  and  attainments  benefited 
their    fellow    men. 

Mr.  Boswell  was  loom  in  Maryland  January 
31,  1857,  and  was  one  of  the  seven  children  of 
John  H.,  and  P^lizabeth  (Freeman)  Boswell, 
the  former  of  whom  was  born  in  England  and 
died  in  Minnesota  in  1870,  and  the  latter  of 
whom  died  in  this  county  in  1895.  Eroni  Mary- 
land, which  long  had  been  the  home  of  the 
Boswell  forefathers,  removal  was  made  by  John 
H.  Boswell  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  five  years 
later,  in  August,  1864,  they  arrived  in  Blue 
Earth  count}-,  which  since  has  been  their  home. 
The  father  at  that  time  took  up  the  quaiter  sec- 
tion of  land,  ever  the  agricultural  destiny  of 
which  William  Boswell,  and  now  his  tenant,  hold 
sway. 

In  January,  1885,  Mr.  Boswell  married  Net- 
tie M.  Scott,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  of  the 
union  there  is  a  son,  Clay  Scott,  now  twenty 
years  of  age,  who  is  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  of  St.  Clair.  The  Scott  family,  no  less 
than  the  Boswell  family  were  early  arrivals  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  took  up  government  land. 
The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Boswell,  however,  was 
particularly  prominent  in  the  early  days,  gaining 
all  of  the  prestige  and  wide  acquaintance  which 
came  of  keeping  a  hotel  and  postofEice  at  the  Win- 
nebago Agency  for  twenty  years.  Mr.  Boswell  is 
fraternally  connected  with  the  Woodmen  and  Ma- 
sons, having  been  a  member  of  Lodge  iN"o.  12,  A. 
F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Mankato,  for  the  past  twenty- 
three  years.  During  all  of  the  years  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Blue  Earth  county  he  has  supported 
movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  and  has 
been  unwearjing  in  his  efforts  to  promote  the 
common  good. 


BOWE,  PATEICK  H.— The  hardware  busi- 
ness in  St.  Clair  has  an  enterprising  and  progres- 
sive promoter  in  Patrick  H.  Bowe,  one  of  the 
three  survivors  of  th&  seven  sons  of  John  D. 
and  Margaret  (Dumey)  Bowe,  natives  of  Ire- 
land, and  farmers  by  occupation.  The  history 
of  the  Bowe  family  in  Blue  Earth  dates  from 
187-,  when  John  D.  Bowe  came  from  Illinois  and 
seventeen  years  in  farming  in  Illinois,  where  his 
death  occurred  October  28,  1884.    He  came  from 


Ireland  to  the  United  States  in  1850,  and  spent 
seventeen  years  in  farming  in  Illinois,  where  his 
son  Patrick  H.,  was  born  near  Jacksonville,  Feb- 
ruary 15,   1863. 

The  hardware  merchant  of  St.  Clair  received 
his  preliminary  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Illinois,  and  all  his  reasoning  life  has  been  a 
reader  of  newspapers  and  good  literature,  thus 
keeping  abreast  of  the  times  and  in  touch  with 
happenings  all  over  the  world.  Progression  is  the 
keynote  of  his  career,  and  it  is  this  which  enables 
him  to  maintain  an  up-to-date  store,  equipped 
with  all  kinds  of  hardware  necessities,  and  which 
brings  him  a  dependable  trade  from  a  large  sec- 
tion of  country.  He  takes  a  keen  interest  in  pol- 
itics, has  filled  several  important  offices,  and 
at  the  present  time  is  promoting  the  cause  of 
practical  education  as  a  member  of  the  school 
board. 

October  10,  1873,  Mr.  Bowe  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Ella  Morris,  who  was  born  in  the  state 
of  'New  York.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bowe  have  been 
born  four  sons  and  two  daughters,  Ada,  John 
Emmett,  James  Leo,  Cora,  Clemence  and  Clay- 
ton. Mr.  Bowe  stands  high  in  the  public  esti- 
mation, both  as  man  and  merchant,  and  his 
contribution  to  its  business  and  general  advance- 
ment is  of  a  second  and  practical  nature. 


BOWEN,  DAVID  E.— Having  passed  his  en- 
tire life  in  Minnesota,  of  which  he  is  a  native- 
born  son,  Br.  Bowen  is  familiar  with  its  trans- 
formation from  a  frontier  region  into  a  prosper- 
ous commonwealth.  Ko  one  maintains  a  deeper 
pride  in  its  growth  than  does  he,  and  particularly 
is  he  interested  in  the  progress  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  since  boyhood  he  has  made  his 
home  and  where  now  he  conducts  agricultural 
pursuits  on  section  twenty-eight,  Cambria  town- 
ship. While  quietly  pursuing  the  even  tenor 
of  his  way  on  his  homestead  he  has  not  neglected 
the  duties  falling  upon  every  loyal  citizen.  Move- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  township  and  county 
receive  his  stanch  support.  Projects  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people  are  given  his  hearty  co- 
operation. It  is  to  such  men  as  he  that  we  owe 
the  high  standing  of  the  county  as  an  agricul- 
tural region  and  a  prosperous  locality. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


347 


The  Bowen  family  is  of  Welsh  estraction.  Evan 
Bowen  left  his  native  Wales  and  crossed  the  ocean 
to  America  in  1840,  settling  in  Pennsylvania. 
At  that  time  he  was  a  bachelor,  but  in  1847,  he 
established  domestic  ties,  being  united  at  Char- 
leston, Tioga  county,  with  Jane  Edwards,  and 
they  began  housekeeping  in  the  east.  As  early 
as  1855  they  became  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  set- 
tling in  Nicollet  county,  where  their  son,  David 
E.,  was  born  May  31,  1857.  From  there  the 
fiimily  came  to  Blue  Earth  comity  in  1865  and 
six  years  later  the  father  died  at  Mankato.  The 
mother  survived  him  for  many  years  and  passed 
her  last  days  in  Colorado,  where  she  passed  away 
in  1895.  Primarily  educated  in  Nicollet  county, 
David  E.  Bowen  received  his  grammar-school 
education  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  pursued  his 
studies  with  such  success  that  he  was  early  quali- 
fied to  teach.  For  seven  winter  terms  he  taught 
school  and,  during  the  intervening  summer  sea- 
sons he  engaged  in  farming  in  the  same  neigh- 
borhood. In  addition  he  filled  the  office  of  town 
clerk  for  ten  years,  and  more  recently  he  has 
acte(^  as  manager  of  the  Cambria  creamery,  be- 
sides superintending  the  management  of  his  farm. 

Tlic  marriage  of  David  E.  Bowen  and  Mary 
A.  Hughes  was  solemnized  November  7,  1889, 
and  resulted  in  the  birth  of  two  sons  and  three 
daughters,  namely:  Henry,  who  is  now  sixteen 
years  of  age;  Esther  fourteen;  Alva  twelve; 
Miriam,  ten;  and  Evan,  eight.  The  wife  and 
mother  was  taken  by  death  from  the  midst  of 
the  home  circle  February  27,  1903.  The  family 
hold  membership  with  the  Congregational  church 
and  Mr.  Bowen  holds  official  position  therein  as 
deacon,  besides  being  active  in  missionary  and 
cliaritable  work  sustained  by  the  congregation. 
Though  not  prominent  in  politics  and  never  as- 
piring to  the  title  of  politician,  he  keeps  well 
posted  concerning  the  issues  of  the  century  and 
gives  his  vote  to  principles  represented  by  the 
Democratic    party. 


BOYNTON,  GEOEGE  T.— While  New  Eng- 
land was  in  the  earliest  period  of  its  development 
two  brothers,  bearing  the  names  of  William  and 
John  Boynton,  came  hither  from  England  and  in 
1()38  became  freeholders  in  the  town  of  Eowley, 


Massachusetts.  Shortly  afterward  William  sought 
a  more  genial  climate  and  settled  among  the 
colonists  of  the  south,  but  John  remained  in 
New  England,  and  from  him  sprang  the  present 
representatives  of  the  family.  Among  his  de- 
scendants was  one  who  bore  the  same  name  as 
himself  and  who  was  born  in  New  Hampshire, 
but  spent  his  life  almost  wholly  in  Vermont, 
wnere  he  died  in  October,  1867,  at  the  age  of 
!-eventy-five  years,  after  a  busy  existence  devoted 
to  agricultural  pursuits.  His  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Isabella  Nelson,  was  born  in 
Termont  and  died  there  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
six  years.  Out  of  their  family  of  eight  children 
the  sole  survivor  is  George  T.,  and  he  and  his 
brother,  T.  N.,  were  the  only  members  of  the 
family  to  settle  in  Minnesota. 

Born  at  Derby,  Orleans  county,  ^'ermont,  Nov- 
ember 25,  1827,  George  T.  Boynton  received  his 
education  in  the  free  schools  and  academy  of  his 
native  town.  At  the  age  of  twenty-iive  years  he 
left  the  old  homestead  and  started  out  to  earn 
his  own  way  in  the  world,  first  going  to  Temple- 
ton,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was  employed  for 
three  years  in  a  large  wholesale  grocery.  On 
leaving  there  he  went  to  Eoxbury,  Massachusetts, 
and  secured  work  in  a  factory  where  chairs  were 
manufactured  by  machinery.  At  the  expiration 
of  seven  years  he  left  the  factory  and  sought  the 
large  opportunities  of  the  northwest,  coming  to 
Minnesota  in  1858  with  his  brotlier  and  stopping 
first  at  Mankato,  then  making  a  tour  of  inspec- 
tion to  Garden  City,  but  returning  to  Mankato 
the  same  year.  Here  was  established  the  niercan- 
t]le  business  of  T.  N.  &  G.  T.  Boynton,  but 
after  a  year  he  sold  his  interest  to  his  brother, 
who  removed  the  stock  to  Garden  City  and 
tJiere  built  up  a  prosperous  and  growing  trade. 
From  that  time  George  T.  followed  various  oc- 
cupations, but  principally  gave  his  attention  to 
the  buying  and  selling  of  real  estate  and  for  fif- 
teen years  carried  on  a  large  grain  business,  be- 
sides having  interests  at  Garden  City.  A  fair 
degree  of  success  has  rewarded  his  judicious  ex- 
ertions and  he  now  is  living  retired,  in  the  en- 
joAiiient  of  an  income  sufficient  to  provide  him- 
self and  wife  with  all  the  comforts  of"  life.  It 
has  been  his  privilege  to  witness  the  development 
of  Minnesota  from  a  wilderness  into   a  progres- 


348 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


£ive  state  with  growing  population  and  increasing 
wealthy  and  no  one  has  taken  greater  pleasure 
tlian  he  in  witnessing  this  prosperity.  With 
tl^e  growth  of  Mankato  his  name  is  closely  link- 
ed. In  him  its  welfare  has  been  conserved  and 
its  interests  promoted.  All  movements  for  its 
permanent  development  have  received  his  practi- 
cal support.  On  the  organization  of  the  Man- 
kato National  Bank  he  became  a  stockholder  and 
director  and  later,  on  its  reorganization  as  the 
Mankato  State  Bank,  he  was  chosen  a  director, 
which  position  he  now  tills.  In  addition  he  acts 
as  a  director  in  the  Mankato  Savings  and  Build- 
ing Association,  of  which  institution  he  is  vice 
president. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Boynton  took  place  Nov- 
euiber  12,  1878,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Au- 
rilla  Elizabeth  Bush,  daughter  of  James  and  Har- 
riet (Gates)  Bush,  and  a  lady  possessing  the 
g-raceful  attributes  of  character  that  have  en- 
deared her  to  a  large  circle  of  friends.  During 
the  year  1853  her  parents  came  to  Minnesota, 
where  they  became  pioneers  of  Preeborn  county 
and  engaged  in  farm  pursuits.  The  father  died 
May  6,  1900,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years, 
having  long  survived  his  wife,  who  passed  away 
on  Christmas  day  of  1857  at  the  age  of  thirty^ 
three  years.  Mrs.  Boynton  has  a  brother  re- 
siding at  Sauk  Center,  Minnesota,  who  is  a  pa- 
triotic, progressive  citizen  and  who  during  the 
Civil  war  spent  two  years  in  the  army  with  the 
Twenty-second  Minnesota  Cavalry.  During  the 
girlhood  years  of  Mrs.  Boynton  educational  ad- 
vantages were  meager  in  Minnesota,  so  she  was 
sent  back  to  New  York  state  to  the  old  home  of 
the  family  and  for  eight  years  she  remained  at 
Ellington,  Chautauqua  county,  meanwhile  re- 
ceiving excellent  advantages  in  the  academy  Tn 
that  town.  On  the  completion  of  her  education 
she  returned  to  Minnesota,  where  she  since  has 
made  her  home. 


BRACE,  CHESTER  H.— No  man  possesses  a 
greater  faith  in  the  future  of  Blue  Earth  county 
and  none  maintains  a  greater  pride  in  the  abun- 
dance of  its  resources  than  does  Chester  H. 
Brace,  who  is  extensively  engaged  in  the  real- 
estate  business  at  Amboy.     At  the  time  of  em- 


barking in  the  business  there  were  some  who  pre- 
dicted a  lack  of  success,  but  youthful  energy  and 
a  generous  use  of  printer's  ink  conquered  the 
situation,  and  today  there  is  no  real-estate  agent 
in  the  entire  county  whose  future  shows  greater 
promise  than  does  his.  A  specialty  made  by  him 
is  in  land  lying  in  the  south-half  of  this  county 
and  the  north-half  of  Faribault  county,  where 
the  soil  consists  of  a  heavy  black  loam  averag- 
ing three  feet  deep  on  a  clay  subsoil. 

As  early  as  1855  the  Brace  family  became 
established  in  Minnesota.  Edward,  son  of  Avery 
Brace,  and  a  native  of  Syracuse  county,  Ne^; 
York,  passed  through  Chicago  when  it  was  a 
small  town  and  visited  various  sections  in  search 
of  a  suitable  location.  Taking  up  a  claim  in 
Faribault  county  in  1855,  he  soon  sold  his  right 
to  the  land  and  moved  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  took  up  a  tract  in  Shelby  township.  In 
the  development  of  the  locality  he  bore  an  active 
j)art,  and  no  movement  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  lacked  his  sustaining  aid.  For  over  fifty 
years  he  remained  on  the  same  place,  meanwhile 
erecting  buildings,  putting  up  substantial  fences, 
and  bringing  the  land  under  cultivation,  so  that 
it  ranked  among  the  best  farms  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. In  the  spring  of  1906  he  removed  to  Cali- 
fornia to  make  his  home  in  a  climate  whose 
delightful  warmth  suited  the  needs  of  his  weak- 
ening physical  powers.  In  spite  of  having 
reached  the  age  of  eighty-six  years  and  notwith- 
standing his  very  busy  life,  he  is  well-preserved, 
■\\  ith  none  of  his  faculties  impaired. 

The  marriage  of  Edward  Brace  united  him 
with  Isabel  Va  Nice,  a  native  of  Indiana.  They 
became  the  parents  of  four  children,  namely: 
ilinnie,  who  married  C.  J.  Louer  and  lives  at 
Shelby,  this  state;  Chester  H.,  of  Amboy;  Nora 
and  Dora  (twins),  the  latter  of  whom  accom- 
panied her  father  to  California,  while  the  formei 
is  the  wife  of  E.  N.  Chord,  of  St.  Paul,  this 
state.  The  only  son  was  born  in  Shelby,  town- 
ship. Blue  Earth  county,  August  33,  1864,  and 
received  his  rudimentary  education  in  countrj 
schools  near  the  home  farm,  after  which  he  had 
the  advantage  of  a  course  of  study  in  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodist  Seminary  in  Dodge  county, 
Minnesota.      On    completing   his   studies   he   re- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


349 


turned  to  assist  his  father  on  the  home  farm, 
but  in  1891  he  embarked  in  farming  for  himself 
in  Shelby  township.  Coming  to  Amboy  in  1903, 
he  opened  a  real-estate  office,  where  now  he  has, 
occupying  a  conspicuous  place,  a  display  of  the 
products  of  the  county  that  is  universally  ad- 
mired. A  stranger  viewing  these  varied  pro- 
ducts realizes  for  the  first  time  the  possibilities 
of  the  soil  of  this  section,  and  even  old  resi- 
dents are  often  surprised  at  the  results  others 
have  attained  in  the  cultivation  of  this  rich  soil. 
Besides  his  other  interests  ilr.  Brace  owns  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  four  miles  from  Amboy 
of  which  the  entire  tract  is  under  cultivation. 
A  neat  residence  is  surrounded  by  a  grove  that 
furnishes  shade  in  summer  and  protection  from 
the  stern  winds  of  winter.  Good  barns  and  sub- 
stantial outbuildings  furnish  adequate  accommo- 
dation for  stock,  grain  and  machinery.  The 
place  is  maintained  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
vation and  ranks  among  the  best  in  the  town- 
ship. December  14,  1897,  Mr.  Brace  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Carrie  Belle  McLain,  a  descend- 
ant of  Scotch  ancestry  and  a  native  of  Franklin 
county,  Maine.  Her  father,  John  A.,  son  of 
the  late  John  McLain,  was  born  and  reared  in 
Franklin  county  and  spent  much  of  his  active 
life  in  Maine,  but  eventually  came  west  to  Min- 
nesota, where  he  now  resides  at  Amboy. 


BEADLEY,  GEORGE  E.— The  general  agent 
of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha 
Eailway  at  Mankato,  holder  of  farming  property 
and  city  real  estate,  representative  of  a  highly 
honored  family  of  Blue  Earth  county  and  an  able 
and  most  worthy  citizen,  George  E.  Bradley  is  a 
native  son  of  Illinois  and  is  a  credit  to  his  State. 
He  was  born  January  9,  1863,  the  son  of  George 
Martin  and  Harriet  (Wilkinson)  Bradley,  his 
parents,  who  were  natives  respectively  of  Ken- 
tucky and  England,  coming  to  this  state  at  an 
early  age.  They  were  also  married  in  Illinois, 
after  which  the  husband  bought  a  farm  of  three 
hundred  acres  in  Lime  township  which  is  now 
in  possession  of  his  son,  George  E.,  and,  although 
a  portion  of  it  is  still  uncleared  it  is  considered 
one  of  the  finest  pieces  of  agricultural  property 


in  the  township.  The  father  was  an  industrious, 
successful  farmer,  a  quiet,  honorable  and  genu- 
inely good  man,  not  only  respected  but  beloved; 
more  than  that,  he  applied  his  abilities  and  true 
worth  to  the  upbuilding  of  his  residence  com- 
munity in  public  and  religious  activities.  At  one 
time  he  sewed  as  Supervisor  of  the  township,  and 
was  one  of  the  founders  and  trustees  of  the  First 
M.  E.  Church  in  the  locality.  George  M.  Brad- 
ley passed  away  September  17,  1899,  in  the 
seventy-first  year  of  his  age,  and  his  widow,  who 
was  born  on  the  6th  of  ilarch,  1826,  still  survives 
him. 

George  E.  Bradley  is  the  third  of  a  family  of 
five  children,  all  living,  as  follows:  Amelia,  wife 
of  Lucius  B.  Fancher,  a  citizen  of  Minnea- 
polis, Minnesota;  Luella,  now  Mrs.  Louis  J.  Van 
Fossen,  of  that  city;  Charles  Herbert,  a  Minnea- 
polis physician ;  and  Ada  Belle,  wife  of  C.  B. 
Brainerd,  of  Devil's  Lake,  North  Dakota.  George 
R.,  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Mankato 
at  the  State  Normal  school  and  Hamline  university 
but  instead  of  adopting  any  of  the  learned  pro- 
fessions first  mastered  telegraphy,  and  then 
acted  successively  as  night  clerk,  bill  clerk,  and 
cashier  in  the  office  of  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  &  Omaha  Railway.  He  was  appoint- 
ed to  the  last  named  position  in  1889,  and  was 
promoted  to  be  general  agent  in  1896.  His  long 
service  with  the  company  of  itself  indicates  faith- 
fulness and  ability,  combined  with  absolute  and 
unfailing  courtesy. 

Mr.  Bradley  still  retains  the  old  homestead  in 
Lime  Township,  with  its  farming  interests,  and 
is  also  the  owner  of  a  recently  erected  modern 
residence  at  318  South  Fourth  street,  Mankato. 
He  is  a  local  republican  leader,  a  good  enterprising 
citizen  and  -has  well  served  his  fellows  as  alder- 
man of  the  fourth  ward.  Fraternally  he  is  active 
and  widely  known,  having  filled  all  the  chairs  in 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  being  Past 
Grand  in  both  the  I.  0.  0.  F.  lodge  and  the 
Royal  Arcanum  Council.  He  is  also  an  earnest 
member  of  the  First  M.  E.  Church,  and  in  every 
way  a  citizen  and  a  man  to  be  admired  and  hon- 
ored. 

Mr.  Bradley  was  married  November  14,  1888, 
to  Miss  Myra  Brooks,  daughter  of  Dr.  Ransom 
and  Sarah  Lovira  (Andrews)    Brooks,  natives  of 


350 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Ohio  and  New  York,  respectively.  At  an  early 
day  they  came  to  Kenosha,  Wisconsin,  and  more 
than  half  a  century  ago  located  their  homestead 
in  Blue  Earth  County,  Minnesota,  at  one  time 
owning  land  where  now  stand  the  Mankato  post- 
office  and  the  residence  of  George  B.  Brett.  Dr. 
Brooks  also  possessed  a  tract  covering  the  site 
of  the  present  race  tracks,  and  in  his  active  days 
ran  the  overland  freighters  between  St.  Paul  and 
Mankato.  In  his  early  years  he  was  a  schoolmate 
of  President  Garfield,  and  v.-as  always  a  stanch 
admirer  of  the  martyr  statesman  and  Christian 
gentleman.  He  died  March  4,  1900,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-two  years,  a  busy,  useful  and  honorable 
man  throughout  his  long  life.  The  surviving 
widow,  who  is  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  has  been 
the  mother  of  the  following:  Ellen,  Mrs.  W.  P. 
Coffin,  of  Minneapolis;  Nathan,  a  resident  of  Bil- 
lings, Montana;  Ida,  living  in  Hitchcock,  South 
Dakota;  Mrs.  George  Bradley;  Morgan,  of  Lime 
Township,  this  county;  Carrie  L.,  wife  of  Dr. 
C.  H.  Bradley,  of  Minneapolis;  Charles,  on  the 
homestead  farm  in  Lime  Township;  and  Alice, 
deceased,  who  was  the  second  child  of  the  fam- 
ily. Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  Bradley  have  one  child, 
Euth. 

Before  her  marriage  Mrs.  Bradley  was  a  highly 
successful  teacher.  She  was  educated  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  Mankato  and  at  the  State  Normal 
School,  graduating  from  the  latter  with  the  class 
of  1880.  Afterward  she  taught  in  the  public 
schools  of  Blue  Earth  county  for  two  years,  and 
in  the  graded  schools  of  Eagle  Lake,  same  county, 
for  a  period  of  five  years.  She  is  a  highly  re- 
spected and  cultured  lady,  and  the  family  is 
among  the  most  substantial  in  the  county. 


BEANDENBUEG,  Dr.,  FEEDEEICK  D.— 
In  strict  accord  with  the  Teutonic  temperament 
of  faithfulness  and  tlioroughness,  in  pursuance 
of  the  approved  business  maxim  "be  sure  you'r 
riglit,  then  go  ahead,"  Dr.  Brandenburg  has  had 
a  most  broad  and  careful  preparation  for  his 
professional  work  and  the  general  confidence  of 
the  community  and  his  substantial  progress  as  an 
able  physician  and  surgeon  have  been  the  logical 
results.  His  father,  Frank  Brandenburg,  was  of 
the    German    province   by    that   name,    and    his 


mother  (Nee  Elizabeth  Lutz)  was  a  native  of  Stras- 
burg,  coming  to  America  some  sixty  years  ago 
and  locating  in  Pennsylvania.  At  Pittston,  that 
State,  Mr.  Brandenburg  was  a  merchant  for  many 
years,  and  there  his  son,  the  future  physician  was 
born.  Twenty  years  ago  the  father  was  able  to 
retire  from  business,  and  is  still  living  in  com- 
fortable circumstances,  a  venerable  gentleman  of 
eighty-six  years,  his  wife  preceding  him  Janu- 
ary 14,  1890,  aged  fifty-five. 

Of  the  family  of  nine  children.  Dr.  Branden- 
burg was  the  fifth,  and  was  born  at  Pittston, 
February  26,  1862.  His  elementary  and  liter- 
ary education  was  obtained  in  the  public  and  high 
schools  of  his  native  town;  at  the  Wyoming  Sem- 
inary, Kingston,  Pennsylvania,  and  at  Lafayette 
College,  Easton,  that  State,  from  which  he  ob- 
tained the  degrees  of  A.  B.  and  A. 
M.  Various  institutions  of  New  York  supplied 
him  with  facilities  for  a  thorough  professonaT 
training,  as  he  graduated  from  the  Bellevue  Hos- 
pital Medical  College,  in  1885,  with  his  degree 
of  M.  D.  and  in  the  following  year  pursued  a 
supplementary  course  at  the  New  York  Polyclinic 
Medical  School  and  Hospital.  In  1887  Dr. 
Brandenburg  located  at  Mankato  for  the  practice 
of  his  profession,  and  was  thus  engaged  for  three 
years,  when  he  was  called  to  New  York  to  fill  the 
position  of  house  surgeon  in  the  Woman's  hos- 
pital, serving  thus  from  1890  to  1892.  The  fol- 
lowing three  years  were  spent  in  Cleveland,  where 
besides  practicing  in  his  private  capacity,  he  was 
honored  with  appointments  as  Professor  of 
Gynaecology  in  tlie  medical  department  of  the 
Western  Eeserve  University,  and  as  gynaecologist 
to  the  Charity,  Lakeside,  City  and  German  hospi- 
tals. 

Ee-enforced  in  breadth  of  experience  and  pro- 
fessional reputation.  Dr.  Brandenburg  returned 
to  practice  in  Mankato,  and  since  his  re-es- 
tablishment there  in  1895,  has  come  to  be  recog- 
nized as  a  leading  surgeon  and  extremely  popular 
and  useful  citizen.  At  the  present  time  he  is  sur- 
geon to  the  Immanuel  and  St.  Joseph's  Hospitals, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical  and 
Si:ate  Medical  Associations,  Blue  Earth  Medical 
Society,  General  Alumni  Society  of  New  York 
University  and  a  Fellow  of  the  American  Aca- 
demy of  Medicine.    He  is  also  Medical  Examiner 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


351 


for  the  Washington  Life,  Manhattan,  Mutual, 
Home  and  Germania  Life  Insurance  companies, 
of  New  York;  Union  Central,  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio;  and  Phoenix  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, Hartford,  Connecticut. 

Dr.  Brandenburg  was  married  December  14, 
1887,  to  Miss  Bertha  E.  Swan,  daughter  of  the 
late  James  B.  Swan,  a  prominent  citizen  of 
Mankato,  and  they  have  two  children,  Lucile  and 
Lenore.  The  Doctor  is  a  Knight  of  Pythias  and 
is  high  in  Masonry,  a  member  of  Chapter,  Com- 
mandery  and  Osman  Shrine  of  St.  Paul.  He  is 
also  identified  with  the  Odd  Fellows  fraternity, 
and  not  only  a  welcome  figure  to  the  circles  of  all 
these  secret  and  benevolent  orders,  but  to  the 
private  sociabilities  of  the  best  families  of  Man- 
kato. 

BRETT,  GEOEGE  EVEEETT— The  minds 
ol  men  are  as  varied  in  their  talents  as  faces  are 
varied  in  their  expression.  It  is  the  ill  fortune 
of  some  to  pass  through  the  years  of  a  long  life, 
yet  never  find  the  occupation  for  which  they  were 
host  adapted  by  nature.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
are  some  who  early  in  youth  recognize  the  bent 
of  their  talents  and  devote  themselves  assidu- 
ously to  the  cultivation  of  the  same.  To  the  lat- 
ter success  invariably  comes,  and  it  is  to  this 
recognition  in  early  life  of  the  direction  of  his 
talents  that  the  success  of  Mr.  Brett  may  be  at- 
tributed. When  starting  out  to  seek  his  own  live- 
lihood in  the  world,  he  determined  to  become  a 
merchant,  and  in  May,  1868,  he  established  a 
dry  goods  business  in  Mankato,  where  he  has 
since  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  Forty 
years  have  come  and  gone  since  he  opened  his 
store.  Inevitably  many  changes  have  taken  place 
in  his  home  city  and  county  during  that  long 
period.  The  men  who  were  then  the  leaders  in 
business  activities  have  largely  passed  from  scenes 
of  earth.  The  city  has  grown  and  expanded  to 
an  extent  then  unanticipated.  Factories  have 
turned  their  busy  wheels  and  brought  support  to 
hundreds  of  families.  The  hum  of  industry  has 
not  ceased,  nor  has  the  tide  of  progress  been  stop- 
ped in  its  ceaseless  flow.  With  the  growth  of 
the  city  his  own  establishment  has  kept  pace  and 
for  years  he  has  been  recognized  as  the  leading 
merchant  of  the  Minnesota  valley. 


The  genealogical  record  of  the  Brett  family 
shows  that  they  are  of  colonial  ancestry  and  hon- 
orable lineage,  the  line  going  back  directly  to 
John  Alden  and  Priscilla,  noted  in  the  early  his- 
tory of  New  England.  Other  distinguished  rel- 
atives were  Phoebe  and  Alice  Cary.  George 
]-]verett  Brett  ^-as  born  at  Strong,  Franklin 
county,  Maine,  November  23,  1S45,  being  a  son 
of  Cj-rus  Hamlin  and  Mary  (Hunter)  Brett,  the 
latter  of  Scotch  descent.  The  father  was  a  fine 
tenor  singer  and  a  talented  musician  and  after 
e.jming  to  Minnesota  in  1862  he  taught  music 
in  various  towns  of  the  state,  in  which  work  he 
had  engaged  with  success  in  Maine  during 
younger  years. 

Educated  principally  in  Maine,  George  Everett 
Brett  was  a  youth  of  seventeen  when  the  family 
came  to  Minnesota.  In  May  of  1868  he  em- 
barked in  the  dry  goods  business  at  Mankato, 
where  he  still  conducts  a  large  store  stocked  with 
a  varied  assortment  of  merchandise  arranged  in 
^uch  a  manner  as  to  make  of  the  building  a 
bower  of  beauty  and  good  taste.  In  the  midst  of 
the  manifolcT  cares  connected  with  the  manage- 
ment of  a  business  of  such  magnitude,  he  has 
found  time  to  participate  in  other  activities,  has 
been  prominent  for  j'ears  in  the  Board  of  Trade 
and  as  a  member  of  the  common  council  has  la- 
bored for  the  material  welfare  of  the  people. 
He  has  also  served  as  President  of  the  Commer- 
Hal  Club,  and  is  now  Vice  President  of  the 
Jlankato  Savings  Bank.  Inheriting  from  his 
father  a  love  of  music  and  a  tenor  voice  of  rare 
strength  and  sweetness,  he  has  devoted  consider- 
able attention  to  music  and  lias  been  a  member 
of  glee  clubs  and  leader  of  the  Presbyterian 
c'durch  choir  for  the  past  thirty-five  years. 
Through  his  marriage,  March  19,  1873,  to  Miss 
Lizzie  Ellen  Maxfield,  he  became  connected  with 
one  of  the  most  prominent  families  of  St.  Paul, 
where  her  father,  Hon.  James  Maxfield,  was  long 
ihe  popular  and  progressive  mayor.  Three  chil- 
dren came  to  bless  their  union,  namely:  James 
Edwin,  born  July  1,  1875;  Frank  Everett,  Au- 
gust 7,  1877;  and  Mary  Maxfield,  who  was  born 
January  26,  1879,  received  excellent  educational 
advantages,  and  June  2,  1900,  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Wilbur  Morgan  Taylor.  They 
are  the  parents  of  four   children,   who   in   order 


352 


BIOGEAPI-IICAL  HISTORY. 


of  their  birth  are  Brett  Maxfield;  Leah;  Eloise; 
and  Morgan  Hunter. 

BREWEE,  CHARLES  H.— The  claims  to  con- 
sideration on  the  part  of  Charles  H.  Brewer  are 
founded  upon  an  earnest  desire  to  uphold  the 
merit  of  a  fine  old  pioneer  name,  identified  with 
Blue  Earth  county  for  the  past  forty-five  years, 
and  representing  at  all  times  the  best  farming 
element  of  this  part  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Brewer 
was  born  on  the  farm  he  now  owns  and  occupies, 
Ju.ly  28,  1871,  and  is  one  of  the  four  children  of 
Daniel  D.,  and  J\Iary  (Gettie)  Brewer,  born  in 
1833  and  1837,  respectively. 

Upon  leaving  his  native  state  to  avail  himself 
of  the  larger  opportunities  of  the  less  settled  west^ 
Daniel  Brewer  stopped  for  a  time  in  both  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin,  arriving  in  Minnesota  in  the 
spring  of  1856.  Pre-empting  a  farm  in  Winona 
county,  he  tilled  its  crude  acres  for  seven  years, 
but  failing  to  realize  expectations,  came  to  Blue 
Earth  county  and  purchased  the  land  now  owned 
by  his  son.  He  is  still  living,  and  in  the  posses- 
sion of  his  faculties.  He  has  rendered  signal 
service  to  this  his  adopted  state,  setting  a  fine 
example  of  conscientious  and  successful  farming, 
and  filling  with  credit  the  majority  of  the  local 
offices  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow  townsmen. 

Charles  H.  Brewer  has  known  no  other  home 
than  that  where  he  now  lives,  or  any  occupation 
but  farming.  At  the  district  school  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  present  many  sided  knowledge, 
and  he  has  given  to  the  conduct  of  his  farm  the 
best  of  brain  and  effort  of  which  he  is  capable. 
He  has  in  all  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
and  thoroughly  understanding  the  science  of  agri- 
culture, naturally  derives  a  substantial  income 
from  this  amount  of  land.  He  raises  stock  and 
general  produce,  has  a  fine  residence,  substantial 
barns,  and  ample  protection  for  the  result  of  his 
harvests.  Around  him  is  an  interesting  family 
of  five  children;  Carrie,  Gerald,  Cyril,  Esther 
and  Lydia.  Before  her  miarriage  Mrs.  Brewer 
was  Gertrude  Miller,  a  native  of  Rhode  Island, 
and  the  wedding  ceremony  was  performed  Sep- 
tember 27,  1897.  Mr.  Brewer  is  highly  esteemed 
for  his  many  sterling  qualities,  for  his  public 
spiritedness,  thrift,  geniality  and  integrity,  and 
in  consequence  his  friends  are  many  and  loyal. 


BROOKS,  MORGAN.— The  present  represen- 
tative of  Lime  township  upon  the  board  of  coun- 
ty supervisors  is  a  native  son  of  Blue  Earth 
county  and  always  has  maintained  a  warm  in- 
terest in  activities  tending  to  the  development 
of  agricultural  and  commercial  interests.  In 
Mankato  township,  in  what  is  now  a  part  of  the 
city  of  that  name,  he  was  born  April  19,  1864, 
being  a  son  of  D.  R.  and  Sarah  L.  (Andrews) 
Brooks,  natives  respectively  of  Ohio  and  New 
York.  During  girlhood  the  mother  accompanied 
members  of  her  family  from  New  York  to  Ohio, 
where  she  met  and  married  Mr.  Brooks,  and  in 
1857  they  made  the  tedious  journey  overland  to 
l\]innesota,  settling  upon  a  homestead  of  un- 
broken land  in  Blue  Earth  county.  As  time 
passed  by  the  land  was  brought  under  cultiva- 
tion, substantial  buildings  were  put  up  and 
many  improvements  were  made  of  a  permanent 
nature.  Upon  this  place  the  father  died  March 
4,  1900.  The  mother  still  remains  on  the  farm 
three  miles  north  of  Mankato,  which  has  been 
the  family  home  since  the  year  1873.  Eight 
children  comprised  her  family,  namely:  Ellen, 
who  married  W.  F.  Coffin  and  now  makes  her 
home  in  Minneapolis;  Nathan,  living  in  Mon- 
tana; Alice,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years; 
Ida,  residing  at  Lake  Benton,  Minnesota;  Myra, 
who  married  G.  R.  Bradley,  of  Mankato;  Mor- 
gan, whose  name  introduces  this  article;  Carrie 
L.,  wife  of  C.  H.  Bradley,  of  Minneapolis;  and 
Charles,  who  makes  his  home  in  Lime  township. 

Ever  since  completing  the  studies  of  the  schools 
of  Lime  township  and  the  city  of  Mankato, 
Morgan  Brooks  has  devoted  his  time  and  atten- 
1ion  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and  now  occupies 
a  high  position  by  reason  of  his  acknowledged 
judgment  and  energy  as  a  farmer.  Sis  mar- 
riege  took  place  in  Blue  Earth  county  January 
20,  1892,  and  united  him  with  Ella  Bancroft, 
who  was  born  near  Kilbourn,  Columbia  county, 
Wisconsin,  ilarch  25,  1868.  Her  parents,  Dud- 
ley P.  and  Adelia  (Briggs)  Bancroft,  were  na- 
tives respectively  of  New  York  and  Pennsyl- 
\ania  and  during  the  year  1886  came  to  Blue 
]<]arth  county,  Minnesota.  After  having  remained 
here  for  sixteen  years  in  1902  they  removed  to 
Minneapolis,  in  which  city  they  now  reside. 
They  were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


353 


the  eldest,  Frank  L.,  is  deceased.  Those  now 
living  are  Charles  D.,  Ella,  Addie,  Merton  E., 
George  L.  and  Mile  I. 

For  two  years  after  his  marriage  Morgan 
Brooks  remained  on  his  father's  farm.  Mean- 
time he  had  purchased  a  farm  of  his  own  and 
liiiher  he  came  about  1894,  since  which  time  he 
has  given  careful  attention  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  land.  At  this  writing  he  owns  two  hund- 
red and  twenty  acres,  the  greater  part  of  which 
is  in  meadow.  One  of  his  specialties  is  the  mak- 
ing of  hay  for  sale  in  the  Mankato  market. 
zVmong  the  people  of  Lime  township  he  is  re- 
spected as  a  man  of  intelligence,  ability  and 
tireless  energy,  and  his  services  as  township  su- 
pervisor since  1904  and  school  director  for  more 
than  twenty  years  have  been  helpful  to  the  eSiir 
cational,  agricultural  and  general  interests  of 
tlje  locality.  In  his  political  views  he  is  a  Ee- 
publican  and  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  party.  With  his  wife  he  enjoys 
the  respect  of  acquaintances  and  numbers  a  host 
of  warm  friends  among  the  people  of  the  town- 
bhip.  Five  children  comprised  his  family,  but 
ihe  eldest  daughter,  who  was  born  August  6, 
1894,  was  taken  from  the  home  by  death  March 
23,  1895.  Those  now  living  are  as  follows: 
Frank  M.,  born  June  23,  1893;  Iva  L.,  August 
10,  1896;  Ella  M.,  August  9,  1900;  and  Harry 
Ti.,  August  13,  1904,  all  of  whom  are  with  their 
parents  on  the  home  farm. 


BROOKS,  WALTEE  F.— Not  only  is  the 
present  county  surveyor  of  Blue  Earth  county 
possessed  of  broad  general  information  and  edit- 
eation,  but  he  has  had  thorough  and  exceptional 
training  and  experience  along  the  line  of  his 
oiiosen  occupation.  Born  in  Eutland,  Worcester 
county,  Massachusetts,  April  17,  18G1,  he  is  a 
son  of  Daniel  and  Catherine  (Eiley)  Brooks,  the 
former  of  whom  was  born  in  Eutland,  and  the 
latter  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  The  family  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county  in  18C6  as  a  part  of  the 
large  reconstruction  emigration,  settling  on  a 
farm  in  Medo  township,  on  the  old  AYiunebago 
I'eservation,  where  the  father  successfully  farmed 
and  raised  stock  for  many  years.  In  1891  he 
gave  up   farming   and   moved   to   the   village   of 


Mapleton,  later  locating  at  Crystal  Lake,  where 
he  now  lives  with  his  wife.  Besides  Walter  F., 
who  is  the  oldest,  there  are  two  other  sons  in 
ills  family,  of  whom  Dr.  Charles  D.  is  a  physi- 
cian at  Eutherford,  New  Jersey,  and  Harlow  is 
a  professor  in  Belleview  Medical  School,  New 
York   City. 

Five  years  old  when  he  was  brought  to  the 
Medo  township  farm  by  his  parents,  Walter  F 
Brooks  spent  his  youth  as  does  the  average  coun- 
try boy.  In  the  district  school  he  received  his 
jireliminary  education,  later  attending  the  State 
?^ormal  at  Mankato,  and  in  1886  graduating 
from  the  Civil  Engineering  department  of  the 
Polytechnic  Institute,  at  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts, with  the  degree  of  B.  S.  After  his  gradu- 
ation he  was  employed  in  the  engineering  de- 
partment of  various  leading  railroads  in  Minne- 
sota and  North  and  South  Dakota,  and  the 
L'nion  Pacific  and  Oregon  Pacific  railroads,  later 
identifying  himself  in  a  similar  capacity  with 
the  Mexican  railroads.  He  then  followed  mining 
engineering  and  irrigation  work  on  the  PaciBc 
coast  for  five  years,  and  in  February,  1894,  re- 
turned to  Blue  Earth  county,  and  opened  an 
office  for  general  practice  in  engineering  in  Man- 
kato. 

In  1897  Mr.  Brooks  was  elected  surveyor  of 
Blue  Earth  county,  which  position  he  still  holds. 
I\lr.  Brooks  is  identified  with  the  Eepublican 
j)arty,  the  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  Masonic 
fraternity.  His  marriage  to  Margaret  Limberf 
occurred  at  Eipon,  Wisconsin,  in  1896,  and  of 
the  union  there  are  three  children :  Katherine, 
Charlotte   and   George   Freeman. 


BEOWN,   GEOEGE     WELLINGTON.— That 

the  energy  and  resource  of  the  farmers  of  the 
present  generation  is  not  less  commendable  than 
that  which  enabled  the  earlier  settlers  to  leave 
comfortable  homes  in  the  east  and  share  the 
trials  and  deprivations  of  the  unsettled  north- 
western country  finds  ample  confirmation  in  the 
lives  of  many  }oung  agriculturists  in  Blue  Earth 
(ounty,  among  them  George  Wellington  Brown, 
vrhose  unaided  efforts  have  made  him  the  owner 
of  eighty  acres  of  land  in  section  28,  Shelby 
Township.    Mr.  Brown  was  born  in  Shelby  Town- 


354 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


sliip,  this  county,  December  37,  1880,  and  is  a 
ton  of  James  Lyman  Brown,  and  Sarah  S. 
(Pope)    Brown,  both  natives  of  Canada. 

James  Lyman  Brown  was  born  in  Compton, 
Canada,  and  was  a  son  of  Andrew  Brown,  who 
was  born  in  the  state  of  Maine  and  in  early  life 
moved  across  the  border  into  Canada.  James 
Lyman  was  of  an  ambitious  nature,  and  in  June, 
]87'2,  came  to  the  United  States,  locating  in 
Shelby  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota, 
where  he  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock 
raising  until  his  death.  May  7,  1890,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-one  years.  There  were  eight  children  in 
his  family,  of  whom  five  now  are  living:  Mary 
¥..,  now  Mrs.  John  W..  Barr;  William  F.,  in 
Shelby  Township;  Arthur  L.,  farming  in  Fari- 
bault county;  George  Wellington;  and  Homer  A., 
in  Faribault  county. 

Mr.  Brown  received  the  rudiments  of  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  Shelby  Township 
and  at  the  Winnebago  Agency,  but  he  is  largely 
self  educated,  as  he  has  been  a  wage  earner  since 
he  was  twelve  years  old.  At  that  early  age  he 
left  home  and  worked  for  small  wages  at  ISTash- 
ville,  this  state,  later  going  to  Stevens  county, 
where  he  gained  his  first  real  start  in  a  financial 
way.  He  was  frugal  and  thrifty,  and  in  1901 
was  able  to  purchase  half  of  the  original  home- 
stead in  section  28,  Shelby  Township,  his  eldest 
brother  coming  into  possession  of  the  other  eighty 
acres.  He  has  made  many  fine  improvements  in 
addition  to  those  credited  to  his  father,  includ- 
ing a  grove,  which  he  set  out  as  a  wind  break, 
a  most  desirable  addition  when  the  northern 
winds  sweep  across  the  country.  He  is  engaged 
in  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  principally 
horses  and  hogs  in  the  stock  line.  He  is  progres- 
sive and  industrious,  amiable  and  companionable, 
and  has  a  host  of  friends  throughout  the  county. 
Mr.  Brown  is  naturally  social  in  his  tendencies, 
and  derives  great  pleasure  from  his  fraternal  con- 
nections, being  a  member  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Modern  Woodmen 
of  America. 


BROWN,  JAMES  B.— Representative  of  the 
journalism  of  Blue  Earth  county  is  the  editor 
and  publisher  of  the  Amboy  Herald,  wjio  since 


1900  has  been  identified  with  this  sheet  and 
meanwhile  has  promoted  the  success  of  the  pub- 
lication by  his  editorial  ability.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  he  is  now  (1908)  seventy-six 
years .  of  age,  he  retains  the  energy  and  consti- 
tution of  a  man  of  sixty.  Steady  work  at  his 
desk  or  case  for  ten  hours  each  day  does  not 
exhaust  his  strength,  and  he  is  able  to  read  and 
set  type  without  the  aid  of  spectacles.  After 
years  of  mental  and  physical  activity,  he  fortu- 
nately retains  the  full  use  of  all  his  faculties 
and  is  thus  enabled  to  wield  a  wide  infiuence 
throughout  the  county  by  means  of  his  interest- 
ing and  popular  publication. 

The  history  of  the  Brown  family  shows  that 
James  an9  Jeanette  Brown  were  bom  and  reared 
in  Scotland,  whence  about  1820  they  migrated  to 
Canada.  The  father  engaged  in  lumbering  and 
manufacturing  potash,  but  he  died  in  middle  age 
when  his  son  and  namesake  was  only  five  years 
old.  The  boy  was  thereupon  taken  into  the 
home  of  an  uncle  in  St.  Lawrence  county,  New 
York,  where  he  attended  country  school  between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  fifteen.  When  seventeen 
years  old  he  was  given  his  liberty  and  from  that 
time  forward  earned  his  own  way  in  the  world. 
As  early  as  1849  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Fond 
du  Lac  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  learned  the 
mason's  trade,  and  for  seven  years  he  followed 
the  occupation.  During  1856  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  H.  S.  Town  at  Eipon,  Wisconsin, 
in  the  mercantile  business  but  in  1861  he  sold 
out  his  interest,  and  three  years  later  came  to 
Blue  Earth  county,  where  since  he  has  made  his 
home.  In  1865  he  opened  a  store  at  Winnebago 
Agency.  Blue  Earth  county,  and  in  1871  he 
moved  to  Mapleton,  same  county,  where  he  em- 
barked in  mercantile  pursuits  and  also  engaged 
in  banking  until  1896.  The  panic  that  culmi- 
nated about  that  year  found  him  unprepared  for 
financial  emergencies  after  several  years  of  busi- 
ness depression  and  he  suffered  business  failure. 
Since  1900  he  has  been  editor  of  the  Amboy 
Herald. 

Since  the  year  1874  Mr.  Brown  has  been  iden- 
tified with  Masonry  and  now  is  a  member  of 
Amboy  Lodge  No.  193,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  in  which 
he  has  passed  all  of  the  chairs.     The  Eepubli- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


355 


can  party  has  his  earnest  support  both  person- 
ally and  through  the  medium  of  the  paper.  His 
religious  views  are  broad  and  he  has  no  church 
associations,  but  is  in  sympathy  with  all  efforts 
for  the  uplifting  of  the  race  and  gives  generous 
aid  to  measures  for  the  promotion  of  Amboy^s 
interests.  While  living  at  Eipon,  Wisconsin,  he 
married  Charlotte  Townsend,  whose  parents  came 
west  from  Vermont  in  an  early  day.  She  died 
ISTovember  6,  1896,  leaving  two  sons,  Charles  H. 
and  Clark  D.,  who  are  married  and  reside  in 
New  York  City.  Pour  years  later  Mr.  Brown 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Mrs.  Helen  M.  Hil- 
ton whose  parents  were  natives  of  Vermont. 
They  came  west  in  1857  and  settled  in  Bentin, 
Wisconsin.  In  1865  they  moved  to  Winnebago 
Agency,  Blue  Earth  County,  Minnesota.  Among 
the  people  of  the  county  where  for  so  many 
years  Mr.  Brown  has  lived  and  labored  he  has 
a  host  of  acquaintances,  all  of  whom  regard  him 
with  respect  and  esteem,  and  recognize  in  him 
a  pioneer  of  patriotic  spirit  and  high  order  of 
intelligence. 


BROWN",  HON.  JAMES.— A  lasting  benefit 
to  both  was  realized  in  the  association  of  Hon. 
James  Brown  and  the  city  of  Mankato  from  Au- 
gust 19,  1865,  until  the  lamented  death  of  the 
honored  jurist,  August  3,  1889.  Judge  Brown 
wa?  a  man  of  solid  and  substantial  worth,  well 
grounded  in  the  law,  and  prominent  in  the  edu- 
cational and  religious  upbuilding  of  the  com- 
munities in  which  he  lived.  Exceptional  only 
in  his  strength  of  character  and  abilHy  to  grasp 
and  use  his  opportunities,  he  filled  a  fundamental 
need  with  courage,  fidelity  and  invariable  regard 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  people. 

Born  in  Milford,  Butler  county,  Ohio,  March 
]4,  1881,  Judge  Brown  was  of  Irish  ancestr}', 
his  parents  having  settled  in  Ohio  shortly  after 
their  arrival  from  Belfast,  Ireland,  in  1810. 
Mr.  Brown  owed  his  initial  education  to  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  his  native  state,  and  in  1845  grad- 
uated with  highest  honors  from  Miami  College, 
at  Oxford,  Ohio,  during  his  college  life  divert- 
ing his  leisure  into  the  channel  of  legal  research. 
Later  he  entered  the  law  office  of  0.  S.  With- 


erb]',  and  in  1846  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
TTnion  county,  Indiana,  soon  after  opening  an 
office  in  Winchester,  the  same  state.  The  prac- 
tical qualities  of  Mr.  Brown  received  ready  rec- 
ognition, and  in  1849  he  was  elected  to  the  In- 
diana legislature,  the  governor  of  the  state  in 
1854  appointing  him  judge  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas.  For  years  he  was  county  examiner 
of  schools  of  Winchester  county,  and  in  1854 
■\ras  chosen  presidential  elector,  in  the  fall  oJE  the 
same  year  was  the  Democratic  nominee  for  con- 
gress. 

The  removal  of  Judge  Brown  to  Minnesota 
during  the  last  year  of  the  Civil  war  was  due 
principally  to  the  illness  of  his  wife,  for  whom 
much  was  hoped  in  a  change  of  climate.  Be- 
fore her  marriage,  September  14,  1846,  Mrs. 
Brovm  was  Caroline  Irwin,  daughter  of  Eev. 
Eobert  Irwin.  Judge  Brown  in  1866  formed"  a 
partnership  with  J.  A.  Wiswell,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Brown  &  Wiswell,  an  association  result- 
ing in  strong  professional  work,  and  a  reputa- 
tion for  dependable  service  by  no  means  confined 
to  the  limits  of  Blue  Earth  county.  In  the  mean- 
time Mr.  Brown  took  an  active  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters,  promoting  the  same  with  vigor 
and  enthusiasm.  He  believed  in  education  as  a 
means  to  great  ends,  and  considered  it  a  solution 
of  many  of  the  problems  which  now  vex  the 
souls  of  great  thinkers  and  reformers.  For 
years  he  was  resident  director  of  the  Mankato 
Normal  school,  was  instrumental  in  enlarging  its 
sphere  and  capacity,  and  made  the  selection  of 
the  present  site  of  the  school.  As  in  Indiana,  his 
political  activity  remained  a  feature  of  his  ca- 
reer, and  he  represented  his  county  in  the  legis- 
lature  of   1881. 

The  wife  of  Mr.  Brown  dying  in  1885,  De- 
cember 33,  1886,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
^Irs.  Josephina  E.  Sheets,  of  Hamilton,  Ohio, 
M'ho  with  the  following  children,  survive  him: 
Mrs.  Mary  Cornelia  Pfau,  Mrs.  Marcella  Mann, 
Charles  I.,  Henry  W.,  and  Eobert  E. 


BEOWN,  EOBEET  E.— The  above  named, 
manager  of  the  Mankato  Gas  and  Electric  Light 
Company,  has  accomplished  much  for  the  pro- 
gressive name   of  the  city  by  placing  it  in  the 


356 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


rank  of  cities  whose  lighting  service  is  efficient 
and  modem.  He  has  enjoyed  the  mechanical 
and  business  experience  for  just  such  a  position, 
and  as  he  has  also  the  required  natural  abilities, 
the  man  and  the  place  are  in  perfect  harmony. 

Robert  E.  Brown  is  a  native  of  Winchester, 
Indiana,  and  was  born  May  2,  1861,  the  son  of 
Hon.  James  Brown  and  his  wife  (formerly  Caro- 
line I.  Irwin),  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  respectively. 
A  biography  of  the  father,  one  of  the  prominent 
men  of  the  county  and  the  state,  is  published 
elsewhere  in  this  work.  Eobert  B.,  who  was  the 
youngest  but  one  in  their  family  of  six,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools — both  elementary 
and  high — of  Mankato,  but  as  he  early  showed  a 
mechanical  bent  learned  the  plumber's  trade 
while  yet  a  boy.  He  continued  at  that  occupa- 
tion from  1880  to  1887,  when  he  became  man- 
ager of  the  local  gas  company.  After  holding 
this  position  for  two  years  the  gas  and  electric 
interests  in  the  local  field  were  consolidated  as 
the  Mankato  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Company, 
and  Mr.  Brown  was  chosen  general  manager. 
Since  1889  he  has  efficiently  performed  the  du- 
ties of  that  office,  which  with  the  growth  of 
the  city  and  the  consequent  extension  of  the  ser- 
vice have  become  ever  more  responsible  and  ar- 
duous. 

On  September  20,  1893,  Mr.  Brown  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ella  Sackett,  of 
Candor,  Tioga  County,  'New  York,  a  graduate  of 
the  Oswego  (IST.  Y.)  State  ITormal  School,  and 
later  a  successful  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Min- 
neapolis and  Mankato.  They  have  become  the 
parents  of  two  children — Eobert  E.,  Jr.,  and 
Kathryn  Sackett  Brown.  Politically,  Mr.  Brown 
is  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Mankato  Commercial  Club,  and 
is  also  associated  with  the  B.  P.  0.  E.,  Eoyal 
Arcanum,  A.  0.  U.  W.,  M.  W.  A.  and  Modern 
Samaritans,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Na- 
tional Electric  Light  Association,  and  the  Amer- 
ican Gas  Institute. 


BEYSOTSr,  "W.  J.— Although  npt  numbered 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
the  Bryson  family  ranks  among  the  pioneers 
and  its  members  have  contributed  with  custom- 


ary pioneer  energy  and  self-sacrifice  to  the  agri- 
cultural development  of  this  part  of  the  north- 
west. The  first  of  the  name  to  seek  a  home  in 
this  then  frontier  region  was  James  Bryson,  who 
was  born  in  Ireland  of  Scottish  parents  in  1843, 
received  a  common-school  education  in  his  na- 
tive land  and  from  an  early  age  earned  his  own 
way  in  the  world.  Coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
in  1869  he  commenced  farming  in  Garden  City 
township  and  at  once  began  to  make  the  many 
improvements  necessary  to  bring  the  land  into 
profitable  cultivation.  As  a  farmer  he  was  per- 
severing and  undismayed  by  difficulties.  After 
some  years  on  his  original  homestead  he  removed 
to  Lyra  township,  took  up  land,  improved  a 
farm  and  rose  to  a  position  of  influence  among 
the  people  of  his  community,  who  chose  him  to 
serve  as  pathmaster  and  also  for  years  held  him 
in  the  office  of  member  of  the  township  board. 
Of  late  years  he  has  been  retired  from  the  farm 
but  he  retains  his  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
world  and  is  well  posted  concerning  this  county 
and  its  rise  in  agricultural  importance  among  the 
counties  of  the  state. 

The  marriage  of  James  Bryson  and  Elizabeth 
Howard  was  blessed  with  six  children,  namely: 
Mary  E.,  deceased;  Martha,  who  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Mankato  State  Normal;  W.  J.,  the  only 
son,  who  was  born  in  Lyra  township  December 
25,  1877,  and  who  still  resides  on  the  farm  where 
he  was  born;  Eleanor  C,  Etta  and  Elizabeth, 
who  are  high-school  graduates  and  popular  among 
the  young  people  of  their  neighborhood.  The 
family  circle  is  still  unbroken  save  by  the  death 
of  the  eldest  daughter,  and  parents  and  children 
remain  together  on  the  old  homestead  near 
Good  Thunder  on  the  Blue  Earth  river.  The 
land  is  managed  by  the  son,  who  is  unmarried, 
and  whose  energetic  supervision  of  the  estate 
enables  his  parents  to  enjoy  in  their  old  age  a 
freedom  from  care  well  merited  by  years  of  in- 
dustry and  economy. 

In  addition  to  receiving  common-school  ad- 
vantages, W.  J.  Bryson  was  for  two  years  a 
ei-udent  in  the  Minnesota  State  University  and 
by  careful  study  and  habits  of  close  observation 
he  has  become  a  man  of  broad  information.  After 
having  spent  one  year  at  Eedwood  Palls,  Miniie- 
sota,  in  1901  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


357 


and  has  since  aided  in  tlie  management  of  the 
property,  of  which  he  is  the  present  responsible 
head.  The  homestead  comprises  four  hundred 
and  forty  acres  of  which  three  hundred  and 
twenty  are  under  the  plow.  The  fields  show 
crops  suited  to  the  soil  and  climate,  while  in 
the  pastures  may  be  seen  fine  shorthorn  cattle, 
Oxforddown  sheep  and  Poland-China  hogs.  Like 
his  father,  W.  J.  Bryson  is  a  stanch  believer  in 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  and  never 
fails  to  give  that  organization  his  ballot  and 
influence.  The  religious  views  of  the  family 
bring  them  into  active  co-operation  with  the 
Baptist  church  and  they  have  been  earnest  sup- 
porters of  that  denomination. 


BURLISON,  ALTAMONT.— The  southern 
counties  of  Minnesota  began  to  attract  large 
numbers  of  permanent  settlers  during  the  early 
'tiOs  and  the  entire  decade  witnessed  the  incom- 
ing of  farmers  from  the  east.  Prom  that  time 
to  the  present  there  have  not  been  lacking  men 
of  energy  and  industry,  who  have  been  intelli- 
gently striving  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  re- 
gion and  who  have  accomplished  much  in  the  way 
of  proving  the  best  crops  to  be  raised,  the  most 
scientific  methods  of  cultivation,  and  the  most 
satisfactory  processes  of  raising  live-stock.  Agri- 
culture is  the  principal  occupation  and  the  farm- 
ers have  proved  the  real  benefactors  of  the  re- 
gion, their  intelligent  labors  having  brought 
v.^ealth  into  the  country  and  prosperity  to  the 
people.  Among  those  who  came  hither  during 
the  epoch  immediately  following  the  Civil  war 
may  be  mentioned  the  Burlison  family,  pioneers 
of  1866,  since  which  year  they  have  been  identi- 
lied  with  the  farming  interests  of  Blue  Earth 
county. 

Born  in  Wisconsin,  April  11,  1861,  Altamont 
Burlison  was  one  of  a  family  of  two  sons  and 
two  daughters,  whose  parents,  Daniel  W.  and 
Mary  (Phillips)  Burlison,  were  natives  respec- 
tively of  New  York  and  Ohio.  At  an  early  age 
the  father  became  a  pioneer  of  Wisconsin,  where 
he  took  up  land  and  improved  a  farm.  The  lo- 
cation did  not  prove  entirely  satisfactory,  and  he 
determined  to  join  the  tide  of  emigration  then 
turned   toward   Minnesota,   where   he   arrived   in 


1866,  settling  on  a  tract  of  new  land  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  From  the  first  he  was  influential 
in  the  county,  where  his  talents  led  to  his  elec- 
tion, on  the  Republican  ticket,  as  a  member  of 
the  state  legislature  during  the  sessions  of  ISM 
and  1875.  While  representing  his  district  in  tlic 
assembly  he  gave  his  support  to  all  measures  for 
the  benefit  of  his  constituents  and  for  the  gen- 
eral well-being  of  the  state. 

When  the  family  came  to  Minnesota  Altamont 
Burlison  was  a  small  child,  hence  his  education 
was  obtained  wholly  in  this  state.  Though  he 
never  attended  college,  he  is  a  well-informed 
man  and  possesses  a  wide  fund  of  valuable  in- 
formation, especially  concerning  agriculture.  For 
years  he  has  made  his  home  on  section  ten,  De- 
coria  township,  where  he  has  a  neat  place  with 
fair  buildings.  In  addition  to  superintending 
the  home  farm  of  one  hundred  sixty  acres,  he  is 
serving  as  township  assessor  at  this  writing  and 
in  other  ways  has  identified  himself  with  the  af- 
fairs of  the  locality.  Politically  he  gives  his  vole 
to  the  men  and  measures  of  the  Republican  party. 
In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Masons.  His  marriage  took  place  December 
21,  1884,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Carrie  L. 
Shepherd,  who  was  born  in  Minnesota,  her  par- 
ents having  come  hither  from  Kew  York.  Two 
sons  and  a  daughter  comprise  the  family.  Carl 
E.  and  Glen  H.  are  twenty-one  and  nineteen 
years  of  age  respectively,  and  the  daughter.  Hazel 
I\[ay,  is.  a  bright  school  girl  of  fourteen  years. 


CAREY,  WILLIAM  M.— With  the  gift  of  a 
quarter  section  of  farm  land  from  his  father  as 
the  nucleus  of  his  possessions,  William  M.  Carey 
has  added  to  his  original  property  until  now  he 
owns  more  than  eight  hundred  acres,  all  practi- 
cally under  cultivation.  The  land  is  supplied 
with  wells  and  is  further  watered  by  the  Big 
Cobb  river  which  passes  through  the  farm.  Fuel 
for  the  family  use  is  furnished  from  the  timber 
on  the  estate.  A  neat  farm  house  and  substantial 
gTanaries  and  barns  prove  the  owner  of  the  farm 
to  be  a  man  of  thrift,  enterprise  and  progressive 
spirit,  and  the  impression  thus  derived  is  heigh- 
tened by  the  appearance  of  the  Poland-China 
hogs,  shorthorn  cattle  and  Norman  horses,  all  of 


358 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


which  are  of  blooded  strains.  The  land  lies  in 
DanviUe  township  and  was  the  original  home  of 
the  family,  who  subsequently  removed  to  a  farm 
three  and  one-half  miles  away  from  their  first 
purchase. 

Born  in  Pennsylvania  November  1,  1849, 
William  M.  Carey  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Cath- 
erine (Murray)  Carey,  natives  of  county  Mayo, 
Ireland,  and  a  grandson  of  William  Carey,  be- 
longing to  an  old,  honored  and  prosperous  family 
of  the  Emerald  isle.  In  the  old  world,  as  in  the 
new,  agriculture  formed  the  principal  occupation 
of  representatives  of  the  family.  During  the 
year  1848  Thomas  Carey  came  to  America  and 
settled  in  Pennsylvania.  After  a  brief  sojourn 
in  that  state  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Wisconsin, 
bat  a  year  later,  in  1853,  he  came  to  Minnesota, 
settling  in  Houston  county  and  embarking  in 
farm  pursuits.  The  country  was  in  its  primeval 
wildness.  Pew  attempts  had  been  made  at  culti- 
vation or  improvement,  and  as  yet  settlers  were 
few.  In  1864  he  removed  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  settled  in  Danville  township  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  his  son,  William  M.  A  few 
years  later  he  bought  and  removed  to  a  farm 
three  and  one-half  miles  north  of  the  original 
purchase,  and  there  he  spent  his  last  years.  A 
m.an  of  remarkable  energy  and  perseverance,  he 
not  only  provided  well  for  his  family  and  main- 
tained a  close  supervision  of  his  farm,  but  in 
addition  he  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  affairs 
of  local  importance. 

The  third  in  a  family  of  nine  children,  Wil- 
liam M.  Carey  was  four  years  of  age  when  the 
family  settled  in  Minnesota  and  fifteen  years  old 
when  he  accompanied  them  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
settling  on  the  farm  where  he  now  lives.  When 
the  father  purchased  another  farm  he  moved 
thither  and  helped-  to  bring  it  under  cultivation, 
but  at  the  same  time  of  his  marriage  returned 
to  the  original  homestead  and  here  he  has  since 
been  extensively  engaged  in  the  raising  of  the 
various  products  adapted  to  the  soil  and  climate. 
A  portion  of  the  crops  is  fed  to  the  stock,  and 
the  raising  and  fattening  of  stock  form  an  im- 
portant addition  to  the  income  of  the  family.  In 
addition,  for  some  time  Mr.  Carey  engaged  in 
buying  cattle  for  shipment  to  the  Chicago  and 
other  markets.     While  busily  engaged  in  his  pri- 


vate agricultural  affairs,  he  finds  leisure  to  parti- 
cipate in  local  politics  and  educational  work,  and 
jias  served  efficiently  as  school  director,  clerk 
and  county  supervisor. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Carey  took  place  in 
June,  1875,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Annie 
Baynes,  a  native  of  Ireland,  her  father  being 
Patrick  Baynes,  an  early  settler  of  Jamestown, 
Blue  Earth  county,  this  state.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Carey  became  the  parents  of  thirteen  children, 
all  of  whom  are  still  living  with  the  exception 
of  Agnes.  It  has  been  their  ambition  and  pride 
to  give  to  each  the  best  possible  educational  ad- 
vantages and  they  may  be  justly  proud  of  the 
high  social  and  professional  standing  they  have 
attained.  The  eldest  son,  Henry  B.,  received 
]iis  elementary  education  in  the  district  schools, 
after  which  he  attended  Mapleton  high  school 
and  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and  later 
taught  for  two  years  in  Chicago.  The  eldest 
daughter,  Mary,  is  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools 
of  Minneapolis.  William  M.,  who  was  primarily 
educated  in  district  schools  and  Mankato  high 
school,  later  was  a  student  in  Chicago  University, 
and  then  taught  for  one  year,  afterward  taking 
the  regular  course  of  lectures  in  the  Minnesota 
State  University;  in  1906  he  was  graduated  from 
that  institution  and  the  year  following  he  re- 
ceived admission  to  the  bar  of  the  state.  Fran- 
cis remains  on  the  home  farm;  Annie  is  teaching 
ill  Minneapolis ;  John  cultivates  a  farm  adjoin- 
ing the  old  homestead;  Sadie  is  a  student  in  the 
high  school ;  James,  Catherine,  David,  Emmet  and 
\Valter  complete  the  family  circle. 


CAVEN,  MICHAEL. — Associations  covering 
a  period  of  more  than  forty  years  entitle  Mr. 
Caven  to  be  classed  among  the  pioneers  of  Blue 
Piarth  county,  whither  he  came  in  young  man- 
hood, ready  to  give  his  strength  and  energy  to 
the  development  of  the  fertile  soil  of  the  region. 
Prom  the  time  of  his  arrival  to  the  present  he 
has  been  a  witness  of  the  agricultural  progress 
of  the  county  and  has  been  a  personal  contributor 
to  the  sam.e.  His  memories  carry  him  back  to 
the  days  when  Mankato  was  the  only  town  in 
Blue  Earth  county  and  often  he  walked  from  the 
farm  in  Lyra  township  the  entire  distance  into 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


359 


iwn,  while  it  was  a  common  custom  to  liaul 
rain  there  with  the  aid  of  ox-teams.  Conditions 
ave  changed  in  the  past  forty  years.  Oxen  are 
aw  seldom  usied  for  motive  power,  but  fine 
urses  of  Norman  or  Percheron  strains  may  be 
len  on  every  farm,  neat  houses  have  replaced 
le  original  cabins  of  logs,  and  villages  appear 
i'ery  few  miles,  giving  to  the  region  an  aspect 
E  prosperity  and  abundant  life. 

The  Caven  genealogy  shows  that  Thomas  and 
largaret  (Melody)  Caven  were  born  in  Ireland, 
tscendants  of  old  families  of  that  country, 
■pon  crossing  the  ocean  to  America  they  settled 
1  New  York  state  and  for  eleven  years  remained 
ti  a  farm  in  that  state.  While  living  in  Alle- 
any  county  a  son  was  born  in  1836  and  was 
amed  Michael.  The  next  location  of  the  family 
as  in  Washington  county,  Wisconsin,  whert; 
irming  pursuits  were  conducted  along  pioneer 
nes  for  a  period  of  twenty-two  years.  The 
ife  and  mother  died  in  that  county  in  1860 
ad  seven  years  later  the  other  members  of  the 
imily  came  to  Minnesota,  settling  in  Lyra  town- 
lip.  Blue  Earth  county,  on  the  land  now  owned 
y  Michael,  and  which  was  the  home  of  the 
ither  until  his  death  in  1879.  During  his  last 
ti3's  he  received  the  afiectionate  ministrations  of 
is  son  and  was  surrounded  by  every  comfort 
iat  affection  could  secure. 

The  marriage  of  Michael  Caven  took  place 
1  1860  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  A. 
i''eir,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Catherine  (Cough- 
n)  Weir,  natives  of  Ireland.  During  early 
ears  Mr.  Weir  settled  in  Washington  county, 
nsconsin,  and  engaged  in  the  pioneer  task  of 
nproving  a  tract  of  raw  land.  Eventually  he 
imoved  to  Minnesota  and  established  a  home 
1  Lyra  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
mtinued  to  reside  until  death.  The  family  of 
Ir.  and  Mrs.  Caven  comprises  six  children, 
amely:  Margaret,  at  home;  Walter,  a  farmer 
E  Lyra  township;  Erank,  who  likewise  conducts 
jricultural  pursuits  in  this  township;  Michael, 
1.,  who  resides  at  the  old  homestead;  Kate, 
ho  received  an  excellent  education  at  the  Man- 
ito  State  Normal  and  is  now  engaged  in  teach- 
ig  school;  and  Thomas,  who  is  yet  at  home, 
'he  family  hold  membership  in  the  Eoman 
atholic  church.     In  politics  Mr.  Caven  votes  in- 


dependently. For  a  numbei'  of  years  he  has 
been  a  school  director  and  throughout  life  he 
has  been  deeply  interested  in  the  country  schools. 
In  1!)0G  he  suffered  the  loss  of  his  house  by  fire, 
but  immediately  rebuilt  and  now  has  a  comfort- 
able home  for  his  family.  Since  he  purchased 
the  property  in  1867  he  has  made  all  of  the  im- 
provements now  to  be  seen  there  and  has  placed 
under  excellent  cultivation  the  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  comprising  the  estate.  The  greater 
part  of  the  land  is  under  the  plow,  but  a  por- 
tion is  devoted  to  the  pasturage  and  feed-yards 
of  the  shorthorn  cattle  and  Poland-China  hogs. 


CHADBOUEN,     ALEXANDEE     T.— In     a 

home  far  removed  from  his  birthplace  and  from 
the  scenes  familiar  to  his  early  years,  Mr.  Chad- 
bourn  is  passing  the  afternoon  of  a  busy  life, 
surrounded  by  the  comforts  rendered  possible 
by  his  own  indefatigable  exertions  and  blessed 
by  the  affection  of  family  and  friends.  Canada 
is  his  native  place,  and  he  was  born  in  the 
county  of  Missisquoi,  province  of  Quebec,  Jul} 
5,  1815,  descended  from  an  old  American  fam- 
ily that  had  been  identified  with  the  history  of 
New  England  from  an  early  day.  His  father, 
Franklyn  Chadbourn,  was  born  in  Vermont  and 
during  young  manhood  crossed  the  line  into 
Canada,  settling  in  Missisquoi  county,  which  lies 
just  across  the  line  from  Vermont.  Farming 
was  his  chosen  occupation,  but  before  he  had 
reached  the  success  which  his  energies  deserved 
he  was  taken  by  death  in  1819  while  yet  a  young 
man.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Cynthia  Jennings,  was  born  in  Canada  and  died 
there  in  1857.  Of  their  five  children  only  two 
are  living. 

The  youngest  of  the  family  circle,  Alexander 
T.,  was  four  years  old  when  he  lost  his  father 
and  twelve  when  death  removed  the  mother  from 
the  home,  leaving  him  orphaned  and  without 
means  of  support.  Kindly  people  aided  him  in 
earning  a  livelihood,  and  he  soon  became  self- 
supporting,  working  in  Canada  or  in  A'ermont  as 
opportunity  offered.  The  year  1867  found  him 
in  Wisconsin,  where  he  took  up  land  and  em- 
barked in  general  farming.  Coming  to  Minne- 
sota   in    1874.    he    settled    in    Pleasant    Mounds 


360 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where  for  some 
time  he .  operated  rented  land,  but  finally  ac- 
quired by  purchase  his  present  property  on  sec- 
tion twenty-two.  The  farm  is  well  improved  and 
gives  evidence  of  the  thrifty  supervision  of  its 
owner. 

For  a  number  of  years  Mr.  Chadbourn  served 
a.?  a  member  of  the  township  board  and  in 
other  ways  he  has  shown  a  willingness  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  the  people  of  his  locality. 
However,  he  is  not  a  partisan,  and  believes  that 
partnerhsip  should  be  sunk  beneath  a  true  pa- 
triotic spirit  that  seeks  the  common  good,  not 
merely  selfish  ends.  The  township  has  in  him  a 
wise  and  energetic  citizen.  Mr.  Chadbourn  has 
been  twice  married,  his  first  wife,  Annette  Gil- 
bert, having  died  in  young  womanhood.  One  son 
was  born  of  that  union,  Frank,  who  owns  a 
farm  adjoining  the  homestead  of  his  father  ana 
is  engaged  at  the  occupation  of  a  carpenter. 
The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Chadbourn  was  sol- 
emnized August  7,  1883,  and  united  him  with 
Anna  Gilbert,  a  sister  of  the  former  wife,  and  a 
daughter  of  Hiram  Gilbert.  During  middle 
life  Mr.  Gilbert  left  his  native  province  of  Que- 
bec, accompanied  by  wife  and  children,  and  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin,  where  he  took  up  general 
farming;  but  eventually  he  became  a  citizen  of 
Minnesota,  where  he  made  his  home  in  Pleas- 
ant Mounds  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  until 
his  death  at  an  advanced  age. 


CHAMPLIN,  CAPT.  EZEA  T.— The  early 
historical  records  of  Ehode  Island  show  that 
Geoffrey  Champlin  settled  in  that  colony  in  1638 
and  was  a  freeman  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
Newport,  where  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
town  council.  His  son,  Geoffrey,  was  a  captain 
of  militia  in  1690.  One  of  his  descendants, 
Christopher  Champlin,  born  in  1730,  was  the 
first  grand  master  of  Masons  in  the  colony,  and 
was  president  of  the  Bank  of  Ehode  Island.  An- 
other member  of  the  family,  Christopher  Grant 
Champlin,  a  graduate  of  Harvard,  was  elected 
to  congress  in  1796,  and  reelected  in  1798,  and 
at  the  expiration  of  his  term  in  1800  declined 
further  election.  In  1809  he  was  elected  to  the 
United    States   senate,   which   office   he   resigned 


two  years  later.  For  twenty-seven  years  he  was 
president  of  the  Ehode  Island  Union  Bank.  An- 
other descendant  of  Goeffrey,  was  George  Cham- 
plin, who  was  president  of  the  Bank  of  Ehode 
Island  and  a  shipmaster,  who  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  revolution  in  1775  and  was  colonel-com- 
mander of  the  First  Eegiment  of  Ehode  Island 
militia.  After  the  revolution  he  was  chosen  rep- 
resentative from  Newport.  He  also  served  as  a 
member  of  the  continental  congress  in  1785  and 
1786,  and  was  a  member  of  the  state  convention 
that  adopted  the  constitution-  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  three  times  chosen  presidential 
elector  and  for  sixteen  years  he  was  elected  semi- 
annually as  member  of  the  Ehode  Island  legisla- 
ture. 

The  landed  estate  of  the  family  lay  in  the 
towns  of  Kingston  and  Westerly  and  it  was  from 
the  former  place  that  Thomas  Champlin  imi- 
grated  in  1800  with  his  family  to  the  state  of 
Vermont,  where  in  1799  he  had  purchased  a 
large  tract  of  land  in  the  then  forest  region  of 
Lake    Champlain. 

He  was  twice  married  and  was  the  father  of 
five  daughters  and  nine  sons,  the  youngest  of 
whom  was  Benjamin  W.,  who  was  born  April 
36th,  1903,  and  who  lived  at  the  old  family 
homestead  that  overlooks  the  village  of  North 
Ferrisburg  in  Addison  County  until  his  death 
Dec.  2nd,  1864.  His  first  wife  was  Phebe 
(Griffin)  Champlin,  the  widow  of  his  brother 
Elisha,  with  two  children,  Hannah  Burritt,  and 
Lyman  Elisha.  His  second  wife  was  Samantha 
Hurlbut.  His  children  by  his  first  marriage  are 
George  W.,  Box  M.,  Lydia  A.,  Eliza,  Susan  E., 
Ezra  T.  and  John  T.,  and  by  his  second  mar- 
riage they  are  Byron  T.,  Niles  M.,  Eldridge  E. 
and  Noble  P. 

Since  the  death  of  Benjamin,  the  last  of  the 
old  estate  has  been  sold  and  the  family  have 
scattered  throughout  the  great  west. 

In  the  town  of  Ferrisburgh,  Addison  County, 
Vermont,  Ezra  Thomas  Champlin  was  born 
April  2,  1839,  a  son  of  Benjamin  W.  and  Phebe 
Champlin.  He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Vermont  and  Wisconsin,  going  to  the 
latter  state  in  1857,  and  engaging  in  farming, 
surveying,  working  in  the  pineries  and  attending 
school.     In   1860  he  came  .to   Wabasha  County, 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY.  361 

Minnesota,    and   worked    at   farming   and   teach-  board,  reelected  in  190T,  and  the  same  honor  was 

ing  school.     On   October   3rd,   1861,  he   enlisted  again  conferred  upon  him  in  1908.     In  fraternal 

in   Company    G,    Third   Eegiment   of   Minnesota  societies   he  is   a  Mason,   and  a  member   of   the 

Volunteer  Infantry,  and  served  in  the  Civil  war  Knights  of  Pythias. 

in    Kentucky,    Tennessee,    Missouri,    Mississippi  His  residence  and  home  is  in  the  town  of  Ver- 

and    Arkansas,    was    a    short    time    prisoner    in  non  Center,  Blue  Earth  County,  Minnesota,  where 

Tennessee  and  participated  in  the  campaigns  of  he  has  lived   since   1867. 

Vicksburg    and    Little   Eock    Arkansas,    winning  His  house  is  now  shaded  by  large  maple  trees, 

successive   promotions   to   corporal,   sergeant,   sec-  the   seed   from   which   they   sprung   having   been 

ond  and  first  lieutenant.     He  refused  to  accept  planted  by  him  forty  years  ago. 
a   commission   as   major   in   a   colored   regiment. 
In  1863  he  was  appointed  aide-de-camp  on  the 

staif  of  Major-General  C.  C.  Andrews,  and  served  CHAPMAN,  CHAELES,  A.— No  citizen  of 
in  that  capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war,  mean-  Mankato  is  more  closely  identified  with  its  terri- 
while  being  in  the  states  of  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  torial  expansion,  or  occupies  a  warmer  place  in 
Mississippi,  Florida  and  Texas.  He  participated  the  affections  of  old  and  young  alike  than  Char- 
in  the  campaign  of  Mobile,  and  the  charge  on  les  A.  Chapman,  the  venerable  surveyor  and  pio- 
Pt.  Blakely,  and  carried  the  dispatch  notifying  neer  of  half  a  century's  service  and  reminiscences 
General  Steele  at  iMontgomery  of  the  surrender  and  the  President  of  the  Old  Settlers'  Territor- 
of  General  Dick  Taylor's  army,  conveying  the  ial  Association  of  Blue  Earth  county.  He  is  a 
message  without  an  escort  through  the  midst  of  Massachusetts  man  by  birth,  in  personal  appear- 
the  enemy's  country.  In  July,  1865,  he  was  auce  and  in  temperament,  despite  the  fact  that 
with  the  small  party  that  escorted  the  provisional  since  early  manhood  he  has  been  an  advance 
governor  of  Texas  to  the  state  capital  of  Austin,  agent  in  the  development  of  various  communi- 
During  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  in  the  Indian  ties  in  Iowa  and  Minnesota;  despite  all,  his  Har- 
war  in  Minnesota  and  with  a  part  of  his  regi-  vard  training  and  his  cultured  New  England 
ment  participated  in  the  Battle  of  Woodlake,  ancestry  still  cling  to  his  personality, 
where  Little  Crow  with  eight  hundred  warriors  Charles  A.  -Chapman  is  a  native  of  Cambridge, 
was  defeated,  resulting  in  the  release  of  120  -Massachusetts,  born  October  14,  1833,  and  first 
white  captives,  women  and  cliildren.  Por  gal-  trained  in  the  public  schools  of  that  famous  old 
lant  and  meritorious  service  in  the  campaign  of  center  of  higher  education.  Later  he  pursued  a 
Mobile  he  was  promoted  by  brevet  to  the  rank  course  at  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  of  Har- 
of  captain  by  President  Johnson,  and  with  that  x-.ni  University  and  graduated  with  the  class  of 
rank  he  was  honorably  discharged  from  the  army  ]  856,  coming  West  in  the  spring  of  that  year  in 
September  16th,  1866.  ]iis  search  for  employment  as  a  railroad  engi- 
The  marriage  of  Captain  Champlin  occurred  neer.  But  with  the  coming  of  hard  times  rail- 
at  Charlotte,  Vermont,  January  24,  1867,  and  road  building  ceased,  so  having  migrated  as  far 
united  him  with  Florence  Eliza  Langdon,  daugh-  as  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  he  concluded  to  stop  there 
ter  of  W.  W.  Langdon,  of  Malone,  New  York,  end  see  what  he  could  find  to  do  in  the  more 
Their  children  are  George  Wallace,  Helen  E.,  stationary  line  of  surveying  town  lots.  In  the 
Lee  L.  and  Eobert  G.  In  politics  Captain  Cham-  autumn  of  1856  he  was  engaged  in  the  survey  of 
plin  IS  a  Democrat.  He  has  been  chairman  of  the  Des  Moines  Eiver  Improvement  Company's 
the  town  board,  county  commissioner,  and  three  land  grant,  and  in  the  spring  of  the  following 
times  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature  of  Min-  year  he  left  Des  Moines  with  the  intention  of  lo- 
nesota,  where  in  1891  he  was  honored  by  being  eating  in  Minnesota.  In  company  with  Dr.  By- 
chosen  speaker  of  the  House  of  Eepresentatives.  ron  Dewitt,  of  Oswego,  he  purchased  a  wagon. 
Governor  Johnson  commissioned  him  a  member  a  pair  of  horses  and  the  necessary  outfit,  and 
of  the  state  board  of  equalization  in  1905.  The  journeyed  up  the  river  road,  passing  through 
following  year  he  was   elected   chairman   of   the  Fort  Dodge,  Algona  (then  two  or  three  houses), 


362 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Blue  Earth  City,  Vernon  and  Garden  City — all 
of  these  towns  of  the  most  embryo  character. 
For  about  forty  miles  either  side  of  the  line  be- 
tween Minnesota  Territory  and  Iowa  there  was  no 
roadj  and  direction  had  therefore  to  be  deter- 
mined by  compass.  Arriving  at  South  Bend,  June 
13,  1857,  they  lived  during  that  summer  at  the 
boarding  house  of  Elijah  K.  Bangs,  soon  after 
their  coming  buying,  in  company  with  others, 
th«  farm  of  Noah  Armstrong  and  laying  out  the 
town  site  of  Le  Hillier  City. 

In  the  fall  of  1857  Mr.  Chapman  moved  to 
Mankato,  and  with  A.  D.  McSweeney  opened 
a  surveyor's  office  in  a  shanty  which  occupied  the 
site  of  Patterson's  grocery  store.  During  the  fol- 
lowing year  he  surveyed  and  platted  the  additions 
to  Mankato,  known  as  Warren's,  Hanna's,  Givens 
&  Lewis,'  Moreland,  Freeman  &  Buck's,  Shau- 
but's.  Dukes'  and  Eoelofson's.  Mr.  Chapman  serv- 
ecT  as  Auditor  of  Blue  Earth  County  one  term; 
was  the  first  City  Engineer  of  Mankato;  was 
for  twenty  years  Secretary  of  the  Mankato  Board 
of  Trade,  and  has  been  Secretary  of  the  Man- 
kato Cemetery  Association  since  its  organiza- 
tion in  1869. 

Married  March  31,  1859,  to  Hannah  A. 
CUiapman,  of  Bethel,  Maine,  Mr.  Chapman  has 
become  the  father  of  three  children,  two  of  whom 
have  died  in  infancy.  The  third  son,  James  E. 
Chapman,  was  educated  at  Carleton  College  and 
the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology,  and 
now  occupies  a  responsible  position  with  the 
Colorado  Fuel  and  Iron  Company,  at  Pueblo, 
Colorado. 


CLEMENTS,  DILLON  L.— Various  enter- 
prises have  occupied  the  time  of  Mr.  Clements 
since  he  came  to  Minnesota  in  1856,  and  during 
a  goodly  portion  of  these  years  he  has  been  a  resi- 
dent of  Mankato,  where  he  and  his  cultured 
wife  have  a  host  of  warm  personal  friends.  De- 
scended from  an  old  eastern  family,  he  was  born 
:n  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  and  was  a  son 
of  Milton  and  Eleanor  (Dennis)  Clements,  na- 
tives of  the  Mohawk  valley.  When  two  years  of 
age  he  was  taken  to  Chautauqua  county  by  his 
parents  and  settled  with  them  at  Brocton,  where 
the   father   and   mother   both   died   ere   reaching 


fifty  years  of  age,  the  former  meeting  his  death 
in  an  accident.  There  were  five  children  in  the 
family,  of  whom  the  youngest  daughter  died 
early,  and  John,  Richard  and  Elizabeth  also  are 
deceased,  the  only  surviving  member  of  the  fam- 
ily circle  being  Dillon  L.,  of  Mankato.  Two 
years  after  he  came  to  Minnesota,  his  brother, 
Richard,  and  sister  also  came  to  this  state,  where 
tliey  spent  their  remaining  years. 

For  a  period  of  twelve  years  Mr.  Clements  en- 
gaged in  the  general  mercantile  business  at  Ho- 
kah,  Houston  county,  Minnesota.  After  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Minnesota  Southern  Railroad  he 
became  the  first  conductor  over  his  part  of  the 
route,  following  this  he  was  for  four  years  gen- 
eral passenger  and  ticket  agent.  Later  the  road 
was  absorbed  by  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  &  St. 
Paul,  of  which  system  it  now  forms  a  part.  On 
removing  to  Mankato  he  became  connected  with 
the  Central  Minnesota  Railroad  and  for  two 
years  had  charge  of  the  general  freight  and  ticket 
office.  On  resigning  from  the  railroad  employ  he 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business  with  R.  D.  Hub- 
bard under  the  firm  title  of  Hubbard  &  Clem- 
ents. Somewhat  later  Mr.  Hubbard  disposed  of 
his  interest  to  C.  W.  Piper  and  the  firm  became 
Clements  &  Piper,  continuing  as  such  for  several 
years.  Eventually  Mr.  Piper's  interest  was  pur- 
chased by  Albert  M.  Clements  and  the  title  was 
changed  to  D.  L.  Clements  &  Son,  continuing  in 
that  name  until  1904,  when  the  business  was 
sold  to  Draper  &  Peterson.  Thereupon  Mr. 
Clements  retired  from  business  affairs  and  his 
son  accepted  a  position  with  the  Mankato  Com- 
mission Company,  in  whose  employ  he  has  con- 
tinued to  the  present  time. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  of  his  retirement 
from  business,  Mr.  Clements  maintains  an  interest 
in  local  affairs,  keeps  posted  concerniag  real 
estate,  watches  the  growth  of  the  city  with  the 
deepest  concern,  and  all  in  all  has  proved  him- 
self to  be  a  patriotic  citizen.  In  fraternal  rela- 
tions he  is  connected  with  the  Knight  Templar 
Masons.  October  2,  1856,  he  married  Miss  La- 
vantia  D.  Case,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary 
(Hempstead)  Case,  of  Brocton,  Chautauqua 
county,  New  York.  The  bridal  tour  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Clements  was  the  trip  to  their  new  home  in 
the  northwest,  where  they  took  up  housekeeping 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


363 


amid  pioneer  surroundings.  For  a  period  of  five 
years  after  coming  west  Mrs.  Clements  engaged 
ill  teaching,  for  which  work  she  was  qualified  by 
a  liberal  education  and  an  ability  to  impart  ta- 
formation  to  children.  As  an  instructor  she  won 
local  prominence.  Three  sons  came  to  bless  their 
union,  namely :  Prank  B.,  of  Wilkes-Barre,  Penn- 
sylvania; Frederick  D.,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota; 
and  Albert  M.,  who  remains  in  Mankato.  There 
were  ten  children  in  the  family  of  which  Mrs. 
Clements  was  a  member.  Those  now  living  be- 
sides herself  are  as  follows:  Dr.  C.  H.  Case,  who 
for  more  than  thirty  years  has  been  a.  practicing 
physician  at  Ripley,  Indiana;  Rev.  A.  M.  Case, 
D.  D.,  of  Eockford,  Iowa;  Dr.  M.  W.  Case,  presi- 
dent of  the  Conservatory  of  Music  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania;  and  Rev.  W.  W.  Case,  D.  D.,  pas- 
tiir  of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of 
San  Jose,  California.  From  childhood  years  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clements  have  been  connected  with 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination  and  they 
long  have  been  active  workers  in  the  Centenary 
church,  ia  which  Mr.  Clements  has  been  an  ofl'i- 
eial  member  for  years  and  has  assisted  liberally 
ixi  a  financial  way. 


COFFIlsr,  W.  P.— The  genalogy  of  the  Coffin 
family  is  traced  through  members  of  the  society 
of  friends  back  to  Tristram  Coffin  who  came 
t(i  America  from  England  in  the  year  1643.  In 
the  year  1659  he  and  nine  others  bought  the  Is- 
land of  Nantucket,  Massachusetts.  The  consid- 
eration named  ia  the  deed  was  thirty  pounds 
and  two  beaver  hats. 

These  ten  persons  were  the  first  to  make  set- 
tlement on  that  Island. 

At  a  very  early  day  Samuel,  a  descendant  of 
Tristram,  accompanied  a  colony  of  Quakers  from 
Nantucket  to  Guilford  County,  North  Carolina. 
Tliomas,  a  son  of  Samuel  removed  from  North 
Carolina  to  Orange  County,  Indiana  in  the  pio- 
neer days  of  1817. 

Settling  in  the  wilderness  he  built  up  a  good 
home,  and  obtained  prominence  among  his  ac- 
quaintances. For  some  years  he  served  in  the 
Indiana  Legislature.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he    was    78    years    of    age.      Eight    years    later 


his  wife,  Miriam  passed  away  at  the  age  of  seven- 
ty-eight. 

The  family  comprised  seven  children,  two  now 
living:  William  P.,  of  Mankato,  Minnesota,  and 
Caroline  M.,  widow  of  Dr.  Robert  Mitchell  of 
Marengo,    Indiana. 

Those    deceased    were    named    as    follows: 

Clorinda,  wife  of  Rev.  Jno.  G.  Williamson  of 
Whiteland,  Indiana,  aged  seventy-eight. 

Zeno  W.,  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  aged  eighty- 
six. 

Rev.  Bartlett  Y.,  of  Minneapolis,  Mum.,  aged 
seventy-eight. 

Edwin   of  Dillion,   Montana,   aged   eighty-one. 

Isaac  G.,  of  Rocliville,  Indiana,  aged  sixty- 
eight. 

The  sixth  among  the  seven  children  was  Wil- 
liam P.,  born  at  Paoli,  Indiana,  Sept.  20th,  1832. 
and  educated  primarily  in  the  schools  of  his  na- 
tive town.  Later  he  had  the  privilege  to  study  at 
Hanover  College,  and  for  a  year  attended  Asbury 
I^niversity,  at  Green  Castle,  Indiana. 

Starting  out  for  himself,  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota in  185  i,  stopping  at  Mankato,  where  for  a 
while  he  and  Joel  Cloud  conducted  a  little  store 
in  a  building  standing  near  the  present  site  of 
the  City  Hall. 

In  1855  he  took  a  claim  in  the  town  of  Rapi- 
dan  and  after  making  considerable  improvements 
lost  it,  as  did  twenty  other  settlers  on  lands, 
which  were  afterward  set  apart  by  the  govern- 
ment as  a  reservation  for  the  Winnebago  In- 
dians. 

In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  he  and  Joel  Cloud 
went  with  teams  to  Independence,  Iowa,  for 
flour.  On  the  return  journey  they  were  over- 
taken by  a  snow  stonn  at  Clear  Lake,  Iowa,  and 
were  forced  to  abandon  wagons  for  sleds.  There 
v,as  a  dim  trail  leading  northward  which  was 
only  visible  in  places  where  the  winds  had  swept 
the  snow  away.  For  a  distance  of  sixty  miles 
there  wasn't  a  human  habitation  in  sight.  They 
were  five  days  floundering  through  snow  drifts 
before  reaching  a  claim  shanty  on  the  Maple 
river. 

His   second   claim   was   m.ade  ia  what  is   now 
known  as  Spring  Island  neighborhood,  and  on  re- 
ceiving title  thereto  he  returned  to  Indiana. 
In  the  fall  of  1863  he  assisted  in  the  organi- 


864 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


zation  of  the  13th  Indiana  Cavalry  enlisting 
eighty  men  for  active  service;  Feb.  12,  '64,  was 
commissioned    captain. 

The  regiment  did  post  duty  at  Huntsville, 
Alabama,  and  while  there  successfully  resisted 
an  attack  by  a  cavalry  force  of  Ben.  Beau- 
ford's. 

He  received  a  slight  flesh  wound  and  hie  horse 
was  shot  at  the  battle  of  Overalls  Creek  near 
Murphysboro,    Tenn. 

After  the  battle  of  Nashville  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  Mobile,  Alabama,  ajid  did  patrol  duty 
during  the  reduction  of  forts  Spanish  and  Blake- 
ly.  From  there  it  was  one  of  a  cavalry  brigade 
which  marched  into  southern  Georgia,  thence  to 
Montgomery,  Alabama,  and  from  there  into 
northern  Mississippi.  In  July  he  was  detailed 
as  Provost  Marshal  of  freed  men  with  headquar^ 
ters  at  Aberdeen,  Miss.,  and  remained  in  that 
capacity  till  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  at 
Vicksbury,  Miss.,  Nov.  18,  1865. 

Prom  the  time  of  his  departure  from  Minne- 
sota in  1856  until  his  return  ten  years  later. 
Captain  Coffin  made  frequent  trips  to  the  north- 
west, engaged  in  buying,  selling  and  trading 
^tock.  Since  1874  he  has  been  engaged  in  the 
real  estate  business  at  Mankato,  and  among 
whose  citizens  he  holds  a  position  of  trust  and 
confidence  by  reason  of  a  long  and  honorable 
business  career. 

It  is  one  of  his  chief  pleasures  to  meet  with 
veterans  of  the  Civil  war,  nor  is  it  less  of  a  de- 
light to  meet  with  pioneers  of  Minnesota,  men 
who  like  himself,  endured  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
early  days,  braved  the  dangers  of  Indian  out- 
breaks and  experienced  all  the  hardships  incident 
to  existence  in  a  new  country. 

His  marriage  took  place  October  3,  1867,  and 
united  him  with  Margaret  C.  Todd,  who  was 
born  in  New  York  State  and  died  at  Mankato 
in    1900,   aged   fifty-eight   years. 

Their  children  are:  Charles,  Louise  (deceas- 
ed), Mrs.  Helen  E.  Ober,  Butte,  Montana,  and 
Mark  T.,  a  veteran  of  the  Spanish  war,  now  in 
the  employ  of  the  Omaha  Railroad  Company. 

COLSBN,  AUGHSTAVE.— Notwithstanding 
an  identification  with  the  business  interests  of 
Mankato  that  covered  a  comparatively  few  years 


and  was  abruptly  terminated  by  death,  Mr.  Col- 
sen  is  well-remembered  by  acquaintances  and 
associates,  whose  confidence  he  won  by  his  fine 
traits  of  character  and  irreproachable  integrity 
of  life.  Prom  ancestors  who  were  of  the  best 
blood  of  Sweden  he  inherited  that  sterling  char- 
acteristics that  have  made  liis  nation  famous  the 
world  over,  while  supplementary  to  these  he  ac- 
quired by  long  residence  in  America  the  enter- 
prise, energy  and  progressive  spirit  that  dominate 
the  United  States.  Large  success  did  not  come 
to  him,  because  he  died  while  yet  in  middle  age, 
and  as  he  was  laying  the  substantial  foundation 
of  future  prosperity,  yet  already  he  had  been 
encouragingly  successful  and  left  to  his  family 
considerable  property  secured  through  industry 
and  wise  judgment. 

The  son  of  a  worthy  farmer  of  Sweden,  Au- 
gustave  Colsen  was  born  in  that  country  in  Peb- 
ruary  of  1849  and  received  such  advantages  as 
the  locality  rendered  possible.  Upon  leaving 
school  he  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  stone- 
cutter. Such  was  his  skill  and  industry  that  soon 
he  became  a  master  of  the  trade  and  was  quali- 
fied to  earn  an  excellent  income  in  the  occupa- 
tion. At  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  came  to  the 
United  States  and  immediately  secured  employ- 
ment at  his  trade  in  the  east,  where  he  remained 
for  a  long  period  and  met  with  gratifying  success. 
Luring  April  of  1878,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Nettie  Miller,  who  was  born  in  Swe- 
den in  1853.  As  early  as  1863,  the  father  crossed 
the  ocean  to  the  United  States  and  worked  in  the 
employ  of  others  at  the  blacksmith's  trade  until 
he  had  mastered  the  English  language.  As  soon 
as  he  was  able  to  conduct  business  dealings  in 
English  he  opened  a  shop  of  his  own,  settling  at 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,  where  he  labored  suc- 
cessfully for  many  years  and  won  a  large  circle 
of  patrons  and  friends.  A  partial  stroke  of  paral- 
ysis during  the  year  1890  forced  him  to  entirely 
relinquish  business  activities  and  he  came  to 
Mankato  in  order  to  make  his  home  with  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Colsen.  His  last  days  were  passed 
beneath  her  roof,  ministered  to  by  her  unfailing 
kindliness  and  gentle  care.  After  he  had  long 
suffered  from  paralysis  he  passed  from  earth 
August  31,  1903,  and  his  body  found  its  last  rest- 
ing place  near  the  scenes  of  his  later  years. 


BIOGEAPHIUAL  HISTUKX. 


aot) 


The  doctrmee  of  the  Lutheran  chureli  have 
always  been  upheld  by  the  Colsen  family,  ■rho 
are  generous  contributors  to  its  charities  and  gen- 
eral maintenance.  Mrs.  Colsen  and  her  three 
children  have  continued  to  reside  in  Mankato 
since  Mr.  Colsen's  death  and  they  own  a  pleasant 
home  at  No.  219  North  Sixth  street.  The  older 
son,  Lawrence,  is  engaged  in  the  cigar-manufac- 
turing business,  and  the  younger  son,  who  is  now 
in  Plainview,  this  state,  follows  the  barber's 
trade.  The  youngest  child,  Ethel  holds  a  posi- 
tion with  the  Citizens  Telephone  Company  at 
Mankato. 


COMSTOCK,  HON.  WILLARD  L.— Having 
passed  his  entire  life  within  the  city  of  Mankato 
and  being  by  birth,  by  education  and  by  train- 
ing a  son  of  Minnesota,  Judge  Comstock  is  famil- 
iar with  conditions  and  possibilities  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  country  and  possesses  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  opportunities  awaiting  men  of  energy, 
decision  and  discrimination  aided  by  capital  suf- 
ficent  for  investments  of  an  attractive  nature. 
During  the  period  of  his  identification  with  the 
legal  profession  in  Mankato  he  has  risen  to  a 
position  of  prominence  by  reason  of  wide  ac- 
quaintance with  the  best  of  authorities  in  points 
of  law  and  also  has  gained  the  esteem  and  re- 
gard of  acquaintances  as  a  result  of  his  fine 
mental  and  social  endowments. 

The  Comstock  family  was  associated  with  the 
colonial  history  of  our  country.  The  exact  date  of 
their  immigration  to  America  is  not  known,  but  it 
is  certain  that  they  were  early  settlers.  Thomas 
Comstock,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  New 
York  state,  became  a  man  of  prominence  in 
Herkimer  county  and  while  filling  the  office  of 
sheriff  there  he  was  drowned  in  the  Hudson 
river  as  he  was  giving  chase  to  a  fugitive  from 
justice.  In  the  family  of  the  sheriff  there  was 
a  son,  Marshall,  born  and  reared  in  New  York 
state,  and  a  pioneer  of  1863  in  Minnesota,  where 
he  settled  at  Mankato  and  embarked  in  the 
lumber  and  milling  business.  Marshall  Com- 
stock passed  away  Feb.  17,  1908,  and  his 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  E. 
Patton,  is  still  living  in  Mankato.  Their 
son,  Willard  L.,  was  born  in  Mankato  November 
84,  1861,  and  received  excellent  advantages  in 


the  grammar  and  high  schools,  also  attended  the 
State  Normal  University,  where  he  availed  him- 
self of  the  many  advantages  offered  by  that  grow- 
ing institution. 

After  having  taught  for  six  years  in  the 
schools  of  Blue  Earth  county,  Mr.  Comstock 
turned  his  attention  to  the  study  of  law  and 
entered  the  office  of  a  prominent  firm  in  Man- 
kato, where  he  carried  on  the  regular  routine 
of  study  preparatory  to  admission  to  the  bar. 
During  May  of  1890  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
at  the  bar  of  Minnesota  and  since  then  has  had 
his  office  in  Mankato,  where  he  has  been  promi- 
nent in  affairs  pertaining  -  to  the  law  and  to 
politics,  being  prominent  in  the  local  councils 
of  the  Democratic  party.  During  the  legisla- 
tive sessions  of  1892-93  he  represented  this  dis- 
trict in  the  lower  house,  where  he  proved  him- 
self faithful  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents, 
loyal  to  the  welfare  of  the  state  and  conversant 
with  problems  affecting  the  general  prosperity. 
In  April  of  1905  he  was  elected  municipal  judge 
and  re-elected  in  April,  1907,  and  now  fills  that 
position,  in  addition  to  which  he  has  held  other 
offices  within  the  gift  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

During  November  of  1890  Judge  Comstock 
^vas  united  in  marriage  with  Phila  L.  Fletcher, 
formerly  of  Lake  City,  this  state.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  children,  Philip  F.  and  Do- 
rothy L.  In  fraternal  relations  Judge  Com- 
stock is  Grand  Master  Workman  of  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen  of  Minne- 
sota, is  a  member  of  the  Modem  Samaritans, 
the  Foresters,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  Royal 
Arcanum  in  which  last-named  order  he  has  offici- 
ated as  Grand  Regent  and  also  has  been 
representative  to  the  supreme  council.  Served 
ten  years  as  a  member  of  the  National  Guard 
of  Minnesota  being  captain  of  old  Company  F, 
of  the  Second  Regiment.  The  importance  of  a 
thorough  education  as  a  basis  upon  which  to  build 
a  manly  character  or  to  develop  the  most  wo- 
manly traits  has  never  been  unrealized  by 
Judge  Comstock,  whom  we  find  to  be  one 
of  the  most  earnest  advocates  of  free-school 
opportunities  in  this  town,  and  these  sentiments 
enable  him  to  labor  with  the  utmost  efficiency 
in  his  position  as  a  member  of  the  city  school 
board,  in  which  capacity  he  has  served  for  six 
or  more  years. 


366 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


CONEOY,  MAETIISr.— More  than  one-half 
century  has  brought  its  varying  changes  to  the 
commonwealth  of  llinnesota  since  first  Mr.  Con- 
roy  landed  in  this  then  frontier  of  the  north- 
west. Few  white  men  had  preceded  him  as  per- 
manent settlers,  but  the  tide  of  emigration  had 
begun  to  turn  hither  and  each  year  brought  its 
influx  of  sturdy  pioneers  bent  upon  the  conquest 
of  the  soil.  Indians  still  roamed  over  the  prai- 
ries and  the  light  of  their  camp-fires  was  often 
the  only  indication  of  human  life  visible  to  the 
eye  as  the  gaze  of  the  stranger  rested  anxiously 
upon  the  unbroken  stretches  of  primeval  soil. 
"While  at  times  the  red  men  were,  friendly,  his- 
tory records  that  they  were  hostile  to  the  taking 
up  of  land  by  the  whites  and  at  times  their  hos- 
tility found  expression  in  the  most  cruel  forms, 
notably  the  murder  of  the  Jewett  family,  whom 
Mr.  Conroy  assisted  to  bury.  For  three  years 
he  belonged  to  the  organization  known  as  the 
minute  men,  formed  to  fight  the  Indians  and 
protect  the  white  settlers  from,  their  depredations. 
Those  were  years  of  hardship  and  privation  for 
the  pioneers, ,  and  more  than  once  he  suffered 
frorii  cold  and  hunger.  During  one  entire  winter 
he  had  nothing,  to  eat  besides  "Johnny  cake," 
the  supply  of  flour  having  been  exhausted,  while 
the  extreme  cold  weather  rendered  it  impossible 
to  secure  game.  .On  one  occasion  he  traded  his 
dogs  with  Chief  .Good  Thunder  for  blankets,  in 
order  that  he  might  protect  himself  from  the 
elements  in  the  winter  months. 

Near  the  shores  of,  the  Atlantic  ocean,  in 
county  Galway,  Ireland,  Martin  Conroy  was 
bom  October  9,  1828,  being  a  son  of  James  and 
Catherine  (Eagen)  Conroy,  who  lived  and  died 
upon  a  farm  in  Ireland.  At  an  early  age  he 
decided  that  the  new  world  offered  him  greater 
opportunities  than  the  old,  and  in  1848  he  cross- 
ed the  ocean  in  a  sailing  vessel,  which  cast  an- 
chor in  ISTew  York  City.  After  a  short  sojourn 
til  ere  he  went  to  Clinton,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  secured  employment  at  $8  per  month.  His 
next  work  was  in  the  woods  near  Manchester, 
New  Hampshire.  He  next  was  employed  in  a 
cotton  factory  at  Franklin,  K.  H.,  whence  he 
removed  to  Suncook  in  the  same  state.  Later 
for  three  years  he  worked  for  the  governor  of 


New  Hampshire  in  brick  yards  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state.  The  year  1855  found  him  a 
pioneer  in  the  then  unsettled  regions  of  Min- 
nesota, where  he  took  up  a  claim  in  Winona 
county.  To  buy  a  yoke  of  oxen  to  work  his 
claim  he  was  obliged  to  mortgage  his  new  made 
home  and  pay  40  per  cent  interest.  The  load 
proved  too  heavy  and  he  was  forced  to  abandon 
all  to  the  money  lender.  During  1857  he  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county  and  took  up  a  homestead 
near  Vernon  Center.  During  1868  he  removed 
to  Lyra  township  and  settled  on  a  farm,  to  the 
improvement  of  which  he  gave  many  active  years. 
Money  was  scarce  and  his  life  for  years  held 
many  discouragements.  In  order  to  meet  his 
debts  as  they  came  due  he  sought  employment 
in  the  digging  of  ditches  and  of  post-holes,  and 
no  work  was  too  difficult  for  his  willing  hands 
and  resolute  spirit.  By  dint  of  unremitting  ef- 
forts and  patient  industry  he  acquired  two  hund- 
red and  fifteen  acres  of  land,  but  eventually  he 
gave  some  of  the  property  to  his  sons,  and  upon 
retiring  from  farm  activities  he  rented  the  bal- 
ance. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Conroy  which  occurred 
at  Suncook,  N".  H.,  Nov.,  1843,  united  him  with 
Elizabeth  Farmer,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Eose 
(McGuire)  Farmer,  who  were  born  and  reared 
in  the  north  of  Ireland,  immigrated  to  the  United 
States,  settled  in  New  Hampshire,  and  there  re- 
mained until  death.  Eleven  children  were  born 
to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conroy,  namely:  James,  who 
ie  engaged  in' farming  for  himself;  Thomas,  John 
and  Mattie,  all  of  whom  died  after  reaching  ma- 
turity; Martin;  Edward;  Eose  (deceased);  Mag- 
gie; Katie;  Ellen  (who  died  in  childhood);  and 
Minnie.  For  some  years  since  the  death  of  his 
wife  which  occurred  May  10,  1875,  at  the  old 
homestead  in  Lyra,  Mr.  Conroy  has  made  his 
home  with  his  daughter,  Katie,  who  married 
Walter  Caven  (?),  a  farmer  of  Lyra  township. 
The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Roman 
Catholic  church,  in  which  faith  Mr.  Conroy  was 
trained  in  his  boyhood  years  in  the  old  Irish 
home.  Politically  he  casts  his  vote  with  the 
Democrats.  For  fifteen  years  he  held  school 
office  and  always  has  maintained  a  warm 
interest  in  educational  movements. 


COOPEE,  CHAELES  H.— No  profession  of- 
fers greater  opportunities  of  usefulness  than  tliat 
of  an  educator.  The  minister  brings  to  the  soul 
the  beautiful  and  uplifting  message  of  the  Gos- 
pel, the  physician  administers  remedial  agen- 
cies and  endeavors  to  restore  it  to  normal 
strength,  and  of  no  less  importance  than  these 
is  the  office  of  the  teacher,  for  his  is  the  privi- 
lege of  taking  the  mind  in  its  original  purity 
and  innocence  and  opening  upon  its  vision  the 
glories  of  the  world  and  the  importance  of  self- 
culture. 

In  enterting  upon  the  profession  of  a  teacher 
in  early  manhood  Professor  Cooper  followed  the 
bent  of  his  tastes  and  ambitions,  and  the  re- 
markable degree  of  success  which  he  has  achieved 
in  his  chosen  field  of  labor  proves  that  his  su- 
perior natural  endowments  have  been  carefully 
trained  and  developed  by  self-culture.  His  par- 
ents James  Morrison  and  Anna  Herwance  who 
were  born  in  Few  York  State  were  residents  of 
La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  in  1855  at  the  time  of  his 
birth,  he  inherited  from  his  ancestry  a  passion- 
ale  love  of  literature  and  an  ambition  to  acquire 
the  ripeness  of  thorough  scholarship.  Possessing 
such  traits,  it  was  natural  that  he  sought  the 
best  possible  educational,  advantages.  During 
1873  he  matriculated  in  Darmouth  college,  where 
he  took  the  classical  course  of  study  and  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1877,  bearing  with 
him  into  the  world  of  activity  a  fine  record  for 
scholarship  and  a  high  standing  among  his 
fellow-students. 

During  the  year  immediately  following  his 
graduation  Professor  Cooper  acted  as  sub-mas- 
ter in  the  Abbott  school  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
from  which  institution  he  went  to  Hitchcock 
Free  Academy  at  Brimfield,  Massachusetts.  For 
a  year  he  was  a  teacher  there  and  from  1879  to 
1883  officiated  as  the  principal  of  the  institution 
resigning  to  accept  a  position  as  tutor  in  Dart- 
mouth College,  his  alma  mater.  In  1883  he  came 
to  the  northwest  as  professor  of  history  and 
political  science  in  Carleton  college  at  ISTorthfield, 
Minnesota,  where  he  continued  until  the  close  of 
1898,  meanwhile  also  filling  the  office  of  college 
librarian.  His  identification  with  the  Minnesota 
State  Normal  school  at  Mankato  as  its  president 
dates  from   January  1,   1899,  since  which  time 


the  enrollment  of  students  has  increased  until  it 
has  reached  almost  one  thousand.  Under  his 
efficient  leadership  each  department  of  the  school 
has  recorded  an  advance.  The  most  modern  meth- 
ods of  instruction  have  been  introduced  and  peda- 
gogy has  been  brought  to  a  science  in  which  the 
study  of  child-life  and  the  development  of  the 
nntrained  mind  are  recognized  as  of  unsurpassed 
value  of  the  world.  For  a  long  period  the  in- 
stitution has  been  the  pride  of  Mankato  and 
Blue  Earth  county,  but  by  reason  of  recent  ad- 
vances in  methods  of  work  it  has  come  to  be 
also  the  pride  of  the  entire  state  and  ranlcs 
among   the  best   schools   of  the   northwest. 

To  this  success  and  growth  the  personality  of 
the  president  has  been  an  important  contributing 
factor.  Among  the  large  body  of  students  he  is 
admired  and  beloved  for  those  qualities  which 
each  would  emulate  in  his  own  life ;  among 
other  educators,  he  has  won  an  enviable  repu- 
tation as  one  ripe  in  scholarship  and  high  in  his 
intellectual  and  moral  ideals;  by  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  school  he  is  recognized 
as  a  man  of  executive  ability  and  the  tact  neces- 
sary in  a  leader;  among  the  people  of  his  home 
city  he  is  respected  as  a  man  whose  citizenship 
adds  prestige  to  the  town.  Dignified  in  pres- 
ence, dicisive  in  action,  determined  in  will  pow- 
er and  definite  in  the  accomplishment  of  each 
day's  duties  he  may  aptly  be  regarded  as  an  ex- 
emplary and  ideal  instructor  of  the  youth  of  our 
state.  His  hospitable  home  in  Mankato  is  pre- 
sided over  by  Mrs.  Cooper,  who  prior  to  their 
marriage  in  1883  was  Miss  Caroh'na  A.  Wheeler, 
of  Forth  Woburn,  Massachusetts.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  Helen,  Margaret  and 
Eobert. 


COEBETT,  A.  H.— One  of  the  farmers  of 
Blue  Earth  county  is  A.  H.  Corbett,  who 
through  well-directed  efforts  has  risen  to  promi- 
nence among  •  the  agriculturists  of  Shelby 
Township  and  has  gained  a  success  that  is  de- 
served and  noteworthy.  Since  the  autumn  of 
1868  he  has  owned  and  occupied  his  present 
farm  on  section  eight,  the  tract  comprising  two 
hundred  and  seventeen  acres,  with  the  residence 
located  on  a  knoll  sheltered  from  the  storms  of 


368 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


v/inter  by  a  timber  tract  of  natural  growth. 
The  house  has  modern  conveniences  and  indi- 
cates the  presence  of  a  refined  family.  The  out- 
buildings show  the  progressi-ve  spirit  of  the 
owner.  The  round  barn  with  its  cement  founda- 
tion was,  at  the  time  of  building,  the  only  barn 
of  its  kind  in  the  entire  state  of  M-nnesota,  and 
has  been  found  by  its  owner  to  possess  many  ad- 
vantages, giving  much  space  for  ground  area  in 
proportion  to  its  size,  also  not  being  affected 
by  heavy  winds,  and  at  the  same  time  affording 
facilities  for  the  doing  of  the  chores  in  about 
one-half  the  time  required  in  barns  of  the  old- 
fashioned  type. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Corbet!  family  shows 
colonial  extraction,  dat'ng  back  to  Robert  Cor- 
bett  a  resident  of  Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  who 
fought  in  King  Philijp's  war,  settling  in  Farm- 
ington,  Maine,  in  1782,  he  was  the  father  of 
Elder  Daniel  Corbett,  who  was  the  father  of 
Deacon  Daniel  Corbett,  who  was  the  father  of 
Peter  Corbett,  whose  son  Rufus  Corbett  was  the 
father  of  Amasa  Corbett,  whose  son  is  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch. 

Rufus,    was  born   in    Massachusetts,   but   came 
with  his  father  to  Parmington  where  he  passed 
the  balance  of  his  life  in  farming  and  in  aiding 
movements    for   the   welfare    of   his   locality   and 
state.     Amasa.,  son  of  Rufus   Corbett,  was  born 
at    Parmington,    Maine,    and    married    Angeline 
Beale,   a  native   of  the  same  locality.     Like  his 
father,    he    was    public-spirited    and    energetic. 
Por   a   time  he  held   the  rank  of  major   in   the 
state   militia    and    during   the    war   he    acted    as 
town   treasurer.     Por  years  he  remained   on  the 
family  homestead   and   there   he   eventually  died. 
The    youngest    in    a    family    of    four   children, 
A.   H.   Corbett  was  born   at   Parmington,   Maine 
May  31,  1845,  and  there  he  received  his  educa- 
tion  in    the    public   schools.    During   the    fall   of 
1865  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  for  two  years  he 
remained    in    the    vicinity    of    lake    Minnetonka, 
after  which  he  returned  to  his  eastern  home  for 
a   sojourn    of   eight   months.      On   his   return   to 
Minnesota    in    the    fall    of    1868    he    settled    on 
the  land  which  since  he  has  converted  into  an  at- 
tractive homestead.    At  the  time  of  buying  this 
property  he  was  unmarried  and  for  several  years 
he  continued   alone,  but  in   November   of   1873 


he  established  domestic  ties  through  his  marriage 
to  Donzetta  Briggs,  a  native  of  Iowa,  and  a 
daughter  of  Rufus  Briggs,  a  pioneer  of  Pleas- 
ant Mound  township,  this  county.  Born  of  their 
union  were  three  children.  lone,  who  married 
Joseph  Heritage  and  lives  in  Pleasajit  Mound 
township,  this  county;  Julie  E.,  who  died  in 
1882  and  Amasa  Rufus,  who  is  now  in  Amboy.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Corbett  are,  in  a  position  to  enjoy  life, 
having  accumulated  a  competency  through  their 
long-continued  and  judicious  efforts,  and  in  their 
attractive  country  home,  surrounded  by  every- 
thing to  add  to  their  content  and  many  re- 
fined tastes,  they  are  quietly  and  busily  continu- 
ing the  management  of  their  homestead.  Their 
friends  are  many  in  this  locality  and  they  es- 
teem the  esteem  of  their  wide  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. 


CORNELL,  JUDD.— Numerous  finely  im- 
proved farms  prove  the  value  of  Mapleton  town- 
ship as  an  agricultural  region,  and  among  these 
estates  the  old  Cornell  homestead  is  not  the  least 
conspicuous.  The  homestead  now  belongs  to  a 
son  of  the  original  owner,  and  this  son,  starf- 
ijig  with  sixty  acres  of  the  tract,  has  purchased 
(lie  balance  in  small  installments  as  his  means, 
permitted,  acquiring  in  this  way  a  farm  of  270 
acres,  the  greater  part  of  which  has  been  placed 
under  cultivation.  Through  the  farm  runs  a 
branch  of  the  Maple  river  that  does  not  cease  its 
flow  even  during  the  summer  months,  and  in  ad- 
dition at  a  depth  of  forty  feet  artesian  water  is 
available,  there  being  two  flowing  wells  on  the 
place  at  this  writing,  so  that  an  abundance  of 
water  supply  is  assured.  Stock  raising  is  one  of 
the  principal  industries  in  which  the  owner  en- 
gages, his  specialty  being  a  good  grade  of  Short- 
horn cattle.  In  horses  his  choice  is  the  Clyde, 
and  his  present  herd  is  headed  by  a  fine  speci- 
men of  that  breed. 

The  identification  of  the  Cornell  family  with 
the  agricultural  development  of  Mapleton  town- 
siiip  dates  back  to  the  year  1856,  at  which  time 
the  noted  Taylor  expedition  came  from  New 
York.  Prior  to  that  time  James  Cornell,  a 
native  of  Goshen,  Indiana,  had  been  in  corre- 
spondence with  members  of  that  party  and  had 


iiW(iiiA.rtlLVJi.u  n.io±ui\i. 


decided  to  meet  them  at  their  destined  location. 
Accordingly  he  started  from  Indiana  with  an 
nx-team.  Others  started  with  him,  but  none  ex- 
cepting his  family  continued  to  the  end  of  the 
journey.  After  an  uneventful  trip  he  arrived 
at  Mapleton  three  weeks  subsequent  to  the  arrival 
of  the  Taylor  party.  Without  any  delay  he 
bought  a  squatter's  right  to  a  quarter  section  on 
v/hich  Old  Mapleton  was  located.  The  remainder 
of  his  life  was  assiduously  devoted  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  he  remained  at  the  old  homestead 
imtil  his  death,  which  occurred  in  August  of 
1894.  For  twenty-five  years  he  had  served  as 
justice  of  the  peace  and  during  that  time  he  had 
become  known  for  the  impartiality  with  which  he 
administered  justice,  as  well  as  for  his  knowledge 
of  the  law. 

Five  children  had  been  born  to  the  first  mar- 
riage of  James  Cornell  and  four  of  these  ac- 
companied him  in  his  removal  from  Indiana  to 
Minnesota.  He  married  Ann  Augusta  McCoy,  a 
native  of  Ohio.  Of  that  union  four  children  were 
born,  Judd  being  the  second  in  order  of  birth. 
The  eldest,  Emil]-,  married  I.  D.  Annis,  who  is 
engaged  in  the  ■  hardware  business  at  Westbrook, 
Cottonwood  county,  Minnesota.  The  third  child, 
Fffie,  is  the  wife  of  E.  D.  'Healy,  of  Glenbum, 
North  Dakota.  The  youngest,  Charles,  is  en- 
gaged in  farm  pursuits  at  Old  Mapleton.  On  the 
homestead  in  Mapleton  township.  Blue  Earth 
county,  Judd  Cornell  was  born  January  1,  1860, 
and  here  he  gained  his  first  ideas  concerning 
agriculture,  while  the  neighboring  school  gave 
him  his  education.  No  stirring  inc' dents  have 
characterized  his  life,  which  has  been  passed 
quietly  and  busily  on  the  old  homestead,  and  the 
passing  years  have  brought  him  a  gratifying  de- 
gree of  success,  as  well  as  a  high  standing  among 
liis  associates.  He  is  recognized  as  a  progressive 
agriculturist,-  one  thoroughly  abreast  with  the 
times,  and  on  his  farm  may  be  noted  evidences 
of  his  thrift,  energy  and  orderly  spirit. 

November  13,  1883,  occurred  the  marriage  of 
Judd  Cornell  and  Alberta  Phelps,  daughter  of 
G.  H.  H.  Phelps  a  farmer  of  Sterling  town- 
ship. Blue  Earth  county.  The  eldest  child  of 
their  union,  Clair,  was  educated  at  Mapleton  and 
k-  now  assistant  cashier  of  the  Mapleton  State 
bank.    Ralph  is  a  graduate  of  the  Mankato  Busi- 


ness College  and  now  is  employed  in  the  bank 
at  Glenbum,  North  Dakota.  Verne  is  a  graduate 
of  the  Mapleton  high  school  with  the  class  of 
1906  also  of  the  Mankato  Commercial  college. 
Hazle,  Lawrence  and  Merle  are  students  in  the 
Mapleton  schools.  For  twenty  years  Mr.  Cornell 
has  served  as  a  school  director  and  meantime  has  ac- 
complished much  toward  elevating  the  standard  of 
education  in  the  district. 

The  only  fraternal  organization  to  which  he 
belongs  is  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has 
been  prominently  associated  with  the  blue  lodge 
at  Mapleton  and  has  been  a  generous  contributor 
to  its  charities. 


COENISH  EDWIN  D.— Years  of  arduous 
application  to  the  development  of  his  farm  lands 
brought  to  Mr.  Cornish  a  fair  degree  of  finan- 
cial returns  and  also  won  for  him,  by  his  display 
of  manly  traits,  the  regard  of  neighbors  and  as- 
sociates. Through  his  own  efforts  he  had  ac- 
quired an  excellent  education  and  his  splendid 
library  evinces  that  he  has  lost  none  of  his  fond- 
ness for  good  literature;  yet  he  applied  himself 
to  the  most  wearing  manual  labor,  and  he  and 
his  wife,  on  coming  to  Blue  Earth  County  one 
3^ear  after  their  marriage,  took  up  housekeeping 
in  a  shanty  wholly  destitute  of  comforts. 
Through'  their  self-sacrificing  efforts  they  have 
acquired  a  farm  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  in  one  body,  situated  in  Vernon  Center 
township  and  all  under  the  plow  excepting  five 
acres  of  timber. 

Born  at  North  Bangor,  Franklin  County,  New 
York,  July  36,  1841,  Edwin  D.  Cornish  is  a 
brother  of  W.  E.  Cornish,  to  whose  sketch  the 
reader  is  referred  for  the  family  history.  He 
was  educated  principally  at  Oshkosh,  Winnebago 
County,  Wisconsin,  and  for  one  year  attended 
the  Wisconsin  State  University  at  Madison,  after 
which  he  taught  school  for  four  years.  His  mar- 
riage united  him  with  Mary  A.  Pew,  who  like 
himself  had  engaged  in  teaching.  Her  father, 
Francis  Pew,  was  horn  in  Ireland  and  after  com- 
ing to  America  met  and  married  Ann  Hogerty, 
who  was  born  at  Green  Bay,  Wisconsin,  her  an- 
cestors having  been  very  early  settlers  of  that 
region.     He  lived  to  be  eighty-nine   and  is  sur- 


370 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


vived  by  liis  wife,  who  makes  her  home  at  Osh- 
kosh,  Wisconsin,  and  is  physically  and  mentally 
active    notwithstanding    her    eighty-four   years. 

For  years  after  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
Edwin  D.  Cornish  was  obliged  to  use  the  great- 
est economy,  but  in  the  end  he  attained  a  flatter- 
ing degree  of  success  and  became  a  man  of  great 
influence  in  his  township.  Unfortunately  he  suf- 
fered severe  injuries  in  a  runaway  a  few  years 
ago  and  since  then  has  been  an  invalid,  yet  he 
still  maintains  a  warm  interest  in  the  work  of 
the  farm  and  superintends  the  raising  of  Short- 
horn cattle  and  Berkshire  and  Poland-China 
hogs.  In  his  pleasant  home,  surrounded  by  every 
comfort,  he  finds  compensation  for  his  invalidism 
in  the  companionship  of  his  wife  and  children, 
the  reading  of  his  books  and  the  visits  of  his  old 
friends  and  neighbors,  to  whom  he  remains  de- 
votedly attached.  In  politics  he  has  voted  in- 
dependently. Before  the  advent  of  the  rural 
free  delivery  he  served  as  postmaster  at  Myrna 
twenty-three  years.  For  several  terms  he  was  a 
member  of  the  township  board  of  trustees  and 
served  nearly  always  as  its  chairman.  For  thir- 
teen years  he  was  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Shelby  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Com- 
pany.    He  is  not  a  member  of  any  church. 

Ten  children  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cornish.  The  eldest  son,  Francis  V.,  now 
an  attorney  in  San  Francisco,  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Wisconsin  State  University  at  Madison  and 
the  Minnesota'  State  University  at  Minneapolis, 
completing  the  literary  course  of  the  former  and 
the  law  course  of  the  latter  institution,  after 
which  he  spent  two  years  in  Europe.  Yesta.  M., 
a  graduate  of  the  Mankato  IN'ormal  school,  and 
also  of  the  State  University.  She  also  spent  six 
months  traveling  in  Europe  with  her  brother,  is 
now  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  High  School 
at  Healdsburg,  California.  Catherine  M.,  a  grad- 
uate of  Mankato  Normal,  married  H.  C.  Kraus, 
a  buj^er  and  shipper  of  grain.  Edwin  Jr.,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  medicine  at  La 
Moine,  Shasta  County,  California,  was  graduated 
from  Eush  Medical  College,  Cliicago,  and  later 
spent  some  time  in  study  at  Heidelberg,  Ger- 
many, and  in  medical  institutions  at  other  points 
in  Europe.  Bonnetta,  a  graduate  of  the  High 
School  and  State  University,  taught  three  years 


in  High  School  and  then  married  0.  P.  Mc- 
Elmeel,  an  attorney  of  Minneapolis.  Josephine, 
a  graduate  of  the  High  School,  attended  the 
Minnesota  State  University  for  two  years  and 
later  completed  her  studies  in  the  California 
State  University  at  Berkeley,  graduating  in  1908, 
is  now  teaching  in  High  School  in  Southern 
California.  George  graduated  from  the  Minne- 
apolis High  School  and  has  attended  the  Minne- 
sota State  University  for  two  years.  Samuel  P., 
a  High  School  graduate,  was  a  student  at  the 
State  University  for  two  years  and  now  is  en- 
gaged in  the  real  estate  business  in  Berkeley, 
California  and  is  also  senior  in  the  university. 
Mary  E.  and  Euth,  who  are  gradu- 
ates of  the  Minneapolis  High  School,  now  are  at- 
tending the  State  University.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing fact  that  all  of  the  ten  children  excepting 
Edwin  and  Samuel  have  taught  school,  and  all 
have  received  exceptionally  fine  educational  ad- 
vantages, their  ambitions  in  this  direction  being 
fostered  by  their  parents,  who  were  both  well 
educated  and  who  have  ever  shown  a  strong  de- 
sire to  promote  the  intellectual  advancement  of 
their  talented  children. 


COENISH,  G.  CLmTON.— The  name  of 
Cornish  has  been  long  and  honorably  associated 
with  the  agricultural  development  of  Blue  Earth 
County,  where  the  three  brothers.  Wells  E.,  Ed- 
win D.  and  G.  Clinton,  have  acquired  valuable 
farm  properties  and  have  risen  to  positions  of 
influence  in  the  farming  community.  In  a  very 
early  day  their  parents  removed  from  the  east  to 
the  then  frontier  regions  of  Wisconsin  and  after- 
ward devoted  their  time  to  transforming  a  tract 
of  raw  prairie  into  a  productive  estate.  The 
parental  family  comprised  fifteen  children  and 
all  of  these  lived  to  mature  years,  G.  Clinton 
being  the  youngest  of  the  family  circle.  He  was 
born  in  Winnebago  County,  Wisconsin,  August 
22,  1858,  and  received  a  good  education  in  the 
country  schools  near  his  childhood  home.  While 
he  was  yet  a  small  lad  the  older  members  of  the 
family  had  started  out  to  make  their  own  way 
in  the  world  and  some  of  them  had  discovered 
favorable  opportunities  in  Blue  Earth  County, 
hence  his  attention  was  directed  to  Minnesota  at 


BiUUKAi'iliUiViJ   JilDXUiti. 


an 


an  early  a^e   and   in  time  he  became  a  farmer 
of  this  part  of  the  country. 

The  marriage  of  G.  Clinton  Cornish  took  place 
in  Wisconsin  June  9,  1886,  and  united  him  with 
Emma  E.  Simm,  daughter  of  James  and  Sarah 
(Vessey)  Simm,  natives  of  Liverpool,  England. 
While  living  in  England  her  father  was  em- 
ployed as  a  bookkeeper,  but  after  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1853  he  took  up  land  in  Wis- 
consin and  devoted  his  attention  to  the  improv- 
ing of  a  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornish  are  the 
parents  of  two  children.  The  daughter,  Sarah 
E.,  was  born  September  14,  1887,  and  attended 
the  Mankato  State  Normal,  since  which  she  has 
been  a  student  of  music,  evincing  fondness  for 
that  art  as  well  as  considerable  talent.  The  son, 
Sanford  J.,  was  born  March  20,  1890,  and  at- 
tended the  Vernon  Center  High  School. 

Upon  coming  to  his  present  farm  in  Vernon 
Center  township  in  1889,  Mr.  Cornish  began  to 
make  improvements  and  to^  bring  the  land  under 
a  profitable  state  of  cultivation.  His  place  com- 
prises one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  divided  into 
fields  of  convenient  size  and  affording  facilities 
for  grain  and  stock  raising,  of  which  he  is  making 
a  specialty.  As  a  general  farmer  and  stock- 
raiser  he  shows  energ}^,  keen  sagacity  and  excel- 
lent discrimination,  and  well  deserves  a  place 
among  the  progressive  farmers  of  his  township. 
A  neat  house  affords  a  comfortable  home  for  his 
family,  while  he  has  various  buildings  for  the 
shelter  of  the  stock  and  machinery  and  the  stor- 
age of  hay  and  grain.  In  addition  to  maintain- 
ing a  close  supervision  of  his  farm  he  has  par- 
ticipated in  local  affairs  and  has  favored  every 
movement  for  good  roads,  good  schools  and  the 
other  necessities  of  a  progressive  community.  At 
this  writing  he  acts  as  chairman  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Vernon  Center  township.  Politically 
he  has  not  bound  himself  to  any  party,  but  votes 
for  the  candidates  he  believes  best  qualified  to 
represeht  the  people.  He  carries  life  insurance 
in  a  fraternal  organization,  while  his  stock  and 
buildings  are  insured  in  the  Farmers'  Mutual 
Fire  Insurance  Company,  of  which  he  is  Vice 
President.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  in 
Vernon  Center  Lodge  No.  238,  A.  F.  and  A.  !\r., 
and  has  been  Worshipful  Master  the  past  five 
years,  and  has  always  been  a  believer  in  the  phil- 
anthropic principles  for  which  Masonry  stands. 


CORNISH,  WELLS  E.— Upon  his  arrival  in 
Blue  Earth  county  as  a  pioneer  of  1866,  Mr. 
Cornish  found  little  attempt  had  been  made  to  de- 
velop the  resources  of  this  part  of  the  great 
commonwealth  of  Minnesota.  Settlers  were  few 
and  towns  scattered  at  remote  distances  upon  the 
broad  prairies.  Selecting  a  tract  of  land  for  a 
homestead,  he  took  up  the  difficult  task  of  clear- 
ing and  improving  the  property.  The  first  house 
he  occupied  was?  a  small  log  cabin,  but  after  one 
year  he  erected  a  frame  house  affording  more 
conveniences  for  his  family.  The  land  was 
brought  under  the  plow,  the  soil  was  thoroughly 
tilled,  fences  were  built  so  as  to  divide  the 
estate  into  fields  of  convenient  size,  and  farm 
buildings  were  put  up  for  the  storage  of  grain 
and  the  shelter  of  stock.  The  estate  now  com- 
prises two  hundred  and  eighty  acres  and  ranks 
among  the  finest  farms  of  Vernon  Center  town- 
ship. 

Wells  E.  Cornish  was  born  at  North  Bangor, 
Franklin  county,  New  York,  January  34,  1839, 
being  a  son  of  Sanford  and  Elizabeth  (Eager) 
Cornish.  His  father  was  born  at  Eutland,  Ver- 
mont, in  1801,  and  prior  to  the  war  of  1813  ac- 
companied members  of  the  family  to  New  York 
etate  settling  upon  a  farm  and  in  due  time  tak- 
ing up  agricultural  pursuits  for  himself.  After 
having  remained  in  the  same  locality  for  many 
years,  in  1854  he  came  to  the  west  and  settled 
in  Winnebago  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  took 
up  a  farm  claim  and  engaged  in  improving 
country  property.  There  his  death  occurred  in 
1892.  He  had  been  twice  married,  his  first  wife 
being  Mercy  Boss  and  his  second  hearing  the 
name  of  Elizabeth  Eager.  By  the  two  marriages 
he  had  nineteen  children,  all  but  three  of  whom 
attained  to  maturity. 

After  having  availed  himself  of  such  advan- 
tages as  the  common  schools  of  his  day  and  lo- 
cality afforded,  Wells  E.  Cornish  began  to  work 
in  the  woods,  but  when  only  seventeen  years  of 
age  he  left  home  and  took  up  the  battle  of  life 
for  himself.  Kansas  at  that  time  was  attractinsr 
considerable  emigration  and  he  proceeded  to 
Lawrence,  that  state,  where  he  had  his  share 
of  exciting  experiences  during  what  was  known 
as  the  "Jim  Lane  period."  Soon  he  went  to 
Missouri,  where  he  secured  employment  in  a  saw- 
mill.    Three   years  later,   in   1860,  he  went  to 


372 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Nebraska  City,  Nebraska,  and  during  that  year 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Helen  Pratt, 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  daughter  of  Mar- 
shall and  Predericka  (Thummel)  Pratt,  natives 
of  Germany.  Her  parents  settled  in  Illinois  in 
an  early  day  and  her  father  assisted  in  laying 
out  the  village  of  Dixon,  which  since  has  grown 
into  a  city  of  importance.  His  last  days  were 
passed  in  Marshalltown,  Iowa,  where  in  1897 
his  earth  life  came  to  an  end. 

The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cornish  consisted 
of  eight  children.  Nellie  makes  her  home  at 
Syracuse,  Nebraska;  Hattie  is  deceased;  Ernes- 
tine is  living  at  Montevideo,  Chippewa  county, 
Minnesota;  Josephine  is  a  resident  of  Blue 
Earth  county;  Isabelle  makes  her  home  at  Cam- 
duff,  Canada;  Dr.  Marshall  S.,  resides  at  Alton, 
Iowa;  Dwight  and  Francis  remain  with  their 
parents  in  Vernon  Center  township.  The  home 
farm  is  kept  under  excellent  cultivation  anJ 
evinces  the  supervision  of  a  thrifty  farmer. 
Numerous  trees  have  been  planted  by  the  owner, 
including  a  windbreak  of  evergreens,  and  he 
takes  especial  pride  in  his  beautiful  yard  with  its 
tastily  arranged  flower  beds  and  ornamental 
trees.  While  maintaining  a  modern,  up-to-date 
farm,  he  has  found  leisure  for  traveling  and 
has  spent  eight  seasons  in  California,  besides  vis- 
iting other  parts  of  the  country. 


CEANE,  DAVID  E.— The  Crane  genealogical 
records  show  English  origin,  but  for  numerous 
generations  the  family  has  been  identified  with 
the  agricultural  development  of  the  new  world, 
the  first  of  the  name  in  this  country  having  set- 
tled near  the  Atlantic  coast.  In  1829  Archibald 
A  Crane  was  born  in  Tompkins  county.  New 
York,  and  there  during  early  manhood  he  mar- 
rie(^  Miss  Jane  A.  Haynes,  who  was  born  in 
1835  in  the  same  county,  and  also  of  English 
ancestry.  Migrating  to  "Wisconsin  during  1854, 
they  began  housekeeping  in  the  midst  of  a  fron- 
tier environment  and  took  up  the  arduous  task 
of  hewing  a  homestead  out  of  the  wilderness. 
Both  possessed  the  genuine  pioneer  spirit  that 
braved  the  greatest  dangers  and  endured  the  most 
exhausting  labors  without  a  murmur. 


After  having  developed  a  farm  in  Wisconsin 
an  opportunity  came  to  dispose  of  the  same.  Ac- 
cordingly the  land  was  sold  and  removal  was 
made  to  Minnesota,  where  during  the  first  year 
the  family  were  hospitably  housed  in  the  home 
of  the  honored  pioneer,  William  Skinner.  The 
next  year  land  was  pre-empted  four  miles  east  of 
Garden  City,  Blue  Earth  county,  and  forthwith 
the  industrious  farmer  took  up  the  task  of  trans- 
forming a  tract  of  raw  land  into  a  productive 
farm.  Years  brought  him  increasing  responsi- 
bilities, but  also  brought  a  fair  share  of  success 
and  gave  him  a  place  among  the  prosperous 
f.irmers  of  his  county.  Eventually  in  1901  he 
and  his  wife  relinquished  active  farm  work  and 
they  now  reside  with  their  daughter,  Mrs.  L.  D. 
Mills,  near  Garden  City.  Besides  this  daughter, 
Nettie,  there  were  seven  children  in  the  family, 
namely:  A.  L.,  of  Blue  Earth  county;  Alice  and 
Frances,  deceased;  David  E.,  who  was  born  in 
Adams  county,  Wisconsin,  August  21,  1859;  M. 
F.  and  Fred  E.,  both  living  in  Blue  Earth 
county;  and  Ida,  who  died  in  infancy.  During 
the  Civil  war  the  father  was  a  brave  soldier  and 
served  valiantly  as  a  member  of  a  valiant  com- 
pany of  Wisconsin  infantry,  in  whose  battles  he 
participated,  remaining  at  the  front  until  he  re- 
ceived an  honorable  discharge  at  the  expiration 
of   his    time    of    enlistment. 

When  the  family  moved  from  Wisconsin  to 
Minnesota  in  1866  David  E.  Crane  was  abouf 
seven  years  of  age.  Primarily  educated  in  coun- 
try schools,  later  he  was  sent  to  the  Mankato  high 
school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three  years.  Afterward  he  taught 
school  for  two  years  and  then  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  farming  and  stock  dealing,  in  which  he 
has  since  engaged.  In  Blue  Earth  county  April 
10,  1884,  he  married  Miss  Jennie  Williams,  who 
was  born  in  South  Bend  township,  this  county, 
May  29,  1859,  being  a  daughter  of  Hugh  W. 
and  Elizabeth  (Herbert)  Williams,  natives  of 
Wales,  but  in  early  life  emigrants  to  the  United 
States,  the  father  coming  in  1850  and  the  mother 
crossing  the  ocean  the  following  year.  They 
were  married  in  Eacine,  Wisconsin,  and  from 
there  in  1856  removed  to  Minnesota,  settling  in 
South  Bend  township.  Blue  Earth  county.  The 
father  here  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  un- 


iJiUUiiivrrLiu^u  xiioiw-tvj-. 


til  his  death,  which  occurred  September  10,  1890. 
The  mother  suryives  and  is  still  living  at  the 
old  homestead.  Their  family  consisted  of  five 
children,  namely :  William  H.,  who  is  an  attor- 
ney in  St.  Paul;  Jennie,  Mrs.  Crane;  Jolm  W., 
who  resides  in  Blue  Earth  county;  Daniel,  who 
remains  on  the  old  homestead;  and  Mary  E., 
deceased. 

Removing  to  his  present  farm  in  1883,  Mr. 
Crane  is  now  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty acres  of  well-improved  land  and  Has  built 
up  a  valuable  estate,  equipped  with  the  neces- 
sary adjuncts  of  modem  agriculture.  Thirteen 
children  were  born  of  his  marriage.  Two  of 
these  died  unnamed  in  infancy.  Hugh  W.,  who 
was  born  February  5,  1885,  is  now  a  telegraph 
operator  at  South  Omaha,  Nebraska;  April  7, 
1905,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Minnesota  Sig- 
nal Corps,  and  served  until  April  28,  1906. 
Frances  J.  was  born  August  23,  1887,  and  died 
August  27,  1898.  The  remaining  children,  with 
dates  of  birth,  are  as  follows:  Agnes  E.,  April 
18,  1889;  Archibald  D.,  June  10,  1891;  Herbert 
E.,  April  17,  1893;  Ruth,  March  18,  1894;  Will- 
iam E.,  November  5,  1895;  Mary  E.,  February 
32,  1898;  Naomi,  September  20,  1899;  David 
E.,  May  13,  1901;  and  Lorin,  April  19,  1904. 

Stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican 
,)arty.  Mr.  Crane  has  been  an  active  local  worker 
in  that  organization,  and  has  filled  all  of  the 
township  ofiicee.  At  present  he  represents  South 
Bend  township  upon  the  county  board  of  super- 
visers  and  has  been  honored  with  the  chairman- 
ship of  that  body.  For  five  years  he  acted  as 
manager  of  the  Judson  creamery.  Upon  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Blue  Earth  County  Telephone 
Company  he  aided  in  securing  its  incorporation 
and  at  this  writing  holds  office  as  its  treasurer. 
Other  local  enterprises  have  had  the  benefit  of 
his  energetic  co-operation.  In  fraternal  relations 
he  is  a  Mason,  belonging  to  Mankato  Lodge 
No.  12,  in  the  work  of  which  he  has  been  warmly 
interested,  as  in  all  the  philanthropic  activities 
of  the  order.  With  his  family  he  enjoys  the 
esteem  of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  and 
numbers  hosts  of  friends  in  the  township  where 
the  greater  portion  of  his  life  has  been  passed. 


CUMMING,  WILLIAM.— Picturesquely  situ- 
ated in  the  midst  of  the  lakes  that  form  a  strik- 
ing addition  to  the  scenic  beauty  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  stands  the  home  of  Mr.  Cumming,  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  most  attractive  places  in 
Middleton  township.  The  residence  is  a  substan- 
tial brick  structure  partially  surrounded  by  lakes 
and  by  a  beautiful  grove  of  trees  planted  many 
years  ago  by  the  present  owner.  Various  buildings 
erected  for  the  storage  of  the  crops  or  the  care  of 
the  stock  add  to  the  value  of  the  estate.  The  en- 
tire appearance  of  the  farm  indicates  that  the 
owner  is  a  man  of  thrift,  energy  and  progressive 
spirit.  As  indicative  of  his  far-seeing  judgment, 
it  may  be  stated  that  he  uses  woven  wire  fenc- 
ing instead  of  barb  wire,  having  dispensed  with 
the  latter  on  account  of  its  liability  to  injure  the 
stock.  Two  wells  on  the  farm  bring  water  of 
iJie  finest  quality  from  a  depth  of  one  hundred 
feet  or  more.  While  the  farm  is  comparatively 
small,  comprising  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
the  intensive  method  of  agriculture  followed  by 
the  owner  brings  in  gratifying  returns,  and  cat- 
tle, horses,  sheep  and  hogs  are  profitably  raised  on 
the  land. 

In  the  county  of  Halton,  on  the  shores  of  lake 
Ontario,  in  the  dominion  of  Canada,  William 
Cumming  was  born  March  2,  1837,  a  son  of 
I'rancis  and  Catherine  (McDougald),  Cumming, 
natives  respectively  of  the  shires  of  Aberdeen  and 
Bute,  Scotland.  The  grandfather,  William  Cum- 
ming, was  a  gunsmith  of  Aberdeenshire,  but 
emigrated  from  there  and  settled  in  America 
prior  to  1820.  Previous  to  that  Francis  had  taken 
part  in  the  battle  of  Waterloo  when  a  lad  of 
fifteen  years.  During  the  early  part  of  the  bat- 
tle he  was  shot  through  the  ankle  and  from 
that  time  until  his  death  he  was  lame.  His  recol- 
lections of  the  memorable  struggle  were  vivid  not- 
withstanding the  injury  which  he  received,  and 
often  in  later  years  he  was  accustomed  to  re- 
count to  his  children  tales  of  the  bloody  en- 
counter that  wrested  from  Napoleon  the  em- 
pire of  the  old  world.  About  the  time  of  his 
service  a  brother,  James,  had  served  on  an  armed 
merchantman  in  the  British  navy,  but  received 
an  honorable  ffiscTiarge  and  preceded  the  other 
members  of  the  family  to  Canada. 


374 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


The  second  in  a  family  af  six  children,  Wil- 
liam Gumming  passed  his  school  days  in  Halton 
county  and  afterward  took  up  farm  pursuits  near 
the  old  home.  About  1867  he  removed  to  Wiscon- 
sin and  three  years  later  came  to  Minnesota, 
■where  he  bought  the  George  A.  Taylor  property 
on  section  twenty-five,  Mapleton  township,  Blue 
Earth  county.  On  this  place  he  has  since  made 
his  home,  busying  himself  with  the  cultivation 
of  the  land,  the  erection  of  needed  farm  build- 
ings and  the  other  improvement  of  the  prop- 
erty, which  as  previously  stated  forms  one  of 
the  most  desirable  tracts  in  the  township.  Move- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  township  receive  his 
co-operation.  Especially  has  he  been  interested 
in  educational  work  and  his  services  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  board  were  productive  of  valu- 
able results  to  the  local  school.  While  living  in 
Canada  he  formed  the  acquaintance  of  Isabel 
Ann  Trainor,  who  was  born  in  Peel  county  adja- 
cent to  the  coun.ty  of  Halton,  her  father,  Rich- 
ard Trainor,  having  been  an  early  settler  in  that 
region.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cumming 
comprises  the  following  named  children:  Min- 
erva, who  married  H.  H.  Gilbert  and  lives  in 
South  Dakota;  Grant,  who  erected  the  first  build- 
ing in  the  village  of  Wilmont,  Nobles  county, 
Minnesota,  and  now  carries  on  a  hardware  busi- 
ness in  that  town;  Maria  B.,  who  married  George 
Jones  and  resides  in  Paribault  county;  Bruce  A., 
who  was  educated  in  the  college  in  Dixon,  Illi- 
nois, and  now  is  engaged  in  the  banliing  business 
at  Hope,  North  Dakota;  Amanda,  Mrs.  Byron 
McGregor,  of  Mapleton,  Minnesota;  and  William 
Burchard,  who  remains  with  his  parents  on  the 
old  homestead. 


CUMMINS,  HORACE.— The  records  of  the 
Cummins  family  show  that  they  became  estab- 
lished in  New  England  long,  before  the  period 
of  the  Revolutionary  war.  John  and  Louisa 
(Brooks)  Cummins,  who  were  married  in  1837 
at  Medina,  Ohio,,  and  who  became  pioneers  of 
Minnesota  in  1857,  were  proud  of  their  patriotic 
lineage,  and  their  son,  Horace,  also  points  with 
pride  to  the  loyal  spirit  of  his  ancestry,  having 
had  many  gr&t-uncles  as  well  as  his  four  great- 
grandfathers in  the  Revolutionary   conflict,   and 


several  representatives  of  the  name  in  the  war 
of  1812.  His  maternal  great-grandfaihers  were 
taken  prisoners  by  the  British  and  confined  in 
a  pen  in  New  York,  where  they  died  in  terrible 
agony  from  the  effects  of  poisoning  by  the 
enemy.  The  Cummins  family  are  noted  for 
longevity,  some  of  the  name  having  attained  the 
age  of  one  hundred  years.  The  maternal  an- 
cestors were  less  rugged  and  few  of  them  lived 
to  be  seventy. 

John  Cummins,  who  was  born  June  32,  1814, 
and  died  in  October  of  1900,  led  an  eventful  life. 
Lured  by  the  hope  of  discovering  gold,  he  went 
to  California  in  1850  via  the  overland  route  and 
remained  for  nineteen  months,  meanwhile  meet- 
ing with  some  luck  in  the  mines.  During  1853 
he  heard  of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  Australia 
and  set  sail  for  that  far-off  continent.  However, 
on  his  arrival  he  learned  that  reports  concerning 
gold  had  been  exaggerated  and  that  prospectors 
were  abandoning  their  claims.  Thereupon  he 
took  a  ship  for  Van  Dieman's  Land,  where  he 
helped  to  build  a  large  sawmill.  Returning  in 
1855  to  his  home  in  Kenosha  county,  Wisconsin, 
he  soon  heard  of  the  opportunities  offered  by 
Minnesota  to  land-seekers,  and  in  1856  he  started 
for  the  new  country,  intending  to  locate  at  St. 
Peter,  but  landing  instead  at  Tivoli.  Finding 
the  country  to  be  as  represented  he  determined' 
to  locate  here.  Accordingly  the  family  made 
preparations  to  leave  the  old  home  and  the  chil- 
dren bade  a  sad  farewell  to  the  scenes  familiar 
to  their  early   days. 

On  the  9th  of  June,  1857,  a  start  was  made 
from  the  home  in  Kenosha  county,  Wisconsin, 
to  the  expected  home  in  Minnesota.  On  the  18th 
of  July  they  arrived  at  what  is  now  section 
twenty-seven  township  of  LeRay,  Blue  Earth 
county,  and  settled  in  what  was  known  as  the 
big  woods,  where  the  pests  of  mosquitoes  proved 
an  untold  annoyance  and  source  of  suffering. 
The  nearest  neighbor  was  four  miles  distant  and 
Janes ville  was  five  miles  away,  while  three  miles 
from  the  farm  was  the  Winnebago  agency  (now 
St.  Clair)  containing  nineteen  hundred  Indians. 
While  the  Indians  of  that  agency  made  little 
attempt  to  molest  white  settlers,  they  were  fond 
of  stealing  cattle.  One  Sunday  evening  Horace 
Cummins  was  sent  for   the  cows,   which  were  a 


JjiULr-Kii.rjtliVJiJ.-U    Jl-LOXW-aj.. 


mile  away  in  the  woods.  On  driving  them  to  the 
sheds,  it  was  discovered  that  a  fine  four-year-old 
heifer  was  missing.  The  father  at  once  took  the 
boy's  trail  and  then  going  eighty  rods  away  over 
the  hill  he  found  two  ponies  tied,  while  near  by 
smoke  was  coming  out  of  the  brush.  Meanwhile 
his  dog  had  bounded  into  the  camp  and  four 
Indians  had  hastily  seized  their  guns.  The 
father  returned  home  and  at  ten  o'clock  that 
night  eight  men  and  boys  armed  with  four  guns 
started  for  the  woods.  They  found  the  camp 
had  been  moved  some  forty  rods,  but  the  Indians 
discovered  their  approach  and  nothing  could  be 
done.  The  following  morning  the  father  and 
two  other  men  followed  the  trail  to  the  agency, 
reported  the  theft  to  General  Fletcher,  the  In- 
dian agent,  and  received  payment  out  of  the 
annuities  of  the  Indians.  More  than  once  cattle 
were  taken  in  a  similar  manner,  but  each  time 
payment  was   made   by   the   government. 

Meantime  the  father  and  sons  were  engaged 
in  clearing  their  land  which  was  densely  cov- 
ered with  native  forest,  and  they  succeeded  in 
clearing  about  forty  acres,  which  they  ploughed 
between  stumps.  The  task  was  difficult  and  at 
times  discouraging,  but  the  sons  were  young 
and  active  and  they  continued  energetically  at 
the  work  until  they  responded  to  the  call  of 
the  Union  for  volunteers.  The  family  consisted 
of  the  following  named  sons  and  daughters : 
Adaline  B.,  who  was  born  in  1839,  in  Medina 
county,  Ohio,  and  is  now  married  and  living  at 
Janesville,  Minnesota;  James;  Hiram,  deceased, 
who  was  a  volunteer  in --Company  E,  Ninth 
Minnesota  Infantry;  Alonzo,  of  Eagle  Lake,  who 
served  in  Company  E,  Second  Minnesota  Cav- 
alry; H.  M.,  now  Mrs.  Davis,  of  Janesville; 
Lydia,  Mrs.  Alexander  Watkins,  deceased;  Calista 
and  Sarah,  who  are  married  respectively  to 
Henry  and  George  Allyns,  of  Madison  Lake, 
Minnesota;  and  Horace,  who  was  born  August 
35,  1843.  All  of  the  children  but  the  first-born 
are  natives    of    Kenosha   county,    Wisconsin. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  Horace  Cum- 
mins offered  his  services  to  the  Union.  Had  the 
connections  hetween  Mankato  and  St.  Paul  been 
like  those  of  the  present  day,  he  would  have  heen 
accepted  in  the  First  Minnesota  Infantry.  As 
it  was,  he  left  Mankato  on  the  4th  of  July  and 


was  sworn  into  service  at  Fort  Snelling  July 
15th,  as  a  member  of  Company  H,  Second  Eegi- 
ment.  At  the  outset  he  had  the  misfortune  ti. 
contract  typhoid  fever  and  several  weeks  passed 
before  he  could  join  his  regiment,  which  he  ac- 
companied to  Lebanon,  Kentucky.  \\'hile  on  a 
march  through  the  interior  of  the  state  he  con- 
tracted the  black  measles  and  for  a  time  was 
dangerously  ill.  On  recovering  sufficiently  to 
travel  to  his  home  he  was  discharged  on  the 
ground  of  disability.  It  was  some  years  before 
he  regained  his  health,  although  he  was  soon 
able  to  resume  work. 

During  the  fall  of  1864  Horace  Cummins  and 
Lewis  Bennett-  purchased  a  threshing  machine, 
but  sold  the  same  at  the  close  of  the  first  season. 
For  a  year  he  then  had  an  interest  in  a  saw- 
mill at  Janesville.  Going  north  in  18T0,  he 
purchased  pine  lumber  for  a  raft,  floated  it  down 
the  Ottertail  river  into  the  Eed  Eiver  of  the 
JSTorth,  and  landed  at  Winnipeg  August  8th, 
after  a  voyage  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  days. 
This  was  the  first  raft  ever  floated  down  that 
river  to  Winnipeg,  which  then  contained  six 
hundred  people,  but  now  has  a  population  of 
forty-five  thousand.  In  1874  he  settled  at  Eagle 
Ijake,  where  he  now  makes  his  home.  The  first 
elevator  in  the  village  was  erected  under  his 
supervision.  In  1877  and  again  in  1879  he  was 
elected  to  represent  this  district  in  the  state 
legislature,  where  he  gave  bis  most  faithful  and 
intelligent  services  in  behalf  of  his  constituents. 
(Jn  retiring  from  public  life  in  1881  he  embarked 
in  the  mercantile  business,  in  which  he  has  been 
associated  at  different  times  with  some  splendid 
men,  such  as  P.  H.  Kelly,  J.  J.  Haggard  and 
Charles  Howard,  also  a  sou,  John  L.  Cummins, 
who  has  been  general  manager  for  eighteen  years. 
In  1895  he  was  induced  to  join  a  merchant  in 
JMankato  who  was  a  man  of  political  and  relig- 
ious prominence,  being  chairman  of  the  county 
Ifepublican  central  coinmittee,  postmaster  of 
Mankato,  Sunday-school  .superintendent  at  ilan- 
kato,  president  of  the  Sunday-school  Associa- 
tion of  Blue  Earth  county,  and  vice-president 
of  the  State  Srmday-school  Association.  'The 
importance  of  this  man's  ofl^icial  positions  con- 
vinced Mr.  Cummins  tliat  lie  was  indeed  fortu- 
nate  to    have   as    a   partner    one    so    consecrated 


376 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


and  so  talented,  thus  he  fell  an  easy  victim  to 
his  wiles,  which  cost  him  at  the  least  $20,000, 
besides  years  of  great  anxiety  to  save  his  home 
firm  from  banliruptcy.  During  1903-05.  he  was 
in  South  Alaska  as  general  superintendent  and 
trustee  for  the  Alaska  Fish  and  Lumber  Com- 
pany, which  by  the  aid  of  L.  P.  Hunt  and  others 
he  saved  from  being  wholly  wrecked.  Since  then 
he  has  been  in  Eagle  Lake,  to  some  extent  assist- 
ing his  son  in  business,  but  partly  retired  from 
commercial  cares.  During  1890  with  a  partner 
ho  moved  the  old  water  mill  from  Madison 
Lake  to  Eagle  Lake.  But  little  of  the  old  mill 
was  left  when  they  had  the  new  plant  in  oper- 
ation, and  the  expense  was  several  thousand  dol- 
lars greater  than  the  projectors  anticipated. 
However,  the  work  was  not  in  vain,  for  the  plant 
has  proved  to  be  of  the  utmost  assistance  to  the 
town,  and  recently  was  enlarged  by  the  present 
owners  to  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
barrels. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Cummins  was  solem- 
nized June  14,  1865,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Mary  Jenkins,  of  Wilton,  Minnesota.  Three 
daughters  and  two  sons  came  to  bless  their  union. 
The  eldest,  Mrs.  J.  S.  Stevens,  of  Rush  City, 
Minnesota,  resides  on  a  large  fann  and  is  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  the  poultry  business,  having 
this  season  (1907)  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
young  turkeys.  The  second  daughter.  Birdie, 
was  drowned  at  the  age  of  three  years  and  her 
tragic  death  is  still  keenly  mourned  by  the  fam- 
ily. John  L.,  who  is  married,  has  charge  of  the 
general  mercantile  business  at  Eagle  Lake. 
Daisy  D.,  is  the  wife  of  Prank  Hilton,  proprietor 
of  a  store  at  Radium,  Minnesota.  The  youngest 
member  of  the  family  circle,  D.  D.  Cummins, 
was  an  editor  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and 
at  that  time  was  said  to  be  the  youngest  editor  in 
the  entire  state.  Since  then  he  has  enlarged  his 
plant  by  the  purchase  of  a  cylinder  press  and 
other  useful  appurtenances  of  a  printing  office 
and   has   established    a   paper. 


CURRIER,  PREDERICK  MORTIMER.— 
Since  his  arrival  in  Blue  Earth  county  March  5, 
1876,  Frederick  Mortimer  Currier  has  evidenced 
marked  adaptation  to  the  opportunities  by  which 


he  has  been  surrounded,  has  made  his  name  an 
honored  one  among  the  progressive  and  enlight- 
ened citizens  of  the  community,  and  has  ex- 
erted an  influence,  and  has  aided  in  tlie  devel- 
opment of  its  agricultural,  mercantile,  bank- 
ing, real-estate,  political,  ethical,  religious  and 
social  resources.  Among  the  types  which  have 
laid  the  surest  and  most  unyielding  foundations 
of  our  national  life  the  most  widely  recognized 
is  that  of  New  England,  and  it  is  from  the  li- 
berty loving  and  courageous  voyagers  who  early 
sighted  the  bleak  north  Atlantic  shores  that  Mr. 
Currier  is  directly  descended.  On  the  paternal 
side  he  is  in  the  eighth  generation  from  Rich- 
ard Currier,  who  settled  in  Salisbury,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1640,  and  on  the  maternal  side  his 
immigrating  sire  was  John  Bean,  who  set- 
tled in  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  in  1660.  On 
both  sides  of  the  family  were  men  who  stacked 
their  muskets  upon  the  battle  fields  of  the 
Revolution,  and  who  contributed  their  quota 
to  the  establishment  of  those  general  character- 
istics which  assure  to  their  possessor  identifica- 
tion with  the  practical,  honorable  and  conser- 
vative institutions  of  the  country. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Currier  were  born  in  dis- 
tant Maine,  but  after  their  marriage  removed 
to  Boston,  Massachusetts,  where  Frederick,  Mor- 
timer was  born  December  30,  1852.  Principally 
because  of  the  necessity  for  early  wage  earning, 
his  youth  did  not  express  that  studiousness  which 
since  has  been  a  distinguishing  feature  of  his 
life.  Educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Boston, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  assumed  a  clerical 
position  with  a  large  wholesale  dry  goods  es- 
tablishment of  his  native  city,  leaving  this  position 
he  came  to  Mankato,  where  he  arrived  March  5, 
1876,  to  seek  his  fortune  among  the  less  tried 
conditions  of  Blue  Earth  county.  After  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Mankato,  he  located  on  a  farm  in 
Decoria,  and  engaged  in  general  farming  and 
stock-raising  until  settling  permanently  in  Man- 
kato in  November,  1893.  In  1895  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  J.  G.  KoUer,  in  the  grain  and 
produce  business,  but  at  the  expiration  of  a  few 
months  sold  his  interest,  and  with  Ernest  Rosen- 
berger  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  confection- 
er}', on  a  wholesale  scale.  This  business  associa- 
tion has  continued  uninterruptedly  since  October 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


377 


10,  1895,  and  the  firm  has  shown  characteristic 
progress,  in  1897  erecting  the  present  commo- 
dious plant  which  in  turn  bids  fair  to  soon  out- 
grow its  rapacity.  The  products  of  this  fac- 
tory are  noted  for  theii  purity  and  reliability, 
and  are  sold  in  increasing  amounts  in  this 
and  other  states. 

Mr.  Currier's  devotion  to  the  best  tenets  of 
the  republican  party  was  recognized  by  his  elec- 
tion to  the  state  legislature  in  1890,  and  he 
was  further  honored  by  election  as  mayor  of 
Mankato  in  1899.  His  administration  was  re- 
ceived with  hearty  approval  by  even  his  political 
opponents,  and  many  needed  reforms  were  in- 
stituted in  the  municipal  government.  Especially 
noticeable  was  the  financial  disbursement,  the 
city's  floating  debt  being  reduced  $22,000.00  and 
the  treasury,  which  upon  his  assumption  of  office 
had  only  $100.00  in  it,  at  the  close  had  $18,000. 
This  is  a  showing  unequaled  by  any  other  in- 
cumbent of  the  mayor's  office  in  the  history  of 
the  city,  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  Mr.  Cur- 
rier's sagacity,  integrity  and  disinterestedness.  He 
has  otherwise  served  the  people  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  and  his  influence  invariably  has 
fostered  the  highest  civic  ideals.  He  is  a  di- 
rector of  the  First  National  Bank,  vice-president 
and  treasurer  of  the  Central  Minnesota  Immigra- 
tion Land  Company,  and  vice-president  of  the 
Social  Science  club.  In  religion  he  is  a  Presby- 
terian, and  at  present  is  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  Currier  and 
Ellen  L.,  daughter  of  George  Todd,  of  Decoria 
township,  this  state,  occurred  January  6,  1878. 
Of  this  union  there  are  two  children:  Guy  R. 
and  Ethel.  Mr.  Currier  has  a  forceful  and  in- 
teresting personality  accentuated  by  a  high  bred, 
intellectual  face,  and  manner  of  great  charm  and 
finish.  The  ideals  and  principals  of  the  Puri- 
tan find  in  him  a  broad  and  tolerant  exemplar, 
one  who  can  mold  and  fashion  them  to  the  needs 
of  a  people  whose  horizon  has  grown  to  the  edge 
of  the  boundless  prairies  of  the  central  west. 


DANIELSON,  CHRISTIAN— Christian  Dan- 
ielson,  proprietor  of  a  large  and  complete  house 
lor  the  sale  of  farm  implements  and  vehicles, 
has  entered  a  field  of  business  in  which  not  a 


few  of  his  countrymen  are  finding  both  congenial 
and  profitable.  The  Danes  are  an  agricultural, 
a  mechanical  and  a  methodical  people,  and  Mr. 
Danielson  is  typical  of  his  race,  having  inherited 
the  natural,  and  acquired  the  other  qualities  es- 
sential to  a  successful  business  man  in  this 
special  line.  He  was  born  in  Denmark  on  tha 
22d  of  June,  1861,  the  son  of  Martin  and  Katli- 
erine  (Nelson)  Danielson.  In  1882,  after  the 
death  of  his  mother,  the  family  came  to  the 
United  States  and  first  located  at  Racine,  Wis- 
consin, where  the  father  was  employed  at  his 
trade  as  a  carpenter.  The  latter  afterward  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  Nebraska,  Texas  and  Okla- 
homa, being  now  a  resident  of  the  last  named. 
Christian  received  a  good  education  in  the 
common  and  high  schools  of  Denmark  before  he 
located  in  Racine,  Wisconsin,  and  in  1884  (§,fter 
a  residence  of  two  years  in  that  city)  came  to 
MaiLkato.  Tor  the  succeeding  three  years  he  was 
employed  in  a  brick  yard,  and  in  1887  became 
connected  with  the  implement  house  of  Johnson 
&  Firestone,  remaining  there  for  four  years.  A 
period  of  two  years  followed  with  the  Deering 
Harvester  Company,  at  St.  Paul,  and  in  1893 
he  returned  to  Mankato  to  establish  a  sales  busi- 
ness_^  of  his  own  in  the  same  '  line.  He  first  lo- 
cated his  depot  on  Front  Street,  but  in  1897  re- 
moved to  his  present  quarters,  223-227  South 
Second  Street,  where  he  deals  in  agricultural 
implements,  carriages  and  wagons  on  a  large 
scale,  and  of  a  superior  gi'ade.  His  stock  in- 
cludes such  standard  makes  as  Deere  plows,  load- 
ers and  harvesters,  and  Moline,  Deere  and  Web- 
ber wagons. 

Mr.  Danielson  is  a  republican  in  national  poli- 
tics, and  a  voter  purely  on  personal  fitness  when 
it  comes  to  local  issues.  He  is  very  prominent 
as  an  Odd  Fellow,  having  filled  all  the  chairs 
and  represented  his  lodge  at  the  session  of  the 
Grand  Lodge.  He  is  also  connected  with  the 
Knights  of  Pythias,  A.  0.  IJ.  W.  and  B.  P.  0. 
E.,  and,  as  a  leading  business  man,  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Commercial  Club  of  Mankato. 

Mr.  Danielson  has  been  twice  married,  first  in 
1887,  to  Jennie  Larson,  a  native  of  Norway,  who 
died  in  1902,  at  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  leav- 
ing one  child,  Harvey  Leonard.  His  second  mar- 
riage,  in    October,    1905,   was   to    Marie   Lund- 


378 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


mark,  who  was  born  in  Sweden.  Both  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Danielson  are  members  of  the  Swedish 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Immanuel  Church,  and  are 
highly  respected  for  their  good  and  substantial 
qualities. 


DAVIES,  DAVID  CHAELES,— During  the 
early  part  of  the  sixties  when  the  Civil  war  had 
disrupted  the  country  and  turned  its  military 
forces  toward  the  south,  the  residents  of  the 
northwest  were  in  constant  danger  owing  to  the 
depredations  of  the  Indians.  The  outbreaks  of 
the  savages  proved  so  perilous  to  the  few  settlers 
of  Blue  Earth  county  that  they  fled  elsewhere 
for  refuge,  and  it  was  for  this  reason  that  the 
Davies  family  sought  safety  in  LeSueur  county. 
While  they  were  making  a  temporary  home  there 
a  son  was  born,  November  3,  1862,  to  whom  was 
given  the  name  of  David  Charles  and  who  now 
ranks  among  the  influential  business  men  of  Man- 
kato.  The  family  were  pioneers  of  Minnesota 
and  were  people  of  steadfast  character,  strict 
members  of  the  Calvinistic  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  the  possessors  of  musical  ability  far 
above  the  average. 

The  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was 
David  Davies,  who  came  from  Wales  with  wife 
and  children  and  settled  in  Ohio,  removing 
thence  to  Minnesota  in  1857  and  settling  in 
Cambria  township,  Blue  Earth  county.  Here 
occurred  his  death  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 
Among  hie  children  was--a  son,  John  S.,-  born 
in  Wales,  and  after  1857  a  resident  of  Minne- 
sota, where  he  took  up  a  claim  in  Cambria  town- 
ship. For  years  he  was  one  of  the  persevering, 
honored  farmers  of  Blue  Earth  county.  Event- 
ually he  retired  to  private  life  and  in  1900  re- 
moved to  Mankato,  his  present  home.  Earlier 
in  life  he  was  active  in  local  affairs,  held  vari- 
ous township  offices,  and  was  a  leading  member 
of  the  Calvinistic  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 
His  wife,  Mary,  was  bom  in  Ohio,  being  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  J.  Jones,  who  emigrated 
from  Wales  and  settled  in  LeSueur  county,  Min- 
nesota, but  later  took  up  land  in  Cambria  tovm- 
sliip.  Blue  Earth  county.  From  there  he  moved 
to   a   farm   in   Lincoln   township,   same   county, 


where  he  remained  until  his  death  at  the  age  of 
seventy-two    years. 

Nine  sons  and  two  daughters  comprise  the 
family  of  John  S.  and  Mary  Davies.  Of  these 
Evan  and  Arthur  died  in  infancy  and  Edith  was 
taken  by  death  at  the  age  of  twelve  years.  The 
eight  now  living  are  named  as  follows:  David 
Claries;  John  M.,  who  is  engaged  in  the  real 
estate  business  at  Minneapolis;  Peter  W.,  con- 
nected with  the  railway  mail  service,  with  head- 
quarters in  Minneapolis;  D.  Alvin,  of  Minne- 
apolis, who  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading 
tenor  singers  in  the  northwest;  J.  Elmer,  a 
druggist  engaged  in  business  at  Kasota,  LeSueur 
county  this  state;  P.  Osbom  and  H.  Lester  pro- 
prietors of  one  of  the  leading  grocery  houses  in 
the  city  of  Mankato  and  Nellie,  wife  of  Mr.  F. 
M.  Monson  of  Watertown,  South  Dakota.  At 
one  time  the  family  gave  local  concerts  and  the 
father  acted  as  a  choir  leader.  John  M.  formerly 
traveled  with  a  well-lmown  quartette,  and  Nellie 
sang  for  several  years  in  the  choir  of  the  Man- 
kato Congregational  church.  Osborn  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Twentieth  Century  band  of  Mankato, 
and  David  Charles,  formerly  for  some  years  the 
leader  of  the  Cambria  Philharmonic  band,  is 
now  a  member  of  the  K.  P.  quartette. 

Following  upon  the  regular  course  of  study  in 
the  country  schools  of  Cambria  and  Lincoln  town- 
ships, David  Charles  Davies  entered  the  Mankato 
Normal  school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  with 
the  class  of  1889.  For  six  years  he  taught  in 
the  country  schools  of  Blue  Earth  county,  utiliz- 
ing the  wages  in  defraying  his  expenses  at  the 
normal.  For  a  year  he  engaged  in  the  real-estate 
and  insurance  business  at  St.  Peter,  but  sold  out 
in  1890,  returned  to  the  home  farm  and  took  up 
agricultural  pursuits.  During  the  spring  of 
1893  he  came  to  Mankato  and  has  since  con- 
ducted an  insurance  and  real-estate  business,  his 
office  being  at  No.  122  East  Jackson  street.  Sep- 
tember  15,  1890,  he  married  Susanna,  daughter 
of  David  and  Mary  Evans,  of  Cambria  township. 
Four  children  were  bom  of  their  union,  two  of 
whom  died  in  infancy.  Two  daughters  are  now 
living,  Helen  Lenore  and  Olive  Edith.  In  boy- 
hood Mr.  Davies  was  trained  in  the  faith  of  the 
Calvinistic  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with 
whose   doctrines  he  remains  in  sympathy  to  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


379 


present,  rratemally  he  passed  all  the  chairs  in  the 
local  camp.  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  and 
has  been  an  officer  in  the  local  lodge.  Knights  of 
Pythias.  Although  not  active  in  politics,  he  is 
interested  in  public  affairs,  is  a  member  of  the 
Commercial  Club,  and  contributes  by  co-op^era- 
tion  and  influence  to  all  movements  for  the 
permanent  progress  of  the  city. 


DAVIS,  WILLIAM  H.— A  lifetime  of  activity 
in  agricultural  affairs,  culminating  in  the 
accumulation  of  a  valuable  property,  has  en- 
abled Mr.  Davis  in  the  afternoon  of  a  busy 
existence  to  retire  from  strenuous  cares  and 
establish  his  home  in  town,  there  to  enjoy  the 
comforts  to  which  years  of  industry  entitle 
him.  Descended  from  an  old  eastern  family,  he 
passed  the  first  nine  years  of  his  life  in  Ohio, 
but  since  then  has  been  a  resident  of  Minnesota, 
and  after  the  year  1874  he  made  his  home  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  improving  a  farm  in  Beau- 
ford  township.  At  the  time  of  purchasing  the 
property  it  was  wild  land  without  any  improve- 
ments but  under  his  energetic  supervision  val- 
uable improvements  were  made,  and  he  was  ex- 
tensively engaged  in  raising  shorthorn  cattle, 
Norman  'horses  and  Poland-China  hogs.  Upon 
retiring  from  farm  cares  in  1892  he  removed 
to  Mapleton,  where  he  has  a  Dpat  and  comfortable 
home.  In  addition  he  still  owns  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres  of  land,  of  which  two  hundred 
acres  are  under  cultivation,  the  balance  being  in 
pasture  and  meadow. 

In  tracing  the  lineage  of  the  Davis  family 
wc  find  that  Joseph  Davis  was  bom  in  York 
state  and  there  remained  during  his  entire  life. 
Next  in  line  of  descent  was  David  L.,  born  in 
New  York  in  1818,  there  educated  and  trained 
to  a  practical  knowledge  of  agricultui-e.  At  an 
early  age  he  removed  to  Ohio,  took  up  land  in 
Summit  county,  became  a  practical  farmer,  and 
by  diligent  effort  lifted  himself  out  of  poverty 
into  financial  independence.  As  early  as  1855 
he  became  a  pioneer  of  Minnesota,  where  he 
took  up  land  in  Goodhue  county  near  Cannon 
Palls  and  there  improved  a  farm,  remaining 
on  the  homestead  until  his  death  in  1888.  Dur- 
ing early  manhood   he   married  Jemina  Houeel, 


who  was  born  in  New  York  in  1882  and  died  in 
Minnesota  in  1892.  They  were  the  parents  of 
four  children,  and  also  adopted  a  daughter, 
Lucy  J.,  now  deceased.  The  eldest  son,  Harrison, 
was  drowned  at  the  age  of  ten  years.  The  sec- 
ond son,  William  H.,  was  born  in  Summit  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  January  20,  1846.  The  third  son. 
Manly  A.,  is  deceased,  and  Francis  also  died 
in  childhood. 

The  first  marriage  of  William  H.  Davis  took 
place  in  1872  and  united  him  with  Lucy  J. 
Tenny,  daughter  of  Paul  P.  and  Elizabeth 
(Mitchell)  Tenny,  who  in  an  early  day  came  to 
Minnesota  from  Wisconsin  and  settled  in  Ma- 
pleton township.  Blue  Earth  county.  Mrs.  Lucy 
Davis  died  in  middle  age  leaving  no  children. 
Afterward  Mr.  Davis  married  Mrs.  Clara  A. 
Berry,  who  has  one  son,  Howard.  Mrs.  Davis 
is  a  daughter  of  George  and  Delia  S.  (Millard) 
Green,  natives  of  New  York  state,  who  upon 
removing  to  the  frontier  in  an  early  day  set- 
tled in  Blue  Earth  county.  Settlers  were  few 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Green's  arrival  in  the 
coimty.  Houses  were  far  apart,  schools  few  and 
villages  small.  Desiring  to  engage  in  farming 
he  secured  land  at  Amboy,  which  then  was 
known  as  Vernon.  During  the  period  of  his 
activity  he  carried  on  extensive  agricultural  pur- 
suits, but  since  his  retirement  under  the  con- 
straining influence  of  old  age  he  has  made  his 
home  with  his  daughter  and  son-in-law.  Ever 
since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Davis  has  been 
stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican  party. 
Though  never  soliciting  office,  he  consented  to  flll 
the  position  of  clerk  of  Beauford  township  and 
served  in  that  capacity  for  six  years.  With  his 
wife  he  holds  membership  in  the  Baptist  church 
and  has  been  generous  in  his  contributions  to 
religious  and  philanthropic  measures.  His  fra- 
ternal associations  are  extensive  and  important, 
including  membership  in  the  blue  lodge  of  Ma- 
sons, Eastern  Star,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Eebekahs,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and   Mutual   Beneflt  Association. 


DECKEE,        CHAELES       EDWAED.— The 

township    of    Sterling    in    Blue    Earth    county, 
where  he  now  engages  in  agricultural  pursuits,  is 


380 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Mr.  Decker's  native  place,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred here  September  4,  1868.  The  farm  which 
he  owns  and  occupies  comprises  two  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  as  fine  land  as  the  township 
boasts  and  contains  first-class  improvemente, 
including  a  commodious  and  substantial  resi- 
dence provided  with  modern  conveniences.  Three 
flowing  wells  provide  an  abundance  of  water  for 
all  purposes  needed.  A  specialty  is  made  of 
Poland-China  hogs,  of  which  a  large  number 
are  raised  every  year;  also  of  Durham  cattle, 
which  are  raised  and  then  fed  for  the  markets. 

Fayette  Decker,  who  established  the  family 
i]i  Blue  Earth  county  in  1864,  was  born  in  Del- 
aware county,  New  York,  in  1832,  and  during 
early  life  engaged  in  the  lumber  business.  After 
his  removal  to  Wisconsin  in  1857  he  gave  his 
attention  principally  to  agricultural  pursuits. 
In  1864  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  soon  after- 
ward took  up  land  in  Sterling  township.  After 
a  busy  life  as  an  agriculturist  he  retired  and 
removed  to  Amboy,  where  he  remained  until  his 
death  in  1896.  Among  the  local  offices  which 
he  had  held  were  those  of  schopl  director  and 
county  supervisor.  Outside  of  his  own  com- 
munity he  was  Avell  known  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that  he  was  the  owner  of  fine  stallions,  some 
of  his  thoroughbreds  being  worth  thousands  of 
dollars.  His  interest  in  horses  continued  all 
through  his  life,  and  he  was  considered  an  ex- 
pert judge    of   fine   animals. 

During  1856  Fayette  Decker  married  Nancy 
Alverson.  They  became  the  parents  of  six- child- 
ren, of  whom  four  survive:  George,  Jessie,  John 
and  Charles  Edward.  The  last-named  is  the 
sole  representative  of  the  family  remaining 
in  Sterling  township,  where  all  were  reared.  Af- 
ter starting  out  for  himself  Charles  E.  Decker 
settled  three  miles  south  of  Sterling.  Two  years 
later  he  purchased  a  farm  near  Amboy  and  there 
remained  for  three  years,  at  the  expiration  of 
which  time  he  sold  the  place.  The  following 
eight  months  were  spent  in  Mapleton,  after 
which  he  bought  land  in  Decoria  township  near 
Mankato,  and  for  three  years  he  conducted  gen- 
eral farming  on  that  place.  Upon  trading  the 
property  for  six  hundred  and  forty  acres  in  Clay 
county,  this  state,  he  returned  to  Mapleton, 
where  he  made  his  home  for  two  years.     Then 


he  bought  the  old  Johnston  farm  where  he  now 
makes  his  home,  September  4,  1893,  he  was 
'united  in  marriage  with  Lizzie  Johnston,  who 
was  born  on  the  farm  where  she  now  resides.  Six 
children  bless  their  union,  namely :  Lorna,  Helen, 
Neva,  Bruce,  Ora  and  George. 

In    this    connection    it   will    not   be    amiss    to 
record  the  principal  features  in  the  life  and  char- 
acter  of   John   Johnston,   who   long   was   one   of 
the  most  honored  and  influential  men  of  Sterling 
township.     Born  in  the  shire  of  Banff,  Scotland, 
June  26,  1825,  he  was  a  member  of  an  ancient 
family   of  that   part  of   the   country.      In   early 
life  he  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  black- 
smithing.      On   coming  to   America   in    1854  he 
settled  at  Collinsville,  Connecticut,  and  soon  was 
made  foreman  of  the  quarry  shops  at  that  place. 
Two    years    later   he   was    appointed    government 
blacksmith  to  the  agency  of  Winnebago  Indians 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota.     In  this  way 
he  became  a  citizen  of  the  northwest.     The  red 
men   soon   learned  that  they   could   depend  upon 
the   word   of   the  blacksmith   and   he  won   their 
confidence   and    esteem.      After    filling   the   posi- 
tion for  six  years  he  resigned  in  1862  and  took 
up  a  claim  in  Sterling  township.     Years  of  suc- 
cessful activity  as  a  farmer  brought  him  sufficient 
means  to  spend  his  declining  days  in  comfort  and 
he   retired   to    Mapleton,   where   he   passed   away 
May  21,  1903.     In  his  death  the  community  lost 
an   honored   citizen.     Throughout  all  his  life  in 
Blue   Earth  county  he  evidenced  a  deep  interest 
in    matters    of    general    importance.      Strong   in 
his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party,  he  attend- 
ed  all   local   caucuses   and    conventions   and  was  ■ 
a   local   leader   in   partisan   activities.      Early   in 
life  he  imited  with  the  Presbyterian  church.  La- 
ter  he    assisted   in   founding   the    Congregational 
church  at  Sterling,  to  the  work  of  which  he  and 
hit  wife  were  intensely  devoted.     His  wife,  who 
was  born  January  6,   1831,  and  whom  he  mar- 
ried April  2,   1853,  was  a  native  of  Banff,  her 
birthplace  being  near  his  own,  and  both  came  from 
honored   old   families   of   the   locality.    They  be- 
came the  parents  of  six  children,  to  whose  train- 
ing they  gave  years  of  self-sacrificing  effort  and 
in   whose  present  prosperity   the   prestige   of  the 
family  name  has  been  given  added  lustre. 


BIOGKAFHiUAL,  JlibTUKl. 


381 


DENISON,  WILLIAM  H.— The  seventeenth 
century  brought  to  our  country  many  emigrants 
from  the  old  world,  among  whom  was  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  Denison  family,  George  Denison 
a  colonel  in  Cromwell's  army  and  who  gained 
distinction  as  an  Indian  fighter,  the  founder  of 
the  name  in  America.  The  war  of  the  Eevolu- 
tion  brought  to  several  of  the  name  an  oppor- 
tunity to  show  their  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  the 
patriots,  thus  winning  distinction  among  their 
contemporaries  as  well  as  reverence  from  pos- 
terity. For  several  generations  the  state  of 
New  York  was  the  home  of  the  family.  Aime- 
tus  Denison  was  born  near  Albany  in  1833, 
and  his  father  likewise  was  a  native  of  that 
region.  As  early  as  1865  he  migrated  to  tlie 
northwest,  settling  in  Minnesota,  where  he  spent 
his  first  winter  at  Garden  City.  During  the 
spring  he  bought  and  removed  to  the  farm 
on  section  nine,  Shelby  township,  that  is  now 
operated  by  his  son,  William  H.  Since  then  he 
has  been  identified  to  a  large  extent  with  the 
agricultural  interests  of  this  locality.  His 
winters  are  usually  passed  in  Montana,  while 
during  the  summer  he  remains  on  the  old  home- 
Ftead.  A  man  of  sterling  integrity,  fine  moral 
principles,  loyal  patriotic  spirit,  he  has  added 
another  to  the  list  of  public-spirited  citizens 
identified  with  the  history  of  Blue  Earth  county. 
During  the  early  period  of  his  residence  in  Min- 
nesota he  served  in  charge  of  the  post  at  Ce- 
resco,  this  county,  and  in  every  crisis  he  proved 
himself  to  be  a  loyal  citizen  and  fearless  man. 
As  a  farmer  he  did  considerable  pioneer  work  in 
this  region  and  labored  assiduously  to  convert 
a  raw  tract  of  land  into   a  productive  'estate. 

Among  five  children,  all  but  one  of  whom  still 
survive,  William  H.  Denison  was  third  in  order  of 
birth,  and  was  born  in  Shelby  township.  Blue 
Earth  county,  on  New  Year's  day  of  1873.  Here 
he  received  his  rudimentary  education  in  com- 
mon schools.  Later  he  was  a  student  in  the 
high  school  at  Garden  City  and  also  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  a  course  in  Parker  College,  after 
which  he  taught  two  terms  of  school,  and  since 
then  he  has  had  charge  of  the  old  homestead 
which  now  consists  of  three  hundred  and  forty- 
five  acres.  The  land  is  under  cultivation  and  has 
excellent    facilities    for    drainage.      Horses    and 


cattle  are  raised,  as  well  as  large  numbers  of 
hogs,  and  general  farming  operations  are  con- 
ducted with  energy  and  judgment.  A  rav'ne 
crosses  the  farm  and  furnishes  an  outlet  for  the 
excellent  system  of  tileing  which  has  been  secured 
at  considerable  expense.  The  soil  is  of  the  best 
quality,  the  location  is  satisfactory,  the  land 
free  from  quack  grass  and  weeds,  and  the  entire 
estate  in  such  excellent  condition  as  to  Justify 
its  reputation  among  other  farms  in  the  town- 
ship. The  marriage  of  William  H.  Denison 
took  place  August  34:,  1898,  and  united  him 
with  Florence  E.  Griggs,  who  was  born  in  Dan- 
ville township.  Blue  Earth  county,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  Jeremiah  Griggs,  an  honored  pioneer  of 
Danville  township.  Three  children  came  to  bless 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Denison,  but  one  was 
taken  from  the  home  in  infancy.  The  surviving 
children  are  Margaret  Euth  and  Henry  Warren. 
The  family  has  a  high  standing  in  social  circles 
and  Mr.  Denison  has  been  especially  active  in 
educational   affairs. 


DeROSIA,  LEWIS  C— Among  the  young 
business  men  of  Mankato  who  have  come  steadily 
to  the  front  because  of  their  determination, 
ability  and  honorable  dealings  with  the  friends 
and  associates  of  their  native  Blue  Earth  Coun- 
ty, is  Lewis  C.  DeEosia,  now  a  prosperous 
produce  and  commission  merchant  of  that  place. 
He  was  born  in  Medo  Township  November  39, 
1871,  the  son  of  Levi  L.  and  Kate  (Consaul)  De- 
Eosia, and  his  parents  were  both  natives  of  Clay- 
ton, New  York.  They  came  to  Minnesota  in 
1869,  bought  a  farm  in  that  township,  and  re- 
mained on  their  homestead  for  ten  years,  when 
the  family  removed  to  Mankato,  where  for  some 
time  the  father  was  engaged  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness. Mr.  anad  Mrs.  Levi  DeEosia  are  still  liv- 
ing, with  their  two  children — J.  B.,  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  and  Lewis  C.  the 
Mankato  merchant. 

The  latter  obtained  his  education  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  Medo  Township  and  the  public 
schook  of  Mankato,  but  was  introduced  to  the 
produce  business  when  he  was  only  twelve  years 
of  age,  through  his  employment  with  J.  H.  Long, 
which  continued  from  1883  to  1898.     With  the 


382 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


advantage  of  this  long  and  valuable  experience, 
Mr.  DeEosia  opened  the  Mankato  Produce  and 
Commission  House,  in  the  year  1905  at  'So.  106 
West  Cherry  Street,  later  moving  to  709  South 
Front  street  where  he  has  since  conducted  a 
flourishing  and  expanding  business.  His  ac- 
quaintance is  broad,  his  goods  are  reliable,  his 
dealings  are  fair  and  h^'s  business  judgment  is 
superior,  and  the  continued  growth  of  the  enter- 
prise is  .  therefore   an   assurance. 

Lewis  C.  DeEosia  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Katie  M.  Williams,  of  Butternut  Valley 
Township,  this  county,  in  the  year  1893,  and 
she  has  borne  him  four  children — ^Lee  Eichard, 
William  Floyd,  Euth  A.  and  Elsie  M.,  the  two 
last  named  being  deceased.  His  fraternal  con- 
nections are  limited  to  the  Modern  Brotherhood 
of  American  Yeomen.  Mr.  DeEosia  is  a  kind 
family  man,  a  companionable  gentleman  and  an 
honorable   citizen. 


DOBIE,  JOSEPH.— For  fifty  years  identi- 
fied with  the  agricultural  development  of  Blue 
Earth  county,  contributing  to  the  material  growth 
of  Sterling  township,  interested  in  its  educa- 
tional institutions,  keenly  alive  to  the  importance 
of  transforming  the  uncultivated  land  into  fer- 
tile and  productive  farms,  and  always  enthusi- 
astic in  the  support  of  enterprises  for  the  per- 
manent prosperity  of  the  people,  Joseph  Dobie 
held  an  honored  place  among  all  the  residents  of 
his  township.  Working  side  by  side  with  other 
pioneers,  he  labored  to  secure  the  development 
of  agricultural  possibilities  necessary  to  the  ulti- 
mate well-being  of  the  region.  T^Tot  only  did  he 
toil  toward  this  end,  but  it  was  also  his  privil- 
ege to  witness  its  culmination,  and  no  citizen 
rejoiced  more  than  did  he  in  the  growth  of  the 
county,  the  improvement  of  its  farms,  the  up- 
building of  its  villages  and  the  prosperity  of  its 
people. 

The  Dobie  genealogy  is  traced  to  France  and 
sprang  from  the  Huguenot  family  of  DuBois.  At 
the  time  of  the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  ISTantes 
and  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  members 
of  the  family  were  forced  to  flee  from  their 
country.  Finding  upon  the  hospitable  soil  of 
Scotland  the  safe  retreat  they  desired,  they  be- 


came citizens  of  that  country  and  ultimately  im-^ 
planted  into  their  own  race  the  sturdy  traits 
of  the  Scots.  Many  generations  of  the  family 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  which  was  the 
favorite  occupation  of  those  bearing  the  name, 
but  we  find  from  the  records  that  an  uncle  of 
Joseph  Dobie  preferred  commerce  to  agriculture 
and  became  a  wealthy  draper  of  Lockerby  in  the 
shire  of  Dumfries.  The  father  of  Joseph  Dobie 
was  John,  who  rented  a  farm  of  five  hundred 
acres  in  Dumfries  not  far  from  the  border  of 
England.  There  he  engaged  extensively  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  until  his  death.  While  he  was 
a  native  of  Driedsdale,  Dumfries,  his  wife,  Ann 
Laurder,  was  born  in  the  neighboring  shire  of 
Eoxburgh.  On  the  maternal  side  of  the  lineage 
is  traced  through  five  generations  back  to  Jen- 
nie Sinclair,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Carthness, 
who  was  disinherited  on  account  of  having  mar- 
ried one  of  her  father's  tenants. 

Among  twelve  children  comprising  the  family 
of  John  Dobie,  the  fifth  in  order  of  biriii  was 
Joseph,  born  at  Hutton,  Dumfrieshire,  Sotland, 
July  16,  1826,  and  died  in  Blue  Earth  county, 
Minnesota,  May  3,  1907.  Little  occurred  to  take 
his  boj'hood  years  out  of  the  usual  routine  of 
farm  work  and  school  studies.  In  the  home  he 
was  carefully  trained  and  in  his  heart  were  early 
implanted  the  virtues  of  self-control,  honor  and 
sobriety  that  brought  success  to  maturer  years. 
On  Christmas  day  of  1847  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Helen  Carruthers,  a  native  of  Dum- 
fries, Scotland,  and  a  young  woman  of  noble 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind.  Had  his  life  been 
spared  for  a  few  more  months,  it  would  have 
been  their  privilege  to  celebrate  together  the  six- 
tieth anniversary  of  their  marriage.  Joined  in 
wedlock  when  young  and  care-free,  they  had 
labored  side  by  side  through  the  stress  and  strain, 
of  maturity  and  had  descended  into  the  twilight 
of  life's  day  honored  and  venerated,  ministered 
to  by  affectionate  children  and  surrounded  by 
comforts  accumulated  by  self-denying  toil. 

Of  the  children  bom  to  bless  the  union  of 
Joseph  and  Helen  Dobie  we  note  the  following: 
Mary  Ann  married  William  Carson  after  having 
graduated  from  the  Minnesota  State  Normal 
School  at  Mankato,  and  they  now  reside  in  Del- 
avan    township,    Faribault    county,    this    state; 


JSlVJVjr-CV-ti-J:  J-J-X^-nju     j.xxkj  X  vyj.1  X  . 


Eebeeca  is  the  widow  of  James  Ellis,  Jr.,  and 
lives  in  Sterling  township;  Helen  married  A.  E. 
Springer,  who  is  agent  at  Delevan  for  C.  L.  Cole 
&  Company;  John  is  a  resident  of  St.  Paul; 
Joseph  is  engaged  in  the  hnying  of  wheat  at 
Mapleton;  William  carries  on  farm  pursuits  in 
Sterling  township;  Annie  married  F.  A.  Mc- 
Intire  and  lives  at  Winnebago  City,  this  state; 
Elizabeth  married  Eobert  Orr,  who  is  connected 
with  a  wholesale  mercantile  firm  in  Bismarck, 
North  Dakota;  Margaret  is  teaching  school  in 
Sterling  township;  Sarah  married  E.  A.  Lane, 
who  is  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Sherbum 
Advance  at  Sherburn,  this  state;  Flora,  now  de- 
ceased, was  the  wife  of  Horace  K.  Wishart;  and 
Horace  Greeley  remains  with  his  mother  at  the 
old  homestead. 

After  a  voyage  of  three  weeks  in  a  sailing 
vessel  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dobie  landed  in  America 
during  the  spring  of  1860  and  soon  afterwards 
settled  in  the  state  of  JN'ew  York,  where  Mr. 
Dobie  engaged  in  farming  for  six  years.  For  a 
time  he  had  charge  of  a  large  estate  on  Long 
Island  and  he  also  superintended  a  farm  in  Duch- 
ess county.  Becoming  interested  in  the  plans  of 
the  Minnesota  Settlement  Association,  he  joined 
the  colony  and  came  west  in  search  of  a  home. 
Very  soon  after  his  arrival  he  secured  a  tract 
of  farm  land  in  Sterling  township  and  here  he 
spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  long  and  busy 
life,  meanwhile  adding  to  the  original  purchase 
until  he  became  the  owner  of  two  hundred  acres 
bearing  the  improvements  characteristic  of  a 
model  estate.  The  greater  part  of  the  land  has 
been  placed  under  cultivation  to  corn  and  grain, 
but  in  addition  he  devoted  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  stock  business.  As  the  years  passed 
by  the  men  who  had  come  with  him  in  the  orig- 
inal colony  passed  from  earth  until  he  was  one 
of  the  very  few  left  and  his  interest  in  the  Old 
Settlers'  Association  deepened  into  pathos  as  he 
saw  its  ranks  depleted  by  death  until  he  was  the 
dean  of  the  few  surviving  members.  The  land 
where  he  was  born  and  reared  and  married  ever 
dwelt  in  his  memory  with  the  deepest  affection; 
he  loved  the  memory  of  its  rugged  hills,  its  sun- 
lit valleys  and  its  rockbound  coast,  and  he  loved 
no  less  its  poets  and  authors  who  have  pictured 
its  beauties  with  inspired  pens. 


As  Scotland  was  dear  from  past  associations, 
so  to  Mr.  Dobie  America  was  dear  from  present 
associations,  and  he  maintained  a  patriot'c  af- 
fection for  the  land  that  gave  him  his  success. 
The  great  northwest  with  its  wonderful  possibil- 
ities appealed  to  his  independent  spirit  and  per- 
severing ambition,  and  he  saw  no  reason  to  re- 
gret his  decision  in  becoming  a  pioneer  of  Minne- 
sota. For  thirty  years  he  was  identified  with 
Josephus  blue  lodge  of  Masonry  in  Mapleton  and 
ho  had  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  man 
raised  in  the  lodge.  When  he  passed  from  the 
associations  of  one-half  century,  he  was  buried 
with  Masonic  honors,  and  was  followed  to  his 
last  resting  place  by  hundreds  of  mourning 
friends. 


DOBIE,  JOSEPH  H.— No  residents  of  Min- 
nesota are  more  familiar  with  its  resources  and 
possibilities  than  the  men  whose  entire  lives 
have  been  passed  within  the  borders  of  the  state, 
who  have  witnessed  its  gradual  development  and 
have  themselves  been  factors  in  its  agricultural 
and  commercial  advancement.  To  this  class 
belongs  Mr.  Dobie,  who  was  bom  in  Sterling, 
Blue  Earth  count}',  February  18,  1858,  and  is 
now  a  leading  citizen  of  Mapleton,  the  same 
county.  The  family  to  which  he  belongs  traces 
its  lineage  to  a  long  line  of  Scotch  progenitors 
and  the  present  representatives  evince  the  traits 
characteristic  of  that  nationality.  The  first 
to  seek  a  home  in  the  new  world  was  Joseph 
Dobie,  Sr.,  who  was  bom  July  16,  1826,  in 
Scotland,  and  received  a  fair  education  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  land.  Upon  starting  out 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  he  crossed 
the  ocean  to  America  and  for  a  time  sojourned 
in  New  York  state.  At  that  time  there  was  con- 
siderable interest  manifested  in  the  northwest, 
which  was  considered  beyond  the  confines  of  civil- 
ization, but  nevertheless  was  attracting  resolute 
pioneers  by  reason  of  its  recognized  possibilities. 
After  a  residence  of  five  years  in  the  east  Mr. 
Dobie  came  to  Minnesota  in  18.56  and  here  he 
and  his  wife  (formerly  Helen  Caruthers)  lived 
and  labored  for  years,  toiling  with  the  frugal 
self-sacrificing  industry  common  to  new  countries. 


384 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


It  was  not  possible  for  the  parents  to  give 
their  children  any  special  advantages,  but  they 
sent  them  to  the  country  schools  and  by  example 
and  precept  endeavored  to  qualify  them  for  their 
lifework.  In  such  an  environment  Joseph  H. 
Dobie  passed  the  uneventful  years  of  youth  and 
from  the  parental  home  he  passed  out  into  the 
world  of  business  responsibilities  and  activities. 
During  1886  he  married  Jessie  Sharp,  daughter 
of  John  and  Buphemia  Sharp,  natives  of  Aber- 
deen, Scotland,  but  from  early  years  residents 
of  the  United  States.  For  a  few  years  subse- 
quent to  1780  Mr.  Sharp  made  his  home  in  Mis- 
souri, whence  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  continuing  to  make  his 
home  here  until  he  was  called  from  earth  in 
1898.  His  widow  survives  him  and  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Sterling,  this  county. 

Two  sons,  Korman  A.  and  Joseph  J.,  comprise 
the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dobie,  and  share  with 
their  parents  in  the  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of 
acquaintances.  Since  1887  the  home  of  the 
family  has  been  in  Mapleton,  where  their  resi- 
dence is  situated  on  Fourth  street.  For  six 
years  after  coming  to  this  village  Mr.  Dobie  en- 
gaged at  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  but  since  1893 
he  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  buying  of 
wheat.  For  five  years  he  acted  as  buyer  for  the 
Spaulding  Elevator  Company,  after  which  for 
eight  years  he  bought  in  the  interests  of  the 
Hyde  Elevator  Company,  but  more  recently  he 
has  engaged  in  buying  grain  for  the  Powert 
Elevator  Company  interests.  Besides  his  town 
property  he  is  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  in  Burleigh  County,  North  Dakota, 
and  has  the  satisfaction  of  realizing  that  his 
present  holdings  represent  his  own  unaided  exer- 
tions, for  all  that  he  has  accumulated  came 
through  toil,  economy  and  Judicious  investments. 
In  politics  he  has  never  allied  himself  with 
any  organization,  but  has  remained  indepen- 
dent. Though  not  identified  with  any  denomi- 
nation, his  sympathies  are  with  religious  work 
and  he  is  an  attendant  at  the  Congregational 
church.  In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  member- 
ship with  Mapleton  Lodge  'No.  128,  A.  F.  &  A. 
M.,  and  also  is  identified  with  the  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen. 


DOBIE,  WILLIAM  L.— While  possessing  the 
inestimable  advantage  of  belonging  to  an  honored 
pioneer  family  and  of  having  received  in  child- 
hood the  benefit  of  the  example  and  precept  of 
his  father,  Joseph  Dobie,  yet  such  are  the  quali- 
ties of  mind  and  heart  displayed  by  William  L. 
Dobie  that  we  may  feel  positive  of  his  success  in 
life  even  under  less  favorable  surroundings  in 
his  boyhood.  To  the  sterling  traits  of  the 
Scottish  race  he  has  added  the  enthusiastic  op- 
timism of  the  American  people,  and  these  quali- 
ties have  assisted  him  in  establishing  himself 
among  the  substantial  farmers  and  progressive 
citizens  of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  owns  and 
occupies  a  valuable  farm  in  Sterling  township. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Dobie  family  appears  on 
another  page  of  this  volume.  Hence  in  this 
sketch  we  limit  our  space  to  the  personal  history 
of  William  L.  Dobie,  who  was  born  in  the  town- 
ship where  he  now  resides,  the  date  of  his  birth 
being  February  27,  1861.  The  district  schools 
near  the  old  homestead  gave  him  a  rudimentary 
education,  which  the  wise  training  of  his  father 
and  the  careful  reading  of  good  books  has  broad- 
ened into  a  comprehensive  fund  of  general 
knowledge.  After  having  grown  to  manhood  and 
given  his  father  the  benefit  of  his  capable  assist- 
ance until  he  was  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he 
then  in  1883  went  to  Mapleton,  where  he  worked 
in  the  lumber  business,  also  being  similarly  en- 
gaged at  Fairmont,  Martin  county.  Later  he 
spent  a  year  in  the  Dakotas,  Ijut  returned  to 
Minnesota  as  be'ng  in  his  opinion  a  more  de- 
sirable location  for  general  business  and  agri- 
cultural purposes.  On  his  return  he  first  worked 
in  the  Norton  lumber  yards  at  Mapleton  and 
then  bought  out  the  Delevan  Herald,  which  he 
conducted  for  eighteen  months. 

On  selling  out  the  paper  in  1890,  Mr.  Dobie 
returned  to  Sterling  township  and  purchased  a 
farm  six  miles  southwest  of  Mapleton.  The  orig- 
inal tract  comprised  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  acres  and  was  known  as  the  Dr.  C.  L. 
Frankes  farm.  By  subsequent  purchase  of  land 
from  William  L.  McQueen  the  size  of  the  farm 
was  increased  so  that  it  now  contains  more  than 
two  hundred  acres.  Crops  suited  to  the  soil  and 
climate   are  raised  on  the  land   and   produce  a 


iSiUliKAmiuiiij  jiiDnjJxx. 


aoD 


neat  income  for  the  family.  In  addition  the 
dairying  business  is  conducted  with  a  fair  degree 
of  profit,  while  the  raising  of  Poland-China  hogs 
and  Shorthorn  cattle  adds  materially  to  the  annual 
income.  In  horses  a  specialty  is  made  of  the 
Clydesdale.  An  excellent  water  system  has  been 
instituted  on  the  farm  by  means  of  flowing  wells 
and  a  ram  has  been  utilized  to  secure  the  eleva- 
tion of  water  to  the  residence.  The  undulating 
nature  of  the  land  provides  the  necessary  means 
of  drainage,  which  has  enabled  the  owner  to 
raise  good  crops  even  during  the  recent  years  of 
extraordinary  fall  of  water.  The  improvements 
on  the  farm  bespeak  the  industrious  farmer  and 
■thrifty  family,  and  prove  that  the  race  has  lost 
none  of  its  capability  since  emigrating  from  the 
old  country. 

The  marriage  of  William  L.  Dobie  took  place 
June  10,  1890,  and  united  him  with  Etta  M. 
Wishart,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  a  daughter 
of  Charles  L.  Wishart,  of  Lagrange  township, 
Walworth  county,  that  state.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  four  children,  William,  Margaret  Eliza- 
heth,  Mazel  H.  and  Etta  Merrill.  At  various 
■times  Mr.  Dob'e  lias  held  school  and  township 
■oSices,  air  of  which  he  has  filled  with  fidelity. 
In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  -ndth 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  All 
meetings  of  the  Scotch  people  and  the  Burns 
celebrations  find  him  an  interested  participant,  and 
^n  ecfual  degree  he  is  concerned  as  to  the  success 
o!  the  old  settler's  meetings.  Progressive  in  his 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  his  township,  inter- 
ested in  every  movement  to  advance  the  local 
prosperity  and  honorable  in  his  dealings  -ndth 
all,  he  merits  his  high  standmg  in  the  com- 
munity. 


DODDS,  EOBEET  M.— Ever  since  the  com- 
pletion of  his  veterinary  education  Mr.  Dodds  has 
been  a  resident  of  the  United  States,  his  first 
location  in  the  new  world  being  at  Xorthfield, 
Minnesota,  where  he  remained  from  1878  until 
1895.  During  the  latter  year  he  came  to  Man- 
kato  and  since  then  has  built  up  a  practice  ex- 
tending miles  in  every  direction  from  his  home 
city.  Besides  attending  to  all  calls  made  upon 
hie  time  and   skill,  he  has   devoted   considerable 

26 


attention  to  editorial  work  in  the  veterinary  de- 
partments of  a  number  of  agricultural  papers, 
and  at  this  writing  acts  as  veterinary  editor  of 
the  Western  Swine  Breeder,  also  the  Western 
Farmer  and  Dairyman. 

The  city  of  Kelso  in  Scotland  is  the  native 
home  of  Mr.  Dodds  and  October  21,  1852,  the 
date  of  his  birth.  His  parents,  Eobert  and  Mar- 
garet (Laidley)  Dodds,  were  members  of  hon- 
ored and  noble  families  and  the  mother  was  a 
'cousin  of  William  Laidlaw,  the  amanuensis  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott.  The  family  comprised  nine  child- 
ren, but  only  four  are  living,  namely :  James,  who 
was  mayor  of  Berwick-on-Tweed,  in  Scotland; 
John,  a  pattern-maker  employed  at  engine  works 
in  Edinburgh,  Scotland;  Margaret,  wife  of  James 
Davidson,  a  contractor  living  at  Liverpool,  Eng- 
land; and  Bobert  M.,  the  only  member  of  the 
family  living  in  the  United  States.  Educated 
in  the  grammar  schools  of  Kelso,  he  left  school 
at  the  age  of  twelve  years  and  entered  upon  an 
apprenticeship  to  a  dry  goods  merchant  in  his 
native  town,  serving  for  a  period  of  five  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  time  he  became  a  clerk 
in  a  dry  goods  store  at  Edinburgh,  and  while 
there  began  the  study  of  medicine.  After  two 
and  one-half  years  in  the  Edinburgh  store  he 
resigned  and  entered  the  Dick  veterinary  school, 
where  he  completed  the  regular  course  of  study 
in  1878,  and  immediately  afterward  sought  a 
field  of  work  and  a  home  in  the  new  world. 

The  marriage  of  Dr.  Dodds  took  place  in 
August,  1879,  and  united  him  with  Sophia  Isa- 
bella Simpson,  daughter  of  John  Simpson,  of 
Forthfield,  Minnesota,  and  a  direct  descendant 
of  Jonathan  Edwards,  also  of  Jeremiah  Porter. 
Seven  children  bless  their  union,  namely:  Alice, 
wife  of  A.  E.  Eayner  of  Seattle,  Washington,  is 
a  graduate  of  the  college  at  Northfield,  this 
state,  and  was  instructor  in  Latin  at  the  high 
school  of  Seattle,  Washington,  for  two  years : 
Eobert  P.,  a  graduate  of  McKillip  Yeterinary 
College  in  Chicago,  and  now  following  his  oc- 
cupation at  Lake  Cr3'stal,  Minnesota;  John,  who 
is  a  student  in  the  college  at  Worthfield  and  is 
fitting-  himself  for  the  work  of  a  civil  engineer; 
Lewis,  a  student  in  McKillip  Veterinary  Col- 
lege, Chicago;  Everett,  who  is  attending  the 
Mankato    high    school;    Elizabeth,    a   student    in 


386 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


the  State  Normal  School  at  Mankato;  and  Clar- 
ence, a  pupil  in  the  Mankato  grammar  school. 
The  children  are  capable  and  unusually  intelli- 
gent, and  their  education  has  been  a  matter  of 
pride  with  their  parents,  who  have  not  spared 
themselves  sacrifices  in  order  to  fit  their  sons 
and  daughters  for  positions  of  usefulness  in  the 
world.  The  family  are  associated  with  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Mankato  and  in  fraternal 
relations  Dr.  Dodds  holds  membership  with  the 
Samaritans  and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen. 


DOFAHUB,  JOHF  W.— Five  years  as  the 
incumbent  of  his  important  office  has  established 
John  W.  Donahue  among  the  most  capable,  far 
sighted  and  popular  chiefs  of  police  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  city  of  Mankato.  In  the  discharge 
of  his  many  sided  duties  Mr.  Donahue  has  main- 
tained great  discretion  and  moderation,  and 
largely  has  minimized  the  antagonisms  usually 
associated  with  his  responsibility.  No  municipal 
honor  carries  with  it  larger  opportunities  for 
practicing  the  gentle  art  of  making  enemies,  but 
here  is  a  man  who  has  otherwise  used  his 
chances,  giving  fair  play  to  all  concerned,  and 
holding  the  good  will  and  support  of  even  his 
political  antagonists.  He  is  an  excellent  judge 
of  human  nature,  is  a  keen  deductionist,  and 
notwithstanding  his  experience  with  the  shadowy 
side  of  life,  has  unbounded  faith  in  the  pre- 
dominating good  in  human  kind.  During  his 
administration  there  was  a  material  lessening 
of  the  criminal  element  of  the  community,  and 
one  feels  instinctively  that  the  moral  poise  and 
balance  of  the  chief  had  as  much  to  do  with 
this  as  had  the  resources  placed  at  his  disposal 
by  the. local  laws. 

As  his  name  implies,  Mr.  Donahue  has  Irish 
blood  in  his  veins,  and  it  was  in  the  land  of 
small  farms  and  heavy  taxation  that  his  parents, 
Thomas  and  Margaret  (Harnett)  Donahue,  were 
born.  They  came  to  America  while  the  incipient 
cloud  of  the  Civil  War  hovered  over  the  country, 
the  elder  Donahue  purchasing  the  farm  in  Illi- 
nois where  he  continued  to  live  until  his  death, 
January    1,    1906,    at    the    age    of    seventy-four 


years.  It  was  on  this  farm  that  John  W.  Dona- 
hue was  born  in  June,  1866,  and  where  he  re- 
mained continuously  until  attaining  his  seven- 
teenth year.  His  educational  chances  were  be- 
yond the  average  country  reared  boy,  for  he  at- 
tended Kashaw  College,  the  Morris  State  Nor- 
mal, and  the  Morris  Commercial  Schpol.  In 
1893  he  exchanged  the  monotony  of  farming  for 
a  position  as  commercial  traveler  for  the  firm 
of  Warner,  Busch  &  Blissner,  and  in  this  capac- 
ity traveled  extensively  throughout  the  central 
west.  In  1901  he  went  into  business  for  himself 
in  Mankato,  selling  agricultural  implements  and 
small  machinery. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Donahue  is  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  it  was  his  devotion  to  the  tenets  of 
this  party,  no  less  than  his  special  general  quali- 
fications, that  gained  his  appointment  as  chief  of 
police  in  1903.  At  the  expiration  of  his  ternj 
he  succeeded  himself,  and  in  the  fall  of  1906 
was  elected  sheriff  of  Blue  Earth  county.  Mr. 
^^Donahue  is  socially  inclined,  and  is  a  popular 
member  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  and  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  has  push,  determi- 
nation and  rare  common  sense,  and  is  an  effec- 
tual exponent  of  rigorous  and  practical  city 
administration. 


DOTTGLASS,  ALEXANDEE.— Loyalty  of 
devotion  to  adopted  country  was  exemplified  in 
the  life  of  Mr.  Douglass  by  his  enlistment  in  the 
Civil  War  and  his  long  and  honorable  associa- 
tion yrth  the  troops  engaged  in  the  formidable 
task  of  subduing  the  south.  During  the  second 
year  of  the  struggle  he  left  his  farm  near  Madi- 
son lake  and  volunteered  his  services  on  the  side 
of  the  Union,  after  which  he  took  part  in 
marches  through  much  of  the  enemy's  country, 
endured  the  privations  of  camp  life  and  fought 
with  his  regiment  in  its  engagements.  While  he 
had  no  familiarity  -ndth  military  tactics  at  the 
time  of  entering  the  army,  he  was  quick  to  learn 
and  eager  to  serve  his  countr}--,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  and  his  comrades  could  boast  of 
being  identified  with  a  well -disciplined  regi- 
ment. Finally  when  peace  was  declared  he  re- 
ceived  an  honorable   discharge   and  returned  to 


±JA.\j\Jtxvri.j.  xxj-\,'xi.-i-j 


LkJ  J,    \-/  J.\j  A.    . 


Minnesota   with    a   record    creditable   to   himself 
and  gratifying  to  friends. 

Of  Scotch  birth,  Mr.  Douglass  was  born  at 
Kirkentillcch  March  10,  1829,  being  a  son  of 
Duncan  and  Agnes  (Morrison)  Douglass,  natives 
of  Scotland,  who  crossed  the  ocean  to  Canada 
as  early  as  1831,  settling  on  a  farm  near  Lan- 
caster. The  family  had  little  money  and  it  was 
necessary  for  Alexander  to  aid  in  their  sup- 
port, which  he  did  by  following  the  weaver's 
trade.  Under  these  circumstances  he  had  no 
opportunity  to  carry  on  his  studies  in  school, 
but  after  he  went  to  Niagara  Falls  in  1851, 
and  began  to  work  for  a  doctor  he  availed  him- 
self of  leisure  hours  to  attend  school.  A  visit 
to  the  Canadian  home  was  followed  by  his  re- 
moval to  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York,  during 
the  latter  part  of  1852,  and  from  there  he  trav- 
eled through  the  south  on  a  tour  of  inspection. 
During  1854-55  he  worked  as  a  farm  hand  and 
on  a  railroad  in  Pennsylvania,  after  which  in 
1855  he  came  west  to  Wisconsin  and  for  two 
years  worked  in  the  Black  river  pineries.  Dur- 
ing that  period  he  took  out  his  naturalization 
papers. 

Hearing  much  concerning  the  lands  to  be  se- 
cured by  home-seekers  in  Minnesota,  in  1857  Mr. 
Douglass  came  to  this  state  and  inspected  the 
country,  the  result  be'ng  that  he  took  up  land  on 
the  banks  of  lake  Madison  and  under  the  pre- 
emption law  secured  a  deed  to  the  same.  August 
19,  1862,  he  enlisted  'in  Company  E,  Ninth 
Minnesota  Infantry,  at  Fort  Snelling,  Minnesota, 
and  afterward  engaged  in  the  Indian  compaigns 
until  October  of  1863,  when  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  JefFerson  City,  Missouri.  Soon  after- 
ward they  were  sent  out  to  protect  the  road  from 
St.  Louis,  to  Springfield,  JMissouri.  May  28, 
1864,  they  were  ordered  to  Memphis.  Later 
they  participated  in  the  battle  of  Guntown,  where 
they  were  forced  to  retreat  w'th  a  loss  of  several 
wounded  or  killed  in  Company  E.  Considerable 
time  was  then  spent  in  camp  at  Memphis,  from 
which  point  they  were  sent  on  an  expedition  to 
Tupelo,  Mississ'ppi,  and  while  en  route  to  that 
point  took  part  in  several  skirmishes.  Eeturn- 
ing  to  Memphis,  from  there  they  were  sent  to 
Oxford,  Mississippi,  and  engaged  in  several 
minor   slrirmishes.      Next   the    regiment   was   or- 


dered from  Mempliis  on  an  expedition  through 
Arkansas  and  ilissouri.  Arriving  at  St.  Louis 
in  November  of  1864  they  went  into  camp  at 
Benton  Barracks,  and  from  there  were  ordered 
up  the  Missouri  to  JefEerson  City,  and  thence 
on  an  expedition  after  General  Price  and  other 
southern  officers.  Next  the  regiment  returned 
to  St.  Louis,  thence  was  sent  to  Nashville,  took 
part  in  the  engagement  at  that  place,  and 
then  camped  for  one  month  at  Eastport,  Tennes- 
see, later  taking  a  boat  back  to  Memphis,  where 
they  landed  February  11,  ]865.  In  that  city 
Mr.  Douglass  was  confined  in  a  hospital  until  he 
received  his  honorable  discharge,  June  2,  1865, 
owing  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

On  his  return  to  Lake  Madison  Mr.  Doug- 
lass purchased  timber  land,  cleared  the  same  and 
since  then  has  engaged  in  farming  pursuits  on 
the  propertjf,  which  he  has  brought  under  first- 
class  improvement.  In  politics  he  has  been  a 
Eepublican  ever  since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.  August  2,  1869,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Miss  Caroline  Britt,  who  was 
bom  near  Greencastle,  Putnam  county,  Indiana, 
March  15,  1835.  Descended  from  patriotic  an- 
cestry, she  is  justly  proud  of  the  fact  that  she 
had  two  uncles  in  the  war  of  1812,  as  well  as  a 
grandfather  who  fought  under  General  Washing- 
ton in  the  Eevolutionary  struggle.  Her  parents. 
Handy  and  Delilah  (Albin)  Britt,  were  natives 
respectively  of  North  Carolina  and  Kentucky, 
and  for  years  made  their  home  on  an  Indiana 
farm,  where  she  was  reared.  In  religious  faith 
she  adheres  to  the  doctrines  of  tic  Methodist 
Episcopal  denomination  and  Mr.  Douglass  like- 
wise is  identified  with  that  church. 


DEEDGE  JOHN  H.— Many  of  the  men  now 
prominent  in  the  commercial  affairs  of  Blue 
Earth  county  are  members  of  families  that  be- 
came established  in  this  part  of  the  northwest 
in  any  early  day,  and  such  is  the  case  with  John 
H.  Dredge,  an  influential  business  man  of  Amboy, 
well  and  honorably  known  throughout  the  entire 
county.  Descended  from  a  long  line  of  English 
ancestors,  he  is  a  son  of  T.  H.  and  Margaret 
(McMillan)  Dredge,  natives  of  England-,  but 
from  childhood  identified  with  the  United  States 


388 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


as  citizens  thereof.  The  grandfather  crossed  the 
ocean  when  the  father  was  a  lad  of  thirteen  years 
and  took  his  family  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  pioneer  farming  and  remained  until 
his  death.  In  search  of  a  new  location  the  father 
came  to  Minnesota  in  1863  and  being  pleased 
with  Blue  Earth  county  he  selected  land  here, 
settling  at  old  Shelby  August  4,  1864,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1867  taking  up  a  claim  in  Pleasant 
Mound  township,  where  he  made  his  home  for 
t^venty-five  years  and  meanwhile  prosperously  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  Eventually  selling 
the  farm  he  removed  to  Lake  Crystal  and  since 
then  has  lived  in  retirement. 

Eleven  children  comprised  the  family  of 
T.  H.  and  Margaret  Dredge  and  all  but  three 
of  these  are  still  living,  John  H.,  who  was  second 
in  order  of  birth,  was  bom  in  Waushara  county, 
Wisconsin,  April  13,  1864,  and  in  childhood  at- 
tended district  schools,  afterward  having  the  ad- 
vantage of  study  in  the  Winnebago  high  school. 
During  vacation  seasons  he  aided  h's  father  on 
the  home  farm,  where  he  remained  until  1884, 
and  then  started  out  as  an  independent  farmer  in 
Shelby  township.  The  farm  he  then  operated 
still  belongs  to  him,  although  he  no  longer  per- 
sonally conducts  the  same,  his  attention  being 
devoted  to  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Wliite  &  Dredge,  proprietors  of  a  large  lumber 
yard  at  Amboy,  and  dealers  in  building  material 
of   all  kinds. 

Sharing  with  Mr.  Dredge  in  the  esteem  and 
good  will  of  the  people  of  Amboy  is  his  wife, 
whom  he  married  June  10,  1885,  and  who  was 
Georgia  Anna  Hewson,  a  native  of  Wisconsin. 
At  an  early  age  she  came  to  Minnesota  with  her 
parents,  Benjamin  and  Sarah  Hewson,  and  since 
then  she  has  lived  in  Blue  Earth  county,  her 
father  and  mother  making  their  home  with  her 
at  this  writing.  Of  her  marriage  there  are  two 
children  James  Herbert,  bom  May  9,  1894,  Euth 
E.,  bom  September  9,  1896. 

The  farm  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  paragraph 
is  among  the  most  valuable  in  its  locality  and 
comprises  three  hundred  and  forty  acres,  cul- 
tivated by  tenants.  A  specialty  is  made  of  Po- 
land-China hogs  and  high-grade  Durham  cattle, 
which  Mr.  Dredge  keeps  on  the  farm.  Besides 
the  attention  given  to  his  large  business  interests 


and  his  agricultural  associations,  he  finds  leisure 
to  participate  in  the  work  of  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in  which  he  has  passed 
through  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodge,  and  at  this 
writing  holds  office  as  district  deputy.  Among 
Odd  Eellows  in  this  part  of  the  state  he  is 
known  as  an  enthusiast  concerning  the  order  and 
as  an  authority  concerning  the  rules  and  rituals 
of  the  same,  while  among  all,  irrespective  of 
fraternal  relations,  he  has  the  reputation  of  a 
conservative,  sagacious  business  man  and  resource- 
ful, progTCSsive  citizen. 


DBEWS,  JOHN.— The  opportunities  offered 
by  the  northwest  to  young  men  of  character  and 
perseverance  find  abundant  illustration  in  the 
life  of  John  Drews,  a  progressive  farmer  resid- 
ing in  Sterling  township,  Blue  Earth  county. 
Since  the  age  of  about  sixteen  years  he  has  made 
his  home  in  this  county  and  meanwhile  has  made 
a  study  of  its  agricultural  possibilities  as  a  re- 
sult of  which  he  is  enabled  to  labor  intelligently, 
and  thus  secures  the  desired  results  with  the 
least  possible  expenditure  of  time.  The  fact  that 
ho  has  been  successful  acquires  especial  signi- 
ficance when  it  is  stated  that  he  is  not  a  native 
of  the  United  States,  but  comes  from  another 
country.  Not  a  little  of  his  success  he  attributes 
to  the  methods  adopted  by  his  father,  a  man  of 
liberal  German  education,  who  on  coming  to  the 
new  world  insisted  that  the  children  should  be 
given  thorough  English  educations,  and  thus  be- 
come qualified  for  the  conditions  under  which 
they  must  labor  in  their  new  home. 

John  Drews  was  bom  in  Mechlenburg,  Ger- 
many, January  4,  1857,  and  Was  a  son  of  John 
and  Frederica  (Eostow)  Drews,  also  natives  of 
that  province.  In  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  his  country  the  father  served  his  allotted  time 
in  the  army.  After  having  borne  a  part  in  the 
war  with  Austria  he  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge from  the  army  and  soon  secured  a  posi- 
tion as  foreman  on  a  large  estate,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  emigration  to  America  in  1863. 
For  a  time  he  lived  near  Chicago,  but  in  1873 
he  estblished  his  permanent  home  in  Minnesota, 
buying  what  was  known  as  the  George  Wood  farm 
in   Blue   Earth   county.      On   this   place   he  re- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


389 


maiijed  until  his  death  in  1904  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  The  majority  of  his  relatives 
remained  in  Germany,  but  one  of  his  brothers 
came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Wis- 
consin. Of  the  Eistow  family  two  brothers 
crossed  the  ocean  and  both  attained  more  than 
ordinary  success.  One  accompanied  an  expedi- 
tion to  Pike's  Peak,  thence  to  California,  where 
he  at  first  engaged  in  mining  and  later  conducted 
a  mercantile  store.  The  other  brother  became 
a  farmer  in  Whiteside  county,  Illinois,  where  he 
attended  public  school  in  order  to  learn  the 
English  language. 

Out  of  a  family  of  six  children,  John  Drews, 
Jr.,  and  his  two  sisters  are  the  present  survivors. 
During  boyhood  he  attended  the  public  schools 
in  Illinois  and  Minnesota.  As  a  rule  he  studied 
in  the  winters  and  worked  on  the  farm  during 
the  summer,  and  thus  he  grew  to  an  intelligent, 
sturdy  and  stalwart  manhood.  After  he  attained 
manhood  he  continued  on  the  old  homestead, 
where  he  now  has  four  hundred  acres  the  greater 
portion  being  under  cultivation.  In  the  raising 
of  crops  he  follows  a  rotation  of  grains  with 
clover,  thus  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
and  its  productive  capacity.  Together  with  rais- 
ing the  regular  farm  crops,  he  engages  in  stock- 
raising  and  keeps  on  the  farm  Poland-China 
hogs,  also  shorthorn  cattle,  most  of  which  are 
blooded  animals  and  registered.  In  addition  he 
has  Clydesdale  horses,  maldng  a  specialty  of 
heavy  draft  mares  of  high  grades.  The  farm  pre- 
sents an  attractive  appearance,  which  is  he-ght- 
ened  by  the  presence  of  a  modern  residence  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  wants  of  a  cultured 
family. 

At  all  times  contnbuting  his  quota  to  the  pub- 
lic work  of  the  township,  Mr.  Drews  has  shirked 
no  duty  confronting  a  progressive  citizen,  but  on 
the  other  hand  has  repeatedly  sacrificed  his  own 
comfort  in  order  to  discharge  some  duty  devolv- 
ing upon  him  as  a  citizen.  Educational  work 
especially  has  commanded  his  sympathy  and 
time,  and  his  identification  with  the  school  board 
has  contributed  toward  the  advancement  of  the 
local  schools.  Fraternally  he  holds  relation- 
ship with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  His 
marriage  took  place  on  New  Year's  day  of  1890 


and  united  him  with  Miss  Ollie  Eandall,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  William  Eandall,  a  pioneer  of 
Sterling  township.  Bom  of  their  union  are  four 
children,  namely;  Emory  William,  who  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Mapleton  high  school  and  now  is 
interested  in  the  stock  buisness;  Elta  Margaret, 
a  student  in  the  Mapleton  high  school;  Harry 
and  Eoyal,  who  in  turn  will  be  given  the  best 
advantages  the  local  schools  afford. 


DUEMELAND,  EENEST  A.— The  general 
merchandising  business  of  Ernest  A.  Duemeland 
has  gone  parallel  with  the  history  of  St.  Clair 
and  Blue  Earth  county  for  the  past  twenty-six 
j'eare,  or  since  its  establishment  in  1883.  In 
obedianee  to  the  scientific  law  of  supply  and 
demand  it  has  kept  pace  with  the  enlarging  com- 
munity, and  through  fair  and  dependable  meth- 
ods has  filled  a  many  sided  public  need.  The 
qualities  which  insure  successful  merchandising 
are  possessed  in  large  measure  by  the  owner, 
and  not  the  least  of  these  are  a  thorough  under- 
standing of  the  tastes  and  inclinations  of  his 
patrons,  an  unfailing  courtesy,  and  a  genuine 
desire  to  please. 

Mr.  Duemeland  comes  of  sterling  German 
stock,  and  the  first  ten  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  in  Hanover,  Germany,  where  he  was  born 
January  5,  1856.  With  his  parents,  Henry  and 
Dorothea  (Gibbons)  Duemeland,  he  came  to 
America  in  a  sailing  vessel  in  1866,  being  six 
weeks  on  the  ocean,  and  settling  soon  after 
the  arrival  in  New  York  in  St.  Peter,  Minn.  Tlie 
next  year  the  father  took  up  a  homestead  in 
Le  Sueur  county,  where  they  engaged  in  farm- 
ing many  years,  the  father  dying  in  1879 
at  tlie  age  of  seveuty-two  years,  and  the  mother 
in  1891  at  the  ago  of  sixty  years.  They  reared 
a  family  of  sixteen  children,  eight  sons  and 
eight  daughters,  giving  them  such  educational 
and  other  opportunities  as  were  pos.sible  from 
their  meagre  earning. 

The  popular  merchant  of  St.  Clair  was  the 
twelfth  oldest  in  his  father's  large  family.  He 
was  educated  in  the  d'strict  schools,  and  lived 
on  the  home  farm  until  embarking  in  his  pres- 
ent business.  In  1880  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Mary  Lane,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and 


390 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


of  German  descent.  Of  the  union  there  are  two 
t'ons,  Henry  J.,  twenty-four  years  old,  engaged 
in  the  wholesale  grocery  business  at  Bismarck; 
and  George  A.,  twenty  years  old,  with  the  Pat- 
terson Land  Company,  of  St.  Paul.  Mr.  Dueme- 
land  is  interested  in  Eepublican  politics  to  the 
extent  of  sustaining  the  interests  of  that  party 
by  his  vote,  but  he  has  no  political  aspirations. 
Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  Lodge  No. 
29,  I.  0.  0.  F.  The  family  are  members  of  the 
Lutheran  church. 


EBERHART,  HOK.  ADOLPH  0.— The  best 
of-  brain  and  heart  and  purpose  that  Sweden  has 
to  bestow  upon  its  departing  sons  is  expressed 
in  the  career  of  Adolph  0.  Bberhart,  scholar, 
la^vyer,  legislator  and  business  man,  and  one  of 
the  foremost  and  most  progressive  citizens  of 
the  enlightened  community  of  Mankato.  Mr. 
Eberhaxt  is  an  evolution  of  the  farm,  and  his 
character  bears  impress  of  its  strenuous  and 
methodical  demands.  Bom.  in  Sweden  June  23, 
1870,  he  came  to  America  at  the  age  of  eleven, 
and  in  the  State  of  Nebraska  engaged  as  cow- 
boy, farm  hand  and  farmer  until  attaining  his 
majority. 

In  the  spring  of  1891  Mr.  Eberhart  entered 
Gustavus  Adolphus  College,  at  St.  Peter,  Min- 
nesota, and  took  the  entire  academic  and  college 
courses,  together  with  all  elective  studies  in  the  • 
short  period  of  four  years  and  three  months, 
graduating  in  the  spring  of  1895  with  the 
highest  honors  as  valedictorian  of  his  class.  He 
first  read  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Lorin  Cray, 
of  Mankato,  and  three  years  later  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  thereupon  inaugurating  a  general 
piactice  of  law  in  Mankato.  Mr.  Eberhart  mar- 
ried Adele  M.  Koke  in  1898,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  four  children:  Alberta  M.,  born  in 
1899;  Herbert  C,  born  in  1901;  Dorothy  C, 
born  in  1903;  and  Eugene   S.,  born  in   1906. 

In  1902  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican 
party  for  State  Senator  from  the  11th  district, 
one  of  the  largest  districts  in  the  State,  without 
opposition,  an  honor  that  heretofore  had  not 
been  granted  to  anyone,  and  was  elected  over  a 
very  strong  Democratic  candidate,  running  as  an 
independent,    with    the   largest   majority    on    the 


ticket.  Although  the  youngest  member  of  the 
senate,  he  has  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage 
of  several  important  laws,  chief  among  which 
is  the  highway  commission  act,  prohibiting  the 
giving  and  receiving  of  transportation  rebates, 
and  the  amendments  of  1905  to  the  law  govern- 
ing the  railroad  and  warehouse  commission. 
Tlie  highway  commission  act  was  in  charge  of 
Senator  Eberhart  and  through  his  efforts  it  be- 
came a  law.  Thus  was  Minnesota  placed  on  a 
par  with  the  most  progressive  states  in  the  union 
with  respect  to  the  establishment  and  mainten- 
ance of  good  roads  and  the  proper  safe-guarding 
of  the  state  funds  applicable  thereto. 

Senator  Eberhart  also  instituted  and  as  chair- 
man conducted  the  joint  investigation  as  to 
transportation  rates  and  discriminations  against 
localities  and  individuals.  As  a  result  of  this 
investigation  he  secured  the  passage  of  some 
very  important  railroad  legislation,  such  as  the 
law  prohibiting  the  giving  and  receiving  of  rebates 
and  prescribing  penalties  for  violation  thereof,  and 
the  amendments  to  the  railroad  and  warehousfe 
commission  act,  which  give  the  railroad  and 
warehous.e  commission  absolute  control  over 
railroad  rates  and  classifications  as  well  as 
discrimiantions  against  localities  and  individuals. 
They  also  authorize  the  railroad  and  warehouse 
commission  to  investigate  the  records  of  the  rail- 
road companies  and  to  prosecute  proceedings  be- 
fore the  inter-state  commerce  commission,  thus 
giving  the  railroad  and  warehouse  commission 
of  Minnesota  as  great  power  as  that  of  any 
State  in  the  Union. 

Senator  Eberhart  was  appointed  deputy  clerk 
of  the  United  States  and  Circuit  courts  in  1897, 
vv'as  appointed  United  States  commissioner  for 
the  d^istrict  of  Minnesota  in  1900,  and  in  1906 
v/as  nominated  and  elected  lieutenant  governor 
of  Minnesota.  He  is  a  strenuous  supporter  of 
the  cause  of  the  Eepublican  party,  and  has  as- 
sisted in  all  local  and  state  campaigns  as  a  stump 
speaker.  He  is  possessed  of  convincing  and  force- 
ful eloquence,  presenting  his  claims  in  clear 
and  unmistakable  terms.  He  is  much  interested 
in  the  general  upbuilding  of  the  community, 
hat  clear  and  practical  civil  ideals,  and  is  gener- 
ous in  his  contributions  to  causes  which  appeal 
to  his  judgment  and  reason.     His  is  the  great 


BiUUKA-fMiUAJj   J±i»TU±tX. 


aai 


gifts  of  sympathy  which  comes  of  struggling 
against  early  odds  and"  overcoming  many  obsta- 
cles. He  has  worked  his  way  unaided  through 
his  college,  professional  and  business  career, 
and  furnishes  a  splendid  and  inspiring  example 
of  what  may  be  accomplished  through  grit  and 
determination.  He  is  secretary  and  treasurer  of 
the  Widell  Company  of  Mankato,  a  corporation 
engaged  in  quarrying  and  masonry  constructiorl 
and  has  always  been  identified  with  the  com- 
mercial life  of  the  city. 

Mr.  Eberhart  is  keenly  appreciative  of  the 
many  benefits  to  be  derived  from  fraternal  so- 
cieties, and  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order, 
the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Ancient 
Order  of  United  Workmen,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Eoyal  Arcanum,  Modem  Samaritans  and  Order 
of  Vasa. 


BBERHAET,  WILLIAM  A.— Was  born  in 
Wisconsin  January  8,  1860,  being  the  third 
child  in  the  parental  family.  His  education 
was  received  in  the  district  school  and  upon 
starting  out  for  himself  he  began  farming  in 
Eapidan  township,  where  he  owns  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres,  largely  under  cultivation.  When 
he  came  to  the  farm  in  1889,  he  opened  a  bach- 
elor's hall  in  a  log  cabin  and  for  three  years  he 
lived  alone,  but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
brought  a  bride  to  the  homestead,  and  now  has 
a  neat  residence,  substantial  farm  buildings, 
an  excellent  orchard  set  out  by  himself,  and  all 
the  improvements  of  a  model  estate.  Sur- 
rounding the  house  there  is  a  windbreak  in  the 
form  of  a  natural  grove.  His  wife  was  formerly 
Minnie  Mertesdorf,  member  of  a  family  concern- 
ing whom  mention  is  made  in  the  sketch  of  Pe- 
ter Mertesdorf,  of  Vernon  Center  township.  The 
only  child  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Eberhart  is  Ruth, 
born  in  1899.  The  family  are  identified  with 
the  Baptist  church  and  are  contributors  to  all 
movements  for  the  spiritual  uplifting  of  their 
community,  while  Mr.  Eberhart  also  takes  a  com- 
mendable interest  in  plans  for  the  practical 
advancement  of  the  township,  and  aided  in  se- 
curing good  roads,  gave  his  support  stanchly 
to  the  movement  for  rural  free  delivery,  also  was 
a  firm  advocate   of   the   rural   telephone,   aU   of" 


which  movements  have  been  helpful  to  the  devel- 
opment of  the  township  and  county. 


EDWARDS,  DANIEL.— Although  not  a  na- 
tive of  Blue  Earth  county,  Mr.  Edwards  has 
passed  almost  his  entire  life  here,  and  his  early 
recollections  embrace  memories  of  Indian  distur- 
bances, a  frontier  environment,  privations  and 
hardships  incident  to  pioneer  existence,  and  an 
attendance  at  school  when  the  work  at  home  per- 
mitted the  same.  Out  of  such  conditions  have 
risen  men  and  women  who  form  the  bulwark 
of  our  commonwealth  and  the  foundation  of  our 
national  progress,  and  Mr.  Edwards  pcsseeses  tlie 
qualities  which  have  come  to  be  associated  with 
the  men  active  in  the  early  de\elopment  of  our 
agricultural  resources.  In  the  township  of 
Judson,  ft'here  he  has  his  fann  on  section  thir- 
teen, he  wields  the  influence  to  be  expected 
from  a  pioneer  and  a  prosperous  farmer.  Por 
several  terms  he  efliieiently  filled  the  ofliice  of 
county  supervisor  and  for  more  than  thirty  years 
he  has  been  clerk  of  the  district,  proving  in 
both  positions  a  painstaking  and  reliable  official. 

During  the  residence  of  his  parents  in  Dodge 
county,  Wisconsin,  Daniel  Edwards  was  born  in 
October,  1849,  being  a  sou  of  Hugh  and  Eliza- 
beth (Evans)  Edwards,  natives  of  Wales.  Some 
j'ears  were  spent  by  the  parents  in  Steuben 
county.  New  York,  and  in  1850  they  proceeded 
westward  to  Wisconsin,  where  they  remained 
for  five  years.  During  June  of  185.5  they  came 
to  Minnesota  and  pre-empted  one  hundred  ana 
sixty  acres  near  Lake  Crystal,  where  they  spent 
their  remaining  years  and  built  up  a  valuable 
homestead.  The  father  died  here  in  1870  at  the 
age  -of  sixty  and  the  mother  died  twelve  years 
later  when  seventy-five  years  of  age.  In  their 
death  the  community  lost  a  worthy  pioneer 
family,  whose  influence  upon  associates  was  up- 
lifting and  whose  characters  were  above  re- 
proach. Religion  blended  with  the  other  ele- 
ments that  rounded  their  lives  into  an  harmon- 
ious whole.  They  early  adopted  the  Calvinistic 
faith  and  became  stanch  adherents  of  that 
branch    of   the   Methodist   denomination. 

In  such  a  pioneer  home  Daniel  Edwards 
passed  the  uneventful  years   of  youth  and   grew 


392 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


into  a  robust  and  sturdy  manhood.  Under  the 
careful  training  of  his  father  he  was  brought 
up  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  farm  work  and 
gained  an  experience  of  inestimable  value  to 
his  later  years.  Through  all  of  his  life  he  has 
followed  agricultural  pursuits.  His  home  place 
has  been  brought  under  systematic  improvement. 
Neat  buildings  have  been  erected  suited  to  their 
varied  purposes.  An  air  of  thrift  pervades  the 
place,  attesting  to  the  industry  of  the  owner  and 
to  his  sagacious  Judgment.  Though  not  a  par- 
tisan in  his  political  views,  he  is  a  stanch  sup- 
porter of  the  Eepublican  party  and  always  gives 
his  support  to  its  men  and  measures.  For  more 
than  twenty  years  he  was  blessed  with  the  com- 
panionship and  assistance  of  a  faithful  wife. 
Mary  Jane  Eoberts,  whom  he  married  January 
l(j,  1873,  was  born  in  New  York  and  died  on 
the  home  farm  in  Blue  Earth  county  March  15, 
1894,  leaving  three  sons  and  five  daughters, 
named  as  follows:  Emma,  wife  of  George  H. 
Anderson,  of  Mankato;  Margaret,  who  lives  in 
Mankato;  Hugh  D.,  who  is  employed  as  agent 
for  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Eailroad 
at  Bear  Creek,  Wisconsin;  Adeline,  who  keeps 
house  for  her  father;  Moses,  who  is  engaged  in 
farming  in  Blue  Earth  county;  Lemuel,  who 
assists  his  father  on  the  home  farm;  Bessie, 
living  in  Mankato ;  and  Alvina,  who  is  fifteen 
years  of  age  and  a  student  in  the  local  schools. 


EDWAEDS,  HUGH  H.— In  its  population 
the  county  of  Blue  Earth  enjoys  the  pleasant  dis- 
tinction of  possessing  many  veterans  of  the  Civil 
war,  and  no  citizens  have  proved  more  helpful 
to  local  activities  than  they.  Patriotic  and  cour- 
ageous in  times  of  war,  they  are  no  less  loyal  and 
trustworthy  in  eras  of  peace,  and  their  citizen- 
ship has  proved  to  be  contributory  to  the  mater- 
ial growth  of  their  county  and  commonwealth. 
Numbered  among  these  honored  veterans  is  Hugh 
H.  Edwards,  an  influential  resident  of  Lake  Crys- 
tal and  a  prominent  local  worker  in  the  Ee- 
publican party.  At  this  writing  he  holds  office 
as  president  of  the  Parmer's  Insurance  Company 
of  Lake  Crystal  and  also  acts  as  a  director  of 
the  First  National  Bank,  in  which  he  holds 
stock. 


During  the  year  1840  Hugh  and  Elizabeth, 
(Evan)  Edwards,  cames  from  Wales  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  settled  at  Eemsen,  Oneida  county, 
New  York,  where  they  lived  for  seven  years. 
Thence  they  sought  a  home  in  the  frontier  re- 
gions of  Wisconsin  and  in  1885  accompanied  a 
party  of  fifteen  families  to  Minnesota,  where 
they  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  took  up 
a  claim  from  a  government.  The  experiences  in- 
cident to  existence  in  a  sparsely-settled  region 
fell  to  their  lot.  Privations  and  hardships 
came  to  them  as  to  all  pioneers,  but  they  possess- 
ed the  sturdy  physical  and  mental  attributes 
ihat  enabled  them  to  overcome  obstacles  and 
surmount  difficulties.  The  father  died  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  August  21,  1870,  and  was  survived 
for  twenty  years  by  the  mother,  who  also  passed 
her  last  days  in  this  county.  Their  son,  Hugh 
H.,  was  bom  at  Eemsen,  Oneida  county.  New 
York,  Pebruary  35,  1843,'  and  received  such 
meagre  educational  advantages  as  the  day  and 
locality  afforded.  Early  in  life  he  began  to  as- 
sist his  father  in  the  development  of  their  pre- 
emption claim  and  always  has  maintained  a  deep 
interest  in  agricultural  pursuits.  Por  thirteen 
years  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the  government  as 
a  railway  postal  clerk,  in  which  responsible  posi- 
tion he  proved  himself  quick,  accurate,  and  re- 
liable. Por  four  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  county  commissioners. 

Throughout  the  period  of  the  Civil  war  Mr. 
Edwards  was  staunch  in  his  allegiance  to  the 
Union.  December  33,  1863,  he  enlisted  at  Fort 
Snelling  as  a  private  in  Company  E,  Second 
Minnesota  Cavalry,  his  company  being  under  the 
command  of  Captain  E.  F.  Slaughter.  The 
regiment  was  stationed  on  the  frontier  in  the 
llndian  warfare  and  conducted  a  campaign 
against  the  Sioux  Indians.  The  war  having 
expired  and  the  Indians  having  been  quieted,  the 
regiment  was  mustered  out  of  service  December 
3,  1865,  and  Mr.  Edwards  returned  to  his  home 
with  an  excellent  record  for  military  service. 
Deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  country, 
he  supports  all  movements  for  the  general  good 
and  has  proved  a  dependable  citizen.  Por  a 
quarter  of  a  century  he  has  been  identified  with 
Masonry,  while  in  religious  views  he  is  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  doctrines  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 


BIOGEAPHIOAL  HISTORY. 


393 


pal  church.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  Feb- 
mary  35,  1863,  and  imited  him  with  Ann  Eob- 
erts,  of  South  Bend,  Minnesota.  Two  sons  and 
two  daughters  were  born  of  their  union,  namely: 
John,  bom  February  8,  1867,  and  now  holding 
the  responsible  position  of  state  grain  inspector 
at  Duluth;  Daniel,  born  April.  6,  1869,  and  now 
a  revenue  collector  at  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Eliza- 
beth, born  August  ^3,  1871;  and  Amy,  born 
November  1,  1873,  who  is  the  wife  of  C.  H, 
Jones,  ,  a  farmer  of  this  county.  There  are 
three  grandchildren,  of  whom  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Edwarda  are  justly  proud  and  in  whose  happi- 
ness they  are  deeply  interested.  The  family  hold 
a  high  position  in  their  home  town  and  have 
a  large  circle  of  friends  among  the  people  in 
whose  midst  they  long  have  made  their  home. 


EDWAEDS,  JOHN.— From  the  age  of  ten 
years  a  resident  of  Blue  Earth  county,  Mr. 
Edwards  has  been  identified  with  the  agricul- 
tural development  of  this  portion  of  the  state 
of  Minnesota  and  has  accomplished  much  as  a 
farmer  and  citizen.  It  has  been  his  privilege  to 
witness  the  transformation  of  the  country  from 
a  primeval  wilderness,  through  which  roamed 
wild  animals  and  Indians,  into  a  region  dotted 
with  neat  farm-housee  and  thriving  towns,  and 
inhabited  by  a  class  of  people  whose  superiors 
are  not  to  be  found  within  the  limits  of  the  com- 
monwealth. In  all  of  this  work  of  development 
he  has  borne  a  part.  His  influence  has  been 
given  to  movements  of  a  progressive  nature,  his 
hand  always  has  been  ready  to  aid  local  enter- 
prises, and  his  means  have  been  used  frequently 
to  promote  measures  whose  success  was  jeopar- 
dized by  lack  of  capital.  The  improved  farm 
which  he  owns  and  occupies  lies  on  section  twen- 
ty-two, Judson  township,  near  the  village  of 
Lake  Crystal,  from  which  he  receives  his  daily 
mail  via  the  rural  route.  For  some  time  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  town  board  and  in 
that  capacity  has  promoted  local  projects  of  un- 
doubted importance  to  the  well-being  of  the 
community. 

The  Edwards  family  is  of  Welsh  extraction. 
Hugh  and  Elizabeth  (Evans)  Edwards  were  na- 
tives  of   Wales,    whence   they    emigrated    to   the 


United  States  and  settled  in  Steuben  county. 
New  York,  where  their  son,  John,  was  bom  in 
1S45.  From  there  they  proceeded  westward  in 
1850  and  settled  in  Emmett,  Wisconsin,  but 
five  years  later  sought  a  new  location,  and  in 
June  of  1855  became  pioneers  of  Minnesota, 
where  they  pre-empted  a  claim  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Both 
of  them  died  at  their  homestead  near  Lake  Crys- 
tal, the  father  in  1870  at  the  age  of  sixty  and 
the  mother  in  1882  at  the  age  of  seventy-five. 
John  Edwards  received  his  primary  education 
in  Wisconsin  and  later  attended  the  country 
schools  of  Minnesota.  From  an  early  age  he 
was  familiar  with  farm  work  and  always  has 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  in  which  he  has 
gained  a  success  justified  by  his  experience  and 
sagacity. 

For  ten  or  more  years  after  Mr.  Edwards  be- 
came a  resident  of  Minnesota  the  Indians  proved 
troublesome  and  at  times  dangerous  neighbors, 
and  settlers  were  in  constant  fear  of  their  dep- 
redations. As  a  boy  he  was  often  excited  by  tales 
of  massacres  and  reports  of  approaching  savages, 
and  he  remembers  well  the  excitement  caused  by 
their  attacks  on  the  white  settlers  during  the 
sixties.  Contrasting  those  da5's  with  the  peace 
and  contentment  of  the  present  era,  he  rejoices 
in  the  privilege  of  living  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, with  its  opportunities  for  the  quiet  and  suc- 
cessful pursuits  of  agriculture.  When  the  Civil 
war  broke  out  he  was  an  enthusiastic  sup- 
porter of  the  Union  cause,  and  being  young, 
enthusiastic,  patriotic,  and  not  yet  bound  by  do- 
mestic ties,  he  soon  offered  his  services  to  the 
Union.  In  August  of  1862  he  was  accepted* 
as  a  member  of  Company  E,  Ninth  Minnesota 
Infantry,  with  which  he  proceeded  to  the  center 
of  hostilities.  Among  the  engagements  in  which 
he  took  part  were  the  battle  of  Guntown,  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  siege  of  Corinth,  after  which  he 
was  present  at  the  memorable  battle  of  Nashville. 
Later  he  accompanied  the  regiment  in  marches 
through  the  eastern  part  of  Mississippi  and  was 
with  the  force  that  captured  JefEerson  Da.vi&. 
Another  well-remembered  experience  was  the 
march  through  Missouri  after  Price.  The  only 
time  he  received  a  wound  was  at  Spanish  Port. 
After  an  honorable  service  of  three  years  he  was 


§94 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


mustered  out  in  August,  1865,  at  Fort  Snelling, 
Minnesota.  Since  then  he  has  become  promi- 
nently identiiied  with  Wilkin  Post  No.  19,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  Ever  since  attaining  his 
majority  he  has  voted  the  Republicon  ticket 
and  maintained  a  hearty  sympathy  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  that  party.  In  his  religious  views  he  is 
of  the  Calvinistic  faith. 

Shortly  after  his  return  home  from  the  Civil 
war  Mr.  Edwards  established  a  home  of  his  own, 
being  united  in  December  of  1865  with  Jane 
Jones,  who  was  born  in  Wales  and  at  an  early 
age  came  to  America,  settling  in  Wisconsin.  Of 
their  union  seven  sons  were  born,  all  of  whom 
are  men  of  sagacity  and  irreproachable  reputa- 
tions. The  two  oldest,  Hugh  T.  and  Thomas, 
are  connected  with  the  state  wheat  force  in  Min- 
neapolis. Henry  remains  on  the  old  home  farm. 
David,  also  a  farmer,  is  living  near  the  Big  Lake 
in  this  state.  William  carries  on  a  farm  in  Blue 
Earth  county  and  George  likewise  has  agricul- 
tural inter^ts  in  this  locality.  The  youngest 
son,  Charles,  makes  his  home  at  Janesville,  this 
state,  where  he  has  engaged  in  the  milling  busi- 
ness. 


EAIRCHILD,  FRANK  P.— Varied  occupa- 
tions to  which  at  different  times  he  has  given  at- 
tention enabled  Mr.  Pairchiid  to  acquire  a  com- 
prehensive knowledge  of  the  world  of  agriculture 
and  commerce,  and  he  is  reputed  to  be  one  of 
the  best-informed  men  at  Garden  City.  For 
years  this  village  has  been  his  home  and  in  all 
activities  for  the  promotion  of  its  business  growth 
he  has  been  prominent.  With  local  politics  he 
has  kept  closely  in  touch  both  through  his  cham- 
pionship of  the  candidacy  of  men  whom  he  con- 
siders qualified  for  official  honors,  and  also 
through  his  incumbency  of  various  local  posi- 
tions. Perhaps  no  man  in  the  town  is  more 
conversant  than  he  with  real-estate  values,  and 
he  is  quoted  as  an  authority  in  transactions 
where  values  are  questioned.  At  this  writing 
much  of  his  time  is  devoted  to  the  real-estate 
business.  During  early  manhood  he  followed 
agricultural  pursuits  and  after  moving  to  town 
he  became  interested  in  the  buying  and  selling 
of  live  stock,  later  made  a  specialty  of  imported 


stallions,   but  more  recently  he  has  limited  his 
attention  to  real-estate  affairs. 

A  native  of  Waukau,  Winnebago  county,  Wis- 
consin, Mr.  Fairehild  was  born  September  15, 
1855,  being  a  son  of  Richard  and  Diantha  E. 
(Coffimann)  Fairehild.  His  father  was  born 
in  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  and  during, 
active  years  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  but 
more  recently  has  lived  in  Minneapolis  retired 
from  active  labors.  The  mother  was  born  in 
Erie  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  died  at  Sauk 
Centre,  Stearns  county,-  Minnesota,  in  1901, 
when  quite  advanced  in  years.  A  resident  of 
Garden  City  from  boyhood,  Frank  P.  Fairehild 
was  given  good  educational  advantages  in  local 
schools,  where  he  enjoyed  the  ias tractions  of 
Judge  Weber  and  David  Kirk.  An  excellent 
foundation  was  thus  laid,  to  which  afterward  he 
added  by  reading  and  habits  of  close  observa- 
tion, so  that  now  he  is  a  man  of  broad  informa- 
tion and  unusual  intelligence.  From  youth  he 
has  been  a  believer  in  the  principles  of  the  demo- 
cratic party  and  has  stanchly  upheld  its  men 
and  measures.  The  Christian  church  represents 
the  religious  faith  of  the  family,  and  he  has 
been  a  generous  contributor  to  its  maintenance, 
as  indeed  to  all  organizations  for  the  benefit  of 
humanity.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership 
with  Lodge  No.  325,  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  at  Mankato,  and  is  further  identified 
with  the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America. 

The  marriage  of  Frank  P.  Fairehild  and 
Hattie  G.  Sherwood,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  was 
solemnized  September  18,  1874.  Mrs.  Fairehild 
passed  away  November  11,  1907.  Three  daughters 
and  two  sons  came  to  bless  their  union,  namely; 
Ethel  L.,  who  was  born  on  the  4th  of  July,  1881, 
and  who  now  holds  a  responsible  position  as 
a  teacher  in  the  schools  of  Lakota,  North  Da- 
kota; Alice  Mable,  born  October  2,  1883;  Edna 
Beth,  who  was  born  November  5,  1886,  and  is 
the  wife  of  William  E.  Bush,  residing  at  Osh- 
kosh,  Wisconsin;  Frank  Sherwood  Fairehild, 
born  January  36,  1890;  and  Charles  Tusten,. 
July  8,  1893.  The  sons  still  remain  beneath  the 
parental  roof.  Socially  the  family  hold  an  hon- 
ored position  in  their  community  and  enjoy  the 
freindship  of  the  most  cultured  people  of  the 
town. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY.  395 

Jj'ANCHEil,  MAKK  D. — From  Ms  earliest  brought  him  into  affiliation  with  various  organi- 
recollections  a  resiaent  oJ:  Minnesota,  Mr.  ij'an-  zations,  including  the  United  Commercial  Travel- 
cuer  IS  loyal  to  tne  interests  ot  tne  common-  ers,  Masonic  Blue  Lodge,  Benevolent  Protective 
weaitn  ol  nis  nativity  ana  cnerisnes  tne  utmost  Order  of  Elks,  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Koyal 
laitn  in  its  tuture  aeveiopment  ana  progress.  Arcanum,  in  the  work  of  all  of  which  he  has 
jiorn  at  Mantorvilie,  JJouge  county,  Marcn  5,  maintained  a  warm  interest. 
l»7a,  iie  IS  a  son  of  Jonn  Jv.  ana  Jj'annie 
^^jjinasley)  Pancher,  natives  respectively  of  Os- 
wego county,  JMew  lorli,  and  OJiio.  'I'ne  mother  PIELDS,  JOHN  H. — The  reconstruction 
died  fcieptember  21,  1905^  at  the  age  of  tifty-sis  period  following  the  Civil  wax  oSered  large  op- 
years.  Smce  then  the  father  has  led  a  retired  lite  portunity  to  men  skilled  in  all  departments  of 
at  Dodge  Center,  Dodge  County,  where  in  former  activity,  and  to  none  more  than  the  farmer, 
years  ne  was  a  prominent  factor  in  the  affairs  whose  labor  is  the  foundation  of  the  national 
of  ills  community  ana  lor  years,  iield  tHe  office  commonwealth.  To  such  as  cast  their  fortunes 
of  postmaster.  Politically  he  always  has  been  with  Blue  Earth  county  in  1866  there  was  ample 
an  earnest  supporter  ot  Republican  principles,  reward  for  labor  expended,  evidence  to  that  effect 
His  aeep  interest  in  religious  work  has  led  tiini  presenting  itself  in  the  lives  of  such  men  as 
to  identify  liimself  witn  societies  for  its  ad-  John  H.  Fields,  a  farmer  of  recognized  ability 
vancement  and  he  has  been  particularly  active  and  standing  in  McPherson  township  and  owner 
in  the  Dodge  County  Sunday  tschool  Association,  of  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
of  which  at  one  time  he  served  as  president.  Born    in    St.    Lawrence    county.    New    York, 

In  a  family  of  three  children,  all  still  living,  September    10,   1858,   Mr.   Fields   is   one   of   the 

Mark   D.    Faneher    was   the   eldest   in    order    of  two  sons  and  one  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 

birth.    ,  Keceiving    his    education    in    the    public  (Baxter    Fields,    the    former    of   whom    died    in 

schools,   he    added    to    this    information   gleaned  St.    Clair   November   1,  1887,   and  the  latter  in 

from  text-books   the  more   important  knowledge  the    same    town    in    February,    1905.      William 

gained  in  the  school  of  experience  and  observa-  Fields  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  while 

tion.    In  1891  he  was  selected  as  assistant  post-  his   wife  was  a  native   of   Ireland.     They   came 

master    at    Owatonna,    this    state,    and    for    five  to    Blue   Earth    county   in    1866,    locating    on    a 

years  he   continued   in  the  same  position,   after  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  in  McPherson 

which  he  was  employed  in  a  lumber  business  at  township,   and   there   conducted  general   farming 

MantorviUe    for    two    years    and    for    a    similar  and  stock-raising  for  the  balance  of  their  lives, 

period  traveled   as   auditor   for   the   Hayes-Lucas  John  H.   the  oldest  of  their  children,   was  edu- 

Lumber     Company.     Coming     to     Mankato     in  eated   in  the   public   schools   and   had   the  usual 

March   of    1901,   he   took   charge   of   the   Laird-  other    advantages    of    the    country    reared    lad. 

Norton  lumber  yards  and  still  continues  as  man-  Under  his   father  he  learned  practical   farming, 

ager  of   the   business,   which   under   his    capable  and  since  the  latter's  death,  he  has  made  steady 

supervision  has   almost   doubled   its   former   size,  advance  along  the  lines  of  his  chosen  life  work. 

A  thorough-going  business  man,  keen  and  alert  He  occupies  a  commodious  and  comfortable  resi- 

in  mind,  vigorous  in  body,  social  by  disposition  dence,   has   well   constructed   barn   and   outbuild- 

and  genial  in  temperament,  he  is  well  qualified  ings,  and  an  atmosphere  of  refinement  and  appre- 

to  conduct  a  growing  and  important  business  in  elation  of  the  artistic  is  presented  by  many  beau- 

a  manner   productive    of   gratifying   returns.  tiful  trees  and  shrubs. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Faneher  took  place  De-  In    September,    1881,    Mr.    Fields    was    united 

•cember    13,    1893,    and   united   him    with    Jessie  in  marriage  to  Isabelle  Larabee,  a  native  of  Blue 

D.    Philpot,    daughter    of    William    Philpot,    of  Earth  county,  and  the  daughter  of  parents  who 

St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York.     Two  children  were  the  first  white  settlers  of  this  county.     To 

were  born  of  their  union,  Mildred  C.  and  Ealph  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fields  have  been  born  six  daughters 

P.    The  fraternal  relations  of  Mr.  Faneher  have  and  one  son — Millie,   Ada,   May,    Sadie,   Jennie, 


396 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Nona  and  Harry.  In  politics  Mr.  Fields  is  a 
Democrat,  but  he  has  no  political  aspirations. 
With '  his  family  he  attends  the  Congregational 
church.  He  is  one  of  the  community's  highly 
respected  and  most  useful  farmers,  the  soul  of 
good  humor  and  geniality,  and  the  center  of  a 
large  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances. 


FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK.— The  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  of  Mankato,  the  seventh  in  point  of 
age  of  the  National  Banks  of  Minnesota,  was  or- 
ganized in,  1868  with  the  following  incorpora- 
tors:    Jaraes  B.  Hubbell,  John  N.  Hall,  John 

B.  Murphy,  A.  C.  Woolfolk,  Stephen  Lamm, 
John  F.  Meagher,  John  T.  Williams,  Daniel 
Buck,  L.  C.  Harrington,  John  J.  Shaubut,  James 
M.  Thompson,  J.  A.  James,  John  A.  Willard, 
Henry  Foster,  T.  N.  Boynton,  E.  P.  Freeman, 
F.  E.  Prael,  H.  DuBoieson  and  A.  T.  Lindholm. 

A.  C.  Woolfolk,  attorney,  ex-quartermaster  of 
the  United  States  and  judge  of  the  district 
court  was  the  first  president  of  the  bank,  John 
F.  Meagher,  vice-president,  and  John  N.  Hall, 
cashier.     The  board  of  directors  consisted  of  A. 

C.  Woolfolk,  Stephen  Lamm,  James  B.  Hubbell, 
John  P.  Meagher,  John  B.  Murphy,  Daniel 
Buck,  J.  T.  Williams,  John  A.  Willard  and  L. 
C.  Harrington.  September  10,  1868,  the  bank 
took  over  the  business  of  J.  J.  Thornton  &  Com- 
pany, and  obtained  possession  of  the  .corner  it 
since  has  occupied.  George  T.  Barr  became 
teller  and  A.  T.  Lindholm  bookkeeper.  In  1869 
John  J.  Shaubut  succeeded  J.  T.  Williams  as  di- 
rector, and  in  1870  Samuel  Randall  took  the 
place  of  John  B.  Murphy.  In  the  winter  of 
1871  John  F.  Meagher  resigned  as  director  and 
vice-president. 

The  second  president  of  the  bank  was  James 
B.  Hubbell,  the  vice-president  being  John  J. 
Shaubut,  and  the  board  of  directors  Stephers 
Lamm,  James  B.  Hubbell,  John  Shaubut,  John 
A.  Willard  and  Samuel  Randall. 

The  present  bank  building  was  erected  in  1876. 
In  January,  1878,  James  B.  Hubbell  was  suc- 
ceeded by  R.  D.  Hubbard  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors,  and  John  A.  Willard  was 
elected  president  and  Stephen  Lamm,  vice-presi- 
dent.    These  two  men  held  their  respective  posi- 


tions until  in  December,  1896,  when  Mr.  Lamm 
succeeded  Mr.  Willard  as  president,  both  having 
served  nineteen  years.  January  30,  1879,  Henry 
Poster,  one  of  the  original  incorporators  of  the 
bank,  became  a  director,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  death,  in  1906,  or  for  a  period  of 
twenty-seven  years. 

April  1,  1880,  John  N.  Hall  resigned  as  cash- 
ier, and  was  succeeded  by  Frederick  Busch,  who, 
a  year  later,  resigned  to  become  identified  with 
the  Goodhue  County  National  Bank,  of  Redwing. 
Henry  C.  Akeis  became  his  successor,  and  two 
years  later  his  place  was  taken  by  George  H. 
Clark,  April  1,  1883.  At  the  same  time  L.  A. 
Linder  succeeded  George  B.  Owen  as  teller,  the 
latter  having  held  the  position  three  years.  Jan- 
uary 8,  1883,  John  Klein,  M.  G.  Willard  and 
Nicholas  Long  were  elected  directors  with  Steph- 
en Lamm,  Henry  Poster,  R.  D.  Hubbard  and 
John  A.  Willard.  January  12,  1885,  George 
Peter  Hoerr  succeeded  to  the  place  left  vacant 
by  the  demise  of  Mr.  Long. 

In  the  spring  of  1897  L.  A.  Linder  became 
cashier  of  the  bank,  and  Joseph  H.  Thro,  who 
had  been  in  the  employ  of  the  bank  since  1887 
became  assistant  cashier.  In  January,  1900, 
George  M.  Palmer  became  a  director,  and  in 
January,  1901,  W.  D.  Willard  was  added  to  the 
board,  the  other  members  being  Stephen  Lamm, 
L.  A.  Linder,  Henry  Foster,  George  P.  Hoerr 
and  John  Klein.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Linder 
September  32,  1901,  A.  0.  Eberhart  was  elected 
director.  On  November  12,  1901,  W.  D.  Wil- 
lard became  cashier.  In  January,  1902,  P.  M. 
Currier  succeeded  Mr.  Klein  on  the  board  of  di- 
rectors, and  G.  M.  Palmer  became  vice-president. 
In  January,  1904,  J.  W.  Andrews  and'B.  Ban- 
gerter,  Jr.,  were  added  to  the  board.  March  23, 
1904,  President  Lamm  died,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Leo  S.  Lamm,  as  vice-president  and 
director.  In  January,  1906,  John  H.  Hohmann 
became  a  director,  and  in  August,  of  the  same 
year,  John  Nyquist  succeeded  A.  0.  Eberhart. 
On  the  death  of  Mr.  Poster,  Henry  Thielman,  of 
St.  Clair,  was  chosen  his  successor.  The  present 
board  of  directors  are  as  follows:  G.  M.  Palmer, 
president  of  the  Hubbard  Milling  Company;  L. 
S.  Lamm,  capitalist;  W.  D.  Willard,  cashier; 
J.    W.    Andrews,    physician;    B.    Bangerter,   Jr., 


jjiUUitArjinJiiij  moiuiti. 


397 


register  of  deeds;  P.  M.  Currier,  manufacturer 
of  confectionery;  J.  H.  Hr.nmann,  manager  of 
the  Standard  Brewing  Comj^jany;  John  Nyquist, 
clothing  merchant;  and  Henry  Thielman,  mer- 
chant. 


PISCHEE,  HEEMAlSr.— One  of  the  well-im- 
proved farms  of  Blue  Earth  county  is  the  home- 
stead owned  and  occupied  by  Herman  Pischer, 
and  situated  in  Danville  towi>hip  two  and  one- 
half  miles  north  of  Minnesota  Lake,  Paribault 
county.  Since  acquiring  the  original  tract  by 
the  purchase  of  what  i^as  then  known  as  the 
Eischbauch  place,  he  has  added  by  buying  ad- 
jacent property  until  now  his  landed  posso-;.-ions 
aggregate  four  hundred  acres  in  one  l,,jdy.  All 
of  the  land  is  available  for  cultivation  with  t'le 
exception  of  the  pasture  land  through  which. 
flows  the  Big  Cobb  river  with  its  never-failing 
supply  of  water  available  for  the  use  of  the  stock 
carried  on  the  farm.  One  of  the  features  of  the 
place  is  a  dairy  business,  the  cream  from  which 
is  riold  at  the  Danville  Star  creamery.  Prom  the 
introductioii  of  creameries  into  this  region  Mr. 
Pischer  has  realized  the  opportunities  which  they 
afford  to  the  farmer  and  has  been  enthusiastic 
m  their  support,  having  been  especially  inter- 
ested as  a  promotor  of  the  creamery  at  Minne- 
sota Lake,  which  was  the  first  plant  of  the  kind 
in  this  section.  Among  the  improvements  on 
the  farm  may  be-  mentioned  the  neat  residence, 
substantial  barns  and  granaries,  and  the  groves 
of  trees  whose  garments  of  green  add  to  the 
beauty  of  the  landscape  in  the  summer  and 
break  the  rigor  of  the  winter  winds  as  they  dash 
against  the  grey  and  leafless  branches. 

Elsewhere  in  this  volume  appears  a  sketch  of 
William,  brother  of  Herman  Pischer,  and  there- 
in will  be  found  reference  to  the  family  history. 
Their  father,  who  died  January  8,  18.84,  was 
one  of  the  honored  pioneers  of  Danville  town- 
ship; where  for  years  he  labored  with  the  in- 
dustry, thrift  and  frugality  characteristic  of  his 
countrymen.  Twice  married,  he  lost  his  first 
wife,  Henrietta  (Eosenow)  Pischer,  in  August 
of  1857,  and  later  was  united  with  Wilhelmina 


Leu,  a  native  of  Germany,  who  is  still  living  on 
their  old  homestead  in  the  northeastern  corner 
of  Danville  township.  Beside  two  children  de- 
ceased, she  has  a  family  of  four  sons  and  three 
daughters  still  living.  Herman  was  a  son  of  the 
first  marriage  and  was  born  at  Pommern,  Ger- 
many, August  31,  1853.  As  a  boy  he  attended 
the  schools  of  his  native  land  and  received  con- 
firmation in  the  Lutheran  church  prior  to  com- 
ing to  America.  After  he  had  accompanied  the 
family  to  Minnesota  he  remained  on  the  home 
farm  until  1872,  when  he  went  to  Minnesota 
Lake  and  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade,  after- 
ward carrying  on  a  shop  in  that  village  until  he 
removed  to  the  farm  that  he  still  occupies.  The 
years  in  their  peaceful  flight  have  brought  him  a 
fair  degree  of  success  as  a  farmer,  and  in  the 
raising  of  general  agricultural  products  suited 
to  the  soil  and  climate  his  time  has  passed 
profitably  and  busily.  It  is  his  custom  to  carry 
good  grades  of  stock,  and  a  visitor  to  his  farm 
will  find  excellent  types  of  the  best  breeds  "of 
cattle,  horses  and  hogs.  The  land  lies  in  such 
a  way  as  to  render  possible  a  simplified  yet  ef- 
fective system  of  drainage,  with  an  outlet  of 
suiTicient  capacity  to  control  all  the  water  that 
miglit  be  carv'efl  into  it.  In  a  region  noted  for 
it"^  energetic  farmer-,  it  is  recognized  that  he  has 
few  superiors  in  ]<tijwledge  of  every  detail  con- 
nected with  the  occupation. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Pischer,  April  13,  1878, 
united  him  with  Louisa  Urban,  who  was  born  in 
Wisconsin  and  came  to  Minnesota  with  her 
father,  William  Urban,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
war  now  residing  in  Faribault  county.  It  has 
been  the  ambition  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pischer  to 
give  their  children  good  educational  advantages 
and  prepare  them  for  positions  of  usefulness  and 
honor  in  whatever  locality  they  may  establish 
homes.  Their  eldest  daughter,  Henrietta,  is  the 
wife  of  William  Miller,  and  resides  in  Vivian 
township,  Waseca  county.  The  eldest  son,  Wil- 
liam, has  established  himself  in  South  Dakota. 
Clara  is  engaged  in  teaching  at  St.  James,  Min- 
nesota, and  has  a  reputation  for  superior  skill  in 
educational  work.  The  youngest  children,  Earnest, 
Leona  and  Elmer  remain  with  their  parents  on 
the  home  farm. 


398 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


FISCHER,  WILLIAM.— For  a  long  period  of 
busy  years  Mr. .  Fischer  has  been  identified  with 
the  farming  interests  of  Danville  township,  Blue 
Earth  county.  Upon  starting  out  for  himself 
and  establishing  a  home  of  his  own,  he  pur- 
chased what  was  then  known  as  the  Ed  Coates 
farm.  The  estate  comprises  two  hundred  acres 
on  the  southern  line  of  this  county  and  eighty 
acres  across  the  line  in  Fariba-ult  county,  in  addi- 
tion to  which  he  now  owns  two  hundred  acres  in 
Danville,  the  entire  area  being  practically  under 
cultivation.  The  land  is  rolling  and  affords  an 
excellent  drainage,  hence  the  owner  has  never 
been  harassed  by  crop  failures.  Besides  raising 
the  various  cereals  to  which  the  soil  is  adapted, 
he  engages  extensively  in  raising  stock,  and 
keeps  a  good  grade  of  horses,  cattle  and  hogs  on 
the  farm. 

A  native  of  Pommern,  Germany,  William 
Fischer  was  born  isrovember  33,  1850,  and  is  a 
brother  of  Herman  P.,  mentioned  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  His  parents,  John  and  Hattie 
(Eosenow)  Fischer,  were  born  in  the  same  local- 
ity as  himself.  During  1868  the  family  crossed 
the  ocean  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in 
Wisconsin.  However,  their  sojourn  in  that  state 
was  brief,  for  in  1869  they  made  another  move, 
this  time  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county,  Min- 
nesota, and  settling  in  Danville  township.  Thei 
father  was  a  hard-working  farmer  and  with  the 
aid  of  his  children  he  gained  a  substantial  posi* 
tion  as  a  land-ovraier  and  farmer.  Of  the  two 
sons  and  two  daughters,  William  was  the  eldest 
son,  and  he  was  eighteen  at  the  time  of  coming 
to  America.  Afterward  he  assisted  his  father  in 
securing  a  start  in  their  new  home,  remaining 
with  him  until  his  marriage,  October  24,  1872, 
to  Wilhelmina  Hoge,  a  pioneer's  daughter,  who 
remained  his  devoted  helpmate  until  her  death, 
April  35, 1900.  The  children  born  of  their  union 
are  named  as  follows :  William,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Danville  township;  Lydia,  at  home; 
Emma,  deceased;  Ernest,  who  aids  his  father 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  old  homestead;  Clara, 
employed  as  a  stenographer  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Minnesota  Lake;  Katie;  Matie,  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Minnesota  State  Normal  at  Mankato; 
Helmuth  and  Theresa. 


Before  turning  his  attention  to  agriculture 
William  Fischer  devoted  several  years  of  his 
youth  to  the  blacksmith's  trade.  Since  becoming 
a  farmer  he  has  added  other  interests  to  those 
on  the  homestead  and  has  become  known  as  a 
man  of  capability,  one  whom  in  local  parlance 
is  aptly  termed  a  "hustler."  For  years  he  has 
been  a  worker  in  educational  matters  and  a 
member  of  the  school  board,  in  addition  to  which 
he  long  has  oificiated  as  township  treasurer,  also 
has  been  assessor  of  Danville  township  and  chair- 
man of  the  town  board.  Since  the  inception  of 
the  Minnesota  Lake  Farmers  Mutual  Fire  In- 
surance Company,  (in  the  organization  of  which 
he  was  a  leading  promotor)  he  has  served  as  a 
member  of  its  board  of  directors,  and  for  a  time 
held  the  office  of  president.  The  history  of  this 
concern  shows  an  increasing  a,nd  gratifying  de- 
gree of  'success.  As  a  promotor  of  the  Minnesota 
Lake  creamery,  he  took  an  active  interest  in 
that  enterprise  until  the  creamery  was  sold.  Jn 
1895  he  was  one  of  the  builders  of  the  Hem- 
brich  creamery,  situated  in  Waseca  county,  four 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  his  home.  The  year 
after  the  starting  of  this  creamery  he  was  elected 
its  manager,  which  position  he  filled  with  effi- 
ciency for  eight  years.  Though  no  longer  an 
officer  in  the  company,  he  retains  his  financial 
and  personal  interest  in  the  enterprise,  and  its 
success  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  him. 


FLETCHER,  HON.  LAFAYETTE  G.  M.— 
Shortly  after  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  braved  the 
perils  of  an  unknown  ocean  and  had  established 
themselves  on  the  bleak  and  desolate  coast  of 
New  England,  other  ships  came  bearing  new 
settlers  to  brave  the  dangers  of  an'  apparently 
inhospitable  land.  With  a  ship  that  east  anchor 
in  the  harbor  of  Massachusetts  in  1630  came  the 
first  representatives  of  the  Fletcher  family  in  the 
new  world.  The  original  home  of  the  family 
was  in  Lowell,  whence  succeeding  generations 
scattered  to  different  parts  of  New  England  and 
aided  in  the  development  of  that  section  of  the 
country.  Loyalty  to  the  government  and  inter- 
ests of  their  adopted  home  always  characterized 
the  familj',  and  they  furnished  soldiers  to  assist 


H  A  ^2ll^&^lU-iA^ 


BIOGKAi'lllUAlj  HiSTUKl. 


syy 


in  all  of  the  early  wars.  Luke  Fletcher  was  a 
brave  soldier  of  the  Eevolution.  His  was  the  try- 
ing experience  of  enduring  the  memorable  winter 
at  Valley  Forge,  when  the  fortunes  of  the  pat- 
riots were  at  their  lowest  ebb,  and  later  he  had 
the  great  privilege  of  witnessing  the  surrender 
of  Lord   Cornwallis   at  Yorktown. 

Among  the  children  of  this  Eevolutionary 
hero  there  was'  a  son,  Adolphus,  who  was  born 
at  Walpole,  New  Hampshire,  in  1795,  and  served 
during  the  war  of  1818;  later  he  became  a  far- 
mer in  New  York  state,  where  he  died  in  1851, 
being  survived  until  1873  by  his  widow,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  Wellington  and 
who  like  himself  traced  her  lineage  to  England 
through  colonial  ancestry.  Their  son,  Lafayette 
G.  M.,  was  born  at  Stockholm,  St.  Lawrence 
county,  New  York,  February  13,  1830,  and  dur- 
ing boyhood  had  the  advantages  offered  by  com- 
mon schools  supplemented  by  attendance  at  St. 
Lawrence  academy  in  Potsdam  and  the  Ogdens- 
burg  academy.  During  the  winter  months  he 
taught  school  from  the  time  he  was  nineteen 
until  he  was  twenty-four,  when  in  1854  he  bade 
farewell  to  old  friends  and  started  for  the  west. 
Beaching  Dubuque,  Iowa,  he  there  met  a  party 
of  government  surveyors,  with  whom  he  engaged 
to  work  and  under  whose  supervision  he  soon 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  surveying.  July 
6,  1854,  the  party  started  the  survey  at  the 
southeast  corner  of  Blue  Earth  county,  Minne- 
sota, and  about  August  15  they  reached  Mankato 
on  their  survey  west  on  the  second  standard 
parallel. 

Being  pleased  with  the  country  Mr.  Fletcher 
decided  to  remain  and  take  up  a  claim.  Of  the 
different  parties  of  surveyors  who  came  up  from 
Dubuque  numbering  in  all  about  forty  men,  he 
alone  remaining  at  this  point,  the  others  return- 
ing with  the  corps.  North  of  the  present  site 
of  Mankato  he  took  up  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  and  erected  a  cabin.  While  improving  this 
land  he  earned  money  through  making  surveys. 
He  located  the  Maple  river  colony  and  he  also 
laid  out  several  additions  to  Mankato.  As  the 
years  went  by  he  no  longer  limited  his  attention 
to  surveying  and  farming.  Wider  interests  en- 
grossed his  attention.  The  buying  and  improve- 
ment of  land,  the  buying  and  storing  of  grain. 


the  erection  of  business  buildings  in  Mankato, 
the  inauguration  of  various  commercial  enter- 
prises in  his  home  town,  the  establishment  of  the 
Mankato  Savings  Bank  (of  which  he  was  the 
first  and  has  remained  the  only  president)  and 
many  other  beneficial  projects  engaged  h's 
time  and  thought.  Indeed  it  may  he  broadly 
stated  that  no  movement  has  been  started  for 
the  benefit  of  Mankato  which  has  lacked  his 
zealous  support  and  sagacious  assistance. 

The  Eepublican  party  was  organized  in  Man- 
kato in  1856  by  five  citizens,  of  whom  he  alone 
survives.  From  that  year  to  the  present  he  has 
been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  principles 
for  which  the  party  stands.  During  1883  he 
was  honored  by  election  to  the  state  senate,  in 
which  he  served  with  characteristic  ability.  Im- 
portant as  has  been  his  contribution  to  the  com- 
mercial and  political  life  of  his  city,  it  is  sur- 
passed by  his  record  in  educational  matters,  and 
citizens  in  a  position  to  judge  impartially  state 
that  his  noblest  monument  will  be  his  devotion 
to  the  educational  interests  of  Mankato.  Almost 
ever  since  1860  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
school  board.  Even  before  that,  as  early  as  the 
summer  of  1855,  he  helped  to  erect  the  first 
school  house  in  Mankato,  where  during  the  fol- 
lowing winter  he  taught  the  first  term  of  school, 
also  taught  there  in  the  winter  in  1857-58. 
Bealizing  the  inestimable  value  of  a  good  edu- 
cation, he  has  been  a  champion  of  the  most  ap- 
proved methods  in  pedagogy,  and  while  he  op- 
poses large  expenditures  that  prove  detrimental 
to  taxpayers,  he  nevertheless  believes  that  money 
judiciously  expended  upon  a  good  school  system 
will  return  its  value  manyfold.  At  times  the 
positive  declaration  of  his  views  concerning 
matters  connected  with  the  schools  has  brought 
him  opposition,  yet  through  all  the  long  period 
of  his  service  it  has  been  recognized  that  he  is 
a  man  of  unwavering  integrity,  sagacious  judg- 
ment and  large  executive  ability,  and  his  labors 
gratuitously  bestowed  upon  the  schools  have  re- 
ceived their  just  meed  of  appreciation  on  the 
part  of  all  public  spirited  citizens. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Fletcher  was  sol- 
emnized at  Canton,  New  York,  December  30, 
1858,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Lucina  Bacon 
Foote,    who    died    September    17,    1870.      Four 


400 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


children  were  born  of  their  union,  namely: 
George  Henry,  born  February  18,  1860,  and  died 
May  26,  1905  at  Los  Angeles,  California;  Carrie 
D.,  Mrs.  C.  J.  Eockwood;  Emma  A.,  Mrs.  W.  W. 
Davis;  and  Harry  E.,  who  was  born  June  12, 
1870,  and  died  August  17  of  the  same  year.  The 
present  wife  of  Mr.  Fletcher,  whom  he  married 
at  New  Sharon,  Maine,  May  15,  1872,  was  Miss 
Susie  M.  Dyer,  a  teacher  in  the  Minnesota  State 
Normal  at '  Mankato.  They  became  the  parents 
of  the  following-named  children:  Lucina  B.,  who 
was  born  April  7,  1873,  and  died  June  12,  1891; 
Ella  May;  Jennie  D.;  NelHe,  born  March  6,  1879, 
died  September  10,  1884;  Mildred  E.,  now  Mrs.  S. 
K.  Fowler;  L.  G.  M.  Jr.,  and  Edith  A.  The  fam- 
ily has  a  high  social  standing  in  Mankato  and 
numbers  a  host  of  friends  among  the  most  refined 
residents  of  the  county. 


■  PLITTIE,  JEAN  A.— No  section  in  the 
United  States  evinces  a  more  virile  element  of 
nationality  than  the  middle  northwest,  to  which 
the  Scandinavian  peoples  have  contributed  so 
much  in  both  quantity  and  quality.  In  agricul- 
ture, the  industries,'  business  and  the  professions, 
the  hardy  Norseman  has  advanced  to  peaceful 
conquest  with  the  determination  and  bravery  of 
the  "ancient  days  of  war.  Minnesota  has  especi- 
ally welcomed  him  with  open  arms;  she  has  en- 
thusiastically received  him  because  of  himself 
and  because  of  the  strength  which  he  brings  to 
her  institutions   and  her  citizens. 

No  better  representative  of  Norway  and  the 
Norse  character,  transplanted  and  Americanized, 
no  more  valuable  addition  of  this  nationality  to 
the  real  strength  of  a  Minnesota  community  can 
be  adduced  than  the  person  of  Jean  A.  Flittie, 
the  well  known  lawyer,  financier  and  public  man 
of  Mankato.  He  was  born  in  the  Fatherland 
of  strong  mon  July  4,  1866,  and  perhaps  the  fact 
that  he  came  into  being  on  the  day  of  America's 
independence  anniversary  may  have  had  a  bear- 
ing on  his  future  life.  His  parents,  Johannes 
and  Anna  Flittie,  came  to  America  in  1868  and 
located  on  a  homestead  of  eighty  acres,  in  Eiver- 
dale  township,  Watonwan  county,  Minnesota. 
Virtually  all  the  father's  life  in  Minnesota  was 
spent  in  farming,  and  he  died  in  1900  at  the  age 


of  seventy-eight.  His  wife  and  the  mother  of 
seven  children  (all  living)  survives  him,  being 
eighty  years  of  age. 

Jean  A.  Flittie,  the  fifth  child  in  the  family, 
received  his  early  education  at  a  parochial  school 
attended  by  children  of  his  nationality  in  Waton- 
wan county,  assisting  his  father  on  his  farm  and 
later  going  to  the  regular  district  school.  His 
course  of  four  years  in  the  Mankato  Normal 
School  was  terminated  by  his  graduation  in  1888, 
and  then  for  a  period  he  taught  in  the  village 
schools  of  Mayville,  North  Dakota.  But  his 
strong,  active,  eager  and  practical  mind  craved 
a  more  varied  experience,  and  as  a  means  toward 
this  end  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Pfau  &  Young,  of  Mankato,  where  he 
remained  for  one  and  a  half  years.  In  the  fall 
of  1891  he  entered  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  being  graduated  in  the 
following  June  and  admitted  to  the  bar.  In  De- 
cember, 1892,  he  commenced  practice  in  Man- 
kato, and  has  reached  a  position  of  high  honor 
and  influence  both  as  a  lawyer  and  a  citizen. 
In  1898  Judge  Lochren,  of  the  Minnesota  Fed- 
eral Court,  appointed  Mr.  Flittie  Eeferee  in 
Bankruptcy,  and,  under  four  successive  re-ap- 
pcintments,  he  is  now  serving  his  tenth  year. 

Mr.  Flittie  stands  high  both  in  legal  and  finan- 
cial affairs,  being  a  director  of  the  National  Bank 
of  Commerce  of  Mankato,  and  a  man  of  unusu- 
ally keen  and  broad  judgment  in  business  mat- 
ters. He  is  also  widely  known  fraternally,  be- 
ing' a  member  of  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  B.  P.  0.  E.,  as  well  as  Past  Master  in  the 
Masonic  Lodge  and  Past  Noble  Grand  of  the 
Odd  Fellows. 

Married  September  27,  1898,  to  Miss  Eliza- 
bfeth  Keysor,  daughter  of  Captain  Clarke  Keysor, 
of  Mankato,  Mr.  Flittie  is  the  father  of  one  child, 
Louise  Ingrid. 


FOLSOM,  ALPEED.— Very  early  in  the 
settlement  of  Massachusetts  the  Polsom  family 
crossed  the  ocean  from  Norfolk,  England,  and 
established  themselves  among  the  few  courageous 
pilgrims  on  the  bleak  and  desolate  shores  of  the 
Atlantic.  It  was  during  1638  that  the  first  im- 
migrant set  foot  upon  American  soil  and  from 


i5iu>jm*-i-i'-n.J-<--i^J-i   xixo-Luxii. 


4U1 


that  year  to  the  present  the  representatives  of 
the  name  have  been  honorably  identified  with 
agricultural  and  commercial  interests  of  our 
country.  The  great-grandfather  of  Alfred  Fol- 
som  was  a  native  of  ISTew  Hampshire,  but  in 
early  life  crossed  '  the  state  line  into  Vermont, 
where  he  established  a  permanent  home.  There 
the  grandfather  was  born,  reared  and  married, 
and  there  occurred  the  birth  of  the  father,  David 
L.,  who  became  a  farmer,  removed  to  ?[ew  York 
state,  and  died  in  1893  at  an  advanced  age.  The 
mother  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Catherine  Allen, 
was  born  in  New  York  and  died  there  in  1849 
when  her  children  were  yet  small. 

While  the  family  were  living  at  Ticonderoga, 
New  York,  Alfred  Polsom  was  bom  in  1845. 
As  a  boy  he  was  a  pupil  in  the  public  schools  at 
Stockholm,  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York, 
where  he  received  a  fair  education.  Studies 
were  abruptly  terminated  by  the  call  for  volun- 
teers to  aid  in  securing  success  for  the  Union  in 
the  Civil  war.  Accepting  the  call,  he  offered  his 
services,  and  August  4,  1862,  his  name  was  en- 
rolled in  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  New  York 
Infantry,  with  which  he  marched  to  the  front. 
In  the  fortunes  and  misfortunes  of  war  he  bore 
his  part  as  a  brave  soldier  and  endured  the 
hardships  of  forced  marches,  long  sieges  and 
exposure  to  inclement  weather.  Among  the 
engagements  in  which  he  participated  were  the 
battles  of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania,  Cold 
Harbor,  Sailors'  Creek,  Appomatox  and  siege  of 
Petersburg.  In  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor  he 
received  a  serious  wound  from  the  effects  of 
which  he  Avas  confined  to  the  hospital  for  six 
months.  At  the  expiration  of  the  war  he  was 
mustered  out  at  Washington  and  returned  to 
New  York  with  a  record  of  which  he  might  well 
be  proud. 

Seelcing  a  home  in  the  then  undeveloped 
regions  of  the  northwest,  ]\Ir.  Folsom  came  to 
Minnesota  in  1867,  and  at  first  worked  out  but 
m  1875  became  a  resident  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  ever  since  he  has  lived  and  labored.  As 
a  farmer  he  is  well  known  throughout  Lincoln 
township,  where  he  owns  a  well-improved  place 
along  the  route  of  the  free  delivery  No.  2,  out 
from  Lake  Crystal.  Quietly  and  industriously 
working  at  the  occupation  of  an  agriculturist,  he 


has  found  little  liesure  for  participation  in  local 
politics,  but  has  shirked  no  duty  devolving  upon 
public-spirited  citizens.  At  one  time  he  held  the 
ofl:ice  of  town  clerk  and  at  another  time  he  rep- 
resented his  township  as  a  member  of  the  county 
board  of  supervisors.  In  politics  he  votes  the 
Eepublican  ticket,  and  in  religious  views  he  in- 
clines toward  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
which  his  family  attend  and  to  which  he  is  a 
contributor.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  in 
1878  and  united  him  with  llary  S.  Taylor,  a 
native  of  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York,  and 
a  woman  of  most  estimable  character.  Four 
sons  came  to  bless  their  union,  namely :  David 
A.,  Clayton  T.,  Arthur  E.  and  Eufus  A. 


FOBD,  CHAELES  F.— An  identification  with 
knitting  mills  begun  in  the  east  many  years  ago 
and  continued  constantly  up  to  the  present  time, 
has  given  to  Mr.  Ford  an  expert  knowledge  of 
the  business  and  constitutes  him  an  authority  on 
the  industry.  However,  the  object  of  his  present 
commercial  activity  is  of  comparatively  recent 
date,  though  akin  to  the  work  to  which  he  has 
given  a  lifetime  of  skill  and  intelligent  compre- 
hension. It  was  during  1904  that  he  opened  a 
jobbing  house  for  the  sale  of  hosiery  and  knit 
200fl.«,  becoming  the  founder  of  the  Midland  Knit 
Goods  Company  in  partnership  with  J.  A.  Farm- 
er. The  latter's  interest  he  purchased  and  thus 
became  the  sole  head  of  the  company,  which  was 
reorganized  January  14,  1907.  The  goods  are 
sold  principally  in  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  Ne- 
braska, North  and  South  Dakota,  where  a  large 
and    increasing   business   has   been   established. 

Born  ill  lx)well,  Massachusetts,  October  35, 
18.5.5,  Charles  F.  Ford  is  a  son  of  Charles  and 
Hannah  (Hopkins)  Ford,  natives  respectively 
of  Lowell  and  Camden,  Massachusetts,  the  latter 
being  descended  from  William  Bradford,  the 
second  governor  of  Plymouth  colony.  A  lifelong 
resident  of  New  England,  the  father  held  a 
large  interest  in  the  Dudley  hosiery  knitting 
mill  at  Newton  CJimtei-,  Massachusetts,  and  re- 
mained in  that  town  until  his  death,  ^'s'hich  oc- 
curred September  34,  1904,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four.  Of  his  six  children  the  eldest,  Charles  F., 
received    his    primary    education    in    Lowell,    at- 


402 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


tended  the  high  schools  of  that  town,  and  then 
took  a  business  course  in  the  Boston  Commercial 
College,  after  which  he  studied  the  industrial 
arts  in  the  Institute  of  Technology  at  Worcester, 
Massachusetts.  On  taking  up  business  activi- 
ties he  entered  the  factory  department  of  the 
Dudley  hoisery  mill,  where  later  he  had  charge 
of  the  bookkeeping  department  and  clerical  work. 
As  early  as  1865  this  mill  had  been  the  pioneer 
in  inaugurating  a  d^'flerent  method  of  manufac- 
turing the  knit  products  and  their  improved 
system  was  recognized  as  such  an  improvement 
upon  the  old  products  that  it  was  generally 
adopted. 

For  years  Mr.  Ford  continued  to  be  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  Dudley  mill,  but  event- 
ually he  resigned  his  position  with  the  company, 
and  in  1897  he  went  to  Manchester,  ISTew  Hamp- 
shire, for  the  purpose  of  installing  a  knitting 
plant  in  the  industrial  school.  During  1902 
he  came  west  to  Minnesota  and  became  interested 
in  the  Mankato  Mills  Company,  but  two  ^^ears 
later  he  disposed  of  his  stock,  and  turned  his  at- 
tention to  the  jobbing  business  he  now  conducts. 
March  30,  1880,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Lillian  Standish,  daughter  of  Miles  Stan- 
dish,  of  Waterbury,  Maine,  and  a  lineal  descen- 
dant of  the  renowned  warrior  of  that  name  whose 
name  has  been  carried  down  in  history  from  the 
early  daj's  of  the  Plj^mouth  colony.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ford  are  the  parents  of  two  children,  Fred 
Standish,  and  Lucy  C,  the  latter  of  whom 
died  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  Along  the  line 
of  fraternal  and  business  organizations,  Mr.  Ford 
i;5  a  member  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  the  Mankato  Commercial  Club.  In- 
heriting from  a  long  line  of  New  England  an- 
cestors the  qualities  that  have  made  that  region 
famous  in  history,  he  possesses  the  refinement 
and  culture,  the  love  of  art  and  music,  the  en- 
joyment of  the  society  of  men  of  fine  mental 
endowments,  and  the  high  intellectual  attain- 
ments given  as  a  heritage  to  the  descendants  of 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers. 


FOESTEE,  CHAELES.— Among  the  honored 
heroes   of   our   country   are  the  men  who,   when 


the  crisis  came  between  the  north  and  the  south, 
'bravely  allied  themselves  on  the  side  of  the 
principles  they  believed  to  be  right  and  offered 
their  services  to  aid  in  preserving  the  Union. 
Especially  should  due  credit  be  given  these  brave 
sold^'ers  when,  as  was  the  case  with  Charles  Fors- 
ter,  they  were  born  in  the  old  .world  and  did  not 
have  the  impelling  inflaence  of  generations  of 
patriotic  forefathers.  Our  foreign-born  soldiers 
of  the  Bebellion  are  worthy  of  the  undying  grat- 
itude of  th.e  nation,  and  those  who  still  rema'in 
on  eartli  receive  the  tributes  of  a  grateful  coun- 
try. Surviving  to  receive  this  praise  and  enjoy 
the  prosperity  of  an  united  country,  is  Charles 
Forster,  a  defender  of  the  stars  and  stripes 
during  the  entire  war,  and  now  a  well-known 
resident   of  Lime   township.   Blue   Earth   county. 

The  birth  of  this  old  soldier  occurred  in 
Prussia  July  15,  1842,  his  parents  being  Charles 
and  Fredericka  (Bohteen)  Forster,  also  natives 
of  Prussia,  where  they  were  reared.  After  their 
marriage,  they  settled  in  their  native  province 
and  continued  there  until  1854,  when  they  came 
to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Lake  County, 
Illinois.  From  there  they  camQ  to  Minnesota 
during  the  spring  of  1860  and  settled  in  Le  Su- 
eur county,  where  they  remained  until  death, 
following  general  farm  pursuits.  They  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  namely:  Augusta,  Freder- 
ick, Anna,  Herman,  Auguet  (deceased)  and 
Charles,  the  subject  of  this  review  and  the  eld- 
■ei^t  member  of  the  family.  At  the  time  of. emi- 
grating from  Germany  he  was  a  boy  of  twelve 
years.  Prior  to  that  he  had  acquired  a  rudimen- 
tary education  in  the  German  language,  and  aft- 
erward he  had  the  advantage  of  several  terms 
in  American  schools. 

When  the  Civil  War  began  Mr.  Forster  eagerly 
spoused  the  cause  of  the  TTniob.  May  24,  1861, 
he  enlisted  in  Company  I,  Fifteenth  Illinois  In- 
fantry. With  his  regiment  he  marched  to  the 
front  and  participated  in  various  important  en- 
gagements with  the  Confederates.  During  March 
of  1864  he  was  honorably  discharged  at  the  ex- 
piration of  his  period  of  service.  Immediately 
afterward  he  enlisted  in  Company  E,  Fifteenth 
Illinois  Infantry,  and  served  with  this  company 
until  the  close  of  the  war,  his  last  discharge 
taking  place  at  Springfield,  Illinois,  in  Septem- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


403 


ber  of  1865.  In  the  engagements  of  Hs  regiment 
he  proved  a  brave  and  fearless  soldier  and  con- 
tributed his  quota  toward  the  success  of  the 
northern  troops.  Upon  leaving  the  army  he  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county,  but  soon  went  to  Nicollet 
county  and  purchased  land,  on  which  he  em- 
barked in  general  farming.  During  1870  he 
permanently  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county  and 
now  is  numbered  among  the  prominent  men  of 
Lime  township. 

The  marriage  of  Charles  Porster  took  place  in 
Blue  Earth  county  March  5,  1866,  and  united 
with  Miss  Alvina  Hinze,  who  was  born  in  Prus- 
!ija,  Germany,  February  6,  1846.  Her  parents, 
Frederick  and  Caroline  (Hoefer)  Hinze,  were 
natives  of  Prussia  and  from  that  country  migra- 
led  to  the  "United  States  in  1850,  first  settling 
in  Wisconsin,  but  during  1856  removing  to  Min- 
iiPFota,  where  until  their  death  they  made  their 
home  in  Blue  Earth  county.  The  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Porster  comprises  nine  children,  namely: 
Caroline,  Theodore,  Eosina,  Henry.  Emma, 
.4.meHa,  Celestia,  Flora  and  Charles.  Since  at- 
taining his  majority  Mr.  Porster  always  has 
given  his  support  to  the  Eepnblican  party  and 
in  his  locality  he  has  been  prominently  identified 
with  measures  for  the  general  welfare.  Among 
the  offices  he  lias  held  may  be  mentioned  those 
of  townsliip  assessor  and  supervisor,  and  in  ad- 
dition be  served  about  two  years  as  county  com- 
missioner. 


POSTEE,  STEPHEN.— The  youth  with  lim- 
ited means,  scant  education  and  no  influence 
whatever,  who  desired  to  embark  upon  an  agri- 
cultural life,  must  needs  draw  deep  inspiration 
from  so  worthy  and  useful  a  life  as  has  been 
Stephen  Poster's.  Mr.  Foster  has  won  the  right 
to  the  leisure  he  now  enjoys  by  almost  a  half 
a  century  of  arduous  labor,  of  much  conflict  with 
misfortune  and  discouragement,  and  much  over- 
coming of  obstacles.  He  was  born  into  an  humble 
walk  of  life  on  a  small  farm  in  Trumbull  county, 
Ohio,  one  of  the  seven  children  of  Henry  and 
Elizabeth  Foster,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
carpenter,  and  both  of  whom  died  in  the  state 
of  Wisconsin. 


Mr.  Poster  was  barely  seven  years  old  when 
he  moved  with  the  rest  of  the  family  from  Ohio 
to  Wisconsin,  and  seven  years  later  removal  was 
made  to  Iowa,  from  which,  when  three  years 
more  had  elapsed,  a  return  was  effected  to  the 
former  home  in  Wisconsin.  At  the  expiration 
of  six  years  the  family  came  to  St.  Cloud,  Min- 
nesota, and  after  a  year  and  a  half  came  to 
Blue  Earth  county,  four  years  later  moving  back 
to  Wisconsin.  A  short  time  afterward  they  re- 
turned to  Minnesota.  Stephen  Poster  during  all 
of  these  many  changes  contributed  his  strength 
to  the  clearing  of  pioneer  farms,  to  the  dreary 
tasks  that  confronted  the  people  who  dwelt  in 
the  wilderness  and  were  dependent  upon  the 
crude  machinery  and  small  advantages  of  the 
unsettled  frontier.  That  he  had  good  material 
in  him  was  proved  by  his  emergency  from  all 
these  experiences  with  a  competence  sufficient 
to  maintain  him  in  comfort  for  the  balance  of 
his  life.  He  has  won  also  what  is  still  better, 
an  honored  name,  the  friendship  and  good  will 
of  the  entire  communitJ^  And  this  with  the 
scantiest  of  early  advantages,  in  all  but  three 
months   actual  schooling. 

While  the  ravages  of  the  Civil  war  still 
darkened  the  land,  in  1863,  Mr.  Poster  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  E.  M.  Adkins,  a  na- 
tive of  Kentucky,  and  to  whom  has  been  born 
eight  children,  six  of  whom  are  living — two  sons, 
both  farmers  in  Blue  Earth  county,  and  four 
daughters,  all  married,  and  three  of  whom  live 
in  this  county  and  one  in  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Fos- 
ter has  never  been  active  in  politics,  and  while 
originally  a  Democrat,  for  the  past  few  year? 
he  has  espoused  the  Eepublican  cause.  The 
family  are  members  of  the  Congregational 
church. 


PEITZ,  MICHAEL  D.— One  of  the  notably 
jirogressive,  enterprising  and  successfully  con- 
ducted business  houses  in  ilankato.  Blue  Earth 
County  and  one  that  is  considererl  a  most  pros- 
perous financial  institution,  with  a  future  of 
creat  promise  on  account  of  its  ^\-ide  awake  and 
up-to-date  business  principles,  is  the  Free  Press 
Printing  Co.  of  which  Michael  D.  Fritz  is  secre- 
tary  and  manager. 


404 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Mr.  Fritz,  Mankato,  publisher,  was  born  April 
8,  18C8,  in  Milan,  Ohio,  and  is  the  son  of  Daniel 
and  Mary  (Wick)  Fritz,  both  of  whom  were  born 
in    Greisheim,    Baden,    Germany. 

When  six  years  of  age,  he  crossed  the  water 
with  his  mother,  going  to  Germany  to  visit  his 
{.n-andparents.  There  he  remained  a  few  months, 
his  mother's  death  occurring  shortly  after,  at 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  the  family  of  six  boys 
and  one  girl  resided,  Mr.  Fritz  being  the  fifth 
child.  The  death  of  his  mother  was  the  cause 
of  the  family  being  separated  and  the  children 
wore  obliged  to  care  for  themselves.  Mr.  Fritz 
worked  on  a  farm  in  Trumbull  County,  living 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Aaron  Davis,  now  both  de- 
ceased, and  attended  the  public  school  in  Cort- 
land,   Ohio. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  began  learning  the 
printer's  trade  on  The  Poultry  Nation,  at  Elyria, 
Ohio,  in  1884.  Here  he  worked  untiringly  the 
first  few  months  for  one  dollar  a  week,  spending 
his  evenings  and  nights  in  the  ofiice  in  study; 
but  this  honest  vigilance  brought  its  own  reward 
and  when  the  paper  was  enlarged  and  emerged 
into  the  Elyria  Daily  Telephone,  Mr.  Fritz  was 
promoted  to  the  position  of  foreman,  a  higli 
honor  considering  his  youth  and  the  short  time 
with  which  he  had  been  in  the  employ  of  this 
firm.  Here  he  remained  until  1888  going  west 
to  accept  a  position  on  The  Bell  at  Estelline, 
South  Dakota,  where  one  of  his  brothers  had 
pi'eviously  held  a  position.  The  Estelline  Bell 
was  owned  by  Prank  A.  Parsons  who  purchased 
it  of  Fred  Carruth,  a  noted  humorist  writer,  who 
had  sold  the  paper  in  order  that  he  himself 
could  accept  a  lucrative  position  as  humorist 
writer  on  the  New  York  Tribune. 

After  Mr.  Fritz'  business  connection  vidth  Mr. 
F.  A.  Parsons,  now  of  Black  Eiver  Falls,  Wis- 
consin, they  together  established  a  new  paper, 
the    Castlewood    (S.   D.)    Eepublican. 

It  was  while  proprietor  of  this  paper  that  he 
married  Miss  Cora  J.  Dunbar,  ISTovember  11, 
1890,  at  Elyria,  Ohio.  Mr.  F'ritz  had  met  her 
during  the  time  he  was  with  the  Elyria  Daily 
Telephone,  she  holding  a  position  on  the  Elyria 
Democrat,   edited  by   Prof.   F.    S.   Eeefy. 

In  the  fall  of  1890  the  drouth  was  severer 
than  ever  in  South  Dakota  and  at  the  election  in 


November  the  Populist  party  gained  control  of 
state  and  county  afllairs.  These  two  things  com- 
bined looked  anything  but  promising  to  a  staunch 
Pepublican  paper  and  progressive  newspaper  man 
and  Mr.  Fritz  decided  to  accept  a  temporary  po- 
sition with  the  Mankato  Daily  Free  Press  the 
following  spring,  leaving  his  wife  in  charge  of 
the  editorial  and  mechanical  departments  of  the 
business. 

Mrs.  Fritz  conducted  the  paper  in  a  most 
creditable  manner  for  a  few  months,  and  her 
editorial  writings  were  widely  quoted  by  the 
press  of  South  Dakota.  The  paper  was  sold  late 
that  summer  and  Mrs.  Fritz  joined  her  husband 
in  Mankato,  where  they  have  since  lived,  Mr.  Fritz 
holding  various  positions  in  The  Free  Press  of- 
fice, and  where  for  five  years  Mrs.  Fritz  did  con- 
siderable writing.  During  1891  and  for  many 
years  afterwards  in  connection  with  their  other 
duties  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fritz  were  correspondents 
for  some  of  the  leading  pa.pers  in  New  York, 
Chicago  and  the  Twin  Cities. 

After  a  service  of  eleven  years  with  The  Free 
Press  Printing  Company,  Mr.  Fritz,  in  1902, 
purchased  a  one- third  interest  in  the  business, 
becoming  secretary  and  manager.  In  February, 
1909,  the  Free  Press  company  purchased  the 
handsome  office  building  in  which  is  located  the 
large  printing  and  publishing  plant  of  this 
firm.  The  building  is  one  of  the  handsomest 
structures  in  Southern  Minnesota.  The  com- 
pany employs  about  fifty  people  and  has  a  busi- 
ness extending  well  over  North  and  South  Da- 
kota., Wisconsin  and  Montana  and  in  addition  to 
publishing  The  Daily  and  Weekly  Free  Press, 
handle  all  kinds  of  bank  and  county  officers' 
supplies,  do  binding,  lithogi-aphing,  embossing, 
and  also  have  a  general  line  of  legal  and  county 
blanks. 

Mr.  Fritz  was  a  member  of  Mankato  City 
Council  in  1898-99,  succeeding  Dr.  J.  W.  An- 
drews from  the  fourth  ward.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Masonic  Fraternity,  Blue  Lodge 
and  Eoyal  Arch  Masons,  Benevolent  and  Protec- 
tive Order  of  Ellcs  No.  225,  Knights  of  Pythias, 
Mankato  Lodge  No.  36,  and  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  Blue  Earth  Lodge,  No.  30. 

Mr.  Fritz  has  always  voted  the  Eepublican 
ticket  straight.     While  in  South  Dakota  he  was 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


405 


secretary   of  the   Republican   County   Committee. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fritz  have  one  daughter,  Mildred 
I.,  born  August  7,  1895. 

Mrs.  Fritz  has  been  much  interested  in  the 
Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  having  been  secretary 
several  years.  She  has  served  as  department  sec- 
retary of  the  Woman's  Eelief  Corps  and  is  now 
State  Treasurer  of  this  organization. 

Mr.  Fritz  is  a  promoter  of  sound  business  prin- 
ciples, and  progress  is  the  keynote  of  his  business 
method.  He  has  always  taken  a  keen  interest  in 
all  public  matters  and  is  vitally  alert  to  any  pro- 
gressive movement,  either  business  or  social.  He 
has  a  definite  plan  in  the  accomplishment  of 
each  day's  duties  and  his  genial  personality  com- 
mand respect  and  win  for  him  many  loyal 
friends. 


FUNK,  WILLIAM  ALBERT.— While  Am- 
erica was  still  under  the  government  of 
European  powers  three  brothers  crossed  the 
ocean  from  Switzerland  and  settled  in 
"Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  about  the  year 
1765.  The  canton  from  which  they  came 
was  adjacent  to  German  provinces  and  the  lan- 
guage used  in  the  home  was  that  of  Germany, 
but  after  coming  to  the  new  world  they  ac- 
quired a  mastery  of  Englisli  and  soon  became 
typical  Americans.  I'rom  one  of  the  three 
brothers  descended  Abraham  Funk,  of  Virgin- 
ian birth,  but  educated  principally  in  Ohio, 
whither  he  removed  with  his  parents  at  a  very 
early  age.  After  leaving  school  he  taught  for 
a  number  of  years,  but  afterward  turned  his  at- 
tention to  agriculture.  In  1853  he  removed  to 
Illinois  and  settled  on  a  farm.  Since  about 
1802  he  made  his  home  in  Odell,  that  state 
where  he  died  in  1903.  During  1840  he  married 
Miss  Margaret  Hutchinson,  who  was  born  in 
Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  of  English  i  descent, 
she  died  in  Odell,  Illinois  in  October,  1906. 
Their  son,  William  Albert,  was  born  in  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois,  February  25,  1854,  and  re- 
ceived his  primary  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  bis  native  count)',  after  which  he  at- 
tended an  academy. 

Prom  boyhood  it  had  been  the  ambition  of  Wil- 
liam Albert  Punk  to  become  a  lawyer  and  pursu- 


ant upon  that  object  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law,  which  he  carried  on  until  qualified  to  pass 
the  required  examination.  In  September  of 
1875,  when  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  at  the  bar  of  Illinois.  Imme- 
diately afterward  he  opened  an  office  at  Odell, 
Illinois,  where  he  had  as  a  partner  Hon.  J. 
H.  Funk,  recently  the  speaker  of  the  Iowa 
House  of  Representatives.  The  partnership  con- 
tinued until  1878,  and  was  then  dissolved  owing 
to  the  removal  of  William  Albert  Funk  to 
Streator,  Illinois.  There  in  1880  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Joel  T.  Buckley  under  the 
firm  title  of  Buckley  &  Punk.  Two  years  later  the 
firm  of  Punk  &  Glass  was  formed,  the  junior 
member  being  George  E.  Glass  of  Streator.  Prom 
1885  until  leaving  Streator  Mr.  Punk  engaged 
ill  practice  alone. 

Upon  removing  from  Illinois  to  Minnesota  Mr. 
Punk  settled  in  Lakefield,  Jackson  county,  in 
March  1887,  and  there  carried  on  a  growing 
practice,  besides  which  he  became  identified 
with  the  real-estate  and  social  affairs  of  the  town. 
In  November  of  1895  he  came  to  Mankato,  where 
he  since  has  built  up  a  lucrative  practice  and 
has  gained  a  reputation  as  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  lawyers  in  the  place.  His  wife  was 
prior  to  their  marriage,  in  October,  1879,  Miss 
Nellie  Douglas,  of  Streator,  Illinois.  They  are 
the  parents  of  four  children,  William  D.,  Jen- 
nette  M.,  Leslie  A.  and  Edgar  N.  The  family 
hold  membership  with  the  First  Presbyterian 
cimrch  of  Mankato,  in  which  j\Ir.  Punk  has  been 
active  officially  as  elder  and  trustee,  and  for 
some  years  was  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
School.  His  responsibilities  have  been  further 
increased  by  service  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Albert  Lea  college. 

A  life  long  advocate  of  Republican  principles 
Mr.  Punk  has  been  active  in  politics  from  youth. 
As  early  as  1876  he  stumped  the  state  of  Illi- 
nois during  the  presidential  campaign  of  that 
year.  Later  he  rendered  similar  services  to  his 
party  in  Minnesota.  For  three  years  he  acted 
a?  chairman  of  the  Republican  city  committee  of 
Streator  and  for  tv/o  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  board  of  aldermen  of  that  place.  During 
1890  he  was  elected  county  attorney  of  Jack- 
son county,  Minnesota,  and  in  1892  and  again  in 


406 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


1894  he  was  re-elected  to  the  office^  where  he 
made  an  enviable  record  for  thorough  work.  On 
his  removal  from  Lakefield  he  resigned  the  office. 
The  year  after  coming  to  Mankato  he  served  as 
chairman  of  the  Mankato  McKinley  Club  and 
for  forty-seven  nights  he  was  on  the  stump  in 
the  interest  of  the  Eepublican  candidates.  Dur- 
ing 1898  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  Eepublicnn  state  central  com- 
mittee. Two  years  later  he  officiatel  as  president 
of  the  McKintey  and  Roosevelt  Club  at  Man- 
kato, and  at  that  time  his  name  was  prominently 
mentioned  for  congress,  but  he  withdrev,r  as  can- 
didate before  the  primaries  were  held.  As  a 
speaker  he  has  accomplished  much  in  the  inter- 
est of  his  party,  for  his  logical  arguments,  ear- 
nest manner  and  forceful  speech  invariably  make 
an  impression  upon  the  minds  of  hearers.  Fra- 
ternally he  has  been  connected  with  the  grand 
lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  in 
both  Illinois  and  Minnesota,  also  is  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  lodges  at  Manliato, 
and  upon  the  organization  of  the  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America  in  Illinois  he  was  chosen  counsel 
for  Camp  No.  4,  later  holding  the  same  position 
with  the  camp  at  Lakefield. 


GAEVAE",  WALTEE  V.— A  large  number  of 
the  present  residents  of  Blue  Earth  county  have 
passed  their  entire  lives  within  its  limits  and 
have  risen  to  positions  of  prominence  in  their 
special  lines  of  activity.  In  this  list  may  be 
placed  the  name  of  Walter  V.  Garvan,  who  was 
bom  a.t  Garden  City,  Garden  City  township,  Nov- 
ember 7,  1862,  and  during  boyhood  attended  the 
country  schools  of  his  native  township,  acquir- 
ing by  diligent  application  a  thorough  Imowledge 
of  the  elementary  branches.  The  family  remored 
to  Lyra  township  during  the  year.  1877  and  upon 
attaining  manhood  he  began  to  earn  a  livelihood 
as  a  farmer  in  that  township,  but  since  1902  he 
has  been  a  resident  of  Rapidan  township.  In  the 
various  localities  where  he  has  made  his  home  he 
retains  the  friendship  of  a  large  circle,  who  en- 
tertain for  him  sentiments  of  the  highest  regard. 

As  early  as  1858  the  Garvan  family  became 
identified  with  the  frontier  settlements  in  Minne- 


sota. During  that  year  there  came  to  the  north- 
west Thomas  and  Sophronia  (Pillsbury)  Garvan, 
who  were  born  and  reared  in  the  vicinity  of 
Springvale,  Maine.  After  coming  to  Blue  Earth 
county  the  father  took  up  land  in  Garden  City 
tovmship,  and  for  almost  twenty  years  he  re- 
mained in  the  same  locality,  but  during  1877  he 
removed  to  a  farm  in  Lyra  township,  and  there 
continued  until  his  death  in  1891.  His  wife 
survived  him,  passing  away  in  1903.  During  the 
early  period  of  their  residence  in  Minnesota  they 
were  in  constant  peril  of  their  lives  through  In- 
dian outbreaks,  and  the  father  assisted  in  bury- 
ing the  Jewett  family,  victims  of  the  savages. 
Frequently^  the  old  Chief,  Good  Thunder,  came 
to  the  Garvan  home  and  the  mother  was  accus- 
tomed, at  such  times,  to  furnish  him  with  the 
best  viands  the  house   afforded. 

There  were  five  children  in  the  parental  fam- 
ily. Clara  married  Mel  vine  Crane,  a  farmer  of 
Garden  City  township.  Charles  is  living  in 
Grand  Forks,  North  Dakota.  Ida  and  Ross  are 
deceased.  The  oldest  son  and  second  -child, 
Walter  V.,  attended  the  common  schools  until 
he  had  completed  their  studies,  after  which  he 
was  a  pupil  in  the  high  school  at  Owatonna. 
April  3,  1890,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Emma,  daughter  of  John  Rosin,  the  latter  a 
native  of  Germany,  but  a  pioneer  of  Lyra  town- 
ship. Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
farming  until  his  death.  Since  his  demise  Mrs. 
Rosin  has  made  her  home  with  her  youngest  son 
in  Lyra  township.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Garvan  have 
two  children,  Edna  L.  and  Charles.  The  family 
are  identified  with  the  Baptist  church.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Garvan  votes  with  the  Republican  party. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  held  the  office  of  school 
director,  in  which  position  he  endeavored  to  ad- 
vance the  educational  interests  of  his  district. 
As  previously  stated,  he  has  made  his  home  in 
Rapidan  township  s-nce  1902,  when  he  left  the 
old  homestead  in  Lyra  township  and  purchased 
the  property  he  now  owns.  His  farm  comprises 
one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  land  under 
cultivation.  The  buildings  have  been  remodeled 
under  his  supervision  and  fences  have  been  built 
as  needed.  Dairying  forms  a  specialty  and  ten 
cows  are  kept  for  that  purpose.  In  addition, 
there    are    on    the    farm    shorthorn    cattle    and 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


407 


Poland-China  hogs.  The  crops  bespeak  the  care 
and  wise  judgment  of  the  owner  and  indicates 
that  he  possesses  the  industry  and  application 
necessary    to    successful    agriculture. 

GARY,  WILLIAM  H.— William  H.  Gary,  a 
leading  real  estate  dealer  of  llankato,  is  a  na- 
tive of  Winona,  Minnesota,  where  he  was  born 
May  11,  1861,  the  son  of  Harris  B.  and  Nancy 
(Woodard)  Gary.  His  parents  were  both  natives 
of  Eutland,  Vermont,  in  the  fall  of  185-1  coming 
to  Minnesota,  where  the  liusband  engaged  as  a 
railroad  engineer  and  assisted  in  the  construction 
of  a  portion  of  the  North-s^'estern  line  running 
through  sections  of  that  state  and  what  is  now 
South  Dakota.  He  spent  many  years  in  this 
employment,  and  became  so  well  known  in  the 
work  that  the  town  of  Gary,  South  Dakota,  was 
named  for  him.  Harris  B.  Gary  removed  to 
Mankato,  in  1906,  and  now  resides  with  his  son, 
William  H.,  the  wife  and  mother  had  died  Sep- 
tember 14,  1905,  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine.  Four 
children  were  born  to  this  union,  as  follows : 
Nellie,  now  the  wife  of  J.  A.  Sigler,  of  ISTorfolk, 
"Virginia;  Addie,  who  married  Dr.  G.  E.  Par- 
sons, of  Marshall,  Minnesota;  William  H. ;  and 
George,  who  resides  at  Wilhnar,  Minnesota. 

After  receiving  a  public  school  education  at 
Winona,  Minnesota,  Mr.  Gary  entered  the  first 
serious  business  of  his  life  as  a  representative  and 
solicitor  for  the  McCormick  Harvester  Company, 
with  headquarters  at  Mankato.  He  was  thus  en- 
gaged for  sixteen  years,  until  1902,  when  he 
opened  a  real  estate  office  over  the  National  Citi- 
zens' Bank,  continuing  the  business  there  until 
the  fall  of  1905.  At  that  time  he  removed  to 
the  Saulpaugh  Block,  his  present  location,  where 
he  has  extensive  dealings  in  Minnesota,  Canadian 
and  Texas  lands;  also  buys  and  sells  city  prop- 
erty, and  has  quite  a  department  of  loans  and 
collections.  His  business  is  systematically  and 
energetically  conducted  and  is  constantly  increas- 
ing in  volume  and  importance. 

Politically,  Mr.  Gary  is  a  Eepublican,  and,  fra- 
ternally, a  member  of  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  A. 
0.  U.  W.,  B.  P.  0.  E.  and  IJ.  C.  T.  He  was 
married  August  30,  1884,  to  Emma  W.,  daughter 
of  P.  G.  Sheldon,  of  Owatonna,  Minnesota,  and 
they  have  one  child,  Vernard  S. 


GEDDES,  WILI;IAM  E.  AND  CHAELES 
I). — The  Geddes  family,  parents  and  sons, 
have  been  identified  in  a  leading  way, 
with  the  pioneer  and  modern  history  of 
Blue  Earth  County,  for  more  than  forty  years. 
Endowed  with  the  keen  perception,  adaptability 
and  alertness  of  their  race,  the  later  generation 
has  added  a  thorough  education  and  American 
training  to  its  natural  attractive  and  substantial 
traits,  earning  thereby  a  broad  success  along  pro- 
fessional lines  and  a  popularity  which  seems  to 
be  the  distinctive  fortune  of  the  cultured  Irish- 
American. 

William  E.  Geddes,  the  senior  member  of  the 
law  firm  of  W.  E.  &  C.  D.  Geddes,  of  Mankato, 
is  a  native  of  Albany,  New  York,  and  was  born 
November  28,  1855,  the  son  of  William  and 
Margaret  (Higgins)  Geddes.  His  parents  were 
both  natives  of  County  Down,  Ireland,  and  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1848,  moving  at 
once  to  what  was  then  a  far  western  wilderness. 
Before  the  age  of  railroads  had  fairly  dawned 
upon  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains these  hardy  pioneers  drove  and  slowly  wended 
their  way  to  what  is  now  a  land  teeming  with 
agricultural  riches  and  the  best  fruits  of  civili- 
zation, their  means  of  transportation  being  a 
team  of  two  yoke  of  oxen.  In  1864,  when  the 
wilderness  had  already  commenced  to  blossom, 
William  Geddes  pre-empted  a  tract  of  land  in 
the  Winnebago  Indian  Agency,  McPherson  Town- 
ship, Blue  Earth  County,  and  this  became  th,e 
family  homestead  upon  which  was  reared  the 
family  of  four  boys  and  three  girls,  of  which 
William  E.  was  the  third  child.  The  mother 
died  in  April,  1894,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three 
years  and  the  father  in  May,  1896,  aged  seventy- 
nine. 

William  E.  Geddes  obtained  a  thorough  educa- 
tion prior  to  pursuing  his  law  studies,  passing 
through  the  common  schools  of  Blue  Earth  Coun- 
ty and  taking  courses  in  tlie  Normal  School,  of 
Mankato,  and  the  Minneapolis  Academy.  After 
completing  his  school  work  and  in  1882,  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  William  H. 
Piymat,  at  Mapleton,  this  county,  being  engaged 
as  a  student  and  a  newspaper  man  for  the  winter 
of  1880,  until  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1891. 
In  the  spring  of  1884  Mr.   Geddes  became  local 


408 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


editor  of  the  Mankato  "Free  Press,"  and  con- 
timied  in  this  position  for  about  two  years.  His 
next  advance  in  journalism  was  as  publisher  of 
the  "Mankato  Register/'  but  upon  his  admission 
to  the  bar  he  sold  his  business,  and  permanently 
abandoned  the  newspaper  field  to  devote  his  en- 
tire attention  to  the  profession  which  from  the 
first  he  had  intended  to  make  his  life  work.  He 
began  practice  in  the  fall  of  1891,  and  has  since 
earnestly  and  successfully  cultivated  the  broad 
field  of  the  law.  He  was  alone  until  1898,  when 
his  youngest  brother,  Charles  D.,  who  had  just 
been  admitted  to  practice,  was  received  into  the 
business  as  a  partner,  and  the  firm  has  since  ob- 
tained a  flattering  share  of  the  litigation  of  the 
county,  and  earned  high  professional  prestige. 

Charles  G.  Geddes,  the  junior  partner,  was 
educated  in  the  public  school  of  this  county,  and 
v/hile  a  student  at  the  Columbian  Law  School, 
Washington,  was  connected  with  the  United 
States  Patent  Office.  Prior  to  his  admission  to 
the  bar  he  took  a  post-graduate  course  at  the 
University  of  Minnesota,  so  that  he  was  abun- 
dantly qualified  to  at  once  enter  into  active  pro- 
fessional work. 

William.  R.  Geddes,  the  senior  partner,  has 
also  taken  quite  a  prominent  part  in  the  public 
and  political  affairs  of  the  county,  being  a  Repub- 
lican of  considerable  local  influence.  He  is  on 
the  County  Committee,  and  from  March  1,  1888, 
until  January  1,  1889,  filled  the  unexpired  term 
as  sheriff  of  the  county,  his  service  being  so  sat- 
isfactory that  he  was  elected  for  the  succeeding 
term  of  two  years. 

Mr.  Geddes  was  married  in  November,  1888,  to 
Lou  W.  Williams,  daughter  of  Cyrus  Williams,  a 
sterling  citizen  of  this  county,  their  children  be- 
ing Alma  L.,  Vira  R.,  Lloyd  W.,  G.  Maud,  Mar- 
garet J.  and  Charles  C.  In  his  domestic  and 
social  relations  he  is  a  man  of  high  and  attrac- 
tive personality,  and  would  be  an  inspiration  for 
good  in  any  community  in  which  he  might  cast 
his  lot. 


GOPP,  JOHF  A.— No  family  can  point  to  a 
more  honorable  lineage  than  can  those  bearing 
the  name  of  Golf,  nor  is  there  any  whose  ances- 
tors   displayed   greater    valor   in   war    or    greater 


patriotism  in  the  events  that  shaped  the  history 
of  our  country.  The  founder  of  the  race  in  the 
new  world  was  John  Goffe,  who  immigrated  from 
England  to  Boston  in  1063.  As  early  as  1676 
his  name  appears  in  the  records  of  the  Boston 
congregation  of  Dr.  Increase  Mather.  Prom  the 
narrow  confines  of  Plymouth  colony  his  son, 
John,  moved  to  the  frontier  of  New  Hampshire 
and  in  1719-22  took  an  active  part  in  founding 
the  city  of  Manchester,  dying  many  years  later 
at  Bedford,  in  that  state.  Added  lustre  was 
given  to  the  family  name  by  the  record  of 
Colonel  John  Goffe,  who  was  the  most  renowned 
Indian  fighter  of  his  day  and  for  sixty  years 
was  identified  with  all  the  stirring  events  of  the 
country.  He  was  born  at  Boston  in  1701,  and 
died  at  Bedford,  near  Manchester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  1788,  between  which  dates  was  crowded 
a  lifetime  of  activity  and  accomplishment.  The 
history  of  that  day  shows  that  he  was  with  Love- 
well  in  1725,  an  officer  in  the  New  Hampshire 
militia  in  1727,  a  captain  in  King  George's  war 
from  1745  to  1748,  a  captain  in  the  French  and 
Indian  war,  commanding  an  expedition  against 
Crown  Point  in  1756,  commissioned  major  in 
1757,  promoted  to  the  command  of  the  regiment 
during  the  service  on  the  frontier  and  in  the 
Lake  George  region,  present  at  Fort  William 
Henry  at  the  time  of  its  capitulation  to  the 
French  and  the  massacre  following,  August  9, 
1757,  and  a  colonel  in  1760  under  General  Am- 
herst in  the  Canadian  campaign.  From  1763  to 
1774  he  served  as  representative  from  Bedford, 
New  Hampshire,  and  from  1771  to  1774  was 
honored  with  the  office  of  judge  of  probate. 

Next  in  line  of  descent  we  come  to  the  name 
of  a  warrior  scarcely  less  distinguished  than  his 
father,  whose  name  he  bore.  Major  John  Goffe 
was  born  at  Bedford,  New  Hampshire,  February 
26,  1727,  and  died  at  the  same  place  September 
11,  1818.  During  the  Indian  wars  of  1745-46 
he  was  a  sergeant  in  a  company  commanded  by 
Captain  (afterward  Colonel)  Goffe.  In  the  ex- 
pedition of  1756  against  Crown  Point  he  served 
as  an  ensign  and  two  years  later  held  a  commis- 
sion as  lieutenant  in  the  expedition  against  Louis- 
burg.  In  1764  Governor  Wentworth  of  New 
Hampshire  appointed  him  captain  of  Militia  and 
four  years  later  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


409 


major.  At  the  beginning  of  the  Eevolutionary 
war  he  offered  his  services  in  defense  of  the  colo- 
nies and  became  a  private,  enlisting  at  Cam- 
bridge. During  the  memorable  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  he  fought  with  conspicuous  bravery  on  the 
side  of  the  patriots  in  the  cause  of  liberty  and  in 
the  historic  struggle  at  Saratoga  his  son,  Wil- 
liam, lost  his  life.  Another  son,  Stephen,  enlisted 
in  the  navy  during  the  war  and  was  lost  at  sea 
with  his  ship. 

There  was  yet  another  son  in  this  patriotic 
family  who  gave  his  services  in  the  cause  of  in- 
dependence. This  son,  Captain  John  Goffe, 
was  born  at  Bedford,  New  Hampshire,  May  9, 
1755,  and  enlisted  in  his  native  town  in  April, 
1775,  at  the  age  of  about  twenty  years.  With 
others  of  the  family  he  fought  at  Bunker  Hill 
and  the  siege  of  Boston,  and  took  part  in  other 
historic  and  sanguinary  engagements  that  tested 
the  valor  and  the  loyalty  of  the  hastily-drilled 
and  poorly  equipped  colonists.  After  the  war 
was  ended  he  returned  to  New  Hampshire,  where 
he  served  as  a  captain  of  militia.  By  the  act 
of  1832  he  was  granted  a  pension  from  the 
United  States  government,  in  recognition  of  his 
faithful  and  self-sacrificing  services  as  a  soldier. 
His  death  occurred  February  19,  1848,  at  Win- 
fic4d,  Herkimer  county,  New  York. 

When  the  second  war  with  England  began 
Ephriam  and  Theodore,  two  sons  of  Captain 
John  Goff,  eagerly  offered  their  services  and 
aided  in  securing  victory  for  "the  United  States. 
A  younger  son.  Orange,  born  at  Winfield,  Herki- 
mer county.  New  York,  November  29,  1806,  was 
a  small  child  when  his  older  brothers  left  home 
for  the  war,  and  hence  he  was  deprived  of  the 
honor  of  serving  his  country  in  war.  However, 
by  a  life  of  integrity  and  industry  he  proved  the 
value  of  his  citizenship,  for  the  courage  of  man 
is  tested  by  the  vicissitudes  of  private  life  on 
less  than  by  the  perils  of  warfare.  During  the 
years  of  early  manhood  he  married  Miss  Phoebe 
Slade,  a  niece  of  Governor  Slade  of  Massachu- 
setts. Pive  children  were  born  of  their  union, 
and  two  of  their  sons,  Henry  Slade  and  Freder- 
ick Victor,  served  throughout  the  Civil  war  as 
defenders  of  the  Union.  Another  son,  John  A., 
forms  the  subject  of  this  narrative.  He  was 
bom  in  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  August  30, 


1839,  and  in  1851  accompanied  the  family  to 
the  then  unsettled  regions  of  Wisconsin,  where 
he  aided  in  developing  a  farm  from  the  wilder- 
ness. During  1861  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  spent  the 
first  summer  on  a  claim  and  the  first  winter  as 
a  school  teacher  at  Crystal  Lake.  In  the  Indian 
massacre  of  1862  he  was  one  of  the  defenders  of 
the  frontier.  In  1864  he  took  up  land  in  Maple- 
ton  township  and  the  following  year  was  joineu 
by  his  father,  who  died  here  February  24,  1878, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years. 

When  the  first  wife  of  John  A.  Goff  died  she 
left  two  daughters,  Clara  and  Aletha.  March  23, 
1874,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Augusta 
Tenney,  who  was  born  in  New  York,  accom- 
panied her  parents  to  Wisconsin  and  from  there 
came  to  Minnesota.  The  children  born  of  their 
union  aie  as  follows:  John  T.,  who  assists  his 
father  in  the  management  of  the  home  farm; 
Inez  L.^  who  married  William  C.  Wood,  and  lives 
at  Mankato,  Blue  Earth  county;  Hiram  S.,  who 
is  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  at  Almontj 
North  Dakota;  Hattie  A.,  and  Mary  B.,  who  are 
engaged  in  teaching.  The  homestead  in  Maple- 
ton  township  comprises  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres,  all  under  cultivation.  The  best  of  im- 
provements are  noticeable,  including  a  modern 
residence,  substantial  barn  and  other  buildings, 
modern  farm  machinery,  a  gasoline  engine  for 
the  pumping  of  water  and  grinding  of  feed,  etc. 
While  managing  his  place  with  energy  and 
sagacity  Mr.  Goff  has  not  neglected  his  duties  as 
a  citizen,  but  always  has  been  found  ready  to 
aid  progressive  measures. 


GEAHAM,  JOHN  C— Of  Scotch  paternal  an- 
cestry, broadened  and  strengthened  by  identifica- 
tion with  the  early  history  of  New  England, 
John  G.  Graham  was  born  in  Cleremont,  Sulli- 
van county.  New  Hampshire,  May  25,  1841,  his 
parents,  Alexander  and  Betsy  (Gilmore)  Graham, 
being  natives  of  the  same  part  of  the  east.  The 
elder  Graham  was  successful  and  resourceful 
first  as  a  farmer,  later  as  a  hotel  operator,  and 
still  later  as  a  farmer  and  brick  manufacturer. 
His  death  occurred  in  1845,  while  that  of  his 
wife  occurred  in  1879. 


410 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


John  G.  Graham's  foundations  for  many  sided 
usefulness  were  laid  on  a  liiiiy  Aew  Jiampsiiire 
larm,  wiiere  lie  was  busily  engaged  ac  tne  out- 
breaJi  of  tlie  (Jivil  war.  jin  iatix  ne  eniistea  m 
Uompany  ti,  Third  i\ew  Hampsnire  inlantryj 
and  m  the  Department  of  ttie  faoutn  was  unuer 
command  of  General  blierman  and  David 
Hunter,  0.  M.  Mitchell,  J.  A.  Giimore  and  J.  i±. 
Terry,  in  July,  1850,  he  was  honorably  Ois- 
charged  from  tlie  army,  having  parcicipated  m 
thirty-seven  engagements,  f-teturning  to  the 
New  Hampshire  larm,  in  18(57  he  sougat  tlie  less 
tried  opportunities  ot  tlie  tlien  far  xNorthwest, 
and  in  Garden  City,  Blue  liarth  county,  estab-. 
lished  one  of  the  hrst  mercantile  establishments 
in  the  place. 

With  three  years  of  mercantile  experience  be- 
hind him,  iUr.  Graham  came  to  Good.  Thunder  in 
1870,  opened  a  general  store,  and  later  a  hotel, 
continued  the  combined  interests  until  1904.  In 
the  meantime  he  had  evidenced  considerable  politi- 
cal activity,  and  twice  been  postmaster  of  the 
town,  the  first  time  under  tlie  administration 
of  President  Cleveland.  During  the  candidacy 
of  Mr.  Bryan,  Mr.  Graham  joined  the  Eepublican 
forces,  owing  to  the  Free  Silver  issue,  and  ever 
since  has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  latter 
party.  He  is  prominent  fraternally,  a  member 
of  Lodge  No.  76,  A.  P.  and  A.  M.,  and  he  is  a 
member,  and  has  been  commander  for  a  year, 
of  the  local  post  G.  A.  E. 

In  conformity  with  the  almost  invariable 
custom  that  bankers  are  recruited  from  the 
ranks  of  the  early  upbuilders  of  a  community, 
men  whose  best  efforts  have  gone  parallel  with 
its  growth,  and  whose  lives  have  inspired  un- 
questioned confidence,  ilr.  Graham  has  been 
president  of  the  State  Bank  of  Good  Thunder 
for  the  past  ten  years,  and  during  that  time  the 
bank  has  become  one  of  the  most  dependable 
and  solid  monetary  institutions  in  the  county. 
He  is  the  owner  of  a  four  hundred  acre  tract 
of  land  in  Shelby  township,  three  miles  from 
Apiboy,  and  is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best 
authorities  on  general  farming  and  stock-raising 
in  this  section  of  the  north.  His  life  furnishes 
an  inspiring  lesson  in  perseverence,  thrift,  energy 
and  good  judgment,  and  he  has  the  satisfaction, 
dear  to  the  heart  of  nature's  worthiest  sons,  of 


having  earned  every  dollar  of  his  ample  fortune 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  and  the  directing  of 
his    brain. 


GEEELEY,  HOEACE  B.— For  more  than 
fifty  years  the  family  represented  by  this  large 
land-owner  and  enterprising  farmer  has  been 
identified  with  the  development  of  Minnesota, 
the  first  to  remove  hither  having  been  his  father, 
Himan  W.  Greely,  who  as  early  as  1854  became 
a  pioneer  in  the  lumbering  regions  of  the  north- 
west. In  his  journey  to  the  then  frontier  he  had 
been  accompanied  by  his  wife,  who  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Lucretia  Griswold  and  who  like 
himself  was  of  eastern  lineage.  His  birth  had 
occurred  in  New  Hampshire  in  1823,  while  she 
was  born  in  New  York  state  during  the  same 
year,  and  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  they  both 
passed  from  earth  in  the  same  year,  1883.  After 
coming  to  the  northwest  the  father  for  some 
years  engaged  in  lumbering  in  Washington  coun- 
ty, wlier*  the  opportunities  for  the  profitable  pur- 
suit of  that  industry  were  as  great  as  its  re- 
sults were  injurious  to  the  health  through  expos- 
ure to  inclement  weather.  During  the  year  1870 
the  family  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  set- 
tled in  Beauford  township,  where  the  parents 
died  twelve  years  later,  leaving  to  their  sons  the 
heritage  of  an  untarnished  name  and  lofty  prin- 
ciples of  honor.  The  religious  faith  of  the  fam- 
ily brought  them  into  sympathy  with  the  Epis- 
copal denomination.  Always  interested  in  public 
affairs,  the  father  was  chosen  for  various  local 
offices,  including  those  of  school  director  and 
town  treasurer,  and  both  in  public  affairs  and  in 
private  life  he  proved  himself  to  be  governed  by 
principles  of  justice,  honesty  and  patriotism. 

There  were  two  sons  in  the  family,  Willis,  the 
elder  of  whom  married  Ella  Smith  and  settled 
upon  a  farm  in  Martin  county,  Minnesota.  The 
younger,  Horace  B.,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Minnesota,  June  38,  1854,  and  received 
such  educational  advantages  as  the  schools  of  his 
day  and  locality  afforded  and  graduated  from  the 
State  University.  From  an  early  age  he  was 
trained  to  a  knowledge  of  agricultural  pursuits 
and  in  1870  came  to  Beauford  township,  Blue 
Earth    county,    where    now   he    has    a    farm    of 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


411 


eight  hundred  acres  in  one  body.  Six  hundred 
acres  of  the  place  are  under  cultivation,  while  the 
balance  is  in  pasture  and  woods.  A  neat  farm- 
house is  surrounded  by  shade  trees  and  a  well- 
kept  lawn.  The  outbuildings  are  well  adapted 
for  the  storage  of  grain  and  the  shelter  of  stock. 
On  the  land  may  be  seen  Poland-China  hogs, 
shorthorn  cattle,  draft  and  French  coach  horses, 
and  all  of  the  stock  is  well-bred  and  of  good 
grades. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Greeley  was  solemnized 
in  1882  and  united  him  with  Ellen,  daughter  of 
George  and  Ann  Doland,  who  in  an  early  day 
removed  from  New  Hampshire  and  settled,  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota.  In  the  family 
of  Mr.  Greeley  there  are  six  children,  the  eldest 
of  whom,  Gertrude,  married  Ernest  Cramer,  a 
farmer  of  Beauford  township.  The  other  child- 
ren, George,  Lucretia,  Burnham,  Myrle  and  Ger- 
ald, remain  with  their  parents  on  the  home  farm. 
In  his  ballot  Mr.  Greeley  has  maintained  inde- 
jiendence  of  thought  and  action,  voting  for  the 
men  whom  he  considers  best  qualified  to  protect 
the  interests  of  the  people,  and  refusing  to  bind 
himself  to  any  political  organization.  He  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  town  board  and  as 
clerk  of  the  school  district.  Throughout  the 
township,  where  for  so  many  years  he  has  made 
his  home,  he  has  a  large  circle  of  friends  ant' 
enjoys  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  business  or 
social  recreations  bring  him  into  contact. 


GREIG,  A.  E.— The  identification  of  the  Greig 
family  with  the  agricultural  development  of 
Blue  Earth  county  dates  from  the  year  185G, 
when  Alexander  Greig  became  a  member  of  the 
historic  Taylor  colony  and  thus  was  led  to  seek 
a  home  in  what  was  then  considered  the  remote 
northwest.  Ever  since  that  time  the  name  has 
been  familiar  to  the  people  of  Sterling  township, 
who  have  watched  with  kindly  interest  the  child- 
ren of  the  original  pioneer  and  have  rejoiced  in 
the  fact  that  several ,  of  the  name  continue  in 
the  midst  of  the  scenes  familiar  to  their  father 
in  the  early  days.  Of  the  four  remaining  in 
the  county  not  the  least  promiaent  is  the  one 
whose  name  introduces  this  article  and  who  is  a 
native  of  Sterling  township  where  he  still  makes 


his  home.  Agriculture  has  been  his  occupation 
in  life  and  in  the  quiet  discharge  of  his  duties 
as  a  farmer  he  has  lived  and  labored  from  year 
to  year,  seeking  neafthw  olficial  honors  nor  ci\ic 
prominence,  but  content  to  pursue  the  even  tenor 
of  his  way  and  devote  himself  earnestly  to  pri- 
vate afl:airs. 

The  traits  that  have  brought  honor  to  the 
Scots  wherever  they  have  scattered  throughout 
the  world  are  noticeable  in  the  members  of  the 
Greig  familj',  who  are  of  ancient  and  sturdy 
Scotch  stock.  Alexander,  son  of  'John  Greig, 
was  born  and  reared  in  Kilcondie,  Scotland,  and 
there  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone-cutter,  which  he 
followed  during  the  early  days  of  his  manhood.  As  a 
workman  he  was  painstaking  and  skilled,  but  he 
saw  that  prospects  for  success  in  his  native  land 
were  few,  therefore  in  1847  he  crossed  the  ocean 
and  followed  his  trade  in  Georgia,  later  in  New 
York.  During  1856  he  joined  the  Taylor  colony 
and  came  to  Minnesota,  where  he  took  up  a 
homestead  in  Sterling  township.  Blue  Earth 
county.  On  this  tract  he  spent  his  remaining 
years  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  a  general 
farmer,  and  the  land  still  remains  in  the  family. 
\Vhile  engaged  in  transforming  the  unimproved 
land  into  a  productive,  profitable  estate,  he  gave 
due  attention  to  public  affairs,  kept  well  posted 
concerning  the  issues  of  the  parties,  and  was 
thoroughly  loyal  to  his  adopted  country.  Eond 
of  reading,  he  became  well  versed  in  all  move- 
ments of  general  importance,  and  few  of  the 
pioneers  possessed  a  wider  range  of  information 
than  did  Alexander  Greig.  When  he  passed 
away  in  September  of  1899  he  was  mourned  by 
those  of  his  own  generation  who  survived  him 
and  his  body  was  followed  to  the  grave  by  trib- 
utes of  praise  from  those  of  the  present  genera- 
tion who  owed  to  him  and  other  pioneers  the 
high  cultivation  of  the  land  and  the  modern 
civilization  they  now  enjoy. 

The  family  of  Alexander  Greig  born  of  his 
marriage  to  Mary  Ann  Dixon,  a  native  of  Cork, 
Ireland,  were  nine  in  number  and  all  but  one  of 
these  are  still  living,  four  remaining  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  gentleman  whose  name  in- 
troduces this  sketch  was  the  fourth  in  order  of 
birth  and  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  Septem- 
ber 29,  1864.    As  a  boy  he  attended  school  dur- 


412 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


ing  the  winter  months  and  helped  on  the  home 
farm  in  the  summer  seasons.  Upon  starting  out 
to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world  he  bought  the 
Conrad  farm,  but  upon  the  death  of  his  father 
he  sold  that  property  to  W.  W.  Taylor  and  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead,  where  he  remained 
until  1904.  During  that  year  he  bought  a  part 
of  the  original  tract  owned  by  Elder  Hunt  and 
here  he  has  since  carried  on  general  farming. 
Good  grades  of  cattle,  hogs  and  Clydesdale  horses 
are  kept  on  the  farm,  and  under  the  careful  over- 
sight of  the  owner  the  land  is  maintained  in  a 
high  state  of  cultivation,  with  first-class  improve- 
ments. In  his  work  he  has  the  assistance  of  a 
capable  wife,  who,  like  himself,  is  a  native  of 
Sterling  township.  Mrs.  Greig  was  formerly 
Anna  C.  Harriman  a  daughter  of  David  M.  and 
Elizabeth  (Morris)  Harriman,  and  granddaugh- 
ter of  Moses  Harriman  and  James  Morris,  hon- 
ored pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county,  the  latter 
having  come  hither  from  the  east  in  1856  with 
the  Taylor  colony.  The  only  child  of  Mr.  and' 
Mrs.  Greig  is  Elizabeth  Mary. 


GEIPFIN,  FRANK  H.— The  owner  and  pub- 
lisher of  the  Good  Thunder  Herald  has  been 
identified  with  the  journal  ever  since  its  estab- 
lishment and  enjoys  the  distinction  of  having 
printed  the  first  copy  of  the  popular  paper.  It 
was  on  the  2d  of  September,  1891,  that  the  week- 
ly was  established,  with  the  aid  of  $100  in  cash 
previously  saved  by  the  owner,  supplemented  by  a 
credit  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  necessary 
equipment.  For  several  years  the  work  was  dif- 
ficult owing  to  lack  of  capital  and  the  editor 
found  himself  hampered  on  every  hand  by  his 
indebtedness  for  the  outfit,  but  as  time  passed 
he  slowly  reduced  the  debt  and  eventually  had 
placed  the  printing  plant  upon  a  sound  financial 
basis,  rendering  possible  the  conduct  of  an  up-to- 
date  newspaper  office  as  well  as  the  accumulation 
of  a  stock  of  merchandise  valued  at  several 
thousand  dollars. 

At  Juneau,  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  Frank 
H.  Griffin  was  bom  August  13,  1863,  being  a 
son  of  Charles  S.  and  Almeda  E.  Griffin,  the 
former  a  farmer,  descended  from  Scotch-Irish  an- 
cestry, and  the  latter  of  English  lineage.     After 


having  attended  for  some  years  the  country 
schools  near  the  home  farm  Mr.  Griffin  was  sent 
to  the  high  school  at  Horicon,  Wisconsin,  where 
he  passed  through  the  common  branches  and  took 
up  the  study  of  Latin  and  German.  At  the  age 
of  fourteen  he  left  school  and  began  to  make. his 
own  way  in  the  world.  An  opportunity  having 
been  offered  for  learning  telegraphy,  he  was  fitted 
out  with  a  new  suit  of  clothes  and  an  overcoat, 
besides  a  $10  bill  and  railroad  transportation  to 
Ortonville,  Minnesota.  His  first  night  away 
from  home  was  spent  at  Hastings,  Minnesota. 
For  eighteen  months  he  remained  at  Ortonville, 
hajidling  freight  and  baggage,  selling  tickets  and 
occasionally  learning  a  little  wire  work.  When 
sixteen  years  of  age  he  was  given  charge  of  Car- 
ver station  as  relief  agent  for  several  weeks. 
Later  he  served  in  the  same  capacity  at  Brown- 
ton,  Renville,  Sacred  Heart,  Bird  Island  and 
other  stations  on  the  Hastings  and  Dakota  Rail- 
road for  a  period  covering  about  two  years  al- 
together. 

Becoming  dissatisfied  on  account  of  not  re- 
ceiving a  permanent  position,  Mr.  Griffin  left  the 
railroad  business  and  took  up  civil  engineering, 
in  which  he  worked  for  a  year  as  first  rodman, 
then  leveler,  on  the  Milwaukee  line  between  Still- 
water and  Hastings.  At  the  expiration  of  one 
year  he  returned  to  the  Hastings  and  Dakota 
Railroad  Company  and  resumed  station  work  at 
Appleton  and  other  points.  For  six  months  he 
was  employed  in  the  engineer's  office  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railroad  at  St.  Paul  during 
the  building  of  the  companj^'s  general  offices  in 
that  city.  On  resigning  from  that  position  he 
came  to  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  and  for 
several  years  engaged  in  farming,  which  occupa- 
tion he  relinquished  to  turn  his  attention  to  the 
newspaper  business.  The  paper  is  the  organ  of 
the  Democratic  party  in  the  locality,  but  the 
editor  is  not  radical  and  never  considers  individ- 
ual interests  in  politics;  on  the  contrary,  any 
political  movement  for  the  betterment  of  the 
people  meets  his  approval  and  is  given  stanch 
support  by  his  paper.  Under  the  last  adminis- 
tration of  Grover  Cleveland  he  served  as  post- 
master at  Good  Thunder  for  four  years.  When 
twenty-one  years  of  age  he  offered  himself  as  a 
recruit  in   the   army,   but   on   account   of   heart 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


413 


trouble  he  was  rejected  by  the  recruiting  office  at 
Fort  Snell'.ng.  At  Manlcato,  December  9,  1894, 
he  married  Edna  B.  Thompson,  of  Sparta,  Wis- 
consin, and  they  have  a  son,  Kenneth  T.  Griffin, 
also  a  daughter.  Hazel.  Fraternally  he  has  num- 
erous associations,  including  membership  in  the 
blue  lodge  of  Masonry,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  U. 
B.  of  A.,  and  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  in  all 
of  which  he  has  held  prominent  official  positions. 


GRIGGS,  E.  WILLIAM.— Into  whatever  por- 
tion of  the  world  the  Scotch  people  have  gone 
they  have  carried  with  them  the  traits  of  integ- 
rity, frugality  and  perseverance  that  character- 
ized them  in  their  native  land,  and  their  descend- 
ants from  a  substantial  element  in  tlie  civiliza- 
tion of  America.  Notable  among  the  mfen  of 
Blue  Earth  county  who  trace  their  lineage  to  a 
long  line  of  honored  Scotch  progenitors,  we  men- 
tion the  name  of  E.  William  Griggs,  who  is  the 
son  of  a  sturdy  Scot,  reared  amid  the  influences 
of  his  native  land,  but  afterward  devoted  to  the 
welfare  of  the  United  States  and  a  hero  of  the 
Civil  war,  dying  while  fighting  on  the  battlefield 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  Though  long 
years  have  passed  since  he  gave  his  life  for  his 
adopted  country,  he  is  remembered  with  afl'ection 
by  his  descendants,  to  whom  he  left  the  priceless 
heritage  of  an  unspotted  name. 

Concerning  the  family  history  it  is  known  that 
David  Griggs,  Jr.,  son  of  David,  Sr.,  A\'as  born 
and  reared  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  in  early 
manhood  came  to  the  United  States,  where  he 
married  Margaret  Williams,  a  native  of  New 
York  state.  Eemoving  to  Chicago  he  followed 
the  trade  of  mechanical  engineer  and  there  his 
son,  E.  William,  was  born  March  17,  1857. 
When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  the  father,  in- 
spired by  a  patriotic  devotion  to  his  adopted 
land,  offered  his  services  to  the  Union  and  was 
accepted  in  the  Eighty-second  Illinois  infantry 
in  1861,  his  enlistment  being  for  three  years  or 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  However,  after  he  had" 
been  in  active  service  for  a  year  he  was  killed  in 
1862,  in  the  engagement  at  Chickamauga.  Of 
his  family  of  four  sons  and  four  daughters,  two 
of  the  older  sons  served  in  the  Civil  war,  both 


enlisting  in  1861  in  Chicago.  The  older  son, 
Daniel,  is  now  deceased.  The  younger,  J.  D., 
who  is  now  living  in  Truman,  Minnesota,  was 
only  twelve  years  of  age  when  he  was  accepted 
as  a  drummer  boy.  After  one  year  he  became  a 
bugler.  First  he  served  with  the  infantry,  but 
later  was  transferred  to  the  cavalry.  During  the 
last  part  of  the  war  he  served  in  Missouri,  where 
he  had  many  exciting  chases  after  Quantrell  and 
other  bands  of  guerillas.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  and  his  brother  were  honorably  dis- 
charged. 

The  death  of  the  father  on  the  southern  battle- 
field left  E.  William  Griggs  an  orphan  and  he 
was  thereupon  taken  into  the  home  of  an  aunt 
in  New  Jersey,  where  he  remained  from  the  age 
of  five  years  until  eight.  Upon  starting  out  to 
make  his  ovm  way  in  the  world  in  1865  he  came 
to  Minnesota  in  company  with  a  family  named 
Archer  and  settled  in  Winona  county,  where  he 
remained  for  six  years.  Eemoving  to  Blue  Earth 
county  in  1871,  he  worked  as  opportunity  offered, 
and  frugally  saved  his  wages  with  the  thrift 
characteristic  of  the  Scotch.  At  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-three years  he  bought  a  farm  in  Pleasant 
Mound,  Blue  Earth  county,  and  during  the  fol- 
lowing years  he  laboriou.sly  endeavored  to  place 
the  land  under  cultivation,  put  up  needed  fences, 
and  build  the  necessary  buildings  for  the  storage 
of  grain  and  shelter  of  stock.  Eventually  he  dis- 
posed of  the  place  in  1904  and  sought  a  home 
elsewhere,  but  he  became  convinced  by  experience 
that  no  better  soil  can  be  found  than  that  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  he  was  glad  to  return 
here  in  the  fall  of  1906.  On  his  return  he 
bought  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  two 
miles  west  of  Amboy,  on  the  Blue  Earth  river. 
The  property  was  known  as  the  old  George 
Cooper  farm  and  is  one  of  the  best  homesteads 
in  the  township.  The  ground  is  high  and  affords 
the  best  facilities  for  drainage,  which  is  an  im- 
portant item  in  the  wet  seasons.  General  farm- 
ing is  carried  on  with  success  and  stock-raising 
is  also  followed,  the  specialties  being  Durham 
cattle,  Percheron  horses  and  Poland     China  hogs. 

The  pleasant  country  home  of  the  Griggs  fam- 
ily is  presided  over  by  Sirs.  Griggs,  who  was 
Miss  Fannie  Marks,  a  native  of  Blue  Earth 
county,   and   a   daughter   of   F.    0.    Marks,    de- 


414 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


ceasedj  for  years  a  prominent  resident  of  Pleas- 
ant Mound  township.  The  marriage  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Griggs  was  solemnized  December  9,  1880, 
and  has  been  blessed  by  two  sons,  Fred  D.  and 
Harry  W.,  both  of  whom  are  at  home  and  assist 
their  father  in  the  cultivation  of  the  farm.  For 
a  number  of  years  ilr.  Griggs  served  as  school 
treasurer  and  he  has  been  interested  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  schools  .of  the  township,  believ- 
ing that  agricultural  prosperity  can  be  promoted 
most  effectively  by  the  thorough  education  and 
careful  training  of  the  boys  and  girls  on  the 
farms.  Fraternally  he  has  been  an  active  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  has  aided  in  the  local  lodge  work  of  that 
organization. 


GEUE,  OLE  0.— The  I\Torwegian  element  has 
been  a  powerful  factor  in  the  early  development 
and  permanent  prosperity  of  Minnesota,  and 
everywhere  throughout  the  state  are  to  be  found 
the  sons  of  ISTorwa}-,  industrious,  -economical,  in- 
telligent and  alert  to  grasp  opportunities  for  ad- 
vancing their  own  welfare  and  that  of  their 
adopted  country.  Among  such  we  mention  the 
name  of  Ole  0.  Grue,  who  was  born  in  Korway, 
October  17,  1861,  and  passed  the  3'ears  of  early 
life  in  the  midst  of  scenes  common  to  that  land. 
His  parents,  Ole  and  Marian  (Gorene)  Paulsen, 
remained  in  Norway  all  their  lives,  both  dying 
there  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years,  the  father 
in  1880,  and  the  mother  in  1887.  Seven  chil- 
dren formed  their  family,  but  four  are  deceased, 
Peter,  Paulina,  Christian  and  Indiana.  Those 
now  living  are  Lars,  who  remains  on  the  old 
homestead  in  Norway;  Olene.  also  in  that  coun- 
try; and  Ole,  who  was  sixth  in  order  of  birth 
and  was  the  only  member  of  the  family  to  seek 
a  home  across  the  waters.  The  old  homestead 
was  known  as  Grue  farm,  and  in  accoxdanco 
with  a  custom  common  in  that  locality,  he  took 
as  his  surname  the  patronymic  applied  to  the 
estate. 

Between  the  years  of  seven  and  fourteen  Ole 
0.  Grue  was  sent  to  a  free  school  in  his  native 
town.  After  leaving  school  he  began  to  serve 
an  apprenticeship  to  the  carpenter's  trade,  and 
upon  the  completion  of  his  time  he  took  up  work 


as  a  journeyman.  However,  as  the  years  passed 
by,  he  soon  saw  that  a  high  degree  of  success  was 
impossible  in  his  native  land  on  account  of  ex- 
istant  conditions,  therefore  he  decided  to  seek 
independence  and  a  competency  in  the  new 
world.  Crossing  the  ocean  he  proceeded  frohi 
Few  York  City  direct  to  Stevens  Point,  Portage 
county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  employed  for  a 
few  months  in  a  saw-mill.  A  later  location  at 
College,  Wisconsin,  found  him  occupied  at  simi- 
lar employment  in  a  mill.  Next  he  proceeded 
to  St.  Paul,  where  he  followed  his  trade.  Mean- 
while he  had  been  a  close  student  of  the  English 
language  and  had  already  gained  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  same  to  make  himself  under- 
stood in  conversation.  After  a  few  months  in 
St.  Paul  he  proceeded  west  to  Spokane,  Wash- 
ington, and  a  year  later  went  to  Tacoma,  where 
he  was  employed  for  three  years. 

Eeturning  to  St.  Paul  at  the  expiration  of  four 
years  in  the  far  west,  Mr.  Grue  followed  the 
carpenter's  trade  there  for  two  years.  In  1893 
he  came  to  Mankato  and  formed  a  partnership 
with  J.  B.  Nelsen  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  B. 
Nelsen  &  Company,  contractors  and  builders. 
Since  then  the  firm  has  been  given  contracts  for 
extensive  business  throughout  this  section  of  Min- 
nesota. Among  some  of  their  important  contracts 
may  be  mentioned  those  for  the  Nasen  hospital 
at  Albert  Lea,  the  Park  Hotel  at  St.  James, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows'  building  at 
Mankato,  the  Daniels  block  in  St.  Peter,  the 
Presbyterian  church  in  Brookings,  South  Dakota, 
the  South  Dakota  State  Agricultural  College 
building  at  Brookings,  the  Cottonwood  county 
courthouse  at  Windom,  Minnesota,  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  building  at  Waseca,  the  Martin 
county  courthouse  at  Fairmont,  this  state,  and 
the  state  hospital  at  St.  Peter.  The  importance 
of  these  contracts  indicates  the  high  standing  of 
the  company. 

Since  coming  to  Mankato  Mr.  Grue  has  pur- 
chased property  in  North  Mankato  and  also  is  a 
stockholder  in  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce. 
His  marriage  took  place  April  23,  1893,  and 
united  him  with  Miss  Elizabeth  Nelsen,  of  Min- 
neapolis, this  state.  They  became  the  parents  of 
three  children,  but  one  daughter,  Eva,  died  in 
infancy.     Those  ■  now  living  are   Idell   Christina 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


415 


Amanda  and  John  Martin  L'ncoln.  The  fra- 
ternal associations  of  Mr.  Grue  include  member- 
ship in  Mankato  Lodge  No.  12,  A.  F.  and  A.  M. ; 
Mankato  Commandery  No.  4,  K.  T.;  Mankato 
Lodge  No.  15,  I.  0.  0.  P.,  and  Mankato  Lodge 
No.   235,   Benevolent    Protective    Order   of   Elks. 


HADLEY,  EUGENE.— The  position  of  presi- 
dent of  a  reputable  bank  warrants  no  other  con- 
chision  than  that  the  incumbent  is  a  man  of 
character,  purpose  and  integrity.  Isolated  casec, 
which  discredit  his  calling  and  plunge  the  coun- 
try into  paroxysms  of  alarm  fail  to  disprove  the, 
assertion  that  every  man  who  has  in  him  the 
making  of,  a  successful  banker  is  possessed  of 
these  strong  and  fundamental  requisites.  The 
pursuit  of  agriculture  in  many  instances  has  led 
to  honors  of  this  description,  and  practically  all 
communities  have  at  the  head  of  some  of  their 
financial  institutions  men  who  have  raised  them- 
selves upon  the  tillage  of  the  soil.  To  this 
class  belongs  Eugene  Hadley,  president  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Mapleton.  Mr.  Hadley 
was  elected  to  his  resident  position  in  1906,  and 
under  his  administration,  brief  though  it  has 
been,  the  affairs  of  the  bank  have  prospered  ex- 
ceedingly, more  than  justifying  its  reputation 
as  one  of  the  most  dependable  monetary  concerns 
in  Blue  Earth  county. 

Mr.  Hadley's  early  opportunities  were  in  no 
v/ay  exceptional,  and  he  was  early  confronted 
with  the  responsibility  of  self  support.  Born  in 
Richmond  township,  Walworth  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, May  31,  1866,  he  is  a  son  of  Alfred  and 
Lura  Hadley,  natives  of  Brattleboro,  Vermont, 
and  New  York,  respectively,  and  who  settled  in 
Walworth  county,  Wisconsin,  in  1852.  The 
eight  children  older  than  Eugene  were  born  in 
New  York  and  accompanied  their  parents  by 
way  of  stage,  canal  and  lakes  to  Wisconsin,  the 
father  taking  up  government  land  which  he 
tilled  for  the  balance  of  his  life.  Eugene  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Wisconsin,  and  for 
a  couple  of  years  was  a  student  at  Milton  Col- 
lege, a  Seventh  Day  Baptist  Institution.  He  re- 
mained at  home  until  his  marriage,  October  5, 
1878,  to  Bettie  Tajdor,  daughter  of  Joshua  Tay- 
lor, an  Englishman  by  birth,  an  early  settler  of 


Wisconsin,  and  whose  death  occurred  December 
21,  1903. 

With  his  newly  wedded  wife  Mr.  Hadley  start- 
ed housekeeping  on  a  farm  purchased  by  him  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  on  a  line  between 
Mapleton  and  Danville  townships,  and  engaged 
in  general  farming  and  stock-raising  with  char- 
acteristic good  judgment  and  success.  In  1887 
lie  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  lived  in  White- 
water until  1889,  when  he  returned  to  Mapleton, 
and  in  1896  settled  on  a  farm  in  Iowa.  All  of 
this  time  he  had  retained  possession  of  hie  farm 
ia  ]Mapleton  township,  Blue  Earth  countj^,  which 
he  still  owns,  and  he  also  owns  a  farm  in  Bed- 
ford township,  the  same  county,  which  now  is 
operated  by  a  tenant.  After  six  years  in  Iowa 
he  returned  to  Mapleton,  purchased  an  eleven 
acre  tract  in  the  village  of  that  name,  and  since 
has  made  that  his  home.  The  improvement  of 
•this  small  but  valuable  property  has  afforded  him 
interest  and-  occupation,  and  taken  In  connection 
■s\'ith  his  responsibility  at  the  bank,  keeps  him  a 
busy  and  much  engrossed  citizen. 

Mr.  Hadley  is  an  ardent  fraternalist,  and  a 
member  of  the  Josephus  Blue  Lodge,  No.  128, 
A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  Mapleton.  He  is  the  par- 
ent of  five  children:  Lura,  deceased;  Mary,  wlte 
of  I\rr.  M.  Chenejf,  of  North  Springs,  Iowa; 
Maud;  Eugene;  and  Calvin.  Of  a  kindly  and 
generous  nature,  he  has  made  many  and  warm 
friends  along  the  course  of  his  well  directed  life, 
and  his  wealth  consists  as  much  of  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  his  fellow  men  as  of  the  convert- 
able  assets  of  the  business  man. 


HAGEN,  CONRAD.— Assiduous-  activity  in 
an  occupation  that  formed  a.  fitting  avenue  for 
well-directed  abilities  enabled  Mr.  Hagen  to  win 
and  hold  an  important  position  among  the  citi- 
zens of  Mankato,  where  he  made  his  home  and 
engaged  in  the  contracting  business  from  1877 
until  the  time  of  his  death.  In  early  life  he 
had  been  carefully  trained  in  the  trade  of  a 
brick-layer  and  had  so  thoroughly  mastered  the 
occupation  that  he  was  regarded  as  a  most  ef- 
ficient and  reliable  workman.  During  busy  sea- 
sons, when  the  building  business  was  being  push- 
ed with  unwonted  activity  in  the  town,  he  had 


416 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


more  contracts  offered  him  than  it  was  possible 
to  fill,  for  his  services  were  in  constant  demand 
by  people  familiar  with  his  carefulness,  relia- 
bility and  promptness.  Here  he  had  the  con- 
tract for  the  largest  hotel  in  this  part  of  the 
state,  also  the  contract  for  the  Patterson  block 
and  many  other  substantial  structures,  and  long 
after  time  shall  have  blotted  out  his  memory 
from  among  the  future  residents  of  his  home 
city  his  work  ivill  remain  to  testify  concerning 
his  skill  and  trustworthiness. 

Of  Bavarian  birth,  the  son  of  a  farmer  o^* 
that  country,  Conrad  Hagen  was  born  in  August 
of  1851  and  as  a  boy  received  a  very  limited 
education.  Upon  leaving  home  to  make  his  own 
way  in  the  world  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1874  and  settled  at  Buffalo,  New  York,  where 
ho  was  apprenticed  to  the  brick-layer's  trade.  At 
the  expiration  of  three  years  and  four  months  he 
left  Buffalo  and  came  to  Minnesota,  where  he 
settled  in  Mankato.  From  that  time  he  filled 
contracts  for  brick  buildings,  meanwhile  gaining 
a  reputation  as  a  conscientious  workman,  honor- 
able in  his  dealings  with  all,  reliable,  painstaking 
and  progressive,  and  all  who  had  business  affairs 
with  him  became  his  stanch  friends.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Bricldayers'  Union  and  bore  an 
active  part  in  all  measures  for  the  interests  of 
the  trade  in  general.  After  becoming  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States  he  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket,  but  took  no  active  part  in  politics  and 
never  aspired  to  official  honors. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hagen  was  solemnized  in 
February,  1880,  and  imited  him  with  Miss  Mary 
Obele,  who  was  born  in  Blue  Earth  county,  June 
IG,  1862.  Her  parents,  Frank  and  Chrissie 
(Kern)  Obele,  were  natives  of  Bavaria,  whence 
they  immigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1855 
and  became  pioneers  of  Mankato  as  early  as 
1858,  afterward  residing  in  Blue  Earth  county 
until  death.  They  had  a  family  of  seven  child- 
ren who  attained  years  of  maturity.  To  the 
union  of  Conrad  Hagen  and  Mary  Obele  there 
were  born  eight  children,  whose  names  and  re- 
spective ages  are  as  follows :  Henry,  twenty-six 
years;  George,  twenty-four;  Mary,  twenty-two; 
Elizabeth,  twenty;  Ollie,  seventeen;  Francis, 
fourteen;  Alphonse,  ten;  and  Carl,  five  years  of 
age.    The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Ger- 


man Catholic  church  and  Mr.  Hagen  was  a 
prominent  worker  in  the  Society  of  St.  Peter 
and  Paul's  connected  with  that  church  His  death 
occurred  October  15,  1905,  and  was  mourned  by 
a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  followed  his  body 
to  its  last  resting  place-  in  Calvary  cemetery  and 
who  tendered  to  the  bereaved  family  their  deep- 
<;st  and  most  heartfelt  sympathy. 


HALL,  WILLIAM.— As  far  back  as  the  gen- 
ealogy can  be  traced,  it  is  found  that  the  Hall 
family  lived  and  labored  in  Scotland,  and  the 
virtues  of  their  countrymen  were  exemplified  in 
their  own  careers.  During  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  "William  Hall,  Sr.,  found  em- 
ployment as  a  shoe-maker  in  Aberdeenshire,  and 
this  trade  in  turn  was  -followed  by  his  son, 
George,  in  the  same  place.  The  latter  married 
Helen  Sharp,  who  was  born  at  Longman  Hill, 
in  Banffshire,  near  the  shores  of  the  Forth  sea, 
the  date  of  her  birth  being  November  9,  1826. 
One  child,  William,  came  to  bless  their  union, 
and  when  he  was  only  three  years  of  age,  death 
entered  the  little  family  circle  and  removed  the 
father  from  his  labors.  Three  years  later  the 
mother  married  George  Clark,  and  they  decided 
to  seek  a  home  in  America.  Taking  passage  on 
the  steamship.  City  of  Glasgow,  they  started  on 
the  voyage  from  Glasgow,  but  before  they  were 
out  of  the  Clyde  the  steamer  struck  a  rock  and 
sank.  All  passengers  were  saved  and  returned 
to  Glasgow,  while  the  steamer  was  being  raised. 
They  were  then  given  the  choice  between  waiting 
for  the  ship  and  having  their  money  refunded. 
Mr.  Clark  chose  the  latter.  Subsequently  the 
steamer  made  one  round  trip  to  America  and 
then  started  on  a  second  trip,  but  was  never 
heard  of  again. 

Later  Mr.  Clark  and  family  took  passage  on 
a  sailing  ship,  "St.  Lawrence,"  which  made  the 
trip  to  Quebec  in  forty  days,  meanwhile  encoun- 
tering heavy  storms  in  mid-ocean.  During  May 
of  1854  they  arrived  at  Toronto,  where  they  re- 
mained one  month.  On  the  1st  of  July  they  ar- 
rived at  Cromwell,  Connecticut,  where  they  re- 
mained until  the  spring  of  1857,  Mr.  Clark 
meanwhile  finding  employment  at  the  shoemak- 
er's trade.    From  the  east  they  came  to  the  Win- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


417 


nebago  agency  in  Blue  Earth  county,  now  St. 
Clair,  Minnesota.  During  the  summer  season 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Clark  were  employed  on  the  gov- 
ernment farms  in  what  is  now  known  as  Eapi- 
dan.  At  the  close  of  the  summer's  work  they 
went  to  the  agency.  During  the  fall  of  1857 
they  came  to  Sterling  township  and  bought  a 
rtlinquishment  to  the  farm  still  occupied  by  the 
widow.  Hither  they  came  in  the  spring  of  1858, 
taking  up  the  task  of  improving  the  land,  erect- 
ing the  necessary  buildings,  and  transforming  an 
unproductive  tract  into  a  fertile,  profitable  farm. 
A  successful  farmer  and  representative  citizen, 
Mr.  Clark  lived  an  honored  life,  and  passed 
away,  regretted  by  all,  March  20,  1905,  at  the 
age  of  seventy-five  years. 

Turriff,  Aberdeenshire,  Scotland,  is  the  native 
home  of  William  Hall,  and  June  3,  1847,  the 
date  of  his  birth.  Primarily  educated  in  Min- 
nesota country  schools,  he  later  took  a  course  of 
study  in  the  Winnebago  high  school,  and  after 
teaching  for  a  time  he  entered  the  Eastman 
Business  College  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  regular  course.  Afterward  for  a  year  he 
was  employed  in  the  Gas  Works  Manufacturing 
Company's  office  in  New  York.  In  the  course  of 
bis  connection  with  that  company  he  assisted  in 
installing  the  gas  plant  for  the  Estey  Cottage 
Organ  Company  at  Brattleboro,  Vermont;  also 
a  plant  for  a  large  hotel  in  Alpena,  Michigan, 
and  an  experimental  plant  at  Eochester,  New 
York.  On  leaving  the  gas  company's  employ  he 
engaged  in  1873  with  Hall  &  Brewster,  who 
bandied  the  McCormick  machinery.  During  the 
Centennial  exposition  at  Philadelphia  he  had 
charge  of  the  wire  binder  exhibit,  that  year 
(1876)  being  the  first  they  were  manufactured. 

A  merited  honor  came  to  Mr.  Hall  in  1880, 
at  which  time  he  was  chosen  to  represent  the 
district  in  the  state  legislature.  In  addition  to 
the  regular  session  he  served  in  a  special  session 
called  for  the  purpose  of  settling  the  railroad 
bond  question,  in  which  issue  he  took  a  most 
active  part.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  legislative 
work,  in  the  spring  of  1882  he  went  to  St.  Vin- 
cent, in  the  northwest  corner  of  Minnesota,  where 
he  remained  for  a  few  months  as  United  States 
custom  house  ofiicer,  and  then  resigned  in  order 

27 


to  accept  a  position  as  agent  for  the  American 
Express  Company  at  St.  Vincent.  It  was  about 
this  time  that  he  established  domestic  ties,  his 
marriage  occurring  June  25,  1884,  and  uniting 
him  with  Ada  Brown,  of  Waterville,  Minnesota, 
daughter  of  John  S.  Brown,  who  was  a  nephew 
of  John  Brown  of  Harper's  Ferry  fame. 

Continuing  in  St.  Vincent  until  the  fall  of 
1884,  Mr.  Hall  then  removed  to  Winnipeg  in 
order  to  enter  upon  his  duties  as  agent  for  the 
American  Express  Company  at  that  point.  How- 
ever, in  1887  the  company  withdrew  owing  to  their 
inability  to  secure  a  right  on  theCanadian  Pacific 
Eailroad.  Thereupon  Mr.  Hall  went  to  St.  Paul 
and  for  a  year  engaged  with  the  McCormick 
Company,  but  later  became  Winnipeg  agent  for 
the  Northern  Pacific  Express  Company.  The 
duties  of  that  position  engrossed  his  time  and 
attention  during  the  ensuing  fourteen  years,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  the  Northern  Paci- 
fic sold  out.  For  two  years  afterward  he  con- 
tinued in  Winnipeg,  giving  his  attention  to  the 
real-estate  business,  but  owing  to  the  ill-health 
Ol  his  wife  he  relinquished  business  activities  and 
removed  with  her  to  Emerson,  Manitoba.,  where 
she  died  May  9,  1905.  The  body  was  brought 
back  to  Minnesota  and  now  lies  in  the  Sterling 
cemetery. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  his  step-father,  Mr. 
Hall  returned  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  has 
since  conducted  the  old  homestead,  also  tenderly 
caring  for  his  widowed  mother  in  the  days  of 
her  old  age.  Personally  he  is  a  man  of  many 
admirable  qualities.  Nature  bestowed  upon  him 
the  temperament  that  irins  friends  and  the  pro- 
bity that  retains  their  confidence.  Business  du- 
ties have  called  him  to  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  wherever  he  has  made  his  home  he  is 
remembered  with  regard  and  esteem  by  old  as- 
sociates. The  principles  of  Masonry  appealed  to 
him  to  such  an  extent  that  he  rose  to  the  rank 
of  Knight  Templar  and  held  official  positions  in 
the  various  societies  of  the  order.  The  Sons  of 
Scotlknd  also  have  his  name  enrolled  as  a  mem- 
ber. Leaving  his  native  land  at  an  early  age, 
hi?  memories  of  its  attractions  are  vague,  but  he 
honors  its  history  and  the  stalwart  race  its  stern 
hills  send  forth  into  the  world.  Yet  more  does 
he  honor  the  land  of   the   free,   the  country   of 


418 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


his  adoption,  whose  stars  and  stripes  represent 
a  free  and  united  nation,  and  whose  opportuni- 
ties are  unsurpassed  the  world  over.  In  evidence 
of  his  devotion  to  the  Union  he  offered  his  ser- 
vices during  the  progress  of  the  Civil  war.  When 
scarcely  yet  eighteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted, 
March  3,  1865,  as  a  memher  of  the  First  Bat- 
tery, Light  Artillery,  under  Captain  W.  C.  Clay- 
ton, and  received  an  honorable  discharge,  June  3, 
1865.  While  his  service  was  brief,  it  was  none 
the  less  indicative  of  his  patriotic  spirit  and  un- 
swerving loyalty,  which  in  later  years  was  shown 
in  his  excellent  legislative  record  and  in  his  care- 
ful discharge  of  every  duty  devolving  upon  him 
as  a  citizen. 

HALLMAN,  CHAELES  P.— In  evidence  of 
the  opportunities  afforded  by  Minnesota  to  young 
men  of  energy  and  sagacity  it  is  but  necessary 
to  mention  the  names  of  many  of  the  men  now 
successful  in  the  world  of  affairs.  People  who 
have  resided  in  Mankato  for  years  are  familiar 
v,'ith  the  life  and  progress  of  Charles  F.  Hall- 
man  who  came  to  this  city  as  early  as  1869, 
and  sought  employment  as  a  day  laborer.  While 
destitute  of  means  and  unacquainted  with  the 
customs  of  people  in  the  United  States,  he  was 
quick  to  learn  our  language  and  methods  of 
work,  and  did  not  long  remain  at  the  bottom, 
satisfied  with  a  most  meager  salary.  Little  by 
little  his  position  advanced;  by  degrees  he  rose 
from  his  humble  beginning  until  now  he  ranks 
among  the  most  proficient  and  resourceful  busi- 
ness men  of  the  city,  where  he  conducts  a  grocery 
business  in  ^  modern  brick  structure  erected  by 
himself  for  that  purpose. 

Sweden  is  Mr.  Hallman's  native  land  and 
November  7,  1845,  the  date  of  his  birth,  his 
pa.rents  being  Andrew  and  Catherine  Hallman, 
lifelong  residents  of  their  Scandinavian  home. 
When  Charles  was  only  five  years  of  age  the 
father  died,  leaving  to  the  mother  the  rearing 
and  maintenance  of  the  children,  of  whom  there 
were  four  daughters  and  two  sons.  With 
characteristic  courage  the  mother  discharged  her 
task,  gave  the  children  fair  advantages  and 
trained  them  for  lives  of  honor  and  useful- 
ness, and  when  she  passed  away,  in  1890,  at  the 
age    of   eighty-two   years,    her    children   mourned 


her  loss  as  that  of  their  most  devoted  friend. 
The  fifth  of  the  six  children  was  Charles  F. 
who  was  sent  to  the  free  schools  and  later  at- 
tended high  school  in  the  city  of  New  Coping 
after  which  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade 
of  his  brother.  Crossing  the  ocean  in  1869  he 
came  direct  to  Mankato,  where .  he  found  em- 
ployment by  the  day  with  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul, 
Minneapolis  &  Omaha  Railroad.  During  the 
early  period  of  his  employment  in  -this  capacity 
ho  was  injured  by  the  blasting  of  a  rock  which 
exploded  prematurely  and  inflicted  wounds  of 
a  serious  nature. 

After  regaining  his  strength  and  resuming 
active  labors,  Mr.  Hallman  opened  a  blacksmith 
shop  in  West  Mankato  at  No.  402  West  Front 
street.  During  1887,  he  embarked  in  the  grocery 
business  at  No.  412  West  Front  street.  From 
the  first  he  met  with  encouraging  success.  At 
fa-st  only  a  small  stock  was  carried,  but  this 
was  increased  as  the  need  arose.  After  nine 
years  in  the  same  building,  in  1896  he  erected 
a  building  of  brick  at  No.  402  West  Front  street 
(the  site  of  his  old  blacksmith  shop)  and  here 
he  now  conducts  a  first-class  grocery  and  hard- 
ware store.  In  each  department  a  full  line  of 
stock  is  kept  and  the  wants  of  customers  are 
catered  to  with,  intelligence  and  promptness. 
The  confidence  of  the  community  justly  belongs 
to  Mr.  Hallman  as  the  result  of  his  long  and 
honorable  business  career  in  the  midst  of  the 
people  who  are  now  not  only  his  satisfied  custo- 
mers  but   also   his   personal   friends. 

During  November  of  1871  Mr.  Halknan 
married  Mathilda  Peterson,  of  Burlington,  Iowa, 
who  died  in  1877  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years. 
Two  children  survived  her,  namely;  C.  Alfred, 
v/ho  assists  his  father  in  the  grocery  and  hard- 
v»-are  business;  Elnora,  wife  of  A.  J.  Nelson,  of 
Mankato.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Hallman 
took  place  in  September,  1878,  and  united  him 
v.'ith  Amanda  Peterson,  a  resident  of  Burling- 
ton and  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  Pour  children 
bless  their  union,  George,  Henry,  Mathilda  and 
Ella.  For  twenty-five  years  or  more  Mr.  Hall- 
man has  been  identified  with  the  Ancient  Order 
of  United  Workmen  and  furthermore  he  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  Degree  of  Honor,  in  which 
he  helped  to  organize  both  the  local  and  the 
grand  lodges. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


419 


HANNA,  MILTON.— While  the  great  north- 
west was  as  yet  undeveloped  and  its  vast  re- 
sources unknown  the  Hanna  family  hecame  as- 
sociated with  other  pioneers  in  the  development 
of  Blue  Earth  county,  the  year  1853  on  the  thir- 
teenth of  May  witnessing  their  arrival  at  Man- 
kato.  The  head  of  the  famih^,  James,  was  a 
descendant  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry  and  pos- 
sessed the  sturdy  traits  characteristic  of  that 
race,  hut  he  (^ied  on  May  13th,  1855,  before  he 
had  laid  the  foundation  of  the  success  toward 
which  he  aspired.  While  he  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  he  also  engaged  in  the  building  busi- 
ness and  did  considerable  work  in  that  capacity. 
Surviving  him  was  his  wife,  Nancy  (Bowden) 
Hanna,  who  was  a  member  of  a  Pennsylvania- 
Dutch  family  and  a  woman  of  noble  attributes 
of  heart.  Shortly  after  she  was  left  a  widow 
she  pre-empted  a  tract  of  government  land  and 
thus  became  the  owner  of  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  acres.  Until  her  death, 
which  occurred  in  1875,  she  continued  to  make 
her  home  in  Mankato,  where  she  had  a  large 
number  of  friends  among  the  early  settlers  as 
well   as  the   younger   generations. 

During  the  residence  of  James  and  Naney 
Hanna  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  Milton  Hanna 
was  born  in  1842,  and  he  was  a  lad  of  eleven 
years  when  the  family  sought  the  frontiers  of 
the  northwest.  Before  that  he  had  gained  a 
rudimentary  education  in  the  east  and  after-, 
ward  he  attended  the  country  schools  of  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  early  death  of  his  father 
obliged  him  to  earn  his  own  livelihood  from  an 
early  age  and  he  followed  farm  pursuits  up  to 
the  time  of  entering  the  army.  When  the  Civil 
war  began  he  was  among  the  first  to  offer  his 
country  his  services  and  June  23,  1861,  he  was 
accepted  as  a  private  in  Company  H,  Second 
Minnesota  Infantry,  which  was  the  first  organ- 
ized company  in  Mankato.  Marching  south  with 
the  regiment,  he  engaged  at  Mills  Springs,  Ken- 
tucky, and  Shiloh,  Tennessee,  took  part  in  the 
siege  of  Corinth,  and  fought  at  Perryville.  Sub- 
sequent to  a  chase  after  General  Bragg  through 
Kentucky  he  fought  at  Stone  river  (just  after 
this  battle  Mr.  Hanna,  with  fourteen  other  men 
from  this  company  while  out  foraging  were  at- 
tacked   by    one    hundred    and    twenty-five    rebel 


cavalrymen  from  the  6th  Alabama,  but  the  small 
party  of  Union  men  succeeded  in  winning  the 
fight  with  big  honors,  for  which  Congress  as- 
signed a  medal  of  honor  to  each  surviving  man), 
Shelbyville,  Tullahoma  and  Chiekamauga,  where 
he  was  wounded.  He  was  the  first  man  in  the 
regiment  to  reenlist,  the  date  of  the  same  being 
December  15,  1863.  Later  he  participated  in 
the  •  one  hundred  days'  fighting  during  the 
Atlanta  campaign  and  accompanied  Sherman  on 
his  march  to  the  sea,  after  which  he  marched 
to  Washington,  meanwhile  taking  part  in  vari- 
ous engagements,  including  the  battle  of  Benton- 
ville.  He  participated  in  the  grand  review  and 
received  an  honorable  discharge  July  21,  1865, 
at  Port  Snelling,  from  which  place  he  returned 
to  his  Mankato  home.  Since  then  he  has  devoted 
his  energies  to  mercantile  pursuits  and  has  risen 
to  a  position  of  influence  among  the  business  men 
of  Mankato.  The  days  of  war  service  are  held 
in  memory  through  active  association  with  Wil-> 
kin  Post  No.  19,  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic. 
The  marriage  of  Milton  Hanna  took  place 
November  1,  1869,  and  united  him  with  Ix)uise 
N.  Purrier,  who  was  born  in  New  York.  Two 
children  blessed  the  union.  The  daughter  died 
at  the  age  of  five  years.  The  son  was  spared 
through  boyhood  and  youth,  but  passed  away  on 
the  thirty-first  anniversary  of  his  birth.  The 
family  are  Presbyterians  in  religious  views.  All 
movements  for  the  benefit  of  Mankato  receive  the 
stanch  support  of  "^^r.  Hanna,  who  is  thoroughly 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  home  city.  No 
plan  is  proposed  of  undoubted  utility  that  lacks 
his  co-operation.  The  need  of  adequate  fire 
protection  for  the  city  has  appealed  to  him 
especially  and  has  led  him  to  identify  himself 
with  the  fire  department,  in  which  he  now 
serves   as  second   assistant  chief. 


HANNAY,  A.  M.— The  lineage  of  the  Han- 
nay  family  is  traced  to  Scotland  the  original 
emigrant  having  been  Andrew  Hannay,  born  in 
Galloway,  Scotland,  in  1763,  and  by  trade  a 
cooper.  At  the  age  of  twenty-four  years  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  the  king's  service  in  the 
Fifty-first  regiment  of  infantry,  under  Colonel 
Thomas  Brudenall  and  Major  Montgomery.    Af- 


420 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


ter  an  honorable  service  of  six  years  he  received 
his  papers  of  discharge  and  these  are  now  in  the 
possession  of  descendants.  For  a  time  he  en- 
gaged in  contracting  and  building  in  his  native 
land.  During  1774  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  landed  with  four  shillings  in 
his  possession.  Fortunately  he  found  employ- 
ment on  the  day  of  his  arrival.  Later  he  went 
to  Delaware  county  and  took  up  land  in  what 
w"as  then  a  wilderness.  From  there  he  removed 
to  Eensselaerville,  Albany  county,  whence  he  was 
driven  away  by  attacks  of  Indians,  fleeing  to  an 
adjacent  settlement.  During  1777  he  raised  a 
company  of  volunteers  and  joined  General  Gates 
at  Albany.  News  being  received  of  the  sur- 
render of  Burgoyne,  the  company  was  disbanded 
and  honorably  discharged.  His  death  occurred 
in  1808  at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years. 

Next  in  line  of  descent  from  the  original  emi- 
grant was  his  son,  David,  who  was  born  in  Al- 
bany county.  New  York,  October  5,  1784,  and 
who  married  Hannah  Ter  Bush.  Their  son,  H. 
T.  B.,  was  born  in  Albany  county,  New  York, 
March  9,  1807,  and  married  Minerva  Mabie,  a 
native  of  the  same  place  as  himself.  During 
1840  he  removed  from  Albany  county  to  Oneida 
county.  New  York,  and  there  engaged  in  dairy 
fgrming  until  his  death  in  1879.  A  number  of 
local  offices  were  filled  by  him  and  he  wielded 
considerable  influence  in  the  affairs  of  his  com- 
munity. Of  his  thirteen  children  five  are  now 
living.  The  third  in  order  of  birth  was  A.  M. 
Hannay,  who  was  born  in  Albany  county.  New 
York,  June  6,  1836,  and  at  the  age  of  four  years 
was  taken  to  Oneida  county.  At  the  age  of  sev- 
enteen years  he  began  to  teach  school  and  this 
occupation  he  followed  until  he  was  twenty-one, 
after  which  he  spent  two  years  in  school  at  Al- 
bany and  taught  two  terms  in  the  Ballston  Spa 
Academy,  Saratoga  County,  New  York.  During 
1860  he  came  west  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  re- 
mained for  eighteen  months.  In  response  to  the 
first  call  for  volunteers  made  by  President  Lin- 
coln in  1861  he  enlisted  in  Company  B,  Third 
Eegiment  of  Missouri  Volunteers,  under  Color  "1 
McNeil,  and  was  sworn  in  by  Captain  (later 
General)  Lyon.  The  enlistment  was  for  three 
months,  after  which  he  was  mustered  out  August 
10,    1861.    and    shortly    afterward    returned    to 


New  York.  September  13,  1861,  he  married 
Miss  Helen,  daughter  of  David  Wylie,  of  Bemis 
Heights,  New  York.  Born  of  their  union  were 
the  following  named  children:  David, ■  deceased ; 
Frank,  who  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Fox  of  Blue 
Earth  county  and  is  now  living  on  a  farm  near 
the  old  homestead;  Libbie,  wife  of  George  L. 
Steven?,  of  Shelby  township,  Blue  Earth  county; 
Grace,  wife  of  Bay  Salisbury  of  Shelby  township; 
and  Willard,  who  has  charge  of  the  home  farm. 

The  second  enlistment  of  Mr.  Hannay  in  the 
Union  army  took  place  August  38,  1864,  and 
made  him  a  member  of  Company  L,  Fifteenth 
New  York  Engineering  Corps,  under  Captain 
I'ond,  Colonel  Brainard  and  General  Benham, 
assigned  to  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  sta- 
tioned at  City  Point  near  Petersburg.  Mean- 
time Mr.  Hannay  was  detailed  as  chief  clerk 
under  Colonel  Chester,  who  was  brigade  inspector 
and  assistant  chief  in  the  mustering  office  'of  the 
Army  of  the  IPotomac.  By  special  order  of  the 
war  department  Mr.  Hannay  was  continued  in 
the  service  after  his  company  was  detailed  home, 
and  he  was  honorably  discharged  July  5,  1865, 
in  New  York  City.  Soon  afterward  he  came  to 
Minnesota  and  purchased  a  tract  in  Vernon  Cen^ 
ter  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
brought  the  land  under  cultivation,  built  substan- 
tial fences  and  erected  needed  buildings.  Since 
tlie  death  of  his  wife  in  1903  he  has  been  practi- 
cally retired  from  active  cares,  giving  into  the 
hands  of  his  sons  the  management  of  the  estate 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres.  Among 
the  offices  which  he  has  filled  may  be  mentioned 
those  of  school  director,  chairman  of  the  board 
of  town  trustees  and  member  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  which  last-named  position 
he  held  from  1887  until  1899,  a  period  of  twelve 
;\ears.  With  his  comrades  in  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Eepublic  he  enjoys  recounting  the  days  of 
the  Civil  war  and  the  dangers  of  that  national 
crisis.  In  fraternal  relations  he  is  identified 
with  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  For  a  number  of 
years  he  officiated  as  an  elder  of  the  Presbyter- 
ian church  at  Amboy  and  always  has  been 
generous  in  his  contributions  to  movements  for 
the  uplifting  of  humanity  and  the  promotion  of 
the  cause  of  Christianity, 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


4-21 


HAEEINGTON,  M.  D.,  ZINA  GOODBLL.— 
The  life  of  Dr.  Zina  Goodell  Harrington  has  been 
raised  to  observance  upon  the  utilized  opportuni- 
ties of  a  gi-eat  profession,  and  the  benignity  con- 
ferred by  a  harmonious,  gentle  and  generous 
nature.  He  has  been  a  familiar  figure  upon  the 
streets  and  in  the  homes  of  Mankato  since  the 
spring  of  1870,  and  the  amount  of  good  made 
possible  by  his  skill  and  thorough  mastery  of 
medical   science   is   practically   inestimable. 

Dr.  Harrington  comes  of  old  iS'ew  England 
ancestry,  and  he  was  born  in  Londonderry, 
Vermont,  August  20,  1830,  his  parents,  Emery 
and  Calysta  (Goodell)  Harrington,  being  "natives 
of  Orange,  Massachusetts.  About  thirteen  years 
old  when  the  family  moved  to  Bennington,  Ver- 
mont, the  doctor  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  at  Westriver  Academy  and  Bennington 
Seminary,  thereafter  spending  three  years  in 
educational  work  in  the  state  of  Delaware.  For 
three -years  he  read  medicine  with  Dr.  L.  G. 
Whiting,  of  Chester,  Vermont,  and  soon  after 
entered  the  Albany  Medical  School,  from  which 
he  was  duly  graduated  in  1857.  Eeturning 
to  Chester,  he  was  associated  in  practice  with 
his  former  preceptor,  Dr.  Whiting,  for  fifteen 
years,  and  during  that  time  increased  his  oppor- 
tunities for  usefulness  as  superintendent  of.  the 
Chester  public  schools  for  several  years. 

Since  coming  to  Mankato  Dr.  Harrington  has 
been  actively  engaged  in  the  general  practice  of 
medicine,  and  evidenced  his  characteristic  pro- 
gressiveness  during  1900  and  1901  by  studying 
in  the  great  hospitals  and  medical  schools  of 
England  and  the  continent,  thereafter  traveling 
extensively  with  his  wife  in  Greece,  Egypt 
and  the  Holy  Land.  He  is  a  Eepublican  in  poli- 
tics, and  while  never  drawn  to  the  feverish 
arena  of  political  preferment,  has  served  on 
the  board  of  aldermen  of  Manlcato.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Minnesota  A'alley  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, of  which  he  has  been  president,  and  of 
the  State  Medical  Association  and  American 
Medical  Society.  His  marriage  to  Julia  B. 
Bobbins  occurred  October  20,  1874,  Mrs.  Har- 
rington being  a  native  of  Chester,  Vermont.  The 
crowning  honor  conferred  upon  this  noble  and 
high  minded  citizen  was  his  election  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Mankato   State  Bank  in  Jan- 


uary, 1903.  Thus  has  he  gained  professional, 
social  and  financial  distinction,  compensations 
which  have  come  without  solicitation,  and  with 
biit  a  sunple  ]-egard  for  the  fine  and  worth  while 
aiid   splendidly   useful  opportiTnities  of  existence. 


HAEEIS,  EVAN  L.— No  class  of  people  have 
contributed  to  the  development  of  Blue  Earth 
county  in  a  higher  degree  than  have  the  farmers, 
the  men  of  skill  in  the  direction  of  agricultural 
afi'airs,  energy  in  action  and  wise  Judgment 
in  rotation  of  crops  and  raising  of  stock.  A 
goodly  proportion  of  the  agriculturists  of  the 
county  possess  these  attributes,  which  have  en- 
abled them  to  surmount  diffieul'ties  in  the 
clearing  and  impro^ang  of  their  land  and  to 
overcome  obstacles  in  the  path  to  financial  in- 
dependence. To  their  eiTorts  may  be  attributed 
the  present  high  standing  of  the  county  as  an 
agricultural  community,  and  as  one  of  their 
number  Evan  L.  Harris  is  entitled  to  his  share 
of  credit  for  the  gratifying  condition  of  this 
part  of  the  state  from  an  agricultural  stand- 
point. Much  of  his  life  has  been  passed  within 
the  limits  of  this  county.  When  he  came 
here  he  was  a  mere  lad,  and  ever  since  then  he 
has  made  his  home  on  a  farm,  where  at  an 
eerh-  age  he  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  ot 
every  department  of  ani-i  cultural  work.  For 
years  he  has  resided  on  section  twenty-eight, 
Ciimbria  township,  where  lie  has  a  farm  bear- 
ing a  neat  set  of  buildiiii^'s,  improved  with, 
substantial  fences,  and  l)y  its  air  of  thrift 
attesting    the    proprietor's    industry    and    ability. 

Born  April  20,  1853,  Evan  L.  Harris  is  a  son 
of  William  and  Sarah  (Lewis)  Harris,  who  came 
to.  this  country  in  1858  and  settled  at  La  Cres- 
cent, Houston  county,  Minnesota.  Eight  years 
were  spent  in  that  part  of  the  state,  after  which 
they  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1866  and 
purchased  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
In  due  time  the  land  was  transformed  from  a 
barren  tract  into  a  fertile  estate,  and  it  still  re- 
mains the  family  homestead,  although  the  par- 
ents have  been  taken  from  the  familiar  surround- 
ings by  the  hand  of  death.  The  father  died  Jan- 
uary 24,  1892,  and  the  mother  passed  away 
March   28,   1898,   both   spending  their   last   days 


422 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


on  the  old  farm.  In  their  family  were  six  sons 
and  one  daughter,  whose  wise  training  in  the 
home  fitted  them  for  honorable  standing  in  their 
community  as  well  as  success  in  agricultural 
pursuits. 

When  Mr.  Harris  was  a  mere  lad  he  was  led 
to  consider  national  problems  by  reason  of  the 
C'ivil  war  that  cast  its  dark  shadow  over  our  na- 
tional prosperity.  As  soon  as  he  attained  his 
majority  he  began  to  vote  the  Eepublican  ticket 
and  from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  never 
swerved  from  his  allegiance  to  the  party,  casting 
his  ballot  for  its  candidates  at  all  elections.  In 
religious  views  he  is  of  the  Congregational  faith 
and  belongs  to  the  church  of  that  denomination, 
whose  missionary  enterprises  he  supports  as  his 
means  permit.  In  all  of  his  efforts  he  has  had 
the  constant  co-operation  of  his  wife,  whom  he 
married  December  27,  1883,  and  who  was  Amelia 
Hughes,  a  native  of  Wisconsin  and  a  sister  of 
Judge  Hughes  of  Mankato.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  who  in 
order  of  birth  are  named  as  follows:  William 
C,  Hannah  L.,  Everett  T.,  Sarah  N.,  Ruth, 
Robert,  Wallace,  Bruce  and  Lewis  E.  The  home 
farm  lies  along  the  line  of  rural  route  No.  5, 
from  New  Ulm,  Brown  county,  and  the  family 
have  many  warm  friends  across  the  line  in 
Brown  county,  but  their  chief  interests  center  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  where  they  have  a  large  circle 
of  acquaintances  among  the  people  in  whose 
midst  they  have  lived  and  labored  for  years. 


HA  WES,  BENJAMIN  P.— The  property  long 
known  as  the  Henry  Dyer  mill  estate  was  ac- 
quired by  Mr.  Hawes  through  purchase  in  1888 
and  since  then  he  has  lived  on  the  land,  devoting 
his  attention  to  its  management.  A  part  of  the 
present  buildings  stood  here  at  the  time  of  the 
purchase  of  the  tract  and  the  balance  he  has 
erected  from  time  to  time  as  his  means  permit- 
ted or  as  occasion  demanded.  The  farm  con- 
sists of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres,  of  which 
forty  acres  are  under  the  plow,  and  the  balance 
is  in  timber  or  utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  the 
shorthorn  cattle,  the  Poland-China  hogs  and  the 
fine  horses  to  be  seen  on  the  place.  The  build- 
ing   up    of    the    homestead    represents    years    of 


struggle  and  effort  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Hawes 
and  its  neat,  orderly  appearance  is  a  tribute  to 
his  wise  management. 

Near  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  in  the 
state  of  Maine,.  Benjamin  P.  Hawes  was  born 
December  15,  1844,  being  a  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Rachel  (Storah)  Hawes,  also  natives  of  Maine. 
Led  by  the  spirit  of  emigration  that  was  impel- 
ling the  easterners  to  seek  homes  on  the  frontier, 
this  family  bade  farewell  to  old  friends  in  Maine 
and  crossed  the  country  to  Wisconsin  where  they 
settled  in  Dodge  county.  From  there  in  1868 
they  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Rapidan 
township.  Blue  Earth  county.  The  parents  pass- 
ed away  while  making  their  home  in  the  village 
of  Good  Thunder.  In  1869  Benjamin  P.  Hawes 
was  united  in  marriage  with  Lydia  King,  daugh- 
ter of  Sherman  and  Ruth  King,  descendants  of 
colonial  families.  The  father  was  born  in  New 
York  and  became  a  pioneer  of  Columbia  county, 
Wisconsin.  At  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the 
I-Iawes  family  to  Minnesota  Mr.  King  accom- 
panied them  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  took  up 
land  here.  Eventually  he  removed  to  Nebraska, 
entered  a  claim  from  the  government,  developed 
a  farm,  and  remained  there  until  his  death. 

There  are  six  children  in  the  family  of  Mr. 
Hawes,  namely:  May,  Eflie,  Myrtle,  Grace, 
Clarence  M.  and  Stanley.  The  last-named  mar- 
ried Gertrude  Jewell  and  is  now  in  charge  of  the 
old  homestead.  The  family  has  a  high  stand- 
ing among  the  people  of  Rapidan  township  and 
are  welcomed  -guests  into  the  best  homes  of  their 
community.  Politically  Mr.  Hawes  votes  with 
the  Republican  party  both  in  local  and  general 
elections,  and  is  in  thorough  sympathy  with  the 
principles  of  that  political  organization.  Whilt 
never  a  seeker  for  office,  he  consented  to  act  as 
justice  of  the  peace  upon  the  solicitation  of  'the 
people  of  the  township  and  for  six  years  he  filled 
the  office,  proving  himself  to  be  impartial,  just 
and  judicious. 


HAWKINS,  HON.  JAMES  D.— The  life  his- 
tory of  Hon.  James  D.  Hawkins  is  a  record  of 
obstacles  overcome,  discouragements  ignored  and 
opportunities  turned  to  good  account.  A  well 
balanced  and   well  trained  mind,   a  capacity  for 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


423 


painstaking  effort,  and  faith  in  the  saving  grace 
of  labor  led  him  into  worth  while  and  invariably 
useful  fields  of  activity,  and  his  name  is  engraved 
upon  the  annals  of  this  northern  country  as 
farmer,  legislator,  soldier  and  man  of  genera! 
affairs.  Mr.  Hawkins  inherited  the  strong  and 
fundamental  qualities  of  his  Green  Mountain 
ancestors,  qualities  which  guided  his  ambition 
and  directed  his  life,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  he  was  only  eight  years  old  when  his  family 
removed  to  Wisconsin  from  Vermont,  where  he 
was  born  December  9,  1836. 

Mr.  Hawkins  was  educated  in  the  great  field 
of  human  equality,  the  public  schools,  and  the 
duties  of  the  home  farm  engrossed  his  formative 
or  earlier  years.  In  1863  his  family  moved  to 
Dodge  county,  remaining  one  and  a  half  years, 
then  located  in  McPherson  towTiship,  where  he 
engaged  in  farming  for  the  balance  of  his  active 
life,  or  until  his  death,  July  3,  1894.  This  farm, 
now  owned  and  operated  by  the  sons  of  the  ear- 
lier owner,  is  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in 
extent,  and  was  sold  by  the  government  to  Mr. 
Hawkins,  having  been  Winnebago  Indian  land. 
He  was  a  conscientious  and  painstaking  farmer, 
exact  as  to  details,  and  in  all  ways  neat  about 
hi?  work.  He  invested  heavily  in  high  grade 
machinery,  and  was  quick  to  adopt  such  labor 
saving  devices  and  methods  as  appealed  to  his 
practical  judgment.  As  a  farmer  of  this  well 
favored  section  of  the  country  he  was  thoroughly 
representative,  and  abreast  of  the  best  known 
in    agricultural    science    in    his    time. 

Early  in  his  active  career  Mr.  Hawkins  evi- 
denced a  capacity  for  political  service,  and  such 
capacity  was  recognized  by  his  fellow  townsmen 
to  the  extent  that  he  held  practically  all  offices 
of  any  importance,  culminating  in  his  election  to 
the  legislature  of  the  state  in  1880,  his  term  ex- 
piring the  following  year.  During  the  Civil  war 
he  enlisted  in  Company  D,  Eleventh  Minnesota 
Infantry,  and  served  until  mustered  out  of  the 
service  at  Fort  Snelling,  at  the  expiration  of 
hostilities.  One  of  his  best  remembered  and 
most  interesting  experiences  was  his  participa- 
tion in  the  Spirit  Lake  Indian  outbreak.  Mr. 
Hawkins  was  survived  by  his  wiie,  formerly 
Pauline  Hill,  and  iiis  two  sons,  James  and 
Dudley.     Mrs.  Hawkins  was  born  in  New  York 


state  April  4,  1843,  and  died  at  Hewitt,  ilinne- 
sota,  July  8,   1907. 

Of  the  sons  of  Mr.  Ha^^•kins  who  live  on  the 
old  farm,  James  married.  May  1,  190(i,  Estella 
Milnor,  a  native  of  Minnesota,  and  Dudley  mar- 
ried, June  7,  190G,  Bessie  Matteson.  Both  young 
men  inherit  their  father's  thrift  and  enterprise, 
and  are  highly  esteemed  in  the  community  in 
which   they   live. 


HAZEL,  C.  H.  G.— The  stranger  driving 
through  Sterling  invariably  notes  with  pleasure 
the  well-kept  homestead  of  Mr.  Hazel,  which 
\.'ith  its  modern  residence,  substantial  barns  and 
general  air  of  thrift  convinces  the  passer-by  that 
its  0T\ner  is  a  man  of  energy  and  progressive 
spirit.  A'ot  the  least  pleasing  feature  of  the 
farm  is  the  grove  of  poplar,  evergreen  and  other 
trees,  which  not  only  forms  a  windbreak  during 
the  storms  of  winter,  but  also  adds  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  farm.  The  residence,  erected 
iii  1898,  contains  modern  improvements,  while 
all  the  farm  buildings  have  been  arranged  to 
promote  ease  of  work  and  convenience  of  ar- 
langement.  The  land  has  been  drained  by  a 
thorough  and  effective  system  of  tiling  and  thus 
brings  excellent  returns  even  in  seasons  of  ex- 
ceptional rainfall.  The  acquisition  of  an  ad- 
joining farm  in  1887  gave  the  place  its  present 
urea  of  two  Imndred  and  forty  acres,  all  of  which 
the  owner  keeps  in  first-class  condition  either 
for  cultivation  or  for  pasture  land. 

The  Hazel  family  became  established  in  Vir- 
ginia during  the  colonial  period  of  our  country's 
history.  Hugh  Hazel,  who  was  a  Virginian  by 
birth,  removed  from  that  commonwealth  to  Ohio 
and  spent  the  balajice  of  his  long  life  in  the 
Buckeye  state,  dying  in  1896  at  the  age  of  one 
hundred  and  one  years  and  ten  months.  Through 
all  his  active  life  he  worked  as  a  mechanic.  His 
son,  Hugh  C,  was  born  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio, 
and  moved  from  there  to  Wisconsin,  but  two 
years  later,  in  1861,  he  proceeded  still  further 
toward  the  west,  and  settled  on  section  twenty- 
one.  Sterling  tovraship.  Blue  Earth  county.  Af- 
terward he  engaged  in  improving  a  farm  and 
also  followed  the  carpenter's  trade,  building 
many   of   the   first  frame   houses   erected   in   the 


424 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


township.  Though  he  never  gained  wealth  he 
acquired  a  competency  and  now,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-five,  in  the  enjoyment  of  fair  health  and 
ample  means,  he  is  living  at  Garden  City.  In 
early  manhood  he  married  Emma  Parrell,  who 
was  born  in  New  York  state  and  died  in  Min- 
nesota in  1881.  Two  sons  and  two  daughters 
blessed  their  union,  of  whom  the  sons  are  now 
living. 

The  eldest  of  the  family,  C.  H.  G.  Hazel,  was 
born  in  Sterling  township.  Blue.  Earth  county. 
May  20,  1864,  and  received  such  advantages  as 
country  schook  then  afforded.  Through  all  of 
his  life  he  has  remained  at  the  homestead.  The 
scenes  familiar  to  his  childhood  are  those  which 
surround  his  maturer  years.  Reared  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  farm  work,  he  selected  agriculture  as 
his  occupation  and  has  continued  in  the  same 
with  gratifying  success.  In  addition  to  the  rais- 
ing of  general  crops,  he  devotes  considerable  at- 
tention to  thoroughbred  stock  and  each  year 
raises  about  one  hundred  hogs  of  the  Poland- 
China  breed.  In  horses  his  preference  is  for  the 
Xorman,  of  which  he  has  some  fine  specimens. 
A  goodly  number  of  fine  shorthorn  cattle  may 
be  seen  on  his  farm.  At  the  head  of  the  herd 
i';  Royal  Ensign  No.  204877,  weight  more  than 
one  ton,  sired  by  Baptin  Ensign,  which  received 
the  prize  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition.  Erom 
this  animal  he  has  fine  registered  stock,  that  is 
admired  by  expert  judges  of  stock  and  regarded 
as  exceptional  even  for  a  county  with  as  many 
fine  cattle  as  Blue  Earth  may  boast. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Hazel,  October  17,  1890, 
united  him  with  Ida  May  Lamp,  daughter  of 
I.  Lamp,  a  respected  pioneer  of  Sterling  town- 
ship. A  daughter,  Hope  B.,  blesses  their  union. 
Ever  since  boyhood  Mr.  Hazel  has  been  inter- 
ested in  educational  work  and  has  worked  for  the 
progress  of  local  schools.  For  years  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  for  fifteen 
years  he  officiated  as  clerk  of  the  board.  The 
Eraternal  Union  has  his  name  enrolled  as  a 
member,  and  in  addition  he  holds  membership 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 
In  the  township  where  all  of  his  life  has  been 
passed  he  occupies  a  prominent  position  as  a 
public-spirited  citizen,  substantial  farmer  and 
genial   neighbor,    and   the  prosperous   appearance 


of  his  farm  gives  hun  a  place  among  the  repre- 
sentative farmers  of   the   county. 


HEALY,  OSCAR  WARREN.— The  colonial 
era  of  American  history  witnessed  the  emigra- 
tion of  the  Healy  family  from  the  old  world  to 
the  new,  where  they  settled  along  the  north  At- 
lantic coast.  William  Healy,  Sr.,  and  his  son 
and  namesake  were  natives  of  Connecticut,  and 
the  latter  established  stores  at  Pleasant  Valley 
and  Pine  Meadow,  that  state,  also  for  some  time 
traveled  as  a  salesman  for  an  eastern  firm.  His 
death  occurred  at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  In 
young  manhood  he  married  Clara  Higby,  a  na- 
tive of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  a  daugh- 
ter of  a  gunsmith,  who  made  guns  and  swords 
for  the  American  army  during  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  Among  the  five  children  of  William 
ITealy,  Jr.,  the  eldest  was  0.  C,  born  at  Mid- 
d'eton,  Connecticut,  July  9,  1835.  During 
boyhood  he  learned  the  blacksmith's  trade  at 
Pleasant  Valley  and  followed  the  trade  in  a 
machine  shop,  where  also  he  learned  the  machin- 
ist's trade.  Later  he  was  employed  at  Bristol 
and  New  Haven,  also  for  a  time  in  the  Boston 
locomotive  works  at  New  Britain.  Owing  to  ill 
health  which  necessitated  a  change  of  climate 
and  occupation,  he  joined  the  Taylor  colony  in 
1856  and  came  to  Minnesota,  taking  up  a  gov- 
ernment claim  in  Faribault  county.  The  origi- 
nal tract  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres 
still  remains  in  the  family.  For  some  years  it 
v/as  his  custom  to  work  the  farm  in  the  summer, 
then  return  to  the  east  for  the  winter  and  follow 
his  trade.  After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  re- 
moved to  Mapleton,  where  since  he  has  made  his 
home. 

During  the  year  1850  0.  C.  Healy  married 
L^abel  Shaw,  who  was  of  English  parentage,  born 
in  Ireland,  and  brought  to  America  in  infancy. 
After  over  forty  years  of  happy  wedded  life  Mrs. 
Healy  died  in  1892.  They  were  the  parents  of 
the  following-named  children:  Hattie,  the  wid- 
ow of  George  Wilde;  Ada  Belle,  Mrs.  Joseph 
Latourell;  Oscar  Warren,  president  of  the  Lin- 
coln State  Bank  at  Glenburn,  North  Dakota,  and 
a  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  county;  Emery  D.,  who 
is   engaged  in  this  county;  Ralph   H.,   a  farmer 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


425 


of  Beauford  township,  this  county;  Edward 
Shaw,  cashier  of  the  Lincoln  State  Bank  at 
Glenburn,  North  Dakota;  Elbridge  B.,  who  for 
Iwo  terms  has  been  county  attorney  of  Clay 
county,  South  Dakota,  and  resides  at  A'ermilion ; 
and  William  Higby,  who  is  engaged  in  the  bank- 
ing business  in  North  Dakota.  After  the  death 
of  his  first  wife  the  father  again  married,  being 
united  November  2,  1894,  with  Jennie  Brown,  of 
Albany,  Green  county,  Wisconsin. 

The  postoSice  at  Grapeland,  Faribault  county, 
was  named  by  0.  C.  Healy  and  for  twenty  years 
h(,  served  as  its  postmaster.  For  several  terms 
he  also  filled  the  office  of  assessor  and  was  jus- 
tice of  the  peace.  His  love  for  the  machinist's 
trade  has  continued  throughout  life  and  he  still 
has  on  his  place  a  small  machine  shop,  where  as 
a  diversion  he  does  much  ingenious  work.  Fond 
of  music,  he  led  a  choir  in  Connecticut  and  play- 
ed in  the  Mapleton  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
during  late  years  where  he  found  much  gratifica- 
tion in  playing  a  'cello.  Though  now  more  than 
four  score  years  of  age  he  is  hale  and  hearty 
and  enjoys  the  full  possession  of  his  mental  and 
physical  faculties,  which  enables  him  to  pass 
pleasantly  the  declining  days  of  his  long  and 
active  life. 

The  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this 
article  was  born  at  Grapeland,  Faribault  county, 
this  state.  May  12,  1859,  and  always  has  made 
his  home  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  birth- 
place. In  1883  he  settled  on  a  farm  just  across 
the  line  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  from  there 
seven  years  later  he  moved  to  his  present  place 
in  Mapleton  township,  where  he  has  six  hundred 
and  eighty  acres  largely  under  cultivation.  Bo- 
sides  the  raising  of  such  products  as  suit  the 
soil,  he  engages  in  raising  stock,  his  specialty 
being  full-blooded  Herefords.  As  previously 
mentioned  he  acts  as  president  of  the  Dakota 
bank  in  which  his  brother,  Edward,  is  cashier. 
The  bank  has  been  successful  from  the  start  and 
has  met  with  constantly  increasing  patronage 
from  the  people.  Mr.  Healy  is  also  a  director 
and  stockholder  in  the  Mapleton  State  Bank  and 
lias  served  as  township  treasurer  since  1899. 
February  19,  1883,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Minnetta  A.  Whitney,  daughter  of  C.  H. 
Whitney,  an  early  settler  of  Mapleton  township. 


this  county.  The  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Healy 
is  brightened  by  the  presence  of  their  thrcb 
children,  Harold  Whitney,  Edward  Oscar  and 
Elizabeth  Isabel,  who  share  with  their  parents 
in  the  esteem  and  good-will  of  the  community. 


HELLER,  WILLIAM.— The  opportunities  af- 
forded by  the  northwest  to  men  of  energy  and 
perseverance  have  made  possible  to  Mr.  Heller 
the  accumulation  of  valuable  property  during 
the  period  intervening  since  his  service  in  the 
Civil  war.  The  farm  which  he  has  owned  and 
occupied  since  the  fall  of  1866  lies  in  the  south- 
eastern corner  of  Blue  Earth  county  and  em- 
braces two  hundred  acres  of  section  thirty-five, 
Danville  township.  Adjoining  the  homestead  he 
ov.ns  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  acres  in  the 
township  of  Minnesota  Lake,  Faribault  county, 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  in  the  township 
nf  Vivian,  Waseca  county,  so  that  he  is  a  tax- 
payer in  three  counties,  although  the  land  lies 
in  one  body  suitable  for  direct  personal  super- 
vision. 

On  the  farm  are  to  be  seen  good  grades  of 
cattle,  horses  and  hogs,  and  a  profitable  adjunct 
of  general  farming  has  been  found  to  be  the 
raising  and  sale  of  stock.  Indeed  the  stock 
industry  has  always  been  a  favorite  occupation 
with  Mr.  Heller,  who  for  some  years  engaged  in 
buying  and  shipping  stock  and  meanwhile  made 
his  headquarters  at  Minnesota  Lake.  The  family 
residence  is  a  brick  structure,  built  in  the  sub- 
stantial manner  necessary  to  withstand  the  rigors 
of  winter  and  furnished  in  a  cheerful,  cozy  style 
indicative  of  the  refinement  of  its  inmates.  On 
the  land  there  is  considerable  timber,  which  fur- 
nishes fence-posts,  fuel,  etc.,  as  may  be  needed 
on  a  large  and  well-kept  place.  The  Big  Cobb 
river  flows  through  the  estate  and  furnishes  a 
never-failing  stream  of  water  for  the  use  of  the 
stock.  All  in  all,  the  homestead  contains  many 
valuable  features  and  justly  ranks  among  the 
best  in  the  region. 

The  history  of  the  family  shows  that  in  1856 
William  and  Wilhelmina  (Tuckow)  Heller,  na- 
tives of  Pommern,  Germany,  left  their  native 
land  and  immigrated  to  America.  Proceeding 
direct    to    Wisconsin,    they    became    pioneers    in 


426 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  improved  a 
farm.  There  he  is  still  living,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  fair  health,  notwithstanding  his  eighty  strenn- 
oiis  years.  Of  his  family  of  five  children  the 
eldest,  to  whom  was  given  his  own  name,  wab 
born  in  Pommern,  Germany,  August  31,  1843, 
and  was  a  youth  of  about  thirteen  years  at  the 
time  of  coming  to  America.  Primarily  educated 
in  his  native  land,  he  had  the  further  advantage 
of  receiving  an  English  education  after  settling 
in  Wisconsin.  His  devotion  to  the  country  of 
his  adoption  was  proved  by  the  offer  of  his  ser- 
vices at  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war.  May  20, 
1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company  E, 
Third  Wisconsin  Infantry,  under  Colonel  Hamil- 
ton, of  Pond  du  Lac,  where  the  regiment  was 
mustered  into  service.  Ordered  without  delay  to 
the  front,  the  youthful  soldier  took  part  in  va- 
rious skirmishes  on  the  Potomac  and  served  as 
provost  guard  at  Frederick  City,  Maryland.  In 
the  spring  of  the  following  year  he  took  part  in 
the  battle  of  Winchester,  where  he  was  taken  a 
prisoner  by  Confederate  troops,  and  afterward 
for  one  hundred  days  remained  in  a  southern 
prison.  On  being  exchanged  he  was  sent  to 
Washington,  and  there  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge. Eeturning  to  Wisconsin  he  remained  on 
the  home  farm  until  his  second  enlistment,  which 
took  place  January  4,  1864,  and  made  him  a 
soldier  in  Company  E,  Thirty-fifth  Wisconsin 
Infantry,  under  Colonel  Henry  Orff  of  Milwau- 
kee. With  his  regiment  he  was  sent  to  various 
points  along  the  Mississippi  and  participated  in 
numerous  engagements  near  New  Orleans,  in- 
cluding a  battle  at  St.  Charles  in  1864,  and  bat- 
tles at  Forts  Spanish  and  Blakely  in  1865,  after 
which  he  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay. 
From  Mobile  he  was  sent  with  his  company  on 
a.  transport  to  Santiago  and  thence  to  Browns- 
ville, Texas,  and  assisted  in  driving  the  ill-fated 
Emperor  Maximilian  out  of  Mexico,  after  which 
he  received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the 
army  April  15,  1866,  at  Brownsville. 

Eeturning  to  Wisconsin  Mr.  Heller  spent  the 
summer  of  1866  in  recruiting  his  strength  after 
his  army  service  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year 
he  came  to  Minnesota,  where  since  he  has  re- 
sided on  a  farm  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Shortly 
after    coming   here   he    established    domestic    ties 


and  brought  a  bride  to  his  farm-house,  his  mar 
riage  March  28,  1867,  uniting  him  with  August; 
Eeese,  a  native  of  Ponmiern,  Germany,  and  i 
daughter  of  Peter  Eeese,  who  settled  in  Wiscon 
sin  in  1856.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hellei 
consists  of  the  following-named  sons  and  daugh 
tors:  Frank,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  oi 
section  twenty-six,  Danville  township;  Lena,  de 
ceased;  Henry,  who  assists  his  father  in  th< 
cultivation  of  the  old  homestead;  Mary,  whc 
married  William  Schultch  and  lives  at  Blue 
Earth  City,  this  state;  Tillie,  wife  of  Ottc 
Brant,  of  Minnesota  Lake;  Martha,  who  mar- 
ried August  Schraeder  and  resides  in  Wasecs 
county;  and  Hulda,  who  remains  with  her  par- 
ents and  is  her  mother's  capable  assistant  in 
the  care  of  the  home.  Eemembering  the  years 
of  his  army  service  with  a  kindly  feeling  toward 
all  who  gave  their  country  a  similar  service,  Mr, 
Heller  has  found  pleasure  in  his  association  with 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic.  In  addition 
he  has  been  active  in  the  local  work  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  His  high 
standing  among  his  fellow-citizens  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  he  has  frequently  been  solicited 
to  fill  positions  of  trust  and  responsibihty, 
Among  such  offices  which  he  has  filled  with 
fidelity  and  intelligence  may  be  mentioned  those 
of  township  assessor,  member  of  the  county  board 
of  supervisors,  members  of  the  school  board  and 
treasurer  of  the  township  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
five  years. 


HEMINGWAY,  P.  S.— Shortly  after  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  had  borm 
an  honorable  part  as  a  Union  soldier,  Mr.  Hem- 
ingway came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  taking  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  anc 
beginning  the  difficult  task  of  transforming  i1 
into  a  productive  estate.  Ever  since  his  arriva' 
in  the  county  he  has  lived  upon  the  same  home 
stead,  this  being  located  about  one  mile  north  o: 
Vernon  Center  in  the  township  of  the  sam( 
name.  At  this  writing  he  owns  five  hundred  anc 
forty  acres  of  valuable  land  devoted  to  the  rais 
ing  of  crops  suited  to  the  soil  and  climate,  anc 
containing  ample  pasturage  for  his  herd  of  fim 
shorthorn  cattle.    In  addition  to  raising  cattle  h 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


427 


makes  a  specialty  of  Poland-China  hogs  and 
through  his  stock  has  been  enabled  to  greatly  in- 
crease his  annual  income. 

New  Hampshire  is  the  native  home  of  F.  S. 
Hemingway  and  December  21,  1839,  the  date  of 
his  birth,  his  parents  being  Jesse  and  Lois  (Rich- 
ardson) Hemingway,  natives  of  the  same  locality 
as  himself  and  farmers  by  occupation.  For  a 
time  the  family  lived  in  New  York  and  thence 
removed  to  Berrien  county,  Michigan,  taking  up 
land  near  Benton  Harbor  and  remaining  there 
for  a  long  period.  The  parents  died  on  that 
homestead.  Primarily  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  New  York,  Mr.  Hemingway  later  at- 
tended Fox  Lake  college  for  one  term,  he  having 
removed  to  Fox  Lake,  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin, 
during  his  youth.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war 
he  at  once  gave  sympathy  and  influence  to  the 
Union  cause  and  in  1862  was  accepted  as  a  mem- 
ber of  Company  H,  Twenty-ninth  Wisconsin  In- 
fantry, with  which  he  went  to  the  front.  During 
the  course  of  the  war  he  traveled  by  land  and 
water  over  fourteen  thousand  miles  and  took 
part  in  seven  battles  and  forty-seven  skirmishes. 
Among  his  principal  engagements  were  those  at 
Fort  Gibson,  Champion  Hill,  Jackson,  (Missis- 
sippi), Eed  Eiver,  and  Mobile  (Alabama).  For 
forty-seven  days  he  was  stationed  with  the  army 
iu  front  of  Vicksburg  and  meanwhile  took  part 
in  many  encounters  with  Confederate  troops. 
His  regiment  did  not  remain  in  winter  quarters 
for  more  than  a  week  at  one  time,  but  traveled 
through  the  Gulf  states  and  saw  almost  constant 
active  service. 

Upon  receiving  an  honorable  discharge  from 
tlie  army,  July  2,  1865,  Mr.  Hemingway  returned 
to  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  and  during  the 
same  year  took  up  land  in  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  has  since  risen  to  a  position  of  influence 
among  the  farmers  of  his  township.  September 
11,  1862,  he  married  Miss  Delia  Randall,  daugh- 
ter of  David  and  Candace  Randall,  natives  of 
New  York  state,  and  pioneers  of  Dodge  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  they  took  up  farm  land  and 
remained  until  death.  The  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hemingway  comprises  four  children.  Louis 
E.  is  engaged  in  farming  at  Amboy,  this  connty. 
Mabel  married  George  Gray,  a  farmer  of  Vernon 
Center  township.     Fred   L.   has   charge   of   land 


owned  by  his  father.  Clara,  the  youngest  of  the 
children,  resides  with  her  parents.  Ever  since 
attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Hemingway  has  been 
stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Republican  party. 
While  not  active  in  politics,  he  has  consented  to 
fill  various  oSices,  including  that  of  assessor, 
which  he  held  for  sixteen  years  and  the  duties 
of  whieli  he  discharged  without  resorting  to  the 
usual  method  of  driving  over  the  township.  In 
addition,  he  served  as  town  clerk  for  seven  years. 
Both  of  his  grandfathers  were  revolutionary 
soldiers. 


HERITAGE,  JOSEPH  W.— Very  early  in 
the  colonization  of  America  the  Heritage  family 
became  identified  with  the  history  of  New  Jersey, 
where  subsequent  generations  lived,  labored  and 
died.  In  that  state  an  ancestor  for  years  preach- 
ed the  Gospel  as  a  minister  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  denomination.  In  addition  to  ability 
as  a  thinlier  and  speaker,  he  possessed  inventive 
ability  and  a  bent  of  mind  toward  mechanics. 
One  of  his  inventions  was  a  machine  for  weaving 
silk,  on  which  he  was  granted  a  patent  and  which 
was  recognized  as  eminently  practical.  However, 
the  expense  of  building  the  machine  was  great 
and  was  not  justified  by  the  very  limited  amount 
of  siUv  weaving  done  in  the  United  States. 

The  first  of  the  family  to  seek  a  home  in  the 
northwest  was  Joseph  B.,  a  son  of  the  inventor 
and  preacher,  and  a  native  of  Seaford,  Delaware. 
As  early  as  1861  he  resigned  an  excellent  sit- 
uation in  the  east  and  sought  a  home  on  the 
frontier.  For  a  short  time  he  sojourned  in  St. 
Paul.  From  there  he  went  to  Nicollet  county 
and  in  1862  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  near  St. 
Peter.  The  uprising  of  the  Indians  caused  Gen- 
eral Sibley  to  take  all  of  the  horses  and  the  set- 
tlers for  use  in  the  service,  and  the  farmers  were 
thus  forced  to  do  their  work  with  oxen.  To  add 
to  his  troubles,  Mr.  Heritage  lost  his  bam  by 
fire  which  took  his  stock,  harness  and  grain,  and 
made  the  future  look  anything  but  encouraging 
to  a  man  who  had  left  a  good  position  in  the 
east.  His  next  venture  took  him  to  St.  Peter, 
where  he  and  James  Nutter  carried  on  a  hard- 
ware store.  Afterward  he  engaged  in  the  lum- 
ber business   for   some  years,  but   eventually  re- 


428 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


turned  to  the  hardware  trade,  continuing  until 
1882,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  a  large 
lumber  company.  Although  he  is  now  seventy- 
six  years  of  age,  he  is  active  and  enjoys  excellent 
health,  and  at  present  is  connected  with  the  Rea 
Lake  Lumber  Company  of  Minnesota.  His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Jane  Bacon,  was 
born  in  Smyrna,  Delaware  and  died  in  Minnesota 
in  1869.  Of  their  eight  children  all  are  still  liv- 
ing with  the  exception  of  three. 

The  third  among  the  children  in  order  of  birth 
was  Joseph  W.  Heritage,  whose  name  introduces 
this  article,  and  whose  birth  occurred  in  Den- 
ton, Maryland,  during  January  of  1860.  His 
earliest  recollections  cluster  around  St.  Peter 
and  Nicollet  county,  where  he  received  a  fair 
education,  graduating  from  the  high  school,  and 
was  a  schoolmate,  chum  and  close,  intimate 
friend  of  Governor  John  A.  Johnson.  Later  he 
took  a  course  of  study  in  the  Globe  Business  col- 
lege at  St.  Paul,  after  which  for  one  year  he  was 
employed  by  the  Strong  and  Hackett  Wholesale 
Hardware  Company,  next  conducting  a  wood 
yard  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  for  a  few 
months.  On  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county  he 
took  up  farm  pursuits  in  the  summer  and  en- 
gaged in  teaching  during  the  winter  months,  but 
after  a  time  he  gave  his  entire  time  to  agricul- 
tural work.  In  1887  he  purchased  the  Pawson's 
old  honrestead  on  section  twenty-four,  Pleasant 
Mound  township,  where  he  has  improved  a  very 
valuable  property,  devoted  to  the  raising  of  or- 
dinary farm  products,  and  to  the  breeding  and 
raising  of  hogs,  cattle  and  horses.  The  attrac- 
tive residence  stands  on  a  slight  elevation  afford- 
ing a  view  of  the  country  for  miles  in  every  di- 
rection, and  protected  from  the  severe  storms  of 
winter  by  a  fine  grove  planted  by  the  owner. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Heritage  took  place 
August  15,  1881,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Sarah  B.  Hewson,  of  Wisconsin,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph Hewson,  who  was  born  in  England,  immi- 
grated to  the  United  States,  settled  in  Wiscon- 
sin, and  eventually  came  to  Minnesota.  Mrs. 
Sarah  Heritage  died  in  1893,  leaving  a  son, 
Walter,  who  is  now  in  the  employ  of  the  St. 
Paul  street  railway  company.  June  17,  1896, 
Mr.  Heritage  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
lone  Corbett,  who  was  born  in  Shelby  township. 


Blue  Earth  county,  being  a  daughter  of  A. 
Corbett,  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volui 
The  children  of  the  second  marriage  W( 
Sfaurice,  Bernice  and  Gordon,  of  whom  i 
daughter  is  deceased.  The  family  are  identifi 
with  the  Christian  church.  The  interest  whi 
Mr.  Heritage  feels  in  school  affairs  has  led  h 
to  serve  as  a  member  of  the  school  board  a 
ill  addition  for  some  years  he  held  off: 
as  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  also  a  pror 
nent  candidate  for  the  legislature  in  the  f 
of  1908. 


H:ERIN'G,  M.  D.,  henry  H.— An  hon( 
able  record  as  a  soldier  in  the  Union  army  a 
a  subseqiTcnt  gratifying  success  in  the  pract: 
of  his  chosen  profession  entitle  Dr.  Hering 
r;ink  among  the  prominent  physicians  and  si 
geons  of  Blue  Earth  county,  where,  since  the  a 
tumn  of  1876,  he  has  engaged  in  the  practice 
medicine  at  Lake  Crystal.  Coming  here  a  you: 
man  without  friends  or  infiuence,  he  gradua' 
became  known  as  a  promising  physician,  and  t 
success  of  his  efforts  with'  his  first  patients  1 
to  a  steady  increase  of  patronage.  Eventua 
he  acquired  a  valuable  practice  and  an  envial 
reputation  for  skill  in  the  diagnosis  of  disc's 
and  in  the  application  of  remedial  agencies. 

Born  in  Greene  county,  Ohio,  in  1842,  I 
Hering  was  a  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  (Steel 
Hering,  the  former  of  Swiss  descent  and  t 
latter  of  Scotch  lineage.  Both  spent  their  \h 
in  Ohio,  where  the  mother  died  in  1868  and  t 
father  in  1886.  During  the  years  of  his  activi 
he  had  engaged  in  farming  and  for  a  time  ma 
a  specialty  of  raising  grapes  and  manufacturi 
wine.  As  a  boy  Henry  H.  Hering  attended  i 
public  schools  near  the  family  home,  but  he  Vi 
not  satisfied  to  remain  content  with  such  edu( 
tional  advantages  as  they  offered.  Early  in  1 
he  aspired  to  a  thorough  education  and  a  knoi 
edge  of  the  medical  profession,  and  these  aspi: 
lions  found  their  culmination  in  the  conferri 
upon  him  of  the  degree  of  A.  B.  by  Miami  U 
vevsity  at  Oxford  in  1865  and  the  degree  of 
D.J  by  one  of  the  medical  colleges  of  Ohio  i 
uated  at  Cincinnati,  Miami  Medical  college. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


429 


The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  found  Dr.  Her- 
iug  a  stanch  believer  in  the  Union  cause.  As  a 
private  he  enlisted  October  8,  1861,  in  the  sev- 
enty-fourth Ohio  Infantry,  and  out  of  the  ranks 
he  rose  to  be  adjutant  of  the  regiment.  Among 
the  engagements  in  which  he  participated  were 
those  at  Perryville,  Stone  river,  Hoover's  Gap, 
Chickamaugua  and  Chattanooga.  After  the  last- 
riamed  battle  he  re-enlisted  for  three  years,  and 
foon  received  a  commission  as  captain  of  Com- 
pany E.  With  his  men  he  accompanied  Sherman 
on  the  march  through  Georgia,  but  after  the 
Atlanta  campaign  he  resigned  at  Savannah, 
Georgia,  on  account  of  the  malaria.  Returning 
to  the  north  he  accepted  a  position  as  house 
physician  of  the  Sailor's  and  Soldiers'  Orphans 
home  at  Xenia,  Ohio,  where  he  remained  for  one 
year,  and  meanwhile  also  acted  as  county  coroner 
and  health  officer  of  the  city  for  three  3'ears. 
During  the  autumn  of  1868  he  came  to  Lake 
Crystal,  Minnesota.  Along  the  line  of  his  pro- 
fession he  holds  membership  with  the  American, 
State,  Minnesota  Valley  and  Blue  Earth  County 
Medical  Associations,  in  the  work  of  all  of  which 
he  maintains  a  warm  interest.  Fraternally  he  is 
associated  with  the  Masons,  the  Knights  of 
Pythias  and  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America, 
while  in  religious  views  he  is  liberal,  a  friend 
of  all  movements  for  the  uplifting  of  humanitj^, 
and  especially  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  church,  which  his  wife  at- 
tends. Mrs.  Hering  was  formerly  Miss  Alice 
Murphy  and  was  born  in  Ohio,  where  she  re- 
ceived excellent  advantages  in  girlhood,  grad- 
uating at  the  Xenia  Conservatory  of  Music,  and 
in  1873  having  conferred  upon  her  the  degree 
of  Professor  of  Music.  Afterward  Mrs.  Hering 
occupied  the  chair  of  chief  instructor  in  a  con- 
servatory, of  music  at  Madison,  Indiana.  Their 
niarriage  was  solemnized  in  Xenia  in  March  of 
1874,  since  which  time  they  have  made  their 
home  at  Lake  Crystal,  and  have  won  a  high  place 
in  the  best  society  of  the  county.  In  his  profes- 
sion Dr.  Hering  ever  has  been  progressive,  and 
it  is  his  ambition  to  keep  in  touch  with  every 
advance  made  in  the  science  of  therapeutics.  As 
a  consequence  of  his  constant  thoughtful  read- 
ing of  current  medical  literature  he  keeps  abreast 
with  the  profession   and   has   the   advantage   of 


possessing  the  experience  of  age,  supplemented 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  most  modern  methods  and 
the  latest  developments  in  the  science. 


HERZBERG,  C.  F.— Various  interests  have 
lent  variety  and  brought  a  fair  degree  of  success 
to  the  life  of  C.  F.  Herzberg,  who  ranks  among 
the  leading  farmers  of  Lyra  township  and  owns 
a  valuable  farm  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Good 
Thunder.  The  property  comprises  two  hundred 
twenty-one  and  one-half  acres  of  land,  one  hund- 
red and  sixty-five  acres  of  which  are  under  the 
plow,  the  balance  being  land  that  is  heavily  tim- 
bered. Since  the  estate  came  into  the  possession 
of  the  present  owner,  it  has  been  his  aim  .to 
maintain  the  soil  in  a  high  state  of  fertility, 
keep  the  fences  and  buildings  in  repair,  and  add 
such  improvements  as  the  growing  needs  suggest 
and  circumstances  justify.  Besides  managing  the 
property  he  holds  office  as  manager  of  the 
creamery  of  Lyra  township,  which  he  assisted  in 
establishing  and  the  success  of  which  he  has  pro- 
moted by  sagacious  leadership. 

As  the  name  indicates,  the  Herzberg  family  is 
of  German  origin.  Ferdinand  and  Fredericka 
(Heim)  Herzberg  wore  born  and  reared  in  the 
Fatherland,  whence  they  emigrated  during  early 
3'ears  to  the  new  world,  settling  in  Wisconsin, 
where  after  1858  he  engaged  in  agricultural 
pursuits.  Prior  to  emigration  he  had  served  in 
the  army  of  Germany,  but  after  coming  to  the 
United  States  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
farming.  For  twenty-two  busy  years  he  carried 
on  farming  in  Wisconsin,  but  in  1880  he  came 
to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  (1908)  he  now 
makes  his  home  in  Decoria  township,  honored  by 
a  large  circle  of  acquaintances. 

Primarily  educated  in  country  schools,  Mr. 
Herzberg  later  attended  the  graded  schools  of 
Watertown,  Wisconsin.  His  early  memories  clus- 
ter around  Wisconsin,  where  he  was  born  in 
Dodge  county  January  28,  1859,  and  where  he 
remained  until  starting  out  for  himself  in  1877. 
For  seven  years  he  was  employed  in  operating 
stationary  engines  and  for  seven  years  he  was 
in  the  employ  of  the  Mapleton  Milling  Company 
in  Blue  Earth,  county.     Since  leaving  the  milling 


430 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


business  lie  has  been  interested  in  farming  and 
in  running  the  creamerj'.  In  politics  he  has 
allied  himself  with  the  Democratic  party. 
For  four  years  he  held  office  as  chairman  of  the 
board  of  township  trustees  of  Decoria  township 
and  manager  of  the  Beauford  Creamery  for  nine 
years  and  in  addition  he  has  officiated  as  clerk 
of  the  school  district.  Last  fall  he  was  elected 
representative  to  the  legislature  from  this  county. 
During  1887  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Mary  Kowalk,  a  native  of  Germany.  They  have 
four  children,  Hugo,  Walter,  Bertha  ( ?)  and 
Freda,  all  at  home.  The  family  hold  member- 
ship in  the  Lutheran  church  and  the  children 
have  been  reared  in  the  faith  of  that  denomina- 
tion. 

HILGEES,  JACOB.— A  recent  recruit  to  the 
business  contingent  of  Mankato  is  Jacob  Hil- 
gers  who  embarked  in  a  general  livery  business 
at  115  East  Main  street,  October  1,  1906.  Mr. 
Ililgers  gained  both  his  love  for  horses  and  his 
knowledge  of  their  proper  care  on  the  farm  in 
Lime  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  this  state, 
where  he  was  born  May  13,  1878.  He  is  of 
German  ancestry,  and  his  parents,  Barkley  and 
Mary  (Eoemer)  Hilgers,  were  born  in  Prussia, 
immigrating  to  this  country  in  the  early  history 
of  Wisconsin,  and  from  that  state  coming  to 
Lime  township,  where  the  father  died  when  his 
son,  Jacob,  was  but  nine  months  old.  The  mother 
survives,  as  do  also  three  of  her  four  children: 
Albert,  a  farmer  of  Lime  township;  Gertrude, 
v/ife  of  Mathew  Lensce,  of  the  same  township; 
and  Jacob,  Rose,  the  twin  of  Jacob,  died  in 
early   childhood. 

Educated  in  the  district  schools  of  Lime 
township,  and  the  German  parochial  school  of 
Mankato,  Jacob  Hilgers,  pursued  the  quiet  exis- 
tence of  the  farmer  until  coming  to  Mankato  in 
1906.  He  has  one  of  the  best  liveries  in  the 
town,  and  can  furnish  a  variety  of  equipages  and 
fine,  well  cared  for  horses.  Many  things  sustain 
his  expectation  of  large  success,  among  them  a 
kindly  disposition,  a  desire  to  be  of  practical  use 
in  the  world,  and  a  keen  appreciation  of  his  du- 
ties and  responsibilities  as  a  citizen  in  an  en- 
terprising and  progressive  community.  The 
marriage    of    Mr.    Hilgers    and    Clara    Albert, 


daughter  of  George  Albert  of  Mankato,  occurre 
November  25,  1902.  There  are  two  children  c 
this  union:  Lauretta  P.,  and  Margaret  6.  Mi 
Hilgers  is  a  member  of  the  Catholic  Benevoleii 
Society,  and  is  otherwise  identified  with  the  sc 
cial  and  general  life  of  the  community. 


HILTOlsr,  HENEY  S.— The  gifts  of  industrj 
perseverence,  good  judgment,  integrity  and  pa 
triotism  which  found  convincing  expression  in  th 
life  of  Henry  S.  Hilton,  inevitably  won  him  per 
manent  place  among  the  upbuilders  of  Blu 
Earth  county,  who  labored  for  its  welfare  fror 
before  the  Civil  war  until  the  dawn  of  a  ne\ 
century.  January  22,  1901,  this  able  millei 
farmer,  civil  engineer  and  soldier  passed  beyoni 
the  ken  of  those  who  had  known  and  honorei 
him,  and  whose  memories  are  fragrant  with  th 
sense  of  his  upright  and  noble  nature. 

Born  in  far  off  Maine,  January  7,  1842,  Mi 
Hilton  -svas  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Smith' 
Hilton,  the  former  of  whom  died  in  Maine  an{ 
the  latter  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  He  wa 
one  in  a  family  of  seven  children,  and  he  wa 
reared  in  comparative  poverty  and  obliged  h 
assume  early  responsibility.  He  acquired  thi 
rudiments  of  education  in  the  country  school 
of  Maine,  but  by  nature  a  student,  he  late 
availed  himself  of  every  possible  opportunity  o 
acquiring  knowledge.  Seeking  a  larger  opportu 
nity  for  his  powers  than  seemed  to  present  itsel 
iji  his  native  state,  he  mo^-ed  from  Maine  in  ver; 
early  manhood,  and  after  a  short  sojourn  in  Wis 
consin  took  up  his  residence  in  Mankato  wher 
he  became  interested  in  saw-milling  until  th' 
outbreak  of  the  Civil  war.  He  later  settled  oj 
the  farm  in  McPherson  township  now  owned  b; 
liis  family  and  here  he  devoted  his  energies  t^ 
general  agriculture  and  stock-raising  with  excel 
lent  financial  results.  He  also  practiced  civi 
engineering  to  a  considerable  extent.  His  farm 
however,  was  his  chief  source  of  profit  and  de 
light,  and  he  improved  it  continually,  addin 
each  year  to  its  effectiveness  as  a  place  of  resi 
dence,  and  its  facilities  as  a  money  making  prop 
osition.  He  was  a  lover  of  trees  and  the  bean 
tiful  things  of  nature,  and  was  very  orderly  i: 
his  methods  and  habits. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


431 


August  17j  1866,  Mr.  Hilton  married  Kath- 
erine  Donahue,  a  native  of  Illinois,  and  of  the 
union  there  were  seven  children,  four  sons  and 
three  daughters:  Eben,  a  resident  of  St.  Claire; 
Charley,  a  painter;  William,  a  civil  engineer; 
Georgiana,  wife  of  Thomas  .McCarty,  a  farmer 
of  Northern  Dakota;  Libby  of  Portland,  Oregon; 
Margaret  and  Ralph,  the  last  two  living  on  the 
home  farm.  Mr.  Hilton  was  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  in  religion  was  a  Congregationalist. 

In  1861  Mr.  Hilton  enlisted  in  Company  H, 
Second  Minnesota. 


HIMMELMAN,  EDWARD  J.— In  the  com- 
modious, comfortable  and  modem  hostelry  of 
Mankato,  known  as  the  Hotel  Heinrich,  is  seen 
a  fitting  tribute  to  the  large-hearted  hospitality 
and  generous  nature  of  one  of  the  best  known 
pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  County,  Henry  Himmel- 
man,  whose  son,  Edward  J.,  is  its  builder,  pro- 
prietor and  developer.  He  is  a  native  of  the  city 
to  which  he  has  given  so  noteworthy  an  institu- 
tion, the  date  of  his  birth  beingthe  28th  of  July, 
1864.  His  father's  long  and  prominent  connec- 
tion with  the  community  is  detailed  elsewhere  in 
this  work. 

Edward  J.  Himmelman  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  and  at  the  State  Normal  School 
of  Mankato,  at  the  conclusion  of  this  literary 
training  pursuing  a  business  course  ?it  the  Com- 
mercial College,  of  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin.  For 
a  time  thereafter  he  was  a  bookkeeper,  and  then 
entered  the  United  States  Mail  Service  as  a  pos- 
tal clerk  on  the  Northwestern  Railroad  running 
between  St.  Paul  and  Council  Bluffs.  After 
holding  that  position  for  several  years  he  was 
connected  with  a  mattress  manufacturing  com- 
pany, and  later  became  bookkeeper  for  a  braneli 
Oi  the  Val  Blatz  Brewing  Company  at  Sioux 
City,  Iowa.  In  1903  Mr.  Himmelman  again 
fixed  his  residence  in  Mankato,  becoming  pro- 
prietor of  the  City  Hotel.  In  1904-5  he  built 
and  furnished  the  Hotel  Heinrich,  opening  it  to 
the  public  July  2d  of  the  latter  year. 

The  Hotel  Heinrich  was  equipped  in  modern 
style,  and  from  the  first  has  attracted  a  superior 
class  of  patrons,  its  trade  having  so  greatly  in- 
creased that  during  1907  Mr.  Himmelman  will 


be  obliged  to  materially  expand  its  accommoda- 
tions. His  up-to-date  methods  and  pleasing  per- 
sonality have  firmly  established  an  institution  of 
which  the  entire  county  is  proud,  and  which  ma- 
terially adds  to  Mankato'e  prestige  as  a  live  and 
progressive  place. 

Edward  J.  Himmelman  was  married  in  1887, 
to  Miss  Marguerite  Leader,  a  native  of  Nicol- 
let county,  Minnesota,  by  whom  he  has  had  two 
children — Troy  E.  and  Fred  H.  Since  becom- 
ing of  age  he  has  been  an  active  member  of  the 
I.  0.  0.  F.  and  has  also  been  long  identified  with 
the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  B.  P.  0.  B. 


HIMMELMAN,  SR.,  HENRY— In  the  early 
period  of  the  colonization  of  Blue  Earth  county 
it  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  region  to  attract 
as  permanent  settlers  an  unusually  keen,  alert, 
honorable  and  energetic  class  of  pioneers.  Des- 
tiny favored  the  upbuilding  of  this  section  of  the 
northwest  in  bringing  hither  men  and  women  of 
exceptional  character  and  refinement.  With  gen- 
ial good-fellowship  these  pioneers  labored  side  by 
side,  working  for  the  same  great  end,  the  up- 
building of  the  commonwealth  and  giving  of  ad- 
vantages to  their  children.  No  discouragements 
were  allowed  to  turn  them  from  their  great  pur- 
pose. No  obstacles  daunted  their  steady  cour- 
a,'Te.  Nn  hardships  of  severe  winters  whose  bit- 
ter blasts  brought  suffering  into  rudely-construet- 
ecl  frontier  homes  could  turn  them  aside  from 
their  ambition.  Such  men  and  women  form  the 
bulwark  on  which  rests  the  stability  of  our  gov- 
ernment and  the  happiness  of  its  homes. 

Not  the  least  prominent  of  the  pioneers  who 
aided  in  securing  the  early  business  development 
of  Mankato  and  who  established  the  citj^'s  for- 
tunes upon  a  steady  commercial  basis,  was 
Henry  Himmelman,  Sr.,  who  belongs  to  that 
class  of  German-American  citizens  so  helpful  in 
the  growth  of  the  northwest.  Born  at  Elsass, 
Germany,  in  1834,  he  received  in  boyhood  the 
advantages  of  the  excellent  German  schools  of 
his  home  town.  In  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  his  country  he  left  school  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  and  began  an  apprenticeship  to  a 
trade,  his  chosen  occupation  being  that  of  a 
wagon-maker.     While   still   a   mere   lad   he  had 


432 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


heard  much  concerning  the  opportunities  offered 
by  America  and  had  resolved  to  seek  a  home  in 
the  new  world.  Accordingly  in  1854  he  crossed 
the  ocean  and  Joined  friends  at  St.  Charles,  Mis- 
souri, where  he  remained  a  year. 

Coming  to  Minnesota  in  1855,  Mr.  Himmelman 
joined  the  few  settlers  who  were  established 
within  the  limits  of  Blue  Earth  county.  The 
following  year  many  settlers  joined  the  little 
throng  of  pioneers  and  it  then  became  practi- 
cable to  begin  work  at  his  trade,  so  he  opened 
a  wagon  and  blacksmith  shop  on  the  present  site 
of  the  City  Hotel.  For  some  years  he  followed 
his  trade  with  patient  industry  and,  while  no 
great  gains  came  to  him  from  the  work,  he  se- 
cured a  comfortable  income  and  won  many 
friends  among  his  patrons.  In  18G9  he  built  the 
City  Hotel.  Through  working  at  his  trade  he 
had  made  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  among 
the  farmers,  who  for  market  purposes  frequented 
Mankato  from  a  vast  radius  of  country  in  every 
direction.  It  was  natural  that  these  should  be- 
come his  best  customers  when  he  opened  his 
hotel,  and  for  years  his  hostelry  was  the  head- 
quarters of  the  agriculturists  of  the  county.  A 
few  years  after  building  the  hotel  he  erected  the 
Union  hall.  In  1890  he  became  interested  in 
the  manufacture  of  mattresses,  and  as  that  busi- 
ness grew  it  demanded  his  entire  attention,  so  he 
tnrned  over  the  management  of  the  hotel  to  his 
son,  Henry,  Jr.,  who  made  the  house  a  popular 
resort  for  traveling  men  as  well  as  the  general 
public.  While  conducting  business  pursuits  Mr. 
Himmelman  maintained  the  deepest  interest  in 
civic  affairs,  rendered  faithful  service  for  fifteen 
years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen, 
and  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  in  Mankato  to 
the  present  time  (covering  a  period  of  more  than 
fifty  years)  he  has  been  a  steadfast  contributor 
to  all  movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  educa- 
tional, business  and  moral  interests  of  the  city. 

When  Mr.  Himmelman  came  to  Mankato  he 
was  a  single  man.  His  marriage  took  place 
August  8,  1858,  and  united  him  with  Pauline 
Heinze,  who  was  born  in  Germany  February  5, 
1840.  At  the  age  of  ten  j'ears  she  came  to  the 
United  States  with  her  pajents,  settling  near 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  but  removing  to  Man- 
kato,  Minnesota,  during  August  of  1856.     Five 


children  were  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Himmelman,  four  now  living,  namely:  Mrs. 
H.  Engelbert,  of  St.  Paul;  Mrs.  Ida  Schabert, 
of  St.  Paul  Park;  and  Henry  and  E.  J.,  both 
of  Mankato.  Mrs.  Himmelman  was  survived  by 
tliree  brothers  and  a  sister,  namely:  F.  G.  and 
Frederick  Heinze,  of  Mankato;  Herman  Heinze, 
of  Oklahoma,  and  Mrs.  Charles  Forster,  of  Eagle 
Lake.  With  her  husband  she  enjoyed  a  wide 
acquaintance  and  a  circle  of  warm  personal 
friends,  and  was  particularly  interested  in  the 
work  of  the  old  settlers'  association,  in  which  she 
was  a  prominent  member  for  many  years. 


HIMMELMAN,  JE.,  HENEY.— A  benefiter 
to  a  certain  extent  of  the  natural  law  of  pro- 
gression as  existing  between  a  father  who  es- 
tablishes and  a  son  who  builds  upon  the  foun- 
dations of  business,  Henry  Himmelman  has  used 
well  his  opportunities,  and  is  recognized  as  a 
young  business  man  of  many  excellent  quaUtes, 
whose  wealth  is  as  much  a  matter  of  character 
as  of  finance,  and  whose  future  will  be  guided 
by  a  well  directed  and  well  controlled  mind.  A 
native  of  Mankato,  and  born  January  35,  1861, 
Mr.  Himmelman  is  the  namesake  of  a  father 
long  identified  with  the  history  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  and  mention  of  'whom  may  be  found 
elsewhere  in  this  work. 

The  educational  chances  of  Mr.  Himmelman 
were  varied  and  practical,  and  included  the  pub- 
lie  schools  of  Mankato,  the  State  Normal  School, 
and  the  German  School  at  New  Ulm,  this  state. 
His  primary  independence  was  secured  as  a  clerk 
in  the  county  auditor's  office  during  vacation 
time,  and  he  later  worked  in  a  grocery,  and  in 
the  Cit}'  Hotel,  the  latter  established  by  his 
father  in  1868.  A  natural  aptitude  for  hotel 
keeping  resulted  in  his  assumption  of  the  man- 
agement of  the  hotel  May  10,  1886,  and  for 
seventeen  years  he  was  thus  employed,  main- 
tnining  a  hostelry  which  fully  met  the  require- 
ments of  latter  day  trade,  and  won  for  the  man- 
ager the  credit  of  possessing  courtesy,  consid- 
eration and  kindred  invaluable  qualities  to  the 
man  who  makes  a  success  of  dealing  with  the 
traveling  public.  While  still  connected  with  the 
hotel  Mr.   Himmelman  proved  his  many   sided- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


433 


ness  and  resource  by  purchasing  the  plant  of  the 
Linseed  Oil  Company,  of  Mankato,  converting 
the  same  into  a  brewery,  and  as  president  of  the 
Standard  Brewing  Company  operating  the  same 
imtil  disposing  of  the  plant  to  eastern  parties  in 
1D06.  The  brewing  venture  proved  a  profitable 
investment,  and  for  the  last  three  3'ears  of  its 
existence  was  managed  by  ilr.  Himmelman. 

Although  no  partisan,  Mr.  Himmelman  is  a 
broad  gauged  Democrat,  and  among  other  offices 
has  held  that  of  member  of  the  city  council  for 
several  years,  having  also  been  connected  with 
the  board  of  public  works  and  charter  commis- 
sion. He  is  a"  member  of  the  Conimercial  Club 
and  Driving  Park  vlssociation,  and  fraternally 
is  connected  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,'  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Sons  of  Her- 
man. The  marriage  of  Mr.  Himmelman  and 
T/juise  Schuerer,  daughter  of  Curl  and  Chris- 
tina (Emil)  Schuerer,  of  Watertown,  Wisconsin, 
occurred  May  4,  1886.  Of  the  union  there  are 
three  children:  Florence  P.,  Louise  L.  and 
Farry  W.  In  a  community  which  has  watched 
his  progress  through  boyhood  to  the  period  of 
business  responsibility  and  achievement,  j\lr. 
Himmelman  is  held  in  high  esteem,  and  his 
genial  and  unaffected  nature  has  drawn  to  him 
the  closer  regard  of  a  host  of  friends. 


HODAPP,  PHILIP.— Honored  among  the 
pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  for  years 
he  successfully  followed  agricultural  pursuits  and 
where  now  in  the  city  of  Mankato  he  enjoys  a 
well-earned  rest  from  former  activities,  Philip 
Hodapp  is  a  native  of  German)-,  born  April  23, 
1833,  to  Wendell  and  Mary  Ann  (Hunt)  Ho- 
dapp. When  four  years  of  age  he  was  Ijrought 
ill  the  United  States  by  his  parents,  who  settled 
near  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  the  father  spending 
the  balance  of  his  life  as  a  farmer  and  merchant 
of  that  locality.  In  the  family  of  thirteen  child- 
ren Philip  was  third  in  order  of  birth,  and  he 
is  one  of  four  survivors,  the  others  being  as  fol- 
lows: Wenzel,  of  Xorth  ]\rankato;  ilary,  Mrs. 
John  B.  Thro,  of  St.  Charles,  j\Iiss(mri;  and 
Joseph,  who  makes   Mankato  his  home. 

When  the  family  settled  in  Missouri  the  con- 
ditions were  those  of  the  remote  frontier.     Few 


schools  as  yet  had  been  established,  hence  the 
children  were  deprived  of  the  educational  ad- 
vantages they  desired.  However,  Philip  Hodapp 
■was  enabled  to  attend  school  four  winter  terms 
in  St.  Charles  and  this,  with  the  addition  of 
study  on  his  own  part,  forms  the  basis  of  his 
present  varied  knowledge.  During  1853  he  mar- 
ried Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  ]M.  Borgman, 
a  year  after  his  marriage  he  remained  on  the 
heme  farm,  but  in  1854  he  joined  a  colony  of 
five  families  bound  for  the  northwest.  The 
party  started  up  the  Mississippi  by  steamboat, 
with  St.  Paul  as  their  destination.  All  went 
well  as  far  as  Eock  Island,  but  there  the  boat 
stranded  and  the  passengers  were  detained  for 
six  weeks.  It  was  during  the  period  of  enforced 
Plaiting  that  sickness  broke  out  on  the  boat  and 
I\Irs.  Hodapp's  sister.  Gertrude,  wife  of  Michael 
Hunt,  died  of  cholera.  jMr.  Hodapp  also  was 
stricken,  but  recovered  after  a  serious  illnes.^. 
Early  in  the  month  of  October  the  boat  cast 
anchor  at  St.  Paul,  and  a  few  days  later  the 
party  proceeded  to  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
they   arrived   October  15,   1854. 

Securing  a  claim  of  timber  land  two  miles 
northeast  of  ^Mankato  in  Mankato  township,  Mr. 
Hodapp  diligently  entered  upon  the  arduous 
task  of  clearing  and  improving  the  property.  It 
speaks  well  for  his  work  when  the  statement  is 
made  that  many  people  consider  his  farm  one  of 
the  very  finest  in  this  part  of  the  county.  The 
substantial  buildings  were  erected  under  his  su- 
pervision. From  year  to  year  improvements  were 
made  as  their  need  was  suggested  to  this  wide- 
awake and  capable  farmer.  Ample  facilities 
were  provided  for  the  storage  of  grain  and  the 
shelter  of  stock.  Proper  methods  of  tillage 
brought  the  land  to  a  high  state  of  productive- 
ness. Everything  about  tlie  place  indicates  the 
tlirift  of  the  owner.  After  years  of  constant 
and  fruitful  application.  "Mr.  Hodapp  retired 
from  manual  labors  and  now  resides  in  a  com- 
fortable home  on  Xorth  Fourth  street,  Mankato, 
where  he  enjoys  the  merited  fruits  of  his  years 
of  labor. 

From  the  earliest  period  of  ]iis  identification 
vith  Blue  Earth  county  Mr.  Hodapp  has  been 
interested  in  every  movement  for  the  local  wel- 
fare.    Time  and  again  it  floulil  have  been  pos- 


434 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


sible  for  him  to  hold  such  offices  as  were  within 
the  gift  of  his  acquaintances,  but  he  jDreferred 
to  remain  in  the  political  background,  and 
tcok  no  part  whatever  in  politics  aside  from 
voting  the  Democratic  ticket.  Almost  the  only 
position  he  ever  consented  to  fill  was  that  of 
treasurer  of  Mankato  township,  which  he  has 
held  for  nineteen  years.  When  he  came  to  this 
county  he  realized  that  a  place  for  religious 
worship  was  one  of  the  needs  of  the  settlers  and 
he  was  eager  to  enlist  others  in  such  a  project, 
the  result  being  that  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Leo  Lamm's  shoeshop  and  it  was  there  decided 
to  enter  upon  the  work  of  church -building.  Mr. 
Hodapp  was  one  of  those  who  selected  the  site 
for  building  and  secured  the  lots  where  St. 
I'eter  and   St.   Paul's  church  now  stands. 

The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Hodapp  died  in 
March,  1875,  leaving  the  follovring-named  child- 
ren: John  B.,  and  Mary  (Mrs.  George  May), 
both  of  Mankato;  Henry,  living  in  Decoria  town- 
shi^3.  Blue  Earth  county;  George,  who  cultivates 
the  old  homestead  in  Mankato  township ;  Otilia, 
deceased;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Joseph  Bruels 
and  lives  in  St.  Paul;  Philip,  now  of  St.  Charles, 
Missouri;  Frank,  and  Gertrude  (Mrs.  Joseph 
Keber),  both  of  Madelia,  Watonwan  county, 
Minnesota.  In  1876  Mr.  Hodapp  was  again 
married,  his  wife  being  Anna  C,  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  Bruels,  natives  of  Germany, 
and  lifelong  residents  of  that  country.  It  has 
been  Mr.  Hodapp's  privilege  to  witness  the 
growth  and  progress  of  Blue  Earth  county  for 
more  than  fifty  years.  Remarkable,  indeed,  has 
been  the  transformation  during  that  period,  and 
his  industrious  hands  aided  in  the  change 
wrought  by  the  pioneers.  Lack  of  supplies  and 
the  rigor  of  the  winters  combined  to  make  those 
early  years  full  of  toil.  Those  who  enjoy  the  civili- 
zation of  the  twentieth  century  cannot  realize 
how  much  they  owe  to  the  fortitude  and  endur- 
ance of  the  early  settlers,  who  made  possible  the 
comforts  of  the  present.  More  than  once  it  was 
necessary  for  Mr.  Hodapp  to  drive  oxen  to  St. 
Paul  for  supplies  when  the  thermometer  was  be- 
low zero  and  when  from  eleven  to  fifteen  days 
were  required  for  the  trip.  Flour  cost  $18  per 
barrel  and  other  necessities  were  proportionately 
high.      Conveniences   were    conspicuous   by   their 


aljsence.  The  improved  machinery  in  common 
use  on  the  farms  now  was  unloiown  then  and 
most  of  the  work  was  done  by  hand.  Wild 
game  furnished  the  families  with  their  meat, 
S((uirrel  being  the  most  frequent  addition  to 
the  table.  A  coffee-mill  was  used  for  the  grind- 
ing of  corn,  as  grist-mills  had  not  yet  been  built 
and  feed-grinders  were  unknown.  In  listening 
to  a  recital  from  Mr.  Hodapp  of  the  trials  and 
privations  of  the  '50's,  one  feels  that  a  special 
tribute  of  praise  belongs  to  the  pioneers  who 
passed  through  such  tribulations  and  cheerfully 
bore  such  sacrifices  in  order  that  their  sons  and 
daughters  might  be  blessed  by  their  labors. 


HODSON,  JAMES.  —  Xotwithstanding  the 
fact  that  he  is  of  foreign  nativity,  Mr.  Hodson 
has  exhibited  a  deep  and  constant  devotion  to 
the  interests  of  his  adopted  country  and  particu- 
larly is  interested  in  the  progress  of  his  home 
city  of  Mankato,  where  he  ranks  among  the  pro- 
gressive business  men  and  the  leading  members 
of  the  Commercial  Club.  The  shire  of  Derby  in 
England  is  his  native  locality,  and  July  13,  1850, 
the  date  of  his  birth.  At  the  age  of  ten  years 
he  was  brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  par- 
ents, Joseph  and  Ellen  (Shaw)  Hodson,  settling 
with  them  on  a  tract  of  unimproved  land  near 
Hebron,  .Nicollet  county,  Minnesota. 

The  improvement  of  the  land  occupied  the 
attention  of  the  father  during  the  remainder  of 
his  active  years,  and  he  passed  away  at  the  old 
homestead  in  1889  at  the  age  of  seventy-one 
years.  Three  years  before  his  demise  occurred 
the  death  of  his  wife  at  the  age  of  sixty-six.  Of 
their  four  children  one  died  in  infancy,  and  three 
are  now  living,  namely:  Thomas,  who  remains 
ir  Xicollet  county;  Henry,  who  removed  to  South 
Dakota;  and  James,  who  makes  Mankato  his 
home.  The  last-named  received  a  district-school 
education  and  remained  on  the  old  home  farm 
iu  Nicollet  county  until  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
'.vhen  lie  began  independent  farming  near  his 
father's  place.  There  he  continued  until  1901, 
wl;en  he  came  to  Mankato,  and  embarked  in  the 
dragon  and  implement  business  at  No.  Il4  East 
Main  street.  The  beginning  of  the  business  was 
small,  but  it  was  conducted  with  such  skill,  ac- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


435 


curacy  and  judgment  that  an  extension  of  the 
trade  necessarily  followed.  The  original  part- 
ners of  Mr.  Hodson  were  E.  il.  Znel  and  M. 
C.  Johnson,  the  firm  title  heing  James  Hodson 
&  Co.,  but  in  October  of  1903  the  interests  of 
Messrs.  Zuel  and  Johnson  were  purchased  by  W. 
E.  Davey,  and  since  then  the  title  has  been 
Hodson  &  Davey. 

During  June  of  1903  the  business  was  removed 
to  more  spacious  quarters  at  Xos.  314-316  South 
Front  street,  where  now  may  be  seen  a  full  line 
of  buggies,  farm  wagons,  windmills,  pumps,  and 
farm  implements  of  every  description,  and  in 
addition  the  firm,  acts  as  agent  for  gasoline  en- 
gines and  threshing  machines  of  the  most  modern 
types.  While  giving  his  attention  principally  tO 
the  careful  and  successful  conduct  of  the  busi- 
ness, j\Ir.  Hodson  finds  leisure  to  assist  in  the 
activities  of  JIankato  and  Blue  Earth  county 
and  freely  contributes  to  the  aid  of  progressive 
enterprises.  Believing  that  the  strongest  and 
most  permanent  growth  of  a  town  cannot  be 
effected  without  the  aid  of  religion,  he  always 
has  been  interested  in  work  for  the  uplifting  of 
humanity  by  means  of  the  Gospel,  and  in  his 
own  denomination  and  congregation  (the  Cen- 
tenary Methodist  Episcopal  church)  he  has  be- 
come known  for  his  earnest"  advocacy  of  plans 
for  the  furtherance  of  Sunday-school,  missionary 
and  other  organizations  allied  with  the  church. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Hodson  took  place 
October  22,  1871,  and  united  him  with  Minerva 
A.  Trask.  daughter  of  D.  P.  K.  Trask,  of  Bel- 
grade, iSTicollet  county,  this  state.  Mrs.  Hodson 
died  in  1889  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years. 
Xine  children  were  born  of  that  union,  and  all 
are  still  living  except  the  sixth  child,  Louis  H., 
who  died  in  1892  at  the  age  of  twentj'-one  years. 
The  other  members  of  the  family  are  named  as 
follows:  Mary  E.,  who  married  Merrill  Furrier 
and  lives  at  IJlen,  Clay  county,  Minnesota;  Ida 
L.,  'Mrs.  John  0.  Kenne,  of  Mankato  township. 
Blue  Earth  county;  George  A.,  of  Mankato; 
Frank  H.,  now  living  in  Stark  count}',  North 
Dakota;  Joseph  E.,  whose  home  is  at  IJlen,  Min- 
nesota; Delia,  who  married  W.  N.  Dunham  and 
lives  at  Dlen;  and  Chester  A.  and  Schuyler  C, 
both  of  whom  are  now  in  Los  Angeles,  Califor- 


nia. The  present  wife  of  Mr.  Hodson,  whom  he 
married  March  8,  1893,  was  formerly  Addie 
Furrier,  of  Belgrade  township,  Nicollet  county, 
and  by  this  union  there  is  a  son.  Jay  W.  Hodson. 


HOHJIAJSr,  JOHN  H.— Mr.  Hohman  is  a 
young  man  of  ability,  energy'  and  metropolitan 
ideas,  and  his  long  training  in  St.  Louis  has 
given  him  that  familiarity  with  the  business, 
which,  added  to  his  personal  talents,  explains 
the'  remarkable  expansion  of  his  enterprise  which 
is  now  only  two  years  of  age.  He  is  a  native  of 
the  city  named,  born  April  27,  18G9,  son  of  Cas- 
per and  Theresa  (Buesclier)  Hohman,  both  na- 
tives of  German]' — the  father  coming  to  the 
United  States  in  1848  and  the  mother,  in  18.55. 
They  sjient  the  active  years  of  their  maturity  in 
the  cit}-  of  St.  Louis,  where  Ca.-^per  Hohman  died 
in  ]\Iarch,  1893,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  and 
his  good  wife  survived  him  until  January,  1898, 
when  she  too  departed  into  the  Future,  the  years 
of  her  earthly  life  having  been  fiftj'-three. 

John  H.  Hohman  is  the  oldest  in  a  family  of 
four  children  (all  living),  and  obtained  his  men- 
tal instruction  in  the  parochial  schools  of  his  na- 
tive city  and  at  the  St.  Louis  University.  When 
quite  a  young  man  he  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  bank,  store,  office  and  bar  fixtures  and 
continued  in  these  lines  for  fourteen  years.  In 
1005  he  located  in  ^lankato,  and,  in  partner- 
ship with  Otto  Lamm,  conducted  for  several 
years  the  leading  establishment  for  the  sale  of 
furniture  and  house  furnishings  in  the  city,  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  in  the  state,  later 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  management  of  the 
Standard  Brewery  company  of  Mankato. 

On  November  20,  1901,  Mr.  Hohman  was  mar- 
ried to  ^liss  Carrie  Lamm,  daughter  of  the  late 
Stephen  Lamm,  of  ilankato,  and  sister  of  his 
business  partner.  They  have  been  the  parents  of 
two  children — Lambertine  and  Aloysius  J.  Fra- 
ternally Mr.  Hohman  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Columbus  and  the  Elks.  Personally,  he  is  so- 
ciable, popular  and  able,  and  in  his  broader  re- 
lations a  progressive  citizen  of  noteworthy  enter- 
prise and  judgment. 


436 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


liOLBROOK,  Dr.  JOHX  S.— It  can  no  longer 
be  said  that  the  bright  sons  of  the  famil)',  who 
have  a  longing  for  professional  life,  turn  in- 
stinctively to  the  law,  for  Mith  the  remarkable 
advaneemeni;  of  scientific  and  clinical  methods 
in  medical  education  and  practice,  to  creditably 
occupy  the  field  of  the  physician  and  surgeon 
are  required  an  intellectual  grasp,  a  steadfast- 
ness of  purpose  and  a  broad  endowment  of  na- 
tural attainments,  which  are  bringing  into  the 
j-anks  of  his  profession  some  of  the  strongest 
and  finest  of  the  country's  young  men.  A  good 
illustration  of  this  type,  who  would  have  made 
a  success  in  any  other  profession  as  well,  is  Dr. 
John  S.  Holbrook,  of  Mankato,  this  county. 

Dr.  Holbrook  is  a  native  of  Wisconsin  and 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Arkansas,  that  State, 
on  the  17th  of  December,  1874,  being  the  son 
of  Willard  F.,  and  Mary  (Ames)  Holbrook, 
both  natives  of  Massachusetts.  They  came  to 
Wisconsin  in  1850,  where  I\Ir.  Holbrook  engaged 
iu  the  manufacture  of  furniture  and  died  in 
1887,  at  the  age  of  sixty  years,  his  widow  pass- 
ing away  in  1889,  aged  forty-nine.  There  were 
five  hoys  and  five  girls  in  their  family,  of  whom 
John   S.,   was   the   sixth   child. 

The  Doctor's  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  town  and  at 
the  jSTorthfield  (Minn.)  High  School,  his  medi- 
cal course  at  the  University  of  Minnesota  cover- 
ing the  years  1893-6.  He  began  his  practice 
as  resident  Physician  at  St.  Mary's  hospital, 
Minneapolis,  and  in  June,  1887,  located  at  Man- 
kato, his  large  clientele  being  among  the  best 
people  in  the  city. 

Dr.  Holbrook's  high  standing  is  well  es- 
tablished, both  by  his  patrons  and  his  fellow  prac- 
titioners. He  has  been  president  of  the  Blue 
Earth  Medical  Society,  and  is  actively  identified 
with  the  State  Medical  Association,  the  American 
Medical  Association,  and  the  Minnesota  Yalley 
Medical  Society.  He  was  married  in  August 
1900,  to  Miss  Mary  Whiting,  of  Northfield,  Min- 
nesota, daughter  of  Dr.  D.  J.  Whiting,  of  that 
place,  and  is  the  father  of  three  children,  Mari- 
gen  Louise,  Eleanor  and  Mary  Ames. 


HOL]\IES,  ROY  F.— To  be  in  thorough  har- 
mony with  one's  work,  to  find  one's  self  an 
integTal  part  of  it,  and  in  inclination  insep- 
arable from  its  obligations  and  compensations,  is 
perhaps  as  enviable  a  destiny  as  rewards  the 
fiiiving  of  mankind.  Such  is  the  good  fortune 
of  Roy  F.  Holmes,  an  enthusiastic  lover  of  all 
things  musical,  and  who,  with  his  music,  his 
scund  ■  producing  instruments,  and  his  business 
fa]-  sightedness,  is  one  of  Mankato's  most  earnest 
aij'd  painstaking  merchants.  Mr.  Holmes  was 
born  in  Sparta,  Monroe  county,  Wisconsin,  July 
20,  1881,  and  is  a  son  of  Clark  L.  and  Jennie 
(Butler)  Holmes,  the  former  born  in  New  York 
state,  and  the  latter  in  Wisconsin.  The  family 
was  established  in  Mankato  in  1886,  in  which 
year  the  elder  Holmes  engaged  in  the  book  and 
stationery  business  at  321  South  Front  street,  in 
partnership  with  John  H.  Stewart.  The  firm 
of  Stewart  &  Holmes  caters  to  a  large  and  de- 
pendable trade  in  the  town  and  county,  and  carry 
a  complete  line  of  the  commodities  associated 
with  the  stationers  business.  The  three  children 
in  the  family  of  Mr.  Holmes  are  Grace,  Roy  P. 
and  Harr)-,  all  of  whom  owe  their  educational 
and  other  chances  to  the  city  of  Mankato. 

Roy  F.  Holmes  early  evidenced  musical  ability, 
and  Avhile  attending  the  public  schools  availed 
himself  of  every  opportunity  to  cultivate  his 
accomplishment.  Finally  he  bought  a  half  in- 
terest in  the  music  store  of  George  B.  Owen,  and 
in  1905  purchased  the  business  outright,  since 
then  conducting  it  alone  with  signal  success. 
His  show  rooms  contain  many  of  the  best  makes 
of  pianos,  including  the  time  honored  Stein  way 
and  Chickering,  as  well  as  the  Bush  &  Geru 
and  Estey  makes,  and  a  specialty  is  made  of  tun- 
ing, repair  work.  Mr.  Holmes  has  supplied 
many  homes  in  the  county  with  instruments,  and 
lias  done  much  to  encourage  the  purchase  of  thost 
of  high  grade  and  lasting  quality.  His  enthusiasm 
for  music  is  contageous,  and  his  success  is  large- 
ly hinged  upon  this  admirable  business  quali' 
fication. 

Mr.  Holmes  is  a  young  man  of  fine  mora 
character  and  high  business  and  general  ideall 
His  opportunities  for  usefulness  extend  t( 
the  Young  Men's   Christian  Association  and  thi 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


4ii7 


Baptist  church,  he  being  a  director  in  the  form- 
er, and  chorister  in  the  latter  for  the  past  four 
years.  Fraternally  lie  is  connected  with  the 
lioval  Arcanum,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the 
C'cmmercial  Clulj.  His  marriage  to  Greta  Han- 
son occurred  in  August,  1906,  Mrs.  Holmes 
being  a  daughter  of  A.  L.  Hanson,  of  Faribault, 
Jiinnesota.  Jlr.  Holmes  commands  the  respect 
and  good  will  of  all  who  know  him,  and  his 
gentle  and  particularly  earnest  life  in  fulfilling 
a  noble  and  far  reaching  purpose  in  the  city  of 
liis  adoption. 


HOTALIiYG,  HERBERT  CLEVELAND.— 
The  Blue  "Earth  County  Enterprise,  which  was 
established  as  a  weekly  journal  in  1888  under  the 
title  of  the  Mapleton  Enterprise,  has  been 
conducted  by  Mr.  Hotaling  from  the  period  of 
its  establishment  to  the  present  time,  and 
under  his  tactful,  resourceful  management  the 
paper  has  attained  a  high  degree  of  popularity 
throughout  this  locality.  Various  other  ven- 
tures, journalistic  and  commercial,  have  engaged 
tlie  attention  of  Jlr.  Hotaling,  who  for  several 
years  was  interested  in  the  milling  business. 
During  1900,  he  purchased  the  Amboy  Herald, 
v,-hich  he  owned  for  a  number  of  years.  ^Vlso 
for  some  time  he  owned  the  Independent-Times 
at  Hutchinson,  Minnesota,  selling  the  same 
in  1905,  since  which  time  lie  has  devoted  him- 
self principally  to  the  paper  in  his  home  town. 
From  boyhood  he  has  been  familiar  with  the 
printing  business  and  has  displayed  genuine 
ability  in  journalistic  affairs.  As  a  young  man 
he  was  prominent  in  prohibition  work  and  in 
1888,  served  as  secretary  of  the  prohibition  state 
convention  being  the  youngest  person  ever  se- 
lected for  the  position.  In  August  of  18S.5, 
he  established  the  Third  District  Messenger,  a 
temperance  publication,  at  JIankato,  from  which 
city  the  paper  was  distributed  throughout  this 
part  of  the  state. 

The  birth  of  Herbert  C.  Hotaling  occurred 
at  Mankato,  Minnasota,  August  5,  1865,  his  par- 
ents being  Benjamin  F.  and  Mary  Jane  (Cleve- 
land) Hotaling,,  the  former  a  tinner  by  trade 
and  the  owner  of  a  hardware  store  in  Mankato. 
Eis  ancestors   came    to  this   country   from   Hol- 


land. As  early  as  1856.  he  established  the  first 
hardware  store  at  Hastings,  Minnesota,  and  two 
years  later  he  started  the  first  businuss  of  the 
kind  in  ^Mankato.  Hmler  a  commission  from  Alex- 
ander Ramsey,  ^linnesota's  war  governor,  dated 
September  1."),  l,S{i-2,  he  served  as  second  lieu- 
tenant of  the  ilaidcato  Home  Guard,  Minnesota 
A'olunteer  militia :  also  under  date  of  Januaiy 
29,  1863,  he  was  commissioned  first  lieutenanr 
of  the  Twelfth  Regiment,  Minnesota  state  militia, 
holding  his  commission  during  the  period  of  the 
Indian  troubles.  His  wife,  who  was  a  distant 
relative  of  the  late  president  Grover  Cleveland, 
descended  from  Revolutionary  stock,  five  of 
her  grandfather's  brothers  having  served  in  the 
ci'ntinental  army.  Her  education  was  received 
in  the  Wesleyan  seminary  at  Lima,  Xew  York. 
During  the  Indian  outbreak  of  lS6'i,  she  re- 
mained at  her  home  in  ilankato  where  she  hos- 
pitably furnished  food  and  shelter  for  many 
of  the  refugees  from  the  frontier. 

After  having  been  educated  in  the  Mankato 
public  schooU  and  the  IMankato  State  Normal 
school,  Herbert  C.  Hotaling  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  printing  business  of  which  he  had 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  in  boyhood.  At 
the  a,no  of  sixteen  years  he  entered  the  print- 
ing office  of  .1.  C.  Wise,  Sr.,  where  he  worked 
for  R\e  years  in  learning  the  trade.  Next  he  was 
employed  on  papers  in  Janesville,  Waseca  and 
New  Richland,  iliunesota,  and  for  a  short  time 
edited  the  Lake  .Alill=  North  Star  at  Lake 
^lills,  Iowa.  In  188S  he  came  to  Mapleton, 
^iinnesota,  where  he  has  since  been  associated 
with  the  publication  of  the  Enterprise.  The 
paper  is  Republican  in  political  views,  but 
places  loyalty  to  city  and  county  above  par- 
tisanship. In  1903,  he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
board  of  education  of  ^fapleton,  which  office  he 
sUU  fills.  Since  1901,  he  has  been  a  director  of 
the  :Mapleton  State  Bank.  During  1904-05  he 
was  village  recorder,  from  ISOT  to  1900  he  was 
chief  of  the  fire  department,  and  since  1902  he 
has  acted  as  resident  director  of  the  ]\Iankato 
Citizens'  Telephone  ('(.impany.  Elected  presi- 
dent of  the  public  library  of  ^lapleton  in  1900, 
he  aided  in  the  establishing  of  a  first  class 
library  and  secured  a  donation  from  Andrew  Car- 
regie  for  the  library  building. 


438 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


The  fraternal  associations  of  Mr.  Hotaling 
are  numerous.  He  has  been  connected  with  the 
Good  Templars,  Sons  of  Temperance,  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Masons,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  and  is  also  a  member  of 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks  at  Manliato, 
No.  225.  The  work  of  all  of  these  organizations 
has  enlisted  his  sympathy  and  received  his 
support.  June  26,  1889,  at  Brownton,  Minne- 
sota, he  married  Janie  L.  Mann,  by  whom  he  has 
a  daughter,  Mary  Evelyn.  Prior  to  her  marriage 
Mrs.  Hotaling  engaged  in  teaching,  for  which 
v/ork  she  was  prepared  by  a  course  of  training 
in  the  Mankato  State  Normal  school.  For  years 
she  has  been  prominent  in  secret  society  work  and 
in  1897  she  was  honored  with  the  office  of  State 
president  of  the  Rebekah  assembly  of  Minnesota. 
The  Eastern  Star  also  has  had  the  advantage  of 
her  membership  and  her  efficient  labors  as  worthy 
matron,  besides  which  she  has  held  the  ofEice 
ol:  deputy  grand  matron  and  represented  her 
lodge  in  the  grand  chapter. 


HOIJK,  R.  L. — The  vice-president  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Good  Thunder  is  one  of  the  lead- 
ing men  of  his  home  town,  where  he  has  numer- 
ous interests,  financial  and  commercial.  Ever 
since  starting  out  in  life  for  himself  he  has 
made  his  home  in  this  village  and  meanwhile  has 
risen  from  poverty  'to  independence,  being  now 
the  owner  of  large  farming  interests  as  well  as 
other  business  activities  representing  large  in- 
vestments. It  was  not  until  1905  that  lie  em- 
barked in  the  milling  business.  During  that  year 
he  erected  a  modern  mill  with  splendid  equip- 
ments and  since  then  he  has  established  a  repu- 
tation for  the  quality  of  milling  done  at  the 
plant.  The  mill  adds  an  important  industry  to 
the  business  interests  of  the  town  and  contrib- 
utes to   the  general  prosperity. 

Born  in  Cass  county,  Indiana,  April  15,  1854, 
R.  L.  Houk  is  a  son  of  Levi  and  Jane  (Thorn- 
ton) Houk,  natives  respectively  of  Pennsylvania 
and  Ohio,  and  after  1860  residents  of  Lyra  town- 
ship. The  farm  upon  which  they  settled  was 
brought  to    a   high   state   of   cultivation   through 


the  efforts  of  the  father,  assisted  by  his  familj 
and  he  continued  theie  until  his  death.  His  wif 
passed  away  in  1884.  At  the  time  of  coming  t 
Blue  Earth  county  R.  L.  Houk  was  only  six  year 
of  age,  and  his  education  was  secured  in  Lyri 
township,  where  he  was  a  pupil  in  a  school  hel( 
in  a  log  cabin.  The  equipment  of  the  school  wa 
meagre  and  the  methods  of  instruction  wen 
crude,  but  he  succeeded  in  gaining  a  fair  edu 
cation  and  is  now  a  well-informed  man. 

The  marriage  of  R.  L.  Houk  took  place  h 
1881  and  united  him  with  Miss  Emma  Chapel 
daughter  of  John  D.  and  Catherine  Chapel,  o: 
eastern  birth  and  ancestry.  Prior  to  the  Civi 
war  Mr.  Chapel  brought  his  family  to  Minnesoti 
and  settled  in  Faribault  county,  where  he  tool 
up  unimproved  land  and  gave  his  attention  t( 
the  improving  of  a  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Houl 
are  the  parents  of  three  daughters.  Jessie  is  i 
graduate  of  the  State  Normal  at  Mankato  anc 
also  attended  the  State  University  for  one  year 
since  which  time  she  has  devoted  herself  to  edu 
cational  work.  Nellie  also  is  a  graduate  of  th( 
Normal  at  Mankato  and  a  successful  schoo 
teacher.  Fanny  is  a  graduate  of  the  Mankat( 
high  school  and  possesses  ability  as  a  musician. 

Through '  all  of  his  active  life  Mr.  Houk  hai 
retained  farming  interests  and  he  now  owns  thre( 
hundred  and  ninety  acres  in  Lyra  township  ad 
jacent  to  the  village  of  Good  Thunder.  Fertiht; 
of  the  soil  as  well  as  proximity  to  town  give  f 
high  valuation  to  the  land,  of  which  two  hund 
red  acres  arc  under  cultivation,  the  balance  beinj 
utilized  for  pasture.  For  thirty  years  or  mori 
Mr.  Houk  has  engaged  in  buying  and  selling 
grain  and  he  also  has  extensive  interests  in  thi 
buying  and  shipping  of  cattle  and  hogs.  Tb 
first  grain  elevator  at  Good  Thunder  was  oper 
ated  under  his  management  and  he  has  alway' 
ranked  among  the  most  proficient  judges  of  th' 
grain  and  stock  markets.  In  politics  he  vote 
with  the  Republican  party.  In  addition  to  hold 
ing  school  offices  he  has  served  as  president  o 
Die  village  and  as  president  of  the  council.  H 
is  not  identified  with  any  fraternities  nor  is  he 
communicant  in  any  denomination,  but  he  con 
tributes  to  the  work  of  the  Episcopal  churcl 
with   which   his   wife   was   identified. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


439 


HOWARD,  EICHAED  E.— Were  a  volume  to 
be  compiled  concerning  the  experiences  of  Mr. 
Howard  in  the  west  in  an  early  day,  much  in- 
teresting information  might  be  preserved  for  fu- 
ture generations  bearing  upon  a  period  now 
merging  into  the  remote  past.  Even  now  the 
hardships  and  sufferings  of  pioneers  are  not  fully 
understood  or  appreciated  by  those  enjoying  the 
civilization  of  the  twentieth  century,  and  still 
less  will  their  perils  be  realized  by  those  who  fol- 
low after  us.  The  introduction  of  civilization, 
the  incoming  of  settlers,  the  building  of  railroads, 
and  the  springing  np  of  villages  have  caused  a 
iransformation  in  the  lives  of  the  people,  and 
have  thrown  pioneer  experiences  into  the  region 
of  romance. 

Although  he  has  lived  in  the  west  and  north- 
west ever  since  early  life,  Mr.  Howard  is  ot 
eastern  birth  and  parentage  and  was  born  in 
Saratoga  county,  Sew  York,  May  15,  1831.  His 
parents,  Peter  and  Elioda  (Randall)  Howard, 
were  natives  respectively  of  Massachusetts  and 
A'ermont  and  died  in  Xew  York,  where  they  had 
engaged  in  farming  pursuits.  The  father  was 
bcrn  in  1800  and  attained  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years.  Of  his  seven  children  the  third  in 
oi'der  of  birth  was  Richard  E.,  who  gTew  to  man- 
hood upon  a  farm  and  received  such  advantages 
as  the  early  schools  afforded.  In  the  spring  of 
1854  he  left  his  home  in  Xew  York  going  to 
Dodge  county,  Wisconsin  where  he  was  employed 
in  the  well  business  until  the  spring  of  1857, 
M"hen  he  went  to  Miami  county,  Kansas,  and  pre- 
empted a  quarter  section  of  land  five  miles  west 
of  Osawatomie  remaining  there  improving  it  until 
the  spring  of  1859,  when  he  with  many  others 
crossed  the  plains  to  Pikes  Peak  and  Denver  re- 
maining in  that  mining  country  till  the  fall  of 
18G1,  when  he  went  to  New  Mexico.  In  the 
fall  of  18G2  he  secured  employment  with  the 
government,  first  on  the  fortifications,  then  pro- 
moted to  overseer  of  the  tool  rooms,  and  from 
there  was  transferred  to  the  clothing  department, 
and  from  there  to  the  Ordnance  department, 
where  he  was  night  watch  for  about  one  year. 
He  then  bought  an  interest  in  a  train  of  seven 
wagons  with  five  yoke  of  oxen  to  each  wagon, 
received  employment  for  some  -time  hauling  in- 
terior freight,  he  then  made  two  trips  from  Fort 


Union,  Xew  ]\Iexico,  to  Lawrence,  Kansas,  where 
]i€  loaded  with  corn  for  the  Guvei-nment,  which 
he  hauled  back  to  Fort  Union,  a  distance  of 
about  six  hundred  miles.  This  work  was  done 
at  great  peril  as  the  Indians  were  numerous  and 
exceedingly  hostile.  The  route  of  the  government 
■wagons  lay  through  a  region  almost  wholly  unin- 
habited. Savages  lurked  in  the  distance  ready 
to  harass  or  attack  the  expedition.  At  one  time 
three  of  the  men  accompanying  Mr.  Howard  were 
scalped  by  the  red  men,  and  his  own  life  was  in 
the  greatest  peril,  but  he  continued  his  work  un- 
di.smayed  by  dangers,  and  remained  in  the  gov- 
ernment employ  until  the  close  of  the  war  termi- 
nated the  need  for  his  services.  Thereupon  he 
returned  to  Johnson  county,  Kansas,  and  took 
up  farming  pursuits.  For  some  years  he  re- 
■mained  u.nmarried,  but  eventually  he  returned  to 
Wisconsin  for  a  wife,  being  united  in  Dodge 
county  with  Miss  Minerva  Bayley,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Hannah  (Horr)  Bayley  and  a 
first  cousin  of  Congressman  B.  G.  Horr  of  Michi- 
gan. Her  parents  were  born  and  reared  in  Ver- 
mont, but  lioeame  pioneers  of  Wisconsin  and  de- 
veloped a  farm  in  Dodge  county,  wliere  they  re- 
mained during  the  greater  part  of  their  lives. 

For  six  years  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Howard 
engaged  in  farming  in  Johnson  county,  Kansas. 
During  18T7  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in 
Vernon  Center  township.  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  since  he  has  developed  and  improved  a 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  still  in  his 
possession.  Upon  retiring  from  farm  pursuits 
in  1906  he  came  to  the  village  of  Vernon  Center 
and  purchased  property  in  the  east  part  of  town, 
where  he  now  resides.  In  his  family  there  are 
six  children,  Blanche  M.,  L.  Rose,  Gustava,  Ed- 
win R.  and  Benjamin  L.  Ever  since  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Republican  party  he  has  supported 
its  principles.  In  local  politics  he  has  been 
A^-armly  interested  and  has  served  with  efficiency 
as  a  member  of  tlie  town  board,  also  in  other 
offices  of  trust. 


HOWIESOK,  WILLIAM.— Xumbered  among 
the  progressive  farmers  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
and  exhibiting  as  an  agriculturist  the  steady,  re- 
solute forcefulness  of  the  Scot  supplementing  the 


440 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


typical  energy  of  the  American,  we  mention  the 
name  of  William  Howieson,  who  has  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance throughout  Mapleton  township.  The 
son  of  a  pioneer  now  passed  from  among  us,  he 
has  been  a  resident  of  Blue  Earth  county  ever 
since  boyhood  and  has  risen  to  a  position  among 
its  prosperous  farmers.  In  fact,  there  are  few 
agriculturists  in  the  county  more  widely  known 
and  none  more  highly  honored  than  William 
Howieson  and  his  brothers,  Thomas,  James  A. 
and  Andrew,  all  of  whom  own  important  landed 
interests.  The  eldest  of  the  brothers,  Thomas, 
is  a  Scotsman  by  birth  as  well  as  by  parentage, 
and  now  makes  his  home  in  Lyra  township, 
M'here  he  cultivates  a  farm  of  three  hundred  and 
twenty  acres.  James  A.,  who  received  fine  edu- 
cational advantages  in  the  State  IN'ormal  Uni- 
versity at  Mankato  and  Curtis  Brothers  College 
in  Minneapolis,  has  taiight  school  during  the 
winter  for  twenty-four  years,  while  the  inter- 
vening summers  have  been  given  to  farm  pur- 
suits, and  he  owns  an  improved  farm  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Andrew  occupies  land 
adjoining  the  original  homestead  '  and  has  the 
title  to  two  hundred  and  forty  acres.  William 
remains  on  the  old  homestead,  owning  two  hund- 
red and  forty  acres.  These  four  sons  form  the 
family  circle,  with  the  addition  of  a  sister,  Eliza, 
now  the  wife  of  W.  L.  McQueen,  of  Mapleton. 

The  father  of  this  family,  Andrew  Howieson, 
was  a  native  of  Pifeshire,  and  married  Janet 
Henderson,  of  the  shire  of  Inverness.  During 
the  year  1857  they  came  to  America  and  settled 
in  Wisconsin,  where  they  remained  some  seven 
years.  During  their  residence  at  Waupun,  that 
state  a  son  was  born  whom  they  named  William, 
and  whose  birth  occurred  July  IT,  1S59.  When 
he  was  five  years  old  the  family  came  to  Min- 
nesota and  since  then  he  has  lived  on  a  farm  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  The  father  died  February 
1,  1903,  and  the  mother  passed  from  earth  Sep- 
tember 16,  1906.  Honored  by  all  w^ho  knew 
them,  they  left  to  their  children  the  heritage  of . 
rtoble  characters,  imspotted  reputations  and  in- 
dustrious lives,  and  whatever  of  success  their 
descendants  may  achieve,  whatever  of  prominence 
the  future  may  bring  to- them,  not  a  little  of  the 
praise  for  their  success  may  be  given  to  the  stal- 
wart  Scotchman  and  his  gentle  helpmate,  whose 


self-sacrificing    devotion   rendered    possible    a   fu- 
ture   of   promise    and    prosperity    for    their    pos-' 

tcrity. 


HUBBARD,  JAY.— Is  a  man  who  has  al- 
ways shown  great  interest  in  the  affairs  of  cor- 
porations bearing  his  fathers  name,  and  the 
welfare  of  ]\Iankato  in  general. 

The  family  of  which  he  is  a  member  has  been 
influential  and  honored  for  many  years  in  thife 
part  of  Minnesota,  his  father,  the  late  Rens- 
selaer D.  Hubbard,  having  been  a  pioneer  in 
the  milling  business  at  Mankato,  where  he 
engaged  in  that  industry  until  his  death  ended 
his  successful  labors.  Born  in  the  city  where 
he  now  makes  his  home.  Jay  Hubbard  is  now 
in  the  prime  of  life,  his  birth  having  occurred 
January  8,  1871.  The  rudiments  of  his  educa- 
tion were  obtained  in  the  common  schools  and  in 
1890  he  was  graduated  from  the  high  school, 
after  wdiich  for  two  years  he  carried  on  the 
regular  studies  of  the  University  of  Minnesota. 
The  milling  enterprise  inaugurated  by  his  father 
early  engaged  his  attention  and  commanded 
liis  best  efforts.  For  a  time  he  was  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  the  Hubbard  Milling  company 
and  upon  the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded 
him  as  president  of  the  Hubbard-Palmer  Milling 
Company.  This  important  and  responsible  po- 
sition he  filled  until  1906,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  George  M.  Palmer  and  since  then  he  has  given 
his  efforts  to  other  lines  of  application.  He  is 
now  president  of  the  Hubbard  Company,  a 
corporation  to  handle  the  R.  D.  Hubbard  estate. 

For  some  years  Mr.  Hubbard  has  acted  as 
president  of  the  Heusner  Baking  Company  of 
Chicago,  he  is  also  treasurer  of  the  Hubbard 
&  Palmer  Company. 

The  qualities  of  Mr.  Hubbard  are  such  that 
he  is  well  adapted  to  the  management  of  large 
enterprises  and  averse  to  being  identified  with 
trivial  affairs.  He  has  always  entered  into  the 
management  of  large  affairs  with  enthusiasm 
and  earnestness,  and  has  proved  the  possession 
of  executive  ability  as  well  as  energy  and 
progressive    spirit. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Hubbard  was  sol- 
emnized   in    1898    and    united    him    with    Mary 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


441 


L.  Oeborn  of  Mankato,  who  died  in  1900.  Two 
j-ears  later  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Minnie  C.  Sehoyen,  and  their  union  has  been 
blessed  with  one  son,  Eenssclaer  D.  The  politi- 
cal views  of  Mr.  Hubbard  bring  him  into  sym- 
pathy with  tlie  Bepublican  party.  Ho^vever,  his 
interest  in  politics  is  that  of  a  public-spirited 
citizen  onl}-,  and  otficc-seeking  or  leadership  in 
local  party  matters  have  never  been  sought  by 
him. 


HUBBAED,  EENSSELABE  DEAN.— There 
is  no  personality  more  interesting  than  that  of 
the  self-made  business  man.  While  it  is  evident 
to  all  that  no  man  is  entirely  the  arbiter  of  his 
own  destiny,  but  to  a  large  degree  is  the  creature 
of  heredity,  environment  and  association,  yet 
some  there  are  with  the  will  power  to  overcome 
adverse  surroundings  and  carve  out  for  them- 
selves positions  of  honor  and  influence  in  their 
community;  such  men  may  appropriately  be  de- 
nominated self-made.  To  this  class  belonged  the 
late  E.  D.  Hubbard,  one  of  the  most  widely- 
known  and  influential  men  who  ever  selected 
Minnesota  as  the  center  of  their  commercial  ac- 
tivities. It  was  his  good  fortune  to  be  descended 
from  colonial  ancestry  of  the  finest  type,  promi- 
nent in  the  early  history  of  Xew  England.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  immed'ate  family  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  while  standing  high  in  a  farm- 
ing community,  possessed  limited  means,  and  thus 
he  was  forced  by  dint  of  circumstances  to  do 
without  an  education,  instead  of  which  he  left 
home  at  the  age  of  fifteen  to  make  his  ovm.  way 
in  the  world.  From  that  time  forward  he  de- 
pended upon  his  unaided  exertions  for  whatever 
of  success  he  achieved.  The  fact  that  he  became 
wealthy  and  eminent  proves  that  he  possessed 
rare  qualities  of  mind  and  stability  of  character. 

The  life  which  this  article  depicts  began  in 
Maryland  township,  OtsegO'  county,  Xew  York, 
December  14,  1837,  in  the  farm  home  of  Oliver 
R.  and  Lavinia  (Chase)  Hubbard,  natives  of 
Connecticut.  The  close  of  earth's  activities  came 
in  Mankato,  Minnesota,  in  1905,  in  the  midst  of 
scenes  far  removed  from  those  of  boyhood  and 
early  youth.  Between  these  two  dates  there  was 
compressed    volumes    of    personal    history,    from 


which  we  glean  the  most  salient  points.  After 
having  studied  for  a  few  years  in  district  schools 
and  for  a  few  months  in  a  select  school,  at  the 
ago  of  fifteen  years  the  youth  began  to  earn  his 
livelihood,  his  first  work  being  with  a  sur\eying 
party  engaged  in  locating  the  Albany  &  Susqhe- 
hanna  Eailroad  (now  the  Delaware  &  Hudson 
Canal  Company).  In  the  spring  of  1854  he 
sought  the  far-distant  shores  of  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  soon  secured  work  as  a  farm  hand  in  the 
Sacramento  valley.  Out  of  his  wages  of  $50  per 
2iionth  within  two  years  he  had  saved  $1,13G,  all 
of  which  he  sent  home  to  his  parents. 

After  a  venture  at  farming  rendered  vmsue- 
cessful  by  reason  of  a  drought,  in  August  of 
1857  Mr.  Hubbard  went  to  the  Humboldt  river 
country  and  began  to  trade  with  the  immigrants. 
In  July  of  the  next  year  he  went  to  the  Fraser 
river  in  British  Columbia  at  the  time  of  the  ex- 
citement caused  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  that 
region.  During  the  fall  of  1859  he  returned  to 
the  east  and  visited  his  old  hoiue.  March  of 
1860  found  him  again  in  Sacramento,  where  he 
secured  a  clerkship  in  a  grocery  at  $50  per  month 
and  in  four  months  was  promoted  to  be  head 
manager  at  a  salary  of  $160  per  month.  In 
January  of  1863  he  went  back  to  New  York  in- 
tending to  enlist  in  the  Union  army,  but  was 
prostrated  by  a  severe  attack  of  pneumonia  on 
the  journey,  and  thus  was  rendered  unfit  for 
military  duty.  Settling  at  Sidney  Plains,  New 
York,  he  engaged  in  the  raising  of  tobacco  for 
two  years.  In  the  fall  of  1866  he  removed  to 
Corey,  Pennsylvania,  and  embarked  in  the  gro- 
cery business,  meeting  with  such  success  that  his 
original  capital  of  $2,000  in  four  years  had  en- 
abled him  to  clear  $30,000.  During  1870  he 
made  another  trip  to  California,  with  the  in- 
tention of  starting  a  bank,  but  he  found  condi- 
tions unfavorable,  and  returned  to  the  east,  after 
which  he  spent  some  time  investigating  various 
parts  of  the  country  in  search  of  a  suitable  lo- 
cation. 

Chance  directed  j\lr.  Hubbard  to  Mankato,  with 
whose  prospects  he  was  so  pleased  that  he  settled 
permanently  in  this  city.  Building  a  warehouse, 
he  engaged  in  the  wheat  business.  With  J.  A. 
Willard  and  J.  B.  Hubbell,  in  ilarch  of  1872 
he  organized  the  Mankato  Linseed  Oil  Company, 


442 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


of  which  for  eleven  years  he  was  the  manager. 
Meanwhile  in  1879  he  established  the  Mankato 
Milling  Company,  Avith  himself  as  president.  The 
plant  was  operated  as  E.  D.  Hubbard  &  Co.,  until 
1894,  when  the  name  was  changed  to  E.  D.  Hub- 
bard Milling  Company,  and  in  1897  the  title 
became  the  Hubbard  Milling  Company.  The 
early  type  of  the  stone  system  was  soon  replaced 
by  the  roller  process,  and  the  capacity  was  grad- 
ually increased  until  twelve  hundred  barrels 
comprised  the  daily  output.  Over  one  and  one- 
half  million  bushels  of  wheat  pass  through  the 
mill  every  year.  The  business  ability  and  sound 
judgment  of  the  founder  of  the  business  contri- 
buted largely  to  its  success  and  under  his  capable 
supervision  the  plant  became  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  important  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
state. 

The  management  of  the  mill  by  no  means  rep- 
resented the  limit  of  Mr.  Hubbard's  activities. 
JDuring  188?  he  associated  himself  with  J.  J. 
Thompson  in  the  starting  of  a  large  live  stock  busi- 
ness in  Custer  county,  Montana.  About  tiie  same 
time,  vrith  Capt.  T.  P.  Gere  as  a  partner,  he  es- 
tablished extensive  linseed  oil  works  at  Sioux 
Cit}',  which  in  1887  were  purchased  by  the  nation- 
al Linseed  Oil  trust  or  the  Kational  Linseed  Oil 
Company  of  U.  S.  and  he  was  made  president, 
which  position  he  held  for  two  years.  During 
1892  he  purchased  the  interest  of  S.  H.  Grannis 
in  the  firm  of  Grannis  &  Palmer  and  organized 
tlic  Hubbard  &  Palmer  Elevator  Company.  The 
concern  in  1897  was  again  incorporated  under 
the  title  of  Hnbbard,  Palmer  &  Co.  and  by  suc- 
cessive purchases  acquired  the  ownership  of  forty 
elevators  lying  on  the  line  of  the  Chicago,  St. 
Paul,  irinneapolis  &  Omaha  Eailroad.  These 
are  used  chiefly  for  the  storing  of  wheat  pur- 
chased from  neighboring  farmers  and  shipped 
to  the  mill  as  needed. 

The  first  marriage  of  E.  D.  Hubbard  took 
place  April  9,  18G3,  and  united  him  with  Mary 
E.  Cook,  daughter  of  Harvey  W.  Cook,  of  Otsego 
county,  ISTcw  York.  At  the  death  of  the  wife, 
which  occurred  April  21,  1877,  there  was  left  an 
only  son,  Jay,  who  is  represented  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Hub- 
bard was  solemnized  October  7th,  1878,  and 
united    him    with    Miss     Frank     GrifEith,    step- 


daughter of  the  late  James  Cannon.  Mrs.  Hub- 
bard survives  her  husband,  as  do  also  the  two 
daughters,  Katherine  Dean,  and  Mary  Esther, 
born  of  their  union.  Mary  Esther — now  married 
to  Edward  M.  Eichter  and  resides  in  Mankato. 


HUBEIG,  AUGUST  H.  —  Although  born 
across  the  water  in  a  land  familiar  to  his  ances- 
tors through  many  generations,  Mr.  Hubrig  has 
been  a  resident  of  Minnesota  during  almost  the 
entire  period  of  his  life,  and  he  belongs  to  that 
class  of  German-American  citizens  who  have  been 
so  important  a  factor  in  the  agricultural  develop- 
ment of  the  northwest.  Ever  since  attaining 
man's  estate  he  has  engaged  in  farming  in  Blue 
Earth  county  and  now  owns  a  farm  of  one  hund- 
red and  sixty  acres  on  section  fourteen.  Pleasant 
Mound  township.  The  land  has  the  advantage 
of  being  high  and  easily  drained,  which  renders 
jDOSsible  the  securing  of  fair  crops  even  in  wet 
seasons.  A  comfortable  residence  and  substan- 
tial barns  add  to  the  value  of  the  farm,  while 
well-kept  yards  and  a  splendid  orchard  of  apples, 
phmis  and  cherries  bespeak  the  thrift  and  energy 
of  the  owner. 

Genealogical  records  show  that  father  and  son, 
bearing  the  name  of  Henry  Hubrig,  engaged  in 
farming  in  Hamburg,  Crosla,  Germany.  The  son 
married  Lena  Smeagle,  a  native  of  Hamburg, 
where  their  child,  August  H.,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 8,  1864.  About  1869  the  family  crossed 
the  ocean  to  the  United  States  and  came  direct 
to  Minnesota,  settling  in  Eapidan  township.  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  the  father  continued  to 
make  his  home  until  death.  There  were  nine 
children  in  the  family,  of  whom  August  was  sixth 
in  order  of  birth,  and  he  was  reared  principally 
in  Eapidan  township,  where  he  attended  the  com- 
mon schools.  For  a  time  he  also  was  a  pupil  in 
the  Mankato  schools.  Since  .leaving  school  he 
has  been  a  reader  of  current  literature  and  has 
thus  added  to  his  stock  of  information.  Habits 
of  close  observation  also  have  been  helpful  to  him 
in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

Shortly  after  starting  put  to  earn  his  own  way 
in  the  world  Mr.  Hubrig  established  domestic 
ties,  being  married,  in  May  of  1889,  to  Miss 
Ida    Jobe,    who    was    born    in    Pleasant    Mound 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


443 


township,  being  thp  daughter  of  Ludwick  Jobe,  a 
resident  of  this  township.  Their  union  was 
blessed  by  the  following  named  children :  Ar- 
thur, Frieda,  Bruo,  Edwin,  Edvild,  Alvin,  Her- 
bert and  Lorina,  to  all  of  whom  are  being  given 
the  benefits  of  educational  advantages  in  order 
that  they  may  be  qualified  for  positions  of  social 
and  business  responsibility  in  the  world. 


HUBENER,  EDWARD.— The  Maple  Grove 
stock  farm  ranks  among  the  valuable  estates  ly- 
ing in  the  southern  part  of  Blue  Earth  county 
and  comprises  four  hundred  and  forty  acres  sit- 
uated on  section  fourteen,  Danville  township. 
The  entire  equipment  of  the  place  suggests  the 
thrift  and  sagacity  of  the  owner.  The  barn, 
resting  on  a  broad  stone  foundation,  is  a  model 
of  stability  and  no  finer  building  of  the  kind  is 
to  be  found  for  miles  in  any  direction.  The 
other  buildings  are  well  adapted  to  their  varied 
purposes  and  are  provided  with  all  the  conven- 
iences suggested  by  the  civilization  of  the  twen- 
tieth century.  The  attractive  effect  produced  by 
the  substantial  buildings  and  the  grove  of  stately 
trees  is  further  enhanced  by  the  well-tilled  fields 
of  waving  grain,  the  meadow  with  its  heavy 
crops  of  hay,  and  the  pastures  with  their  herds 
and  flocks  of  finely-bred  animals. 

The    owner    of    the    farm,    who    is    familiarly 
known  as  "Ed"  Hubener,  was  born  July  7,  1871, 
on  the  homestead    where   he    still    resides.      His 
father,  Martin,  an  Austrian  by  birth,  parentage 
and  education,  came  to  America  about  1850  and 
settled    in    Dodge    county,    "Wisconsin,    where    he 
soon  gained  a  knowledge   of  agriculture  as  con- 
ducted in  that  region.     Ten  years  were  spent  in 
that   county,    after   which    in    1860    he   came    to 
Minnesota    and    settled    in    Blue    Earth    county, 
where  he  homesteaded   a   claim   on  section  four- 
teen, Danville  township.     Later  he  added  to  the 
oi'iginal  tract  as  his  means  enabled  him  to   ac- 
quire   larger    possessions.      The    balance    of    his 
life  was  spent  on  this  place  and  here  he  died  in 
1887  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years.     His  wife, 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Wilhelmina  Egert, 
was   born   in    Pommern,    Germany,   and   died   in 
i?lue  Earth  county  in  1895  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
four  years. 


Of  the  eleven  children  of  Martin  and  Wilhel- 
mina Hubener,  the  youngest  eon  was  Edward, 
who  received  a  common-school  education  and 
early  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  every  de- 
tail connected  with  agricultural  pursuits.  After 
the  death  of  his  father  he  became  a  partner  in 
the  homestead,  the  title  to  which  he  subsequently 
acquired  by  purchasing  the  interests  of  the  otheT 
heirs.  February  13,  1900,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  Hattie  Coloff,  who  was  born  in 
Gej-many  and  thence  was  brought  to  America 
by  her  jjarents  at  the  age  of  two  years.  For  a 
time  the  family  lived  in  Iowa,  but  later  estab- 
lished their  home  in  LeSueur  county,  Minnesota. 
The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hubener  are  Ellis, 
Leonard  and  Lilly.  Mrs.  Hubener  is  a  woman 
of  exceptional  ability  and  great  industry.  No 
department  of  the  farm  holds  more  interest  for 
her  than  the  raising  of  poultry,  in  which  she  is 
an  expert.  Several  hundred  hens  are  kept  on 
the  farm,  a  large  number  of  these  being  the 
pure  black  Spanish  fowl.  The  guinea  fowls  also 
are  kept,  as  well  as  the  peacocks,  whose  graceful 
beauty  blends  harmoniously  with  the  background 
01  gi'oves  of  stately  trees. 

Percheron  horses  are  a  favorite  with  Mr.  Hub- 
ener and  he  has  five  registered  animals  of  this 
bleed  on  the  farm,  besides  a  registered  stallion, 
Choppin,  one  of  lams'  "Peaches  and  Cream," 
and  weighing  two  thousand  and  one  hundred 
and  ten  pounds.  This  is  said  by  competent 
judges  to  be  one  of  the  finest  animals  of  the 
kind  in  the  entire  state.  All  of  his  young  cat- 
tie  are  sired  by  thoroughbreds  and  in  their  ap- 
pearance give  evidence  of  being  unsurpassed  in 
breed.  On  the  farm  there  are  two  hundred'  head 
of  Shropshire  sheep  and  at  the  head  of  his  flock 
he  has  eight  registered  animals.  In  hogs  he  has 
only  full-blooded  Poland-Chinas  and  his  drove 
each  year  brings  in  a  substantial  addition  to  the 
family  income.  The  raising  of  stock  possesses 
great  interest  for  him,  and  with  rare  judgment 
he  has  limited  his  attention  to  the  finest  of 
blooded  stock,  keeping  no  other  kind  on  the  land. 
Energy  and  intelligence  already  have  brought 
him  gratifying  success,  with  the  promise  of  even 
gieater  returns  in  the  future,  while  at  the  same 
time  integrity  and  self-reliance  have  brought 
him  the  esteem  of  associates. 


444 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


HUFFMAN,  JAMES   W.— Very   early  in  the 
colonization    of    America    the    Huffman    family 
came    from    Holland    and    identified    themselves 
v.ith    the    agricultural    development    of   the    east. 
Solomon  Huffman  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and 
became  a  pioneer  of  Ohio,  where  his  son,  Leon- 
ard,  was   born    and   reared.      The    latter    accom- 
panied  an  uncle   to   Wisconsin   during  the   early 
settlement  of  that  state  and   removed  thence   to 
Minnesota  as  early  as  1856,  becoming  a  pioneer 
of  the  then  sparsely  settled  regions  of  the  north- 
west.    For  a  time  he  gave  his  attention  largely 
to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  for  which  pur- 
pose he  traveled  all  through  southern  Minnesota. 
iJuring  1861  he  pre-empted  a  claim  in  the  town- 
ship of  Winnebago,  Faribault  county,  and  began 
to  cultivate  the  virgin  soil.     While  the  necessity 
of    supporting    his    family    exempted    him    from 
military  service,  he  was  stanch  in  his  allegiance 
to   the  Union   and  freely   offered  his   aid  to   his 
country.     During  February   of   186.5   he  was   ac- 
cepted as  a  member  of  Company  F,  First  Eegi- 
ment    of    Minnesota    Heavy    Artillery.      Imme- 
diately he  went  to  the  front  with  the   regiment 
and   saw  service   at  Chattanooga,   where  he   died 
August   8,    1865.     His  widow   continued   on  the 
old   homestead  until   1894,  but  now,   at   the  age 
of  seventy-five  years,   makes  her  home   at   Cum- 
berland,   Wisconsin,   in  the   enjo3'ment   of  unim- 
paired mental   and   physical   faculties.     The   eld- 
est   of  her   children,    Electa,    is    deceased.      Two 
married    daughters    reside    in    Cumberland,    Wis- 
consin,   these   being    Sarah,    wife    of    Charles    E. 
Lewis,  and  Amanda,  wife  of  E.  A.  Hanscomb. 

The  only  son  in  the  family,  James  W.,  was 
born  in  Green  county,  Wisconsin,  October  13, 
1851,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  years  accompanied 
his  parents  to  Faribault  gounty,  Minnesota, 
v/here  he  remained  until  starting  out  for  himself 
in  1878.  Meantime  he  had  received  a  common- 
school  education  and  had  been  trained  to  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  farm  work.  Since  1889 
he  has  owned  and  occupied  what  was  formerly 
known  as  the  Frank  Andrews  place,  comprising 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  on  section  twenty- 
nine,  Shelby  township.  The  land  is  under  cul- 
tivation and  general  farm  crops  are  raised,  while 
considerable  attention  is  given  to  the  raising  of 
shoi'thorn    cattle,    Poland-China    hogs    and    ISTor- 


man  horses.     The  elevation  of  the  land   renders 
profitable  cultivation  a  possibility  and  ensures  to 
Ihe  owner  fair  crops   each   year.     The   residence 
is    a    modern   structure    and    the   barns    are   sub- 
stantial and  adapted  to  the  shelter  of  stock  and 
storage  of  grain.     The  comfortable  home  is  hos- 
pitably   presided    over    by    Mrs.    Huffman,    who 
prior  to  her  marriage  April  3,  1880  was  Albina 
Euss,  a  native  of  Athens  county,  Ohio,  but  after 
1865    a   resident   of  Blue   Earth    countv,    havino- 
come  hither  with  her  father,  Herbert  Euss.     The 
eldest  child  of  Mr.   and   Mrs.   Huffman  is  Burt, 
who   married    Myra   Jenkins   and   is    engaged    in 
farming   land    one   mile   west    of   the   old   home. 
The  only  daughter,  Grace,  is  the  wife  of  Frank 
Grant,  and  resides  at  Nashville,  this  state.     Tht 
younger   son,   Leonard,   is   yet   with   his   parents. 
In    fraternal   connections    Mr.    Huffman   is    asso- 
ciated   with    the-  Modern    Woodmen    of    America 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and 
in  the  local  lodge  of  the  latter  order  he  has  pass- 
ed all  of  the  chairs.     As  a  member  of  the  school 
beard  he  has  labored  to  promote  the  educational 
interests    of    the    district    and    has    accomplished 
nmch  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  local  schools. 


HUGHES,  THOMAS.— Without  the  aid  of 
capital  or  the  prestige  of  influential  friends, 
Thomas  Hughes  has  risen  to  a  position  of  promi- 
nence among  the  attorneys  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
v,-herc  he  has  an  important  and  increasing  prac- 
tice. Ever  since  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  1882 
he  has  been  associated  with  the  legal  talent  of 
Mankato  and  has  held  an  honored  place  among 
the  most  able  practitioners  of  the  city.  Elect- 
ed county  attorney  in  1896,  he  filled  the  office 
for  four  jears  with  the  greatest  efficiency.  For 
fifteen  yeai-s  he  acted  as  attorney  for  the  Man- 
kato Mutual  Building  and  Loan  Association,  and 
at  this  writing  he  is  attorney  for  its  successor, 
the  Mankato  Savings  and  Building  Association. 
In  addition  he  now  holds  the  position  of  presi- 
dent of  the  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  Land 
Company,  also  for  some  years  was  a  director  of 
the  Mankato  board  of  trade. 

The  Hughes  genealogy  is  traced  to  Wales, 
wliere  Henry  and  Eliza  Hughes  were  born,  the 
former   June   4,   1833,    and   the   latter   in    1831. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


445 


Early  in  life  they  came  to  the  United  States 
and  for  some  time  resided  at  Minersville,  Ohio, 
where  their  son,  Thomas,  was  born  September 
23,  1854.  Desirous  of  securing  a  tract  of  new 
land  in  the  northwest  the  family  came  to 
Jlinnesota  and  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county  in 
October,  1855.  June  of  the  following  year  found 
them  settled  on  a  farm  in  Cambria  township, 
and  here  Thomas  inissed  the  years  of  childhood 
and  youth,  meanwhile  learning  to  assist  his  fa- 
ther in  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  His  tastes, 
however,  did  not  turn  toward  farming  and  he 
determined  to  acquire  an  education  with  a  view 
to  professional  work.  After  having  completed 
(he  studies  of  the  common  schools,  in  1874,  he 
entered  the  preparatory  department  of  Carleton 
college  at  Xorthfield,  Minnesota,  from  wliich  in- 
stitution he  was  gTaduated  in  -the  class  of  1880 
with  the  degree  of  bachelor  of  arts.  Immediately 
afterward  he  took  up  the  study  of  the  law  in 
the  office  of  Waite  &'  Porter  at  ilankato,  and 
in  1882  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Minne- 
sota. From  February,  1884,  he  was  a  partner 
of  M.  G.  Willard  until  July,  1887,  after  which 
lie  practiced  by  hiinself  for  ten  years,  and  in 
1897  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother  Evan, 
which  has  continued  to  the  present  time.  A 
portion  of  his  capital  he  has  invited  in  ex- 
tensive real  estate  holdings  in  the  state,  and  in 
other  ways  he  has  identified  himself  with  the 
progress  of  the   commonwealth. 

The  political  opinions  of  Mr.  Hughes  bring 
him  into  active  co-operation,  witli  the  Repul)]i- 
can  party.  In  religion  he  belongs  w\W\  tlie 
Congregationalists,  in  whose  Sunday  school 
he  has  been  superintendent,  while  he  lias  filled 
the  offices  of  trustee  and  deacon  in  the  church. 
Fe\v  men  in  the  county  are  more  deeply  inter- 
ested in  history  than  he  and  probably  none  is 
iiiore  thoroughly  familiar  flith  the  subject.  Fre- 
quently he  has  prepared  addresses  of  great  value 
for  the  State  Historical  Society  and  the  Blue 
Earth  Territorial  Association,  and  in  addition 
ho  is  the  author  of  most  of  the  English  part 
of  the  work  entitled  "History  of  the  Welsh  in 
Minnesota,  which  was  published  in  1895,  to  him 
also  belongs  the  main  credit  of  editing  and 
publishing  the  volume  entitled  the  "Semi-Cen- 
tennial   of  Mankato"   to  the  pages  of  which   he 


contributed  largely.  His  marriage  took  place 
November  25,  1885,  and  united  him  with  Alice 
0.  Hills,  who  was  born  on  the  island  of  Jamaica, 
July  2,  18p6,  being  a  daughter  of  Amos  B. 
and  Sybil  (Rawson)  Hills,  both  of  whom  were 
born  near  Pekin,  Xew  York.  Two  sons,  Burton 
E.  and  Evan  Raymond,  bless  the  union  of  j\lr. 
and  ilrs.  Hughes,  and  both  of  these  were  born 
ac  Mankato,  wliere  they  ha\'e  received  the  best 
educational    advantasi-es    the    city    affords. 


HUGHES,  REV.  ROBERT.— Father  Hughes, 
pastor  of  St.  John's  Catholic  Church,  Mankato, 
needs  introduction  to  but  few  residents  of  this 
city  or  of  Blue  Earth  County,  as  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  his  large  mind  and  heart 
hnve  so  gone  out  to  the  various  communities  to 
which"  his  church  has  assigned  him,  that  thous- 
ands of  admirers  and  friends,  irrespective  of 
creed,  have  gone  to  the  Beyond  with  blessings 
for  him  on  their  lips,  or  are  still  living  to  do 
him  honor.  Generous,  charitable,  yet  firm  in 
his  stand  on  moral  questions,  he  is  richly  en- 
dowed for  his  high  calling,  for  which  he  has  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  true  Christian. 

Robert  Hughes  was  born  in  Prince  Edward 
Island  ]\Iarcb  4,  1853,  the  son  of  Patrick  and 
Bridget  (^Mnonoy)  Hughes,  natives  of  Ireland 
who  when  young  came  to  that  section  of  Canada 
with  their  parents.  James  Hughes,  the  paternal 
grandfather,  spent  the  greater  portion  of  his  life 
in  Prince  P^dward  Island,  and  Robert  Mooney, 
the  grandfatliei-  on  the  mother's  side,  was  a  rep- 
resentative in  Parliament  l)efore  the  ConfcdtTa- 
tic'n.  Patrick  Hughes  was  a  farmer  ami  died  in 
tliat  portion  of  the  Dominion  with  which  the 
family  had  so  long  been  identified,  at  the  age  of 
fifty-.six,  while  his  wife  (the  mother  of  Father 
Hughes)  ])asse(l  her  last  days  with  her  son  Rob- 
ert, at  Blue  Earth  City,  wliere  she  died  at  sixty- 
seven  vears  of  age.  The  living  members  of  the 
family  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Patrick  Hughes 
are  as  follows :  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Byrne, 
of  Prince  Edward  Island;  Robert;  Helen,  a  phy- 
sician of  Mankato;  Daniel,  for  the  past  eight 
years  a  pastor  in  the  Catholic  diocese,  who  re- 
ceived his  clerical  degrees  at  Rome,  and  now 
fills  the  chair  of  Dogma  in  the  St.  Paul  (Minn.) 


446 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Seminary;  Patrick,  in  business  at  Crookston, 
Minnesota;  Jane,  also  in.  medical  practice  at 
Mankato;  Mother  Superior  St.  Eosa,  of  Lima. 
The  deceased  are:  Mary  Ann,  formerly  wife  of 
Peter  McKenna;  James,  of  Waseca,  Minnesota, 
and  Phillip,  who  was  a  railroa'd  man. 

Father  Plughes'  education  was  obtained  entirely 
in  the  Dominion — at  St.  Dunstan's  College, 
Prince  Edward  Island,  St.  Laurant  College,  Mon- 
treal (where  he  remained  two  years)  and  Labal 
University,  Quebec  (three  years).  In  1882  he 
fii'st  came  to  Minnesota  and  taught  for  a  time 
in  the  public  schools  at  Graceville,  in  September, 
1884,  he  went  to  St.  Bonavcnture  Seminary,  Xew 
York  State,  and  when  the  Seminary  was  opened 
at  St.  Paul  he  entered  there  where  he  was  or- 
dained by  Archbishop  Ireland  in  188.5,  being  one 
of  five  who  made  up  the  first  class  to  be  ordained 
from  St.  Paul  Seminary.  He  was  first  sent  to 
care  for  the  Indian  children  located  at  Clontarf, 
Swift  county,  Minnesota;  and  was  afterward  as- 
signed to  St.  Mary,  Waseca  county,  that  state, 
continuing  in  that  pastorate  for  three  years;  then 
to  the  city  of  Blue  Earth,  having  also  charge  of 
the  various  parishes  in  JIartin  and  Faribault 
counties,  in  which  busy  and  expanding  field  of 
church  labors  he  remained  for  a  period  of  twelve 
years,  coming  to  his  charge  in  Mankato  in  1901. 
Since  that  year  he  has  been  the  honored  pastor 
of  St.  John's  Catholic  Church,  and  under  the 
stimulus  of  his  personal  character  and  his  wise 
administration  of  the  affairs  entrusted  to  him 
its  membership  has  been  greatly  increased  and 
its  influence  for  good  continually  promoted.  That 
his  services  were  highly  valued  l)y  his  superiors 
is  evidenced  as  in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1906 
he  was  given  leave  of  absence  for  four  months, 
and  spent  the  period  in  European  travel,  visiting 
the  principal  points  of  interest  in  Italy,  Austria, 
Germany,  France,  England,  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land. 


HUGHES,  WILLIAM  S.— About  one  year 
after  his  arrival  in  the  United  States  from  his 
native  country  of  Wales  Mr.  Hughes  became 
identified  with  the  early  settlers  of  Minnesota. 
It  was  then  in  April  of  1865,  and  the  north- 
west   had    begun    to    attract    large    numbers    of 


homeseekers,  who  discerned  in  its  vast  nn- 
tilled  prairies  a  future  of  agricultural  pros- 
perity. Seeking  a  location  in  Blue  Earth  county 
the  young  Welshman  selected  a  claim  in  But- 
ternut valley  township  and  this  he  immediately 
pre-empted.  Ever  since  then  he  has  continued 
to  live  upon  the^  same  place.  The  land  lies  on 
section  four  and  affords  abundant  illustration 
of  the  industrious  energy  of  the  owner,  who 
has  transformed  the  barren  waste  into  a  profit- 
able tract  bearing  all  the  improvements  of 
a  model  farm. 

In  .the  county  of  Anglesea,  on  the  northwest 
coast  of  Wales,  William  S.  Hughes,  was  born 
February  7,  1841.  His  parents,  Owen  and 
Winifred  (Salisbury)  Hughes,  w^ere  lifelong 
residents  and  farmers  in  Anglesea,  Wales,  where 
the  latter  died  in  1885  and  the  former  in 
February  of  1893.  The  schools  of  Wales  af- 
forded the  son  fair  educational  advantages, 
which  afterward  he  utilized  by  teaching  school. 
When  not  in  the  school  room  he  assisted  his  fa- 
ther on  the  home  farm  and  later  was  employed 
for  one  year  in  a  wine  house  in  Liverpool. 
Hearing  much  concerning  the  possibilities  afEord- 
cd  by  America  to  young  men  of  energy  and  am- 
bition he  decided  to  seek  .a  home  across  the 
ocean  and  in  1864  left  the  associations  of  boy- 
hood to  form  new  ties  in  the  new  world.  June 
cf  that  year  found  him  a  stranger  in  N"ew  York. 
From  there  he  proceeded  to  Utica  and  secured 
emploj'ment.  During  April  of  1865,  he  left 
Xew  York  state  and  came  to  ^Minnesota,  where 
since  he  has  engaged  in  the  development  of  his 
farm  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Here,  as  in  his  old 
home  locality,  he  has  been  interested  in  the 
education  of  the  young.  An  experience  of  five 
years  as  a  pupil  teacher  in  Wales  gave  him  a 
knowledge  of  the  needs  of  the  schools  and  a 
desire  to  promote  educational  work.  Shortly 
after  coming  to  Blue'  Earth  county  he  was 
chosen  director  of  his  district  and  for  about 
forty  years  he  has  filled  his  responsible  position. 

Politically  a  believer  in  Eepublican  princi- 
}iles,  Mr.  Hughes  always  gives  his  support  to 
tlie  candidates  of  that  party  and  has  maintained 
a  warm  interest  in  local  polities.  For  twenty- 
one  years  he  held  office  as  clerk  of  his  town  and 
fcr    three    Years    he    rendered    efEicient    service 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


447 


a>  member  of  the  board  of  county  commissioners. 
Movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  county  receive 
his  assistance  yet,  at  the  same  time  he  has 
guarded  the  interests  of  the  tax-payers  and 
lias  withheld  his  support  from  viriionary  projects 
of  questionable  success.  Besides  filling  the 
various  positions  hitherto  mentioned  and  besides 
maintaining  the  active  supervision  of  his  farm, 
since  1897  he  has  filled  the  office  of  manager 
of  the  Lakeshore  creamery  in  which  company 
he  has  the  office  of  the  secretary.  He  has  devoted 
considerable  time  and  study  to  dairy  matters 
and  is  an  authority  concerning  the  same,  as 
well  as  concerning  methods  of  securing  the  best 
results  from  creameries.  He  was  also  one  of 
those  instrumental  in  organizing  the  Lake 
Crystal  Farmers  Insurance  Company,  which 
has  saved  its  policy  holders  liundreds  of  dollars. 
Ihe  marriage  of  William  S.  Hughes  took  place 
July  23,  1867,  and  united  him  with  Catherine 
Williams,  a  native  of  Waukesha  county,  Wiscon- 
sin. They  became  the  parents  of  the  following 
named  children :  Richard ;  Mary,  who  married 
Ernest  Hughes  and  lives  in  Cambria  township ; 
Eobert,  who  is  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits 
m  this  county;  Kate,  Mrs.  Edward  Owen  of 
Selby,  California;  Maggie,  who  is  married  to 
Gomer  Jones  a  farmer  of  Butternut  Valley 
Township,  Blue  Earth  county,  Nellie,  wife  of 
I..  T.  Lewis,  a  farmer  of  Judson,  this  county  •, 
William,  who  is  married  to  Myrtle  Nelson  of 
Lincoln  township,  this  county,  and  now  lives 
on  a  farm  he  purchased  in  Butternut  Valley; 
Winnie,  who  married  Griffith  Eoberts,  a  farmer 
of  this  county;  Jane,  Susie,  Hugh  and  Cesiah, 
who  are  yet  at  the  old  homestead.  The  family 
hold  membership  with  the  Calvinistic  denomi- 
nation, in  which  faith  Mr.  Hughes  was  reared  in 
his  native  land. 


HUNT,  FEANK  W.— Few  business  institu- 
tions in  Mankato,  in  Blue  Earth  County,  or  even 
m  Minnesota,  can  show  such  rapid  advancement 
as  that  of  the  Free  Press  Printing  Company, 
publishers  of  the  Daily  and  Weekly  Free  Press 
and  manufacturing  printers,  of  which  Mr.  Hunt 
i?  and  has  been  for  seven  years  past,  its  presi- 
dent.   The  Free  Press  company  now  has  one  of 


the  largest  printing  plants  in  the  state,  owning 
also  its  hajidsome  four  story  building,  built  of 
brown  stone  and  brick,  finished  in  choicest  oak, 
and  handsomely  carved.  The  olTice  is  located 
at  121-123-12.5  Jackson  street,  near  the  post 
office  and  is  easily  accessible  from  any  part  of 
the  city.  The  business  of  The  Free  Press  extends 
well  over  the  great  states  of  ^Minnesota,  North 
and  South  Dakota,  Wisconsin  and  Montana,  and 
in  addition  to  publishing  the  leading  Daily  and 
Weekly  papers  of  southern  ilinnesota,  the  com- 
pany has  a  large  clientage  among  the  banks  and 
county  officers,  handling  office  supplies  of  all 
kinds. 

ilr.  Hunt's  early  education  was  somewhat  re- 
tarded owing  to  an  affection  of  the  eyesight. 
However,  his  natural  keen  perception  and  busi- 
nes.s  instincts  were  put  to  practical  use  and  he 
has  been  very   successful. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  Septem- 
ber 24,  18.54,  in  Edwards,  New  York,  and  is  the 
son  of  Nathan  F.  and  Caroline  (Gates)  Hunt. 
He  was  married  in  1877  to  Nellie  L.  Morse  and 
there  were  born  to  this  union,  three  daughters, 
viz:  Bertha,  Marion  and  Beulah.  Miss  Marion 
is  now  in  Hamline  University  and  the  other  two' 
are  at  home.  Mr.  Hunt  attended  the  public 
school  at  Watertown,  N.  Y.  His  first  business 
venture  was  the  importation  of  horses  from  Cana- 
da, in  which  he  was  successful.  Desiring  to 
ccme  west,  he  moved  to  IMankato  with  his  fam- 
ily in  1887  and  at  once  engaged  \\'ith  The  Free 
Press  in  the  capacity  of  assistant  manager,  di- 
viding his  time  between  office  and  road  work. 
The  business  of  The  Free  Press  was  then  in  its 
infancy  and  less  than  half  a  dozen  people  con- 
stituted the  office  force.  In  1SS7  The  Daily  Free 
Press  was  established  and  he  assisted  materially 
in  putting  it  on  its  feet.  Shortly  after  his  ar- 
rival in  jMankato  he  purchased  the  Mankato  Ee- 
gister  of  W.  E.  Geddes  and  this  paper  was  later 
consolidated  with  The  Free  Press,  Mr.  Hunt  tak- 
ing an  interest  in  this  company  which 
v.as  that  year  capitalized  at  $15,000. 

In  March,  1902,  Mr.  Hunt  in  company  with 
Michael  D.  Fritz  and  J.  W.  True,  purchased  the 
entire  Free  Press  printing  plant  and  in  1908  also 
bought  the  handsome  Free  Press  building. 

Fraternally   Mr.    Hunt    is    a   member    of   the 


448 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Knights  of  Pythias  lodge,  ilodern  Woodmen  of 
America,  the  Mankato  Commercial  Club,  and  is 
also  a  director  of  the  Citizens  Fire  Association. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  is  a  liberal  contributor. 

Mrs.  Hunt  was  born  at  Wilna,  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, Sew  York,  and  was  educated  in  the  B.  E.  C. 
seminary  at  Antwerp,  that  state.  She  has  been 
connected  witli  the  Foreign  Missionary  society 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  since  1900  as 
district  corresponding  secretary,  and  since  girl- 
hood has  been  active  in  the  work. 


IBACH,  JOSEPH.— This  retired  brewer  and 
substantial  citizen  of  ^Mankato  is  a  native  of 
Baden,  German)',  born  February  17,  1832,  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  Celestia  (Spier)  Ibach,  also 
born  in  the  Fatherland.  The  father  died  before 
he  had  reached  middle  age,  leaving  different 
members  of  the  family  to  make  their  way  in 
the  world  according  to  their  abilities  and  fore- 
sight. The  mother  afterward  came  to  the  United 
States,  and  of  her  two  sons  one  was  drowned. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  but  natural 
that  Joseph's  education  should  have  been  limited, 
and  that  he  should  have  commenced  to  earn  his 
own  living  at  quite  an  early  age.  In  1853,  when 
he  had  just  passed  his  majority,  he  came  to  the 
United  States,  and,  in  company  with  several 
companions,  reached  Dubuque  and  Davenport, 
Iowa,  in  search  for  some  permanent  means  of 
livelihood.  At  the  latter  place  the  friends  en- 
tered into  a  debate  whether  they  should  journey 
north  or  south,  the  majority  deciding  in  favor 
of  a  northward  course.  They  therefore  started 
up  the  Mississippi  Eiver  for  St.  Paul,  and  while 
en  route  the  captain  of  the  boat  offered  Mr. 
Ibach  a  pos'ition  as  fireman  at  fifty  dollars  per 
month.  This  offer  was  eagerly  seized  and  re- 
sulted in  extending  his  career  as  a  boatman  on 
the  river  and  the  Great  Lakes  over  a  period  of 
five  years. 

Mr.  Ibach  settled  down  as  a  landsman  in 
1858,  when  he  located  at  Preston,  Minnesota, 
and  there  engaged  in  the  brewing  business  until 
1874,  when  he  disposed  of  his  plant  and  removed 
to  Mankato.  He  then  purchased  the  brewery 
of  the  late  Stephen  Lamm,  and,  after  operating 


it  for  a  year,  sold  out  and  rented  the  Pete 
Welsh  establishment,  which  he  conducted  fo 
three  years.  In  1878,  Mr.  Ibach  established  i 
brewery  near  what  is  known  as  Tinkcom's  Addi 
tiom  and  operated  it  profitably  until  it  wa; 
destroyed  by  fire  in  1887.  The  plant  was  no 
rebuilt,  bn.t  since  that  time  he  has  been  engagec 
in  taking  care  of  his  property  and  enjoying  th< 
comforts  of  a  business  man,  who  by  many  yean 
of  arduous  labor  has  earned  a  period  of  resi 
in  the   declining  years   of  his  life. 

Mr.  Ibach  was  married  September  4,  1860,  tc 
Miss  Margaret  Kreamer,  daughter  of  Jacob  anc 
Barbara  Kreamer,  of  Stratford,  Ontario,  Canada 
and  by  this  union  has  had  the  following  children 
Louisa,  wife  of  Anton  Oberly,  of  Decoria  Town- 
ship, Blue  Earth  County;  Savina,  now  Mrs 
Thomas  Lewis,  a  resident  of  Judson  Township 
this  county;  Aiitilla,  Mrs.  Walter  Anderson,  ol 
Mankato;  Herman,  living  in  Washington,  Dist 
rict  of  Columbia;  Andrew,  of  Chicago;  anc 
Eudolph  and  Arthur,  both  residents  of  Man- 
kato. Mr.  Ibach  is  one  of  the  stanch  est  anc 
oldest  Democrats  in  thi'^  section  of  the  county, 
casting  his  first  presidential  vote  for  Pierce  ii 
1852;  in  local  affairs,  however,  he  considers  th( 
personal  qualifications  of  the  candidate  rathei 
than  party  afl'iliations.  Fraternally  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I.  0.  0.  F. 


JAMES,  DE.  JOHN"  H.^Some  of  the  earliesl 
members  of  the  James  family  have  been  traced 
to  Westerly,  Ehodc  Island,  whence  they  emi- 
grated to  Washington  County,  ISFew  Yprk, 
Among  the  early  annals  there  is  the  record  thai 
early  county  records  vrere  lost  at  Hell  Gate 
Xew  York  harbor,  but  the  definite  and  contin- 
uous history  of  the  American  branch  commeAcei 
in  the  Empire  State,  Washington  County,  towi 
of  Greenwich,  was  the  birthplace  of  Dr.  Johi 
I-I.  James,  of  Mankato,  a  noteworthy  membei 
of  the  family,  who  has  a  high  reputation  as  ai 
e.vpert  in  mental  diseases  and  a  specialist  in  th( 
treatment  of  disorders  of  the  eye,  ear  and  nose 

Dr.  James  was  born  on  the  28th  of  Febru 
ary,  18"46,  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Eoxanna  C 
(Brownell)  James,  who  were  also  natives  o 
Few  York,  and  representatives  of  the  most  sub 


BIOCtEAPHICAL  histoey. 


449 


stantial  agi'icultural  element  in  the  state.  The 
boy  received  a  common  school  and  academic 
education,  liberally  interspersed  with  farm 
work,  and  when  somewhat  advanced  in  young 
manhood  entered  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  New  York  City,  from  which  he 
graduated  in  1875.  After  leaving  the  university 
he  served  for  fifteen  months  in  the  Insane  Asy- 
lum of  Blackwell's  Island,  and  in  the  fall  of 
1876  came  West  to  continue  that  line  of  prac- 
tice and   investigation. 

Locating  at  St.  Peter,  at  tlie  time  mentioned, 
Dr.  James  became  assistant  physician  at  the 
Hospital  for  the  Insane,  and  after  holding  that 
position  for  fifteen  years  came  to  Mankato  in 
1891,  having  resigned  for  that  purpose  in  Sep- 
tember. Since  that  date  he  has  continued  in 
that  city,  engaged  in  a  successful  practice,  now 
hmited  to  diseases  of  the  eye,  ear  and  nose.  He 
is  also  well  knovm  in  connection  with  the  work 
of  the  professional  organizations,  being  a  memr 
ber  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  Min- 
nesota State  Medical  Association,  Mississippi 
Valley  Medical  Association  and  the  Blue  Earth 
County  Medical  Society,  the  American  Academy 
of  Ophtholmology  and  Oto-Lar3'ngology,  as  well 
as  an  honorary  haember  of  the  Brown  County 
and  Southwestern  Medical  societies.  The  Doctor 
belongs  to  the  A.  P.  &  A.  M.,  of  St.  Peter,  and 
to  the  Commercial  and  Social  Science  clubs 
of  Mankato,  and  for  six  years  was  president  of 
the  Mankato   Citizens'   Telephone   Company. 

Dr.  James  was  married  in  1878  to  Miss  Hattie 
M.  White,  daughter  of  Samuel  Ts^.  Wliite,  of 
West  Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  who  died  Janu- 
aiT  11,  1893,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years.  Their 
son,  Dr.  Ealph  C.  James,  is  a  graduate  in  medi- 
cine of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and  is  iden- 
tified with  Eood  Hospital,  Hibbing,  Minnesota. 
The  Wlnte  family,  of  which  Mrs.  James  was  a 
rrpresehfative  is  directly  descended  from  Peri- 
grin  White,  the  first  white  child  born  in  New 
England,  and  several  of  its  members  of  the 
seventh  generation  are  still  living  on  a -farm  near 
West  Brookfield. 

The  Doctor's  second  marriage  September  18, 
1895,  was  to  Florence  W.  White,  a  sister  of  his 
first  wife  who  for  several  years  had  been  a 
teacher  in  the  schools  of  Japan  and  Mexico,  as 

29 


well  as  at  Mills  College,  California,  principal 
of  the  Ladies'  Seminary  at  Pittsfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  at  the  Downer '  College,  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin.  During  the  time  of  the  Chicago  fire 
Mrs.  James  was  teaching  in  a  young  ladies 
seminary  of  that  city,  and  was  also  connected 
with  Mrs.  Kirland's  school  at  St.  Louis,  and 
with  the  English  course  of  the  Mankato  Busi- 
ness College.  She  is  altogether  an  educator  of 
long  and  varied  experience,  an  iateresting  con- 
versationalist and  a  lady  of  many  attractive 
ffraces  and  true  refinement. 


JESSUP.  CHAELES  W.— Mr.  Jessup,  pro- 
piietor  of  the  well  known  express,  transfer  and 
siorage  office,  at  Mankato,  this  county,  is  an 
Iowa  man  and  has  been  successfully  engaged  in 
various  lines  of  business  here  since  1890.  Born 
July  32,  18G8,  he  is  a  son  of  John  J.  and  Leo- 
nora (Sprang)  Jessup,  his  parents  being  natives 
of  Indiana  and  pioneers  of  Iowa.  His  father 
first  engaged  in  farming,  but  the  later  years  of 
h.is  life  have  been  devoted  to  the  freight  and 
livery  business  and  hauling  mail  from  Port 
Dodge  to  Ogden  and  from  Dayton  to  Levy, 
Iowa.  They  are  both  living,  as  well  as  their 
following  children :  William  E.,  a  mason  by  trade 
and  a  resident  of  Mankato;  Edward  B.,  who 
lives  at  Webster  City,  Iowa,  Allie,  now  the  vidfe 
of  A.  T.  Chiquette,  of  Port  Dodge,  Iowa;  and 
Charles  W. 

Charles  W.  Jessup  attended  the  district 
schools  of  his  native  neighborhood  and  remained 
on  the  home  farm  until  the  removal  of  t"he 
family  to  Dayton,  Iowa,  after  which  for  sixteen 
years  he  assisted  his  father  in  his  stage  and 
freighting  business.  Then,  for  two  years,  he  con- 
ducted a  livery  at  Pringar,  that  State,  and  in 
1890  located  in  Mankato,  being  engaged  during 
the  first  nine  years  of  his  residence  here  as  an 
excavating  contractor  for  the  city.  In  1900 
he  opened  his  present  office  at  No.  113  West 
Hickory  street,  and  his  business  ability,  courtesy 
and  accommodating  nature,  have  made  of  the 
undertaking  a  decided  success. 

IMr.  Jessup's  personal  popularity  is  both  in- 
dicated and  extended  by  his  wide  identification 
with  the  fraternities,  as  he  is  a  member  of  the 


450 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


]\Iodem  Woodmen  of  America  (trustee  for  three 
vears),  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen  and 
lied  Men.  He  was  married  July  14,  1890,  to 
Miss  Anna  Chrisman,  of  Sanborn,  Iowa,  who 
v.-ere  the  parents  of  three  children,  Mable,  who 
died  in  infancy;  Floyd  J.,  and  Floyd,  twins, 
born  June  28th,  1905,  the  latter  died  in  infancy 
and  Floyd  J.,  is  attending  school  at  Mankato. 


JONES,  CHARLES  B.— As  indicated  by  their 
name,  the  Jones  family  is  of  Welsh  extraction. 
The  first  representative  of  this  branch  of  the 
family  in  America  was  Thomas,  a  native  of 
Wales,  who  grew  to  manhood  in  that  country, 
married  there,  and  in  1838  crossed  the  ocean 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Lewis  county, 
Kew  York,  and  there  spending  the  remaining 
years  of  his  life.  Next  in  line  of  descent  was 
William  H.,  bom  in  Wales,  but  after  1838  a 
resident  of  the  new  world,  first  making  his  home 
in  Lewis  county,  New  York,  where  his  son, 
Charles  E.,  was  born  January  27,  1851.  The 
family  removed  westward  during  1854  and  iden- 
tified themselves  with  the  pioneers  of  Wisconsin, 
where  the  father  engaged  in  farm  pursuits  in 
Fond  du  Lac  county,  and  also  to  some  extent 
followed  the  mason's  trade.  Coming  to  Min- 
nesota in  1869,  he  made  a  sojourn  of  one  year  in 
Mankato,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he  re- 
moved to  Medo  township  and  purchased  a  farm 
of  two  hundred  acres.  During  the  remainder  of 
his  active  life  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suit?, but  in  1898  he  retired  from  his  responsi- 
bilities, removed  to  Portland,  Oregon,  and  died 
in  that  city  the  following  year.  Of  his  nine  chil- 
dren three  sons.  Thomas,  Lewis  and  Owen,  re- 
side in  Portland,  two  of  them  having  gone  to 
Oregon  twenty  years  ago.  Owen,  who  removed 
to  that  state  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  is 
engaged  in  the  bridge  construction  business 
and    has    been    particularly    successful. 

The  eldest  member  of  the  family  circle, 
Charles  E.,  spent  his  life  from  the  age  of  three 
years  to  eighteen,  in  Wisconsin,  where  he  at- 
tended the  country  schools  and  aided  in  the 
work  on  the  home  place.  October  18,  1874,  he 
was   united   in  marriage  with   Rose   Guthier,   a 


native  of  Wisconsin,  her  father,  Philip  Guthiei 
having  been  a  pioneer  of  that  state.  The  child 
ren  of  ilr.  and  Mrs.  Jones  are  as  follows :  Georg 
who  is  engaged  in  farming  in  Faribault  county 
Albert,  residing  at  Webster,  South  Dakota 
Charles,  E.,  Bessie  and  Arthur,  who  are  yet  a 
home.  At  the  time  of  his  marriage  Mr.  Jone 
embarked  in  farming  independently  and  for  tw( 
3ears  remained  in  Blue  Earth  county,  afte: 
which  he  spent  three  years  in  Faribault  county 
Returning  to  Blue  Earth  county,  in  1885  hi 
bought  a  farm  owned  by  Fairfield  Smith  in  Ma 
pleton  township,  where  he  has  since  conductee 
general  agricultural  pursuits  and  has  met  witl 
encouraging   success    in   his    work. 

While  not  neglecting  the  management  o: 
his  land,  Mr.  Jones  has  found  leisure  for  par 
ticipation  in  public  affairs  and  is  known  as  i 
jirogressive,  patriotic  citizen,  ever  interested  ii 
movements  for  the  material  upbuilding  of  town 
ship  and  county.  In  recognition  of  his  fitnesi 
for  office  he  has  been  chosen  to  occupy  most  o: 
the  positions  within  the  gift  of  the  people  o; 
his  township.  For  four  years  he  was  a  membe: 
of  the  county  board  of  supervisors  and  for  elevei 
years  filled  the  office  of  township  assessor.  Pair 
field  Smith,  his  predecessor  on  the  present  farm 
had  served  as  a  member  of  the  school  boarc 
for  twenty-three  years,  and  when  Mr.  Jonei 
moved  to  the  farm  he  was  chosen  school  clerk 
which  position  he  has  since  filled,  a  period  o; 
twenty-two  years.  During  1904  he  was  electee 
county  commissioner  for  a  term  of  four  years 
to  represent  the  townships  of  Lyra,  Beauford 
Medo,  Sterling,  Mapleton  and  Danville.  In  thi 
position,  as  in  all  others  to  which  he  has  bee] 
elected,  he  has  been  guided  by  principles  o 
honor  and  probity,  and  his  labors  have  beeJ 
eifective  in  promoting  the  public  welfare.  Fra 
ternally  he  has  membership  with  the  Ancien 
Order  of  United  Workmen  and  the  blu' 
lodge  of  Masons  in  his  home  town.  Known  as  i 
capable  agriculturist,  a  citizen  of  the  utmos 
loyalty,  a  defender  of  the  public  school  syster 
and  a  champion  of  all  movements  for  th 
mutual  good,  he  represents  that  class  of  our  rui 
al  population  so  vitally  indispensable  in  the  mora 
upbuilding  and  permanent  prosperity  of  ou 
commonwealth. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


40 1 


JONES,  EDWAED  E.— The  year  made  mem- 
orable in  the  history  of  our  country  by  the  rush 
of  gold-seelvcrs  for  the  mines  of  California  wit- 
nessed the  arrival  in  America  of  the  family  rep- 
resented by  this  now  retired  farmer  of  Lake 
Crystal.  It  was  not,  iTowevpr,  with  any  intention 
of  seeking  wcptern  mines  that  they  had  crossed 
the  ocean.  Their  ambitions  were  cast  toward 
the  ownership  of  a  little  home  of  their  own  and 
the  peaceful  tilling  of  the  soil.  To  a  marked 
degree  they  possessed  the  sturdy  characteristics 
of  their  fellow  countrymen.  Tlie  parents,  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Eeese)  Jones,  were  natives  of 
the  south  of  Wales,  and  were  people  of  little 
means,  but  great  worth  of  character  and  the  ut- 
most probity.  For  a  brief  period  they  lived 
in  Ohio,  but  in  search  of  cheap  lands  they  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin,  and  there  the  father  died 
on  his  farm  in  1866.  Somewhat  later  other 
m.embers  of  the  family  came  to  Minnesota,  where 
in  1876  occurred  the  death  of  the  mother. 

At  the  time  of  the  emigration  of  the  family  to 
America   Edward  E.   Jones   was   a  child   of  less 
than    seven   years.      He    was   born    at    Cardigan, 
Wales,  December  29,  1843,  and  received  such  ad- 
vantages   as'  the    limited    means    of    the    family 
rendered   possible.     When   the   Civil   war   opened 
he    was    a    rugged    youth,    physically    qualified 
for  acceptable   service,   and    stanchly   devoted    to 
the    cause    of    the    Union.      January    20,    1863, 
he  enlisted  as  a  member  of  Company   C,  Third 
Wisconsin    Cavalry,    -n-ith    which    he    was    drilled 
into  the  details  of  military  tactics.     At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  ho  veteranized  and  in  April 
of  1864  re-enlisted   in  the   same   regiment,   with 
■R'iiich   his  period   of  service   covered    three   years 
and    nine   months.      During    that    time    he    was 
mostly   in    the   southwest.      Among    the    engage- 
ments  in   which   he   participated   were    those    at 
Honey    Springs,    Indian    Territory,    and    Baxter 
Springs,   Kansas.     In   addition   he   took  part  in 
the    Price    campaign    in    Missouri.      His    record 
as  a  soldier  was  one  of  which   he  may  well  be 
proud. 
The   political   views   held   by   Mr.    .Tones    early 
I     led    him    into    sympathy    with    the    Eepublican 
party,  whose  principles  he  has  always  supported 
by  his   ballot.     In    religion    he    and    his    family 
are  earnest  members   of   the   Methodist    Episco- 


pal church,  to  which  he  has  contributed  of  his 
time  and  influence  and  means.  For  a  long  per- 
iod he  has  been  identiiied  with  the  Masonic  Or- 
der and  has  supported  its  principles  of  brother- 
hood and  philanthropy.  When  he  came  to  Bliie 
Earth  county  he  was  unmarried  and  it  was  not 
until  some  years  afterward  that  he  established 
domestic  ties  through  his  union  with  Mary  Ann 
Thomas,  whom  he  married  September  10,  1873. 
Two  daughters  were  born  of  their  union,  but 
both  have  been  taken  by  death.  After  years  of 
laborious  effort  as  a  farmer  Mr.  Jones  retired 
from  active  cares  and  removed  to  Lake  Crys- 
tal, where  in  the  afternoon  of  his  busy  life  he 
enjoys  a  leisure  and  comfort  justly  earned  by 
judicious  toil. 


JULIAIv'.  EICHAED  J.— Since  he  came  here 
with  his  parents  in  1880,  Garden  City  township 
has  profited  by  the  earnest  and  painstaking  agri- 
cultural efforts  of  Eichard  J.  Julian,  the  owner 
of  a  iine  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
of  fine  land  in  section  thirty.  The  change  in 
this  part  of  the  state  during  this  twenty-eight 
years  has  not  been  more  pronounced  than  has 
the  development  of  this  popular  farmer  from  a 
>outh  of  fifteen  to  a  man  of  broad  and  compre- 
hensive views  of  life,  and  the  ability  and  deter- 
mination to  make  his  dreams  come  true. 

"Mr.  Julian  represents  the  best  qualities  of 
the  transplanted  Englishman,  and  the  first  fif- 
teen years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  Cornwall, 
England,  where  he  was  born  September  18,  1865. 
His  father.  Fred  Julian,  also  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, a':  was  his  mother,  IMary  (Stafford)  Julian, 
and  the  former  was  by  profession  a  forester, 
having  a  thorough  knowledge  and  long  experience 
ir  this  interesting  occupation.  With  his  wife 
and  four  sons,  Eichard  J..  George  S.,  Fred  and 
William,  he  came  to  America  in  1880  and  in 
Blue  Earth  county  rented  a  farm  for  the  balance 
of  his  active  life.  He  thereafter  lived  with  his 
children  until  his  death  at  the  age  of  sixty-five 
years.  He  was  a  life  long  Eepublican,  but  never 
would   accept  office. 

Eichard  J.  Julian  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  Garden  City  township,  and  in 
1893,  invested  his  earnings  in  the  farm  he  now 


452 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


owns,  upon  flhich  he  has  made  practically  all  of 
the  improvements.  He  has  a  pleasant  and  com- 
modious rural  residence,  fine  barns  and  machin- 
ery, and  is  devoting  his  property  to  general  farm- 
ing and  stock-raising.  In  his  effort  to  acquire  a 
fortune  in  a  practical  manner  he  is  ably 
assisted  by  his  wife,  formerly  Grace  Green- 
wood, who  was  born  in  this  township  Sep- 
tember 1,  1866,  a  daughter  of  J.  H.  Greenwood, 
one  of  the  earliest  pioneers  of  Garden  City  town- 
ship. To  Mr.  and  Jlrs.  Julian  have  been  born 
a  daughter.  Myrtle. 

In  political  affiliation  Mr.  Julian  is  a  Pro- 
hibitionist, and  he  is  a  member  of  the  E.  P.  U, 
and  M.  \Y.  A.,  also  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
He  is  a  wide-awake  and  progressive  man,  sen- 
sible of  the  many  advantages  of  his  time  honored 
calling,  and  investing  it  with  the  thoroughness 
and'  dignity  which  bespeaks  merited  and  practi- 
cal! v  invariable  success. 


JULIAE,  HON".  NICHOLAS.— None  of  the 
human  agencies  which  have  paved  the  way  for 
the  present  prosperity  of  Blue  Earth  county 
have  risen  superior  in  Judgment  and  attainment 
to  those  of  our  citizens  who  claim  Teutonic  line- 
age. The  thriftv,  economical  and  perservering 
qualities  instilled  into  the  youth  of  the  Father- 
land lost  little  when  transferred  to  this  side  of 
the  water,  and  their  alliance  without  less  con- 
servative and  more  venturesome  business  methods 
produce  naught  save  the  most  practical  and  sub- 
stantial of  results.  Many  individual  instances 
abound  in  this  part  of  the  state  which  attest  the 
fact  that  the  well  born  and  representative  Ger- 
man rarely  is  the  victim  of  unauthorized  ag- 
grandizement, but  on  the  contrary  moves  with 
certainty  of  direction  and  definiteness  of  pur- 
pose that  the  speculative  or  uncertain  element  is 
almost  entirely  eliminated  from  his  transactions. 
Offered  in  confirmation  of  this  assumption  is  the 
career  of  Hon.  Nicholas  Juliar,  pr&sident  of  the 
St.  riair  State  Bank,  director  in  the  Farmers' 
Eire  Insurance  Company,  treasurer  of  the  Union 
Minnesota  Hail  Insurance  Company,  holder  of 
practically  all  of  the  offices  within  the  gift  of 
his  fellow  townsmen,  and  the  owner,  besides  his 


splendidly  appointed  town  home,  of  twenty-one 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  Blue  Earth  county. 

Mr.  Juliar  is  the  son  of  a  weaver,  Nicholas  Jul- 
iar, and  he  was  two  and  a  half  years  old  when 
brought  to  this  country  from  Alsace-Strasburg, 
Germany,  where  he  was  born  December  28,  1841. 
His  mother  was  Magdalen  (Eidling),  and  siie 
had,  besides  Nicholas  Jr.,  ten  other  children, 
one  daughter,  the  mother  of  Eingling  Brothers, 
the  world's  greatest  shovrmen,  and  one  daughter 
the  mother  of  Gollmar  Brothers  show.  The  fam- 
ily set  sail  from  Havery  in  the  spring  of  1845, 
arriving  at  Castle  Garden,  New  York,  after  seven 
weeks  of  buffeting  with  storm  and  calm.  In  the 
vicinity  of  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  the  father 
bought  a  farm,  and  15  years  later  moved  to  Bar- 
aboo,  the  same  state,  where  he  died  in  1880,  his 
wife  surviving  him  until  1889.  Nicholas  Jr.,  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Milwaukee  county 
and  when  old  enough  learned  the  harness  trade 
which  he  followed  in  Milwaukee  for  seven  years. 
He  then  returned  to  the  old  homestead  nine  miles 
out  in  the  country,  and  four  years  later  sold  out 
his  interest  and  moved  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  purchased  a  section  of  land.  He  was  suc- 
cessful in  general  farming  and  stock-raising,  con- 
ducted both  on  a  gigantic  scale,  and,  adding  to  his 
possessions  as  his  business  grew,  owned  in  time  his 
present  tract  of  twenty-one  hundred  acres.  His 
land  is  among  the  best  in  this  northern  section, 
and  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  various  products 
known  to  flourish  with  extremes  of  weather.  As 
a  natural  consequence  he  established  a  reputa- 
tion for  important  undertakings,  his  word  was 
recognized  as  better  than  his  bond,  and  his  ad- 
vice and  council  in  all  that  pertains  to  the 
landsman's  occupation  was  eagerly  sought  and  as 
implicitly  followed. 

As  banking  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  need  of  its 
facilities,  and  as  the  property  and  income  of  Mr. 
Juliar  transcended  in  immediate  needs,  his  posi- 
tion as  head  of  that  eminently  popular  and  reli- 
able banking  institution,  the  St.  Clair  Stete  Bank, 
seems  natural  and  fitting  one.  His  connection 
with  the  insurance  companies  has  added  to  their 
strength  and  standing  in  the  community,  and 
various  other  concerns  have  learned  the  worth 
of  his  good  name  and  reputation  for  worth  while 
accomplishment.     He  is  one  of  those  invaluable 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


453 


men  who  recognize  a  personal  obligation  in  local 
undertakings  generally,  and  who  willingly  sacri- 
fices business  chances  to  further  the  well  being 
ot  the  community.  Though  in  no  way  desirous 
of  honor,  he  served  in  the  state  legislature  on  two 
occasions,  in  189o  and  1905,  in  both  instances 
evidencing  his  keen  insight  into  the  political 
situation,  and  his  knowledge  of  the  needs  and 
possibilities  of  his  townsmen.  He  is  an  ardent 
Eepublican,  a  conscientious  voter,  but  withal,  suf- 
ficiently liberal  and  far  sighted  to  follow  the 
dictates  of  conscience  rather  than  the  arbitrary 
dictates  of  any  particular  party. 

The  union  of  Mr.  Juliar  and  Catherin  Stuve, 
a  native  of  Wisconsin,  occurred  in  1862.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Juliar  have  had  ten  children,  nine  of  whom 
are  living,  six  sons  and  three  daughters,  and 
they  have  thirty-tflo  grand-children.  Of  their 
children,  Albert  and  George  are  farmers  in  Blue 
Earth  county;  Richard  is  following  the  medical 
.profession  in  ^lountain  Lake,  this  state;  Otto 
and  Harry  are  farmers  in  this  county;  Silas  is 
connected  with  the  State  Bank  of  Mankato; 
Mary  is  the  wife  of  H.  Hubiner,  a  farmer  of  this 
county;  Emma  is  the  wife  of  E.  Haedt,  also  of 
Blue  Earth  county;  and  Sarah  is  now  Mrs.  E.  G. 
Goldman,  of  St.  Clair.  In  addition  to  all  of  his 
other  lines  of  business,  Mr.  Juliar  for  twenty- 
eight  years  was  a  public  auctioneer.  In  religion 
he  is  a  member  of  the  Evangelical  Association. 
Personally  I'.e  is  a  man  of  many  fine  qualities, 
one  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  meet,  either  in  a 
social  or  business  way.  He  has  the  great  gift 
of  approachableness,  and  the  kind  of  tact  and 
consideration  which  makes  everyone  at  home  in 
his  environment. 


JUST,  \V.  A.— A  spirit  of  loyalty  and  devo- 
tion to  the  W'Clfare  of  his  native  township  of 
Eapidan  is  noticeable  among  the  characteristics 
of  Mr.  Just,  who  is  one  of  the  leading  business 
men  of  the  village  of  Eapidan  and  numbers  a 
host  of  warm  personal  friends  among  the  people 
of  Blue  Earth  county.  In  his  Judgment  there 
is  no  finer  land  in  the  entire  county  than  the 
country  boasts  which  lies  around  his  home  town, 
and  he  is  an  enthusiastic  believer  in  the  agricul- 
tural possibilities  of  the  locality,   aSirming  that 


prosperity  is  sure  to  come  to  the  land-owners 
who  retain  their  properties  in  tuis  fertile  auU 
proaactive  region.  His  earliest-  recollections  ait 
associated  witli  Eapidan  township,  \\liere  lie  was 
born  i^^ovember  ^9,  1871,  and  wiiere  he  has  risen 
to  a  prominent  position  in  business  circled. 

The  possibilities  of  America  have  attracted 
countless  thousands  to  its  hospitable  shores  and 
among  the  many  who  came  hither  in  an  early 
day  were  William  T.  and  Dorothea  (Mann) 
Just.  After  landing  in  the  United  States  they 
proceeded  westward  to  Wisconsin  and  took  up 
land  in  Dodge  county,  where  they  remained  until 
18G4.  During  the  latter  year  they  came  to 
Minnesota  and  purchased  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  unimproved  land  in  Eapidan  township 
adjoining  what  is  now  the  station  of  Eapidan. 
Eor  years  William  T.  Just  industriously  engaged 
in  farming  on  this  place,  but  in  1902,  he  relin- 
quished agricultural  activities  and  since  then  has 
lived  retired  in  Mankato,  where  now  he  enjoys 
the  comforts  rendered  possible  by  years  of  in- 
telligent industry.  In  his  family  there  are  the 
following  named  children:  W.  A.,  of  Eapidan; 
Lydia,  who  makes  her  home  in  Winnipeg,  Can- 
ada; Theo;  Oscar,  now  a  resident  of  Dickinson, 
North  Dakota;  Walter,  who  is  employed  in  a 
bank  at  Frazee,  Minnesota;  Karl,  who  is  con- 
nected with  a  land  office  at  Winnipeg,  Canada; 
Emmandus,  who  is  employed  in  a  newspaper 
office  at  Winnipeg;  Mrs.  Louise  Tank,  who  mar- 
ried a  minister;  and  Irene,  who  remains  with 
her  parents. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  the 
common  schools  of  Eapidan  township,  W.  A. 
Just  was  sent  to  a  Lutheran  school  in  St.  Paul 
and  there  he  completed  the  study  of  the  common 
branches.  On  his  return  to  the  old  homestead 
he  aided  his  father  for  a  time  and  later  carried 
on  a  general  store  at  Lake  Crystal  for  two  years. 
Eeturning  to  the  village  of  Eapidan,  he  opened 
a  general  store  and  for  twelve  years  conducted  a 
growing  business  among  the  people  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  At  the  expiration  of  twelve 
years  he  sold  the  business  and  since  then  he  has 
devoted  his  attention  to  the  lumber  .trade,  having 
built  an  dffiee  with  ample  yard  facilities  and  the 
equipment  necessary  for  successful  work  in  the 
occupation.      Since    coming   to    Eapidan    he    has 


454 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


built  a  comfortable  residence  and  lias  been  a 
factor  in  the  life  of  the  village,  where  he  has 
been  a  leading  worker  in  the  Democratic  party 
and  the  Lutheran  church,  also  has  maintained  a 
warm  interest  in  school  aifairs  and  has  held 
school  oflEiceSj  beside  serving  as  justice  of  the 
peace  for  five  years. 

Pour  children.  Alberta,  Dorothea,  Frederick, 
and  Louise  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  Just.  His 
wife,  who  shares  with  him  the  respect  of  ac- 
quaintances, was  formerly  Sarah  E.  Gregg,  and 
they  were  united  'in  marriage  in  January  of 
1893.  Prior  to  marriage  she  had  lived  on  a  farm 
in  Eapidan  township,  where  her  parents,  L.  H. 
and  Alice  (Hobart)  Gregg,  pioneers  of  this 
county  from  Pennsylvania,  had  made  settlement 
in  an  early  day.  Mr.  Gregg  is  still  alive  but 
now  resides  in  Spokane,  Wash.  Mrs.  L.  H. 
Gregg  died  in  Eapidan  in  the  year  1906,  Jan- 
uary   17. 


TvAUFFMANlSr,  LOUIS  P.— While  travel 
has  given  him  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  soil 
of  various  sections  of  the  country,  Mr.  Kauff- 
mann  considers  that  his  native  country  is  second 
to  none  and  believes  that  energy  wisely  conserved 
and  industry  intelligently  conducted  will  bring 
as  fair  returns  here  as  in  other  regions  more 
widely  advertised  but  not  more  abundantly 
blessed  by  nature.  The  homestead  where  he  now 
resides  and  which  he  purchased  in  1895  coii.- 
prises  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  lying  on  sec- 
tion eleven,  Danville  township,  Blue  Earth  county 
and  in  addition  to  the  management  of  this  pro- 
perty he  leases  considerable  land  in  the  same 
locality,  so  that  the  supervision  of  his  large 
interests  fills  his  days  with  busy  activity.  In 
return  for  his  careful  oversight  and  wise  judg- 
ment he  receives  an  excellent  income  from  his 
land.  A  portion  of  the  crops  raised  each  j'ear 
is  sold  in  the  general  markets,  while  the  balance 
is  utilized  for  feed  for  the  droves  of  fine  Poland- 
China  hogs,  the  herds  of  Durham  cattle  of  good 
grades,  and  the  various  horses  needed  in  the 
work  of  the  farm,  these  latter  being  of  the  Nor- 
man and  Clyde  breeds. 

As  early  as  1856  the  KaufEmann  family  be- 
came established  in  the  then  frontier  region  of 


Blue  Earth  county,  accompanying  the  original 
colony  from  the  east.  Prank  Joseph  Kauflmann, 
who  was  the  founder  of  the  family  in  America 
and  in  this  county,  was  born  in  Alsace,  then  a 
part  of  Prance,  and  married  Catherine  Hickle,  a 
native  of  the  same  province.  On  coming  to  tlie 
United  States  he  settled  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  whence  as  previously  stated  he  came  with 
the  original  colony  to  Minnesota  in  1856,  settl- 
ing in  Blue  Earth  county  and  taking  up  a  claim 
in  Danville  township.  Many  busy  and  prosper- 
ous years  were  passed  on  this  farm,  whose  trans- 
formation he  made  possible  from  a  bare  stretch 
of  unimproved  land  into  a  fertile  tract  unexcelled 
for  productiveness.  At  the  age  of  sixty  years 
he  was  accidentally  killed  while  driving  his 
team  in  Mankato.  Of  his  ten  children  the  only 
ones  remaining  in  Blue  Earth  County  are  L.  P. 
and  Anna,  now  Mrs.  George  Kiife,  the  latter  liv- 
ing at  Mankato.  Three  other  sons  live  not  far 
away,  their  homes  being  across  the  line  in  Fari- 
bault  county   at   Minnesota   Lake. 

On  the  farm  in  Danville  township  where  he 
was  born  August  12,  1866,  L.  P.  KaufEmann 
passed  the  uneventful  years  of  boyhood  and 
youth.  The  neighboring  schools  afEorded  him 
fair  opportunities  to  acquire  a  common  school 
education,  and  since  leaving  school  he  has  been  a 
close  reader  of  current  periodicals  as  well  as  a 
man  possessing  habits  of  careful  observation,  in 
which  way  he  has  gained  a  broad  fund  of  valu- 
able information.  After  having  completed  his 
studies  in  the  schools  of  Minnesota  Lake,  he 
spent  some  time  in  Mankato  and  other  places, 
and  learned  much  of  value  concerning  other  soils 
and  climates,  but  returned  in  1895  to  the  old 
homestead,  content  to  devote  the  balance  of  his 
life  to  the  cultivation  of  its  soil.  In  all  of  his 
efforts  he  has  had  the  advantage  of  the  wise 
counsel  and  efficient  co-operation  of  his  wife, 
formerly  Lena  Schaub  whom  he  married  in  Sep- 
tember of  1897,  who  used  to  be  a  successful  school 
teacher  and  is  a  sister  to  Arthur  Schaub  of  Man- 
kato, The  five  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kauff- 
mann  are  named  Arthur  L.,  Leona,  Florence, 
Edgar  A.,  and  Anna  to  whom  will  be  given  the 
best  educational  advantages  the  district  and 
county  afford,  for  the  parents  are  stanch  believers 
in  the  benefits   derived   from   a  thorough   educa- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


455 


tion.  In  the  public  affairs  of  the  locality,  Mr. 
Kauft'mann  has  long  been  interested  but  not  promi- 
nent until  his  election  as  a  member  of  the  boaru 
of  town  supervisors,  when  at  once  he  became 
recognized  among  the  other  members  of  the 
board  as  a  man  of  sterling  common  sense  and 
acute  discrimination,  and  he  was  honored  with 
election  as  chairnum  of  the  board,  in  which  re- 
sponsible position  he  has  proved  to  be  impartial, 
far-seeing,   wise  and  progressive. 


KEENE,  MADISOI!^.— During  the  period  of 
more  than  fifty  years  covering  the  duration  of 
Mr.  Keene's  residence  in  Minnesota  he  has  been 
identified  with  the  agricultural  development  of 
the  state  and  by  his  pioneer  work  has  aided  in 
fcteuring  the  gratifying  conditions  of  the  present 
era.  It  was  during  1855  that  he  came  to 
ilinnesota,  from  the  east  and  settled  in  Nicollet 
county,  where  he  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land. 
A  record  of  hardships  endured,  vicissitudes  en- 
countered and  obstacles  overcome  would  not  dif- 
fer in  his  case  from  those  of  other  pioneers  of 
tbe  northwest.  With  a  stout  heart  that  defied 
the  storms  of  winter  and  the  incessant  toil  of 
summer,  he  bravely  discharged  every  duty  and 
overcome  the  obstacles  confronting  him.  From 
Nicollet  county  he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  now  is  living  in  Mankato,  retired  from  life's 
strenuous  activities,  yet  interested  in  every  enter- 
prise that  tends  to  the  betterment  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  development  of  the  county's 
resources. 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  New  England  the 
Keene  family  crossed  the  ocean  from  England 
and  settled  in  Maine.  There  was  passed  the  busy 
life  of  Isaac  Keene,  a  Eevolutionary  soldier,  who 
lived  to  be  ninety-six  years  of  age.  Among  the 
children  of  this  hero  was  Jeremiah,  a  native  of 
Maine,  who  followed  farm  pursuits  and  remained 
in  the  east  until  his  death.  His  wife,  who  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Eebecca  Kendall,  was  like- 
wise a  native  of  Maine  and  is  now  deceased.  The 
common  schools  of  Maine  afforded  fair  oppor- 
tunities to  Madison  Keene,  but  bis  wide  fund  of 
knowledge  has  been  principally  acquired  from 
contact  with  the  world  and  habits  of  close  ob- 
servation.    Leaving  Maine  to  seek  a  home  in  the 


then  unknown  west,  he  came  to  Minnesota  in  the 
year  1855  and  took  up  an  unimproved  farm  in 
Nicollet  county,  whence  he  removed  to  Blue 
Earth  county  in  the  early  eighties.  While  still 
a  young  lad  he  had  learned  the  carpenter's  trade 
and  this  he  follo'wcd  to  some  extent  in  the  em- 
ploy of  others,  but  principally  in  the  erection  of 
needed  buildings  on  his  own  farm. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Keene  was  solemnized  in 
1853  and  united  him  with  Phoebe  Ann  Eldridge, 
who  was  born  in  Maine  and  died  in  ilinnesota 
in  December  of  1901.  Three  children  blessed  the 
union,  namely :  V.  M.,  George  E.  and  a  daughter, 
Ella  May,  now  the  wife  of  S.  A.  Eouse.  Tht; 
family  have  always  enjoyed  the  esteem  of  associ- 
ates and  have  been  active  in  the  work  of  the 
Methodist  church.  Intensely  loyal  in  his  devo- 
tion to  the  Union,  Mr.  Keene  was  one  of  the 
first  to  tender  his  aid  at  the  opening  of  the  war 
with  the  south.  During  June  of  18G1,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  H,  Second  Minnesota  In- 
fantry, with  whose  noteworthy  achievements  he 
was  thenceforward  identified.  Accompanying  the 
regiment  to  Kentucky  he  took  part  un  the  engage- 
ment at  Mills  Springs.  Next  he  fought  at  Perry- 
ville,  then  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Corinth,  and 
the  engagements  at  Chickamauga  and  Chatta- 
nooga, after  which  he  participated  in  the  Atlanta 
campaign  lasting  one  hundred  days,  fought  in 
the  sanguinary  contest  at  Lookout  Mountain, 
and  accompanied  General  Sherman  in  the  famous 
march  to  the  sea.  After  having  served  three  years 
he  was  mustered  out  at  Chattanooga  and  re- 
ceived  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army. 
Since  the  organization  of  Wilkin  Post  No.  19  he 
has  been  active  in  its  work  and  interested  in  the 
welfare  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic. 


KENWAED,  HEEBEET  C— The  establish- 
ment of  the  Kenward  familv  in  America  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  one  of  its  well-known  mem- 
bers, Jesse  Kenward  of  England,  having  served 
with  distinction  in  the  British  army,  received 
from  the  government  of  his  country  a  grant  of 
land  in  Canada.  Shortly  afterward  he  made 
the  voyage  to  the  Canadian  shores  and  investi- 
gated his  new  property,  wliich  he  found  to  be  lo- 
cated near  Warwick  in   Ontario.     Som.e   of  his 


456 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


elder  sons  accompanied  him  to  the  new  estate 
and  aided  him  in  preparing  a  home  for  the 
olher  members  of  the  family,  who  in  due  time 
joined  him  at  his  frontier  farm.  From  that 
time  until  his  death  he  remained  a  resident  of 
Canada  and  warmly  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  that  country.  His  son,  Robert  N.,  was  born 
at  Otsego,  A'ew  York,  and  grew  to  manhood  in 
Canada,  where  he  married  Jane  Shaw,  a  native 
of  Ireland.  Soon  after  his  marriage  he  removed 
to  the  States  and  settled  in  Michigan,  where  dur- 
ing his  residence  at  St.  Clair  his  son,  Herbert 
C,  was  born,  March  9,  1855.  A  comparatively 
brief  sojourn  in  Michigan  was  followed  by  his 
removal  to  Minnesota  in  May  of  1858  and  in 
this  state  he  secured  a  claim  near  Plaipview, 
Wabasha  county.  During  1867  he  settled  in 
Blue  Earth  county  and  secured  a  homestead  that 
now  is  occupied  by  his  older  son.  Since  retiring 
from  agricultural  activities  he  has  made  his  home 
at  Minnesota  Lake,  this  state,  and  still  maintains 
a  warm  interest  in  town  and  county  happenings, 
has  decided  opinions  concerning  matters  of  gen- 
eral importance,  and  possesses  the  ability  and  in- 
telligence that  enabled  him  to  serve  with  credit  to 
himself  in  various  local  offices. 

The  younger  of  the  two  sons  of  Robert  N".  Ken- 
ward  is  Herbert  C,  whose  earliest  recollections 
are  associated  with  Minnesota,  he  having  been 
brought  to  this  state  at  the  age  of  only  three 
years.  Educated  in  the  country  schools,  he  has 
supplemented  the  information  desired  from  text- 
books by  comprehensive  reading  and  by  habits  of 
close  observation,  and  therefore  is  a  well-informed 
man.  No  citizen  maintains  a  warmer  interest  in 
the  growth  of  Blue  Earth  county  than  does  he, 
and  his  interest  is  not  limited  to  the  department 
of  his  special  activitiy,  that  of  agriculture,  but 
extends  into  educational  affairs,  public  enter- 
prises, business  development,  and  indeed  every 
phase  of  growth  associated  with  the  welfare  of 
the  residents  and  the  continuation  of  their  pros- 
perity. On  Christmas  day  of  1879,  he  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Prances  James,  daughter  of 
George  James,  who  came  to  Danville  township, 
this  couniy,  during  the  sixties  and  assisted  in 
the  agricultural  development  of  this  region.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kenward  are  as  fol- 
lows:    Jess,  now  living  in  New  Ulm,  this  state; 


Ethel,  who  is  well  educated  and  at  this  writing 
teaches  school;  Ac  .lie,  who  is  completing  the 
studies  of  the  Maple  ton  high  school;  and  Robert, 
Jr.  Since  his  marriage,  ilr.  Kenward  has  lived 
in  Danville  township  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  formerly  known  as  the  Joseph 
Hunt  property.  During  the  long  period  since 
he  purchased  this  tract  he  has  maintained  a  neat 
set  of  farm  buildings,  has  improved  the  apear- 
ance  of  the  farm  by  the  planting  of  shade  trees, 
and  has  kept  the  soil  in  a  high  state  of  fertility 
through  care  in  the  rotation  of  crops.  In  common 
with  other  farmers  of  the  county  he  finds  stock- 
raising  a  profitable  adjunct  to  the  raising  of 
grain,  and  he  always  keeps  on  the  place  as  many 
Norman  horses,  Durham  cattle  and  hogs,  as  the 
pastures  and  buildings  will  accommodate.  For 
some  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  town 
board,  but  with  that  exception  he  has  not  partici- 
pated actively  in  township  affairs  nor  has  he 
at  any  time  sought  the  honors  connected  with 
official  positions,  preferring  to  devote  himself  ex- 
clusively to  the  management  of  his  agricultural 
interests. 


KENWARD,  PIERCE  W.— There  are  few 
names  more  familiar  to  the  people  of  Danville 
township  than  that  of  Kenward.  Two  gener- 
ations of  the  family  have  contributed  to  the 
agricultural  development  of  the  township  and 
liave  beefi  important  factors  in  all  movements 
for  the  educational  and  moral  upbuilding  of 
tbeir  community.  Always  stanch  in  their  al- 
legiance to  the  principles  of  free  education  and 
public  schools,  they  have  been  active  factors  in 
developing  the  country  schools.  As  early  as 
18G9,  the  father  was  selected  to  hold  the  posi- 
tion of  school  treasurer  and  he  continued  in 
that  capacity  until  his  removal  to  Minnesota 
Lake,  since  which  time  his  son.  Pierce  W., 
has  been  the  incumbent  of  the  office,  which  he 
fills  with  judgment,   accuracy  and  fidelity. 

Mention  of  the  Kenward  family  upon  an- 
other page  of  this  volume  shows  that  they  be- 
came established  in  America  through  one  of  their 
representatives,  who  had  served  for  twenty  years 
or  m.ore  in  the  British  army,  receiving  in  recog- 
nition of  his  services  to  his  country   a  grant  of 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOET. 


457 


land  situated  near  Warwick  in  Canada.  Eemu?- 
ing  to  that  then  frontier  region,  he  began  the 
clearing  of  the  land,  in  which  work  he  had  the 
energetic  assistance  of  his  sons.  The  country 
was  then  in  an  undeveloped  condition.  Eoads 
ao  yet  had  not  been  opened,  and  everything  was 
carried  on  horseback,  through  the  trackless 
forests  and  over  the  unbroken  plains.  The  ex- 
periences endured  by  the  family  in  their  Cana- 
dian home  were  of  the  pioneer  type  and  prepared 
them  for  similar  experiences  which  later  they 
endured  in  the  improving  of  their  Minnesota 
homestead. 

Born  at  St.  Clair,  Michigan,  March  23,  1853, 
Pierce  W.  Ken  ward  was  a  very  small  child  (five 
years  of  age)  when  the  family  removed  to  Min- 
nesota; hence  he  has  few  recollections  of  any 
home  other  than  this  state,  and  he  is  thoroughly 
loyal  in  his  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  com- 
monwealth. Upon  establishing  domestic  ties 
he  was  united  in  marriage,  November  27,  1880, 
with  Lilly  J.  Hunt,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Hunt.  As  early  as  1866 
the  Hunt  family  removed  to  Minnesota  and  set- 
tled in  Blue  Earth  county,  taking  up  land  and 
improving  a  farm  that  now  is  occupied  by  the 
brother  of  Mr.  Kenward.  The  children  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Kenward  are  named  as  follows:  Eobert 
N.;  deceased;  Kit  M.,  who  now  is  engaged  in 
teaching  school  in  Mapleton  township;  Claude 
A.,  Sarah  M.,  and  George  J.,  who  remain  with 
their  parents.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  Mr. 
Kenward  to  give  his  sons  a  business  training 
beginning  in  their  early  youth  and  with  this 
purpose  in  view  he  has  given  them  an  interest 
ill  some  of  the  stock  while  they  are  yet  boys.  They 
are  trained  to  care  for  the  animals  and  to  buy 
and  sell  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  a  gain 
for  their  investment,  thus  developing  along  prac- 
tical lines.  The  stock  on  the  farm  is  of  the 
best  grades.  The  cattle  are  of  the  Durham  type 
with  registered  sires,  while  the  dairy  cattle  are 
blooded.  In  horses  the  favorites  are  Clydes, 
while  Poland-China  hogs  furnish  a  valuable 
addition  to  the  income  from  the  farm.  Having 
given  his  attention  closely  to  the  care  of  the 
land  and  the  stock,  Mr.  Kenward  has  had  little 
leisure  to  participate  in  public  affairs  and  aside 
from  the  school  office  previously  named  he  has 


declined  official  honors.  Fraternally  he  has 
allied  himself  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
United  Workmen,  but  with  that  exception  has 
not  become  identified  with  insurance  or  social 
organizations.  In  his  devotion  to  duty,  in  his 
industrious  habits,  in  his  energetic  tempera- 
ment, in  his  high  principles  of  honor  he  fur- 
nishes a  fine  example  of  the  farmers  of  whom 
the    county    has    every    reason   to   be    proud. 


KEYSOE,  CAPT.  CLAEK.— Too  much 
praise  cannot  be  bestowed  upon  those  gallant 
patriots,  who  during  the  dark  days  of  the  Civil 
war,  and  at  a  time  when  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Union  was  threatened,  offered  their  services  in 
defence  of  the  stars  and  stripes  and  bravely  en- 
dured the  horrors  of  a  civil  war  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  end  they  felt  to  be  necussar}'  for  the 
welfare  of  the  nation.  Numbered  among  the 
brave  soldiers  whom  Blue  Earth  county  contri- 
buted to  the  Union  was  Captain  Keysor,  who 
during  the  course  of  the  war  laid  aside  his  car- 
penters' tools  and  relinquished  the  building  con- 
tracts he  had  taken,  in  order  that  he  might  serve 
his  country  in  her  hour  of  need.  A'aried  exper- 
iences befell  him  in  the  course  of  his  service  and 
such  was  the  courage  with  which  he  met  every 
issue  that  at  the  time  of  the  muster-out  he 
bore  the  rank  of  captain  of  his  company. 

A  pioneer  of  Minnesota,  where  he  has  made  his 
home  in  Mankato  since  1858,  Captain  Keysor 
was  born  in  Luzerne,  Warren  county,  New  York, 
May  24,  1826,  and  was  one  among  the  five  child- 
ren of  Clark  and  Elizabeth  (Frost)  Keysor.  The 
father  followed  the  lumbering  business  until  bis 
death,  which  occurred  in  New  York  state  in  1830. 
Survived  by  the  widow,  she  eventually  came  to 
Mankato  and  died  here  in  1877  at  an  advanced 
age.  Their  son,  Clark,  Jr.,  received  a  common- 
school  education  in  New  Y^ork  state  and  grew  to 
manhood  upon  a  farm,  early  gaining  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  agricultural  pursuits.  However,  his 
tastes  did  not  lie  in  the  direction  of  the  farm 
and  he  turned  his  attention  to  carpentering, 
which  trade  he  thoroughly  mastered  in  his  early 
manhood.  For  a  time  he  followed  that  occupa- 
tion near  the  old  home,  but  in  1858  he  identified 
himself  with  the  pioneers  of  the  northwest  and 


458 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


suttled  in  MankatOj  where  he  afterwards  carriea 
ou  a  buiiamg  business  and  ereettd  many  oi  tlie 
eany  ana  suDstantiai  structures  m  tnac  growing 
lown.  (Jt  recent  jears  he  lias  done  little  active 
carjjcnLering  and  lias  limited  his  wort  to  the 
tajiing  01  coDtractSj  with  the  general  supervis'.ou 
01  tue  same,  in  general  it  ma}'  be  said  tliat  reli- 
ability and  painstaking  skill  have  characterized  all 
01  Ins  contracts^  whicu  are  hlled  with  a  fidelity 
ciiaracteristic  ot  the  man. 

The  marriage  of  Captain  Keysor  took  place 
September  15,  1850,  and  united  him  with  Amy 
L.  Johnson,  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  New 
York.  I'our  sons  and  four  daughters  came  to 
bless  their  union,  and  of  these  the  following  sur- 
vive :  William  W.,  married  and  living  in  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  where  he  occupied  a  chair  in  the 
St.  Louis  Law  college;  Elizabeth  F.,  now  Mrs. 
J.  A.  Flittie;  Amy  M.,  who  is  Mrs.  Charles  Car- 
penter; and  John  J.,  who  is  married  and  living 
on  a  large  ranch  near  Sturgis,  South  Dakota. 
The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Methodist 
church  and  are  contriibutors  to  its  various  socie- 
ties as  well  as  its  general  maintenance,  besides 
which  they  have  always  aided  in  enterprises  for 
the  upbuilding  of  the  community  and  the  welfare 
of  the  people.  Politically  Captain  Eeysor  has 
been  a  Republican  ever  since  the  organization  of 
the  party  and  his  belief  in  its  platform  has  led 
him  to  cast  his  ballot  for  its  candidates  at  all 
elections.  A  fitting  recognition  of  his  patriotism 
and  ability  has  been  made  by  the  party  in  his 
election  to  various  offices  of  trust,  including  the 
position  of  alderman  of  Mankato,  assessor  of  the 
township,  and  representative  of  the  district  to 
the  general  assembly  of  Jlinnesota  in  the  sessions 
of  1872  and  1879.  In  these  several  positions  he 
proved  worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him  and 
ever  was  found  voting  on  the  side  of  progressive 
measures  and  public-spirited  enterprises.  Since 
the  organization  of  Wilkin  Post  No.  19,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  he  has  been  one  of  its 
leading  members  and  has  aided  generously  in  its 
charities  and  patriotic  services.  During  the  pro- 
gress of  the  Civil  war  he  became  identified  with 
the  Masonic  order  and  ever  since  then  he  has 
retained  membership  in  the  fraternity,  whose 
principles  of  philanthropy  he  upholds  and  whose 
work  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity  he  endorses. 


At  the  -time  Captain  Keysor's  enlistment  in 
the  army,  which  occurred  August  8,  1862,  he  was 
assigned  to  Indian  services  in  Minnesota,  but  a 
year  later  was  scut  to  the  front  as  first  lieuten- 
ant of  Company  E,  Ninth  Minnesota  Infantry. 
His  first  engagement  was  at  Gunton,  Mississippi, 
and  he  took  part  in  the  marches  and  other  activ- 
ities of  his  regiment  until  he  became  ill  with 
typhoid  fever.  The  attack  weakened  him  to  sueh 
an  extent  that  he  was  unfitted  fur  active  military 
duty  and  hence  accepted  a  post  for  recruiting 
service  at  Port  Snelling,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  honorably  discharged  as  captain. 


KIETZER,  FRED  A.— The  sons  of  pioneers 
form  a  very  considerable  and  substantial  part  of 
the  agricultural  population  of  A'ernon  Center 
towTiship  and  Blue  Earth  county  in  general,  and 
that  they  inherit  the  sterling  traits  which  made 
their  father's  the  center  of  earlier  activities, 
argues  as  well  for  the  future  as  it  does  for  the 
present,  of  the  county.  In  the  .  sketch  of  G. 
Kietzer,  of  Vernon  Center  township,  in  another 
part  of  this  work,  may  be  found  a  more  compre- 
hensive account  of  the  founders  of  the  family  in 
Minnesota.  Fred  A.  Kietzer  was  born  in  Ger- 
many, October  25,  1848,  came  with  his  parents 
to  America  at  an  early  day  and  to  Blue  Earth 
county  a  little  later. 

In  1879  Mr.  Kietzer  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Christian  Pichner,  daughter  of  Ernest  and 
Henrietta  Pichner,  farmers  by  occupation  and 
who  came  from  Germany  in  an  early  day,  settling 
on  government  land  in  Rapidan  township.  Mr. 
Pichner  is  long  since  deceased,  but  his  wife  stni 
lives  and  makes  her  home  with  her  children.  Four 
children  have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kietzer, 
August,  Emil,  Ida  and  Fred.  Mr.  Kietzer  by  fair 
and  commendable  methods  has  become  the  owner 
of  seven  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land  in 
once  piece,  and  conducts  general  farming  and 
stock-raising  on  a  large  scale.  He  is  especially 
interested  in  stock,  and  raises  a  good  quality 
of  cattle,  horses,  and  Poland-China  hogs.  When 
this  land  came  into  his  possession  it  was  wild 
and  uncultivated,  almost  a  stranger  to  plow  or 
harrow,  and  having  the  most  inadequate  of 
buildings.     The   present   owner  has   put  up   fine 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


459 


juildings  of  all  kinds,  including  a  large  and 
iommodious  dwelling,  and  Ms  machinery,  fences, 
Irainage  and  general  improvements  have  been  in- 
.tigated  by  a  progi-essive  and  generous  mind. 
^.ll  that  Mr.  Kietzer  has  is  the  result  of  his  own 
rood  judgment  and  ability  to  utilize  surround- 
.ng  opportunities.  He  started  in  life  poor,  had 
idvantages  which  most  people  in  the  present 
tvould  call  meagre  and  unsatisfactory,  yet  he  has 
rt'on  for  himself  an  abiding  place  in  all  that 
Mustitutes  material,  moral  and  general  worth, 
md  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  county's  most  rep- 
I'csentative    and    influential   farmers. 


KIETZEE,  GOTTLIEB.—  The  agricultural 
development  of  our  country  may  be  attributed 
in  large  measure  to  the  persistent  industry  and 
self-sacrificing  efEorts  of  our  citizens  from  other 
lands  or  those  who  come  of  foreign  parentage. 
Such  people  formed  the  bone  and  sinew  of  the 
pioneer  population  of  the  northwest.  The  storms 
of  winter,  the  deprivations  of  life,  the  absence 
of  every  comfort  and  the  necessity  for  constant 
toil  did  not  daunt  them,  and  it  is  the  glory  of 
our  nation  that  its  possibilities  have  attracted 
to  its  citizens  of  such  energy  and  worth.  Con- 
spicuous among  the  German-American  residents 
of  Blue  Earth  county  is  Mr.  Kietzer  who  was 
born  in  Prussia  June  28,  1846,  and  in  1857 
settled  in  Wisconsin  with  his  parents,  John  and 
Hosina  (Wollfschlager)  Kietzer,  of  Prussian 
birtli  and  lineage.  The  family  became  pioneers 
of  Wisconsin  and  there  for  eighteen  years  labored 
as  farmers,  developing  a  raw  tract  into  a  pro- 
ductive estate.  During  1875,  the  parents  re- 
moved to  Minnesota  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Oeresco  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where  the 
mother  died  in  1895,  and  since  then  the  father 
has  continued  to  reside  at  the  old  homestead. 

Coming  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1872  Mr. 
Kietzer  bought  a  tract  of  unimproved  land  in 
Vernon  Center  township  and  from  that  time  to 
the  present  he  has  continued  on  the  same  place, 
meanwhile  making  many  important  improvements 
and  adding  to  the  original  tract  until  he  now 
owns  four  hundred  and  twenty  acres  in  this  and 
Ceresco  townships.  All  of  the  land  is  under  fence 
sxeepting   twenty    acres    of   timber   on   the   Blue 


Earth  river.  For  a  few  years  after  his  arrival  he 
lived  in  a  cabin,  but  eventually  he  erected  a  neat 
Louse,  and  he  also  from  time  to  time  buUt  barn, 
granary,  etc.,  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  place.  In 
stock  lie  has  made  a  specialty  of  Poland-China 
hogs.  Plis  farm  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  in 
the  township  and  its  neat  appearance  bespeaks 
the  energy  of  the  owner. 

The  first  wife  of  Mr.  Kietzer,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  187;i  and  who  bore  the  name  of  Caroline 
Peever,  at  her  death  left  the  following  named 
children:  Emma,  William,  Frederick,  ilinnie, 
Mollie  and  Mary.  In  1886,  Mr.  Kietzer  married 
Miss  Ida  Wolff,  by  whom  he  has  six  children, 
namely:  Lydia,  Anna,  Ernst,  Herbert,  Eric  and 
Verona.  The  family  have  the  esteem  of  a  large 
circle  of  acquaintances.  Besides  attending  to 
the  management  of  his  land  Mr.  Kietzer  has 
found  time  to  keep  posted  concerning  movements 
for  the  welfare  of  his  township  and  county  and 
has  been  particularly  interested  in  the  district 
schools,  in  which  he  has  served  as  a  director. 
For  one  year  he  served  as  chairman  of  the 
board  of  township  trustees  and  in  addition  he 
held  office  as  a  member  of  the  county  board  of 
supervisors  for  two  years. 


KIFFE,  GBOEGE.— The  list  of  honored  pio- 
neer farmers  of  Blue  Earth-county  includes  the 
name  of  George  Kiffe  whose  face  was  once  familiar 
to  the  people  of  his  vicinity,  but  who  has  now  en- 
tered into  eternal  rest.  It  was  during  the  spring 
of  1856  that  he  sought  a  home  in  the  then  un- 
developed northwest,  concerning  whose  resources 
and  opportunities  he  had  heard  much.  For  some 
years  before  coming  here  he  had  lived  in  Mis- 
souri, but  on  the  8th  of  April,  1856,  he  and  his 
young  wife  left  that  state  and  traveled  toward 
the  north  in  a  "prairie  schooner"  containing 
their  worldly  effects.  When  they  arrived  at 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  they  found  that  further  travel 
by  wagon  was  impractical  and  hence  they  took 
passage  on  a  steamboat.  On  the  19th  of  May 
they  landed  at  Mankato  and  shortly  afterward 
secured  a  tract  of  land  on  which  they  began 
farming.  The  first  purchase  comprised  eighty 
acres,  but  this  was  increased  until  their  landed 
possessions  aggregated  large  areas,  and  the  widow 


460 


BIOGIUPHICAL  HISTORY. 


now  owns  two  hundred  arces  of  valuable  land, 
ail  the  result  of  their  economy,  industry  and 
sagacity. 

I'lie  son  of  wealthy  parents,  George  Kift'e  was 
born  at  Borken  Wcsphalia,  Germany,  June  lb, 
1^31,  and  grew  to  manhood  upon  the  home  farm. 
U  pon  starting  out  for  himself  at  the  age  of  twenty 
years  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  proceeded 
rrom  New  iork  westward  to  Missouri,  where 
he  secured  employment  on  a  farm  near  St. 
Charles.  \Vhile  living  there  he  was  united  iu 
marriage,  fi'ebruary  15,  1855,  with  Gertrude 
Amptmann,  a  native  of  Germany,  born  Septem- 
ber 1,  1834,  being  the  daughter  of  Casper  Ampt- 
mann, a  prosperous  shoemaker  of  Brattinghaus, 
her  native  village.  Of  her  marriage  to  Mr. 
Kiffe  twelve  children  A^ere  born,  all  but  three 
of  whom  are  yet  living.  The  seven  sons  and  two 
daughters  remain  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
they  are  well  known  and  universally  honored  as 
worthy  citizens.  The  youngest  child,  Anna,  is 
her  mother's  companion  and  tenderly  ministers 
to  her  comfort  in  her  declining  years.  The  fam- 
ily left  the  farm  in  June  of  1896  and  moved 
into  Mankato,  purchasing  a  comfortable  home  on 
the  principal  residence  street  of  the  city.  Here 
Mr.  Kiffe  spent  his  last  years  surrounded  by  the 
comforts  his  industry  had  rendered  possible  and 
hero  he  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  March  28,  1904. 
His  body  was  interred  in  Calvary  cemetery  after 
appropriate  funeral  services  under  the  auspices 
o^  the  German  Catholic  church,  to  which  he  be- 
longed. 

After  having  talten  out  naturalization  papers 
as  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  George  KifEe 
became  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  took  a  warm  interest  in  its  local  af- 
fairs. For  some  time  he  served  as  town  clerk 
and  he  also  was  honored  by  election  as  a  super- 
visor of  Blue  Earth  county  representing  Man- 
kato township.  While  he  was  a  pronounced 
Democrat  and  active  in  the  party,  his  friends 
were  not  limited  to  men  of  the  same  belief.  On 
the  contrary,  he  was  popular  with  all,  for  his 
sterling  traits  of  character  commanded  the  con- 
fidence and  good-will  of  all.  Sharing  with  him 
in  the  general  esteem  was  his  wife,  who  has  been 
spared  to  the  age  of  more  than  three  score  years 
and  ten  and  retains  her  faculties  unimpaired  by 


time.  Her  pleasant  manner  and  motherly  face 
win  the  friendship  of  all,  but  especially  of  the 
little  chilUrcn  near  her  home,  among  whom  she 
IS  a  general  favorite. 


KiAAEY,  J.  HUBEET.— The  era  which  wit- 
nessed the  arrival  of  white  settlers  in  Blue 
Earth  county  and  the  pre-empting  of  government 
claims  by  the  home-seekers  from  further  east, 
brought  among  other  pioneers  Horace  Ejnney, 
a  descendant  of  Scotch-Irish  ancestry  and  a 
native  of  Herkimer  county,  New  York,  where 
his  father,  James,  was  a  lifelong  resident.  Dur- 
ing early  manhood  he  had  married  Elizabeth 
Darling,  who  was  born  and  reared  in  Troy,  New 
York,  and  they  had  engaged  in  improving  a 
farm  in  Wisconsin,  having  settled  in  that  state 
during  the  early  fifties  together  with  her  father 
and  two  of  her  brothers.  All  of  these  came  to 
Minnesota  in  1856  and  joined  the  original 
settlers  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  they  pre- 
empted adjacent  claims  in  Shelby  township. 
Erom  that  time  until  his  demise  Horace  Kinney 
continued  to  reside  upon  a  farm  in  that  town- 
ship. \Vhile  visiting  in  Mankato  he  was  taken 
ill  and  died  in  that  city  June  1,  1877.  Other 
pioneers  who  survive  him  testify  in  the  warmest 
terms  concerning  his  fine  qualities  as  a  citizen, 
husband  and  father,  and  state  that  he  was  a 
man  of  ability  far  above  the  average.  His  in- 
terest in  the  welfare  of  the  county  led  him  to 
serve  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors, 
which  position  he  filled  for  a  number  of  years. 

Nine  children  comprise  the  family  of  Horace 
and  Elizabeth  Kinney  and  all  are  still  living,  but 
only  three  remain  in  Blue  Earth  county,  the 
others  having  established  homes  in  other  sections 
of  the  country.  Two  of  the  sons,  J.  Hubert  and 
Walter,  are  partners  in  the  livery  business  at 
Amboy,  having  in  1903  acquired  the  stables 
owned  by  Strong  &  Decker,  which  they  now  con- 
duct. Walter  was  born  in  November  of  1879 
and  received  a  fair  education.  In  June  of  1899 
he  married  Elsie  Merrill,  daughter  of  Allen  Mer- 
rill, who  was  born  in  Wisconsin  and  came  from 
there  to  Minnesota,  settling  at  Garden  City,  his 
present  home.  They  are  the  parents  of  four 
children:  Burton,  Paul,  Ellise  and  Alice  (twins). 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


461 


On  the  home  farm  in  Shelby  township.  Blue 
Earth  county  J.  Hubert  Kinney  was  born  May 
20,  1872,  and  his  primary  education  was  ob- 
tained in  the  neighboring  school,  after  which 
he  completed  his  studies  in  the  Minnesota  State 
Xormal  at  Mankato.  For  ten  3'ears  he  made 
school  teaching  his  principal  occupation  and 
met  with  encouraging  success  in  the  work,  being 
engaged  in  this  and  Martin  counties.  During 
1903  he  received  an  oppointment  as  carrier  of 
mail  on  rural  free  delivery  route  No.  3,  and 
v.hile  on  the  home  farm  he  also  served  for  two 
years  as  justice  of  the  peace.  Since  coming 
to  Amboy  he  has  officiated  as  a  member  of  the 
school  hoard  for  three  years.  With  his  brother 
Walter  he  purchased  the  old  homestead  and  had 
charge  of  the  estate  until  1903,  when  they 
traded  the  farm  for  a  livery  business  in  Amboy. 
The  building,  70x100  feet,  is  equipped  for  the 
purpose  desired  and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty 
head  of  horses  are  usually  kept  here,  a  general 
coach  and  dray  business  being  conducted.  In 
order  to  raise  feed  for  the  horses  the  brothers 
purchased  and  now  operate  a  farm  in  Shelby 
township,  the  same  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  A  large  number  of  horses  are  raised 
on  this  quarter  section,  and  a  Percheron  is  kept 
at  the  head  of  the  herd.  In  addition  they  own 
a  part  of  the  original  homestead  three  and  one- 
half  miles  west  of  Amboy,  on  section  seventeen. 

The  marriage  of  J.  Hubert  Kinney  took  place 
June  24,  1903,  and  united  him  with  Agnes 
Otterstein,  a  native  of  Shelby  township, 
this  county,  and  a  daughter  of  F. 
R.  Otterstein,  one  of  the  prominent  farmers  of 
the  county.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kinney  enjoy  the 
friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances  in 
the  town  and  township  and  stand  high  in  social 
circles,  while  in  fraternal  associations  he  is  an 
influential  member  of  the  blue  lodge  of  Masons, 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
Jtodern  Woodmen   of  America   at  Amboy. 


KLETNSCHMIDT.  CONRAD.— The  enumer- 
alion  of  business  enterprises  in  the  city  of  Man- 
kato includes  the  plant  operated  by  the  Mankato 
Interior  Manufacturing  and  Lumber  Company, 
whose   original   mill,    erected  in   1897,    stood   on 


North  Broad  street  and  was  equipped  for  the 
manufacture  of  sash,  doors,  mouldings,  lath  and 
shingles.  The  plant  was  destroyed  by  fire,  June 
13,  1906,  and  later  was  rebuilt  on  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Eoek  streets.  The  brick  structure  is 
108x150  feet  in  dimensions  and  is  divided  into 
departments  of  sizes  suitable  for  their  special 
purposes,  including  a  space  of  31x.->0  feet,  which 
is  utilized  for  a  flour  mill.  The  proprietor  of 
the  business,  Mr.  Kleinschmidt,  has  had  years 
of  practical  experience  as  a  carpenter  and  con- 
tractor, and  has  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
building  material,  their  qualities  and  values, 
as  well  as  the  particular  kinds  most  practicable 
and  economical  for  ordinary  use. 

Born  in  Hesse-Darmstadt,  Germany.  February 
15,  1861,  Mr.  Kleinschmidt  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Katherine  Kleinschmidt,  natives  of  Ger- 
many, who  crossed  the  ocean  a  few  years  after 
their  marriage  and  settled  in  Racine,  Wisconsin, 
where  the  father  secured  employment  at  his  trade 
of  carpentering.  That  was  in  1861,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Civil  war.  A  few  months 
later  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Union  army 
and  went  to  the  front,  serving  for  three  years 
and  six  months,  when  he  received  an  honorable 
discharge.  On  his  return  to  Racine  he  resumed 
carpentering.  In  1879,  removed  from  that 
city  to  Minnesota  and  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Mankato  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
now  resides.  Of  his  seven  children  Louise,  Mrs. 
Jc'hn  Trenhauser  died  in  1903.  Those  now  living 
are  named  as  follows:  Conrad,  the  eldest  of  the 
family;  Katherine,  Mrs.  William  Kittenger,  of 
Caledonia,  Wisconsin;  John,  who  is  engaged  in 
the  real  estate  business  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota ; 
Nicholas,  living  in  Mankato;  Gustav,  who  is 
associated  in  business  with  his  eldest  brother ; 
and  Charles,  who  remains  on  the  home  farm  in 
Mankato   township. 

Leaving  home  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years 
Conrad  Kleinschmidt  secured  employment  at 
carpentering,  of  which  previously  he  had  gained 
considerable  knowledge  under  his  father's  train- 
ing. When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  was  paid 
the  wages  of  a  skilled  workman.  A  year  later  he 
had  charge  of  sixty-five  hands.  On  coming  to 
Mankato  in  1878,  he  engaged  in  farming  near 
the  city  for  a  year  and  then  resumed  work  at 


46-: 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


his  trade^  buildings  farm  houses  and  bams.  In 
1880  he  went  to  South  Dakota,  where  he  had 
the  contract  for  the  erection  of  three  grain  ele- 
vators, those  being  at  Big  Stone,  Milbank, 
and  Wilmont.  Eeturning  to  Mankato  the  follow- 
ing year  he  resumed  work  at  his  trade.  In  1883 
he  was  called  to  St.  Paul  to  take  charge  of  con- 
tracts for  a  firm  of  contractors  in  that  city. 
Two  years  later  he  took  up  contracting  for  him- 
self and  continued  until  1890,  when  he  became 
superintendent  at  Duluth  for  H.  D.  Hayes  & 
Company  of  Chicago.  In  the  employ  of  the 
same  firm  he  was  transferred  to  Chicago  in 
1891.  During  1894  he  took  up  his  permanent 
residence  at  Mankato,  where  he  followed  his  trade 
until  1897  and  since  then  has  been  engaged  in 
the    manufacture    of    interior    furnishings. 

In  political  opinions  Mr.  Kleinschmidt  always 
supports  the  Eepublican  party.  His  was  the 
honor  of  being  the  iirst  Eepublican  elected  from 
his  ward  (the  second)  to  serve  as  a  member 
of  the  board  of  aldermen  and  in  that  capacity 
he  gave  his  support  to  movements  calculated  to 
benefit  the  people  without  unduly  taxing  the 
property  owners.  The  Commercial  Club  is  one 
of  the  organizations  for  the  development  of  local 
tiade  which  has  received  his  stanch  support.  In 
fraternal  relations  he  holds  memberehip  with  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  An- 
cient Order  of  United  Workmen,  also  the  Sons 
of  Herman.  His  marriage  took  place  in  Eacine, 
Wisconsin,  May  2,  1882,  and  united  him  with 
Miss  Anna  Boehland,  daughter  of  Theodore  and 
Amalie  (Therendorf)  Boehland,  of  that  city. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  daughters,  Amalie 
]\r.   and  Emma   K.   E.   Kleinschmidt. 


KLEINSCHMIDT,  GHSTAV.— Gustav  Klein- 
schmidt, who,  with  his  brother,  Conrad,  is 
engaged  in  an  extensive  lumber  and  manu- 
facturing business  in  Mankato,  is  a  young  man 
of  energy  and  progress,  and  one  who  gives 
promise  of  fulfilling  a  large  and  particularly 
useful  destiny.  Of  his  family  and  immediate 
connections  much  may  be  learned  elsewhere  in 
this  work.  He  is  a  product  of  country  train- 
ing   and    trade    incentive,    and    spent    the    first 


thirty-three  years  of  his  life  combining  farm- 
ing and  the  trade  of  carpentering.  Bom  in 
Eacine,  Wisconsin,  November  12,  1870,  he  came 
to  Mankato  township  in  1879,  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade  of  his  father,  Otto  Kleinschmidt, 
and  aided  the  latter  in  constructing  many  resi- 
dences, barns  and  out-buildings  throughout  the 
county. 

Mr.  Kleinschmidt  came  to  Mankato  in  1903, 
and  at  once  identified  himself  with  the  brother's 
lumber  and  manufacturing  business,  his  former 
experience  as  a  contractor  being  of  unquestioned 
benefit  to  him.  He  has  become  associated  with 
many  phases  of  city  life,  is  an  earnest  Ee- 
publican, and  fraternally  is  a  member  of  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America.  October  22,  1896,  Mr. 
Kleinschmidt  was  united  in  marriage  to  Bertha 
Alfrcda  Eoemer,  daughter  of  Bruner  Eoemer,  a 
well  known  resident  of  Mankato,  and  of  the 
union  there  are  two  children :  Florion  and  Ar- 
miin.  Mr.  Kleinschmidt  is  possessed  of  keen  busi- 
ness sagacity,  and  is  highly  respected  by  the 
large  number  of  people  with  which  his  busi- 
ness necessarily  brings  him  in   contact  with. 


KLEINSCHMIDT,  NICHOLAS.— The  scope 
and  efficiency  of  the  Mankato  fire  department 
have  been  materially  increased  since  the  elec- 
tion of  its  present  chief,  Nicholas  Kleinschmidt, 
in  April,  1905.  As  a  means  of  insuring  safety  to 
the  people  and  institutions  of  the  town  the  de- 
partment now -compares  favorably  with  those  in 
larger  and  older  communities,  and  the  bravery 
and  ability  of  the  men  who  risk  their  lives 
whenever  occasion  demands,  makes  constant 
appeal  to  the  gratitude  and  appreciation  of  all 
who  have  the  welfare  of  the  city  at  heart. 

Mr.  Kleinschmidt  has  many  and  other  claims 
upon  the  consideration  of  his  fellow  townsmen, 
and  is  a  man  of  varied  experience,  and  thorough 
knowledge  of  municipal  needs.  His  family  have 
been  closely  connected  with  the  commercial  up- 
building of  this  part  of  the  county,  and  he  in- 
herits the  stability  and  public  spiritedness  of 
his  father,  mention  of  whom  may  be  found  else- 
vhere  in  this  work.  Mr.  Kleinschmidt  was 
educated   in   the  public   schools,   and   in   earlier 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


463 


life  learned  the  carpenter's  trade,  which  he  fol- 
lowed continuously  up  to  1900,  when  poor  health 
necessitated  his  abandonment  of  this  interesting 
occupation.  In  1895  he  engaged  in  the  saloon 
business  on  North  Front  street,  but  disposed  of 
the  same  in  1897.  He  then  opened  the  Opera 
Cafe,  which  he  sold  two  years  later  and  became 
tl]f-  proprietor  of  the  Stahl  House  which  he 
conducted  for  four  years.  With  his  brother, 
John,  he  fitted  up  the  "Bavaria,"  in  1903, 
purchasing  new  fixtures  and  furnishings  through- 
out, and  conducting  the  same  under  the  firm 
name  of  Kleinschmidt  Brothers. 

Mr.  Kleinschmidt  subscribes  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Eepublican  part}',  and  he  has  been 
active  in  the  same  for  several  years,  filling  sev- 
eral offices  previous  to  his  election  as  fire  chief 
in  1905.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  Indepen- 
dent Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  Sons  of  Herman. 
December  10,  1891,  Mr.  Kleinschmidt  married 
Anna  Arnold,  daughter  of  Adam  Arnold,  of 
Mankato  town.sbip,  and  of  the  union  there  are 
six  children;  Eobert,  Esther,  Mamie,  Eva,  Her- 
bert,  and   Harold. 


KN"APP,  JAMES  K.— This  honored  citizen  of 
Madison  Lake,  who  was  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  incorporation  of  the  town  and  has  held  a 
number  of  its  most  important  offices,  was  born 
in  Madison  county,  Few  York,  February  18, 
1844,  being  a  son  of  Ambrose-  and  Jane  Ann 
(Moxley)  Knapp.  The  father  was  born  in  Con- 
necticut, May  2,  1813,  and  the  mother  was  a 
native  of  Ireland,  born  in  December  of  1814. 
Early  in  life  Ambrose  Knapp  learned  the  trade 
of  a  ship  carpenter,  which  he  followed  for  a  time 
in  Connecticut  and  also  removing  to  ISTew  York 
about  184.3.  Seeking  the  undeveloped  regions  of 
the  then  frontier  with  the  hope  of  finding  op- 
portunities greater  than  awaited  him  in  the  east, 
in  1844  he  moved  to  Wisconsin  and  built  the 
first  hotel  ever  erected  in  the  city  of  Milwaukee. 
The  following  year  he  moved  to  land  ceded  by 
the  government  from  the  Indians  in  Fond  du 
Lac  county,  Wisconsin,  and  was  employed  by  the 
government  to  capture  a  party  of  Indians  who 
had  persistently  refused  to  leave  this  land.  After 


having  successfully  removed  the  party  to  the 
reservation  near  St.  Clair,  Minnesota,  he  re- 
turned to  ^Milwaukee  and  in  1852,  settled  at 
Osceola,  Wisconsin,  where  he  purchased  eighty 
acres,  divided  the  land  into  town  lots  and  estab- 
lished an  addition  that  is  now  in  the  heart  of 
that  city.  Upon  removing  to  Eureka,  Wisconsin, 
in  1855  he  worked  as  a  ship  carpenter  and  diir- 
ing  1858  he  became  a  pioneer  farmer  near  Buena 
Vista,  Portage  county,  that  state.  From  agri- 
cultural pursuits  he  turned  his  attention  to  the 
building  of  a  hotel,  which  afterward  he  operated 
for  a  time.     He  moved  to  Madelia  in  1861. 

Securing  land  across  the  river  from  ^ladelia, 
Minnesota,  in  1861,  Ambrose  Knapp  embarked  in 
the  raising  of  stock.  During  an  outbreak  by 
the  Sioux  Indians  that  threatened  the  lives  of 
the  white  settlers,  in  1863  he  was  forced  to 
leave  his  farm,  and  he  then  went  for  safety  to 
Mankato,  where  during  the  Civil  war  he  engaged 
in  the  freighting  business  for  the  government. 
Afterward  he  bought  and  sold  land  until  the  in- 
firmities of  age  forced  him  to  relinquish  business 
activities  and  he  made  his  home  near  his  son 
from  1890  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Janu- 
ary 33,  189.3.  The  education  of  James  K.  Knapp 
was  obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  various  locali- 
ties where  the  family  resided.  August  18,  1861, 
he  learned  that  the  savages  were  secretly  plotting 
to  massacre  the  white  settlers  at  ISFew  IJlm  and 
he  hurried  to  the  settlement  to  warn  the  people. 
Thereupon  he  was  by  them  dispatched  a  distance 
of  thirty  miios  to  secure  aid  from  the  military 
station  at  St.  Peter.  The  undertaking  was 
perilous  in  the  highest  degree,  hut  he  arrived 
there  in  safety.  Later  in  the  same  year  he 
assisted  in  the  building  of  Fort  Cox  at  Madelia. 
August  28.  1863.  he  joined  a  company  of  state 
militia  under  Captain  Eeed,  in  which  he  served 
for  six  montlis.  During  May  of  1863,  he  en- 
listed in  Company  K,  First  Minnesota  Cavalry, 
under  Peter  B.  Davy,  at  St.  Peter,  and  on  June 
6th  was  ordered  out  on  an  expedition  against 
the  S'oux  Indians.  After  having  followed  the 
trail  for  several  days,  July  31  th  they  attacked 
a  force  of  three  thousand  savages  at  Big  Mound, 
South  Dakota.  During  the  charge  several  In- 
dians were  killed,  also  two  white  men,  one  of 
the  latter  being  Dr.  Weiser,  the  company  physi- 


464 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


cian.  Mr.  Knapp  was  wounded  by  being  thrown 
from  a  horse  and  dragged  several  rods,  but  the 
injuries  were  not  serious  and  he  rejoined  the 
rngiment  in  a  few  days. 

After  having  returned  to  the  camp  the  com- 
pany started  on  the  march.  At  Stony  lake  on 
tlie  28th  of  July  they  were  surrounded  by  twenty- 
five  hundred  Indians,  but  fierce  fighting  finally 
drove  back  the  savages,  who  were  followed  by 
the  soldiers,  driven  across  the  Missouri  river 
the  following  day,  and  their  wagons,  horses  and 
provisions  captured.  On  the  15th  of  September 
Company  K  was  detailed  as  escort  to  Governor 
Ramsey  and  other  prominent  officials  who  were 
cng-aged  in  making  a  treaty  with  the  Chippewa 
Indians.  At  the  expiration  of  his  time  Mr. 
Knapp  was  mustered  out  of  the  service  at  Fort 
Snelling,  November  28,  1863.  At  different  times 
he  assisted  in  raising  companies  for  service  dur- 
ing the  war. 

Under  the  homestead  laws,  Mr.  Knapp  took 
up  eighty  acres  near  jMadelia  in  1865  and  there 
he  followed  farming  until  1872.  During  the 
two  following  years  he  engaged  as  a  veterinary 
surgeon  at  Mankato,  and  from  1874  to  1887 
followed  the  same  occupation  at  Rochester,  this 
state.  In  the  vear  last  named  he  came  to  Madi- 
son Lake,  where  he  followed  practice  as  a  vet- 
erinarv  and  conducted  a  drug  store.  The  burn- 
ing of  the  bu'lding  and  stock  of  drugs  in  1899, 
caused  him  to  remove  from  the  town,  and  for  a 
time  he  made  his  home  at  Anacortes,  Washing- 
ton, where  he  had  an  interest  in  a  clam  cannery. 
.Tune  4,  1903,  he  returned  to  Madison  Lake, 
where  he  has  since  lived  in  retirement.  Inter- 
ested in  educational  work,  he  has  served  effi- 
cientlv  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  school  di- 
rectors. In  addition  he  has  been  a  councilman 
and  for  six  terms  filled  the  office  of  justice  of 
the  peace.  His  marriage  was  solemnized  at 
Mankato,  Julv  3,  1868,  and  united  him  with 
'Marffaret  Murphv,  daughter  of  John  and  Cath- 
erine (O'Connell)  Murphv,  natives  of  Ireland. 
The  familv  hold  membership  in  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic church  and  contribute  to  its  maintenance. 
T'ive  children  blessed  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Knapp.  four  of  these  survivins,  namely:  James, 
who  married  Martha  Sorge;  George,  who  married 
Mary   Olmstead;   Genevieve,  Mrs.   Henry  Muller- 


leile;    and    Estella,    who    is    the    wife,  of    Elmer 
Casper. 

KR.UEGER,  LOTUS  W.— Enthusiasm,  self 
confidence  and  faith  in  one's  life  purpose  are 
among  the  essentials  of  success  evidenced  by  Dr. 
Louis  W.  Krueger.  With  the  exception  of  the  time 
spent  in  post  graduate  work  in  Xew  York  and 
Chicago  all  of  his  professional  life,  from  the 
time  of  his  graduation  from  the  Medical  De- 
partment of  the  University  of  Minnesota  in 
1896,  has  been  spent  in  and  around  the  town  of 
Mapleton.  Justified  by  thorough  preparation 
and  constant  progression  in  expecting  the  most 
satisfying  compensation  of  his  calling,  Dr.  Krue- 
ger has  more  than  realized  his  expectations,  and 
today  is  patronized  and  appreciated  by  a  large 
number  of  the  foremost  families  of  the  town  and 
county.  In  addition  to  a  general  medical  and 
surgical  practice,  he  has  served  for  many  years 
aft  health  officer  of  the  town  and  also  has  given 
ill  valuable  aid  as  county  physician.  He  is  known 
as  a  profound,  safe  and  dependable  guide  to  the 
boon  of  health,  as  a  sincere  student  of  sanita- 
tion and  the  simpler  ways  of  acquiring  it. 

The  studentship  of  Dr.  Krueger,  both  pro- 
fessionally and  generally,  is  characterized  by  the 
thoroughness  and  patience  with  difficulties  which 
characterizes  tlie  Teutonic  peoples.  His  parents, 
Fred  G.  and  Otilie  Bietan,  Krueger,  were 
natives  of  Germany,  and"  the  former  bom  in 
Prussia.  After  immigrating  to  the  LTnited  States 
tbey  spent  some  time  in  Pittsburc,  Pennsylvania, 
then  came  to  Wisconsin,  settling  in  Ripon,  where 
Louis  W.,  the  fourth  oldest  of  five  children, 
was  born  May  26,  1868.  Eventually  the  family 
located  in  Faribault  county,  Minnesota,  where  the 
doctor  attended  the  public  schools,  and  from 
where  he  moved  to  Mankato,  where  he  graduated 
from  the  high-school  in  the  class  of  1891.  He 
then  became  principal  of  the  public  schools  of 
ICasota,  and  in  the  fall  of  1892  assumed  the 
position  of  principal  of  the  Franklin  school,  in 
Mankato.  He  was  very  successful  as  an  educator, 
promoted  with  vigor  the  qualities  which  convert 
pupils  into  practical  and  serviceable  citizens,  and 
personally  gained  a  kind  of  insight  and  ex- 
perience which  has  been  of  great  value  to  him  in 
later    years. 


BIOGfEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


465 


The  marriage  of  Dr.  Krueger  and  Eilla  F.  Mc- 
Cormick  occurred  June  29,  1899,  Mrs.  Krueger 
being  a  daughter  of  George  L.  McCormickj  of 
Owatonna,  Minnesota.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Krueger 
are  the  parents  of  two  children:  Leslie  Emmet 
and  Alice  Onalee.  Dr.  Krueger  is  a  member  of 
the  Minnesota  Valley  ^Medical  Association,  the 
Blue  Earth  county  jNIedical  Association,  .and  the 
Minnesota  State  iledical  Society.  Fraternally 
he  is  a  master  Mason,  and  a  member  of  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a 
genial  and  sympathetic  man,  having  a  fine  and 
optimistic  nature,  and  enlists  as  friends  and  well 
wishers  all  who  are  privileged  to  know  him  well. 


KEUSE,  FEED  W.—A  practical  German,  of 
brisk,  enterprising  American  temperament,  such 
b.  a  combination  which  is  i-reative  of  the  most 
progressive  and  substantial  merchants  in  the 
country;  the  foregoing  is  also  descriptive  of 
Fred  W.  Kiuse,  manager  and  partner  with  (Jco. 
E.  Brett  Inc.,  for  many  years,  ifr.  Kruse  was 
born  in  the  Fatherland,  January  5,  ISTl,  the 
son  of  Gottfried  and  Theresa  Kruse.  The  father 
engaged  in  various  lumbering  and  agricultural 
pursuits  in  Europe,  becoming  a  resident  of  ]\ran- 
k;ito  in  1884,  and  spending  his  declining  vears 
in  that  city,  where  he  died  in  1898  at  the  age  of 
eighty-two;  the  venerable  mother  still  survives. 
The  children  of  their  family  were  as  follows : 
Gottfried,  Jr.;  Louis,  and  Henry  J.  Kruse,  com- 
prising the  mercantile  firm  of  Ivruse  Brothers, 
Mankato,  Fred  W. ;  and  Thresa,  wife  of  :\Iartin 
'SV'alscr,  who  is  also  a  merchant  of  this  city. 

Fred  W.  Kruse  was  first  educated  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  locality,  and  was  a  student 
in  a  German  high  school  at  the  age  of  fifteen, 
when  he  came  to  ilankato  and  continued  his 
studies  in  the  high  school  of  that  city,  and  at 
Ihe  Catholic  College.  In  1887  he  entered  the  firm 
ot  Geo.  E.  Brett  where  he  continued  to  rise  un- 
til 1908  when  he  left  to  open  the  firm  of  Fred 
W.  Kruse  Company,  a  women  and  childrcns  out- 
fitters emporium,  in  the  new  Coughlan-Hickey 
Building  erected  especially  for  him.  This  new 
Company  will  be  one  of  tie  largest  and  finest 
in  the  State  and  will  gradually  open  up  a  chain 
of  stores  through  the  Xorthwcst.     His  past  years 


of  experience  as  buyer  has  placed  him  among 
the  authorities  on  st\des  in  ready  to  wear  gar- 
ments for  women  and  children  both  in  the  eas- 
tern markets,  where  he  made  frequent  visits, 
as  well  as  at  home. 

Mr.  Kruse  alwa\s  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the 
development  of,  and  stands  ready  at  all  times 
to  do  anything  for  the  advancement  of  ilan- 
k-uto.  He  is  the  owner  of  a  beautiful  home  at 
'248  Clark  street,  and  several  acres  in  "Oaklavm," 
formerly  known  as  the  i\Iarsh  Addition.  He  is, 
in  fact  the  originator  of  the  plat  destined  to 
become  a  charming  resident  locality.  His  wife 
was  formerely  iliss  Claude  Coughlan,  daughter 
of  T.  E.  Coughlan,  to  whom  he  was  married  on 
the  8th  of  July,  1903.  Domestic  in  his  tastes, 
and  of  a  broad  social  temperament,  he  is  respect- 
ed by  all  who  know  him. 

KUEHXE,  FEEDIXAXD  A.  F.— The  junioi- 
memlier  of  the  Kuehne  Wagon  Company  of  Man- 
kato, is  a  native  of  this  community  and  was  born 
July  10,  1874.  The  third  oldest  of  the  six  child- 
ren of  Frederick  August  and  Marie  (Kratzman) 
ICuehne.  Ferdinand  A.  F.  Kuehne  was  educated 
m  the  public  scIkhjIs,  and  the  first  Business  Col- 
lege of  ^Fankato,  and  from  very  early  vouth 
had  the  incentive  to  industry  which  emanated 
from  his  father's  busy  wagon  manufactory.  It 
was  thus  his  good  fortune  to  step  into  a  waiting 
opportunity,  the  creating  of  whicli  for  his  sons, 
^^■as  not  the  least  of  the  many  admirable  services 
attributed  to  the  elder  Kuehne. 

In  the  atmosphere  of  the  wagon  s])op  young 
Kuehne  developed  marked  mechanical  ability, 
and  finally  mastci'cd  every  detail  rd  the  industry 
of  which  he  no\\'  is  an  integral  part.  He  is  na- 
turally active  and  energetic,  having  a  large  fund 
1)!:  reserve  power,  and  in  all  ways  has  contributed 
to  the  upbuilding  of  a  concern  justly  rated  as  one 
of  the  best  and  most  reliable  in  Blue  Earth 
county.  May  2).  1900,  Mr.  Kuehne  was  united 
ill  marriage  to  Louise  I\reine,  of  Cobden,  Min- 
nesota, and  of  the  union  there  are  three  children, 
Carl,  Walter,  and  Heri.iert.  ilr.  Kuehne  takes 
little  interest  in  afl'airs  outside  of  this  imme- 
diate business,  and  has  no  political  or  public 
a.-pirations.  He  votes  the  Eepublican  ticket,  and 
i'-  a  member  of  the  German  Lutheran  church. 


466 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


KUEHNE,  J.  H.  CARL.— The  skill  and  ener- 
gy  and  business  foresight  of  two  generations  of 
the  family  have  combined  to  make  the  plant  of 
the  Kuehne  Wagon  Company,  of  Mankato,  one 
of  the  foremost  of  its  kind  in  Blue  Earth  county. 
F.  August  Carl  Kuehne,  the  establisher  of  thff 
business,  was  born  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  and 
in  early  life  evidenced  marked  mechanical  ability 
which  found  vent  when  he  apprenticed  to  a 
wagon  .maker  at  the  traditional  age  of  fourteen 
}ears.  Eventually  he  embarked  in  manufacturing 
liacks  and  other  vehicles,  and  being  confident  of 
his  workmanship,  and  ability  to  weather  any 
kind  of  competition,  readily  yielded  to  the  sug- 
gestion of  larger  opfwrtunity  which  came  to 
him  across  the  wastes  of  the  Atlantic.  Pre- 
ceded by  his  brother,  August,  who  for  some  time 
lived  in  Minnesota  and  other  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  now  is  a  resident  of  Rock  Valley,  Iowa, 
Mr.  Kuehne  disposed  of  his  European  interests, 
and  with  his  family  came  to  America  in  the 
early  '70s,  locating  almost  immediately  in  Man- 
kato, where  he  found  employment  with  the  wagon 
making  firm  of  Jensen  &  Hoerr.  He  afterward 
worked  for  other  concerns  in  the  county,  and  in 
1884  established  his  present  business  on  Main 
street,  in  1891  moving  to  an  enlarged  and  re- 
built plant  on  the  corner  of  Second  and  Mulberry 
streets.  The  ability  and  shrewd  business  sense 
of  the  owner  received  ready  recognition,  and  his 
vehicles  created  a  demand  over  a  large  part  of 
the  county.  They  were  invariably  well  construc- 
ted and  well  painted  and  finished,  and  thus  the 
foundation  of  the  business  was  skill,  reliability 
and  progressiveness.  In  his  native  land  Mr. 
Kuehne  married  Marie  Kratzman,  who  bore  him 
six  children,  all  of  whom  are  living  and  who 
survived  his  death  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
eight  years.  Mr.  Kuehne  was  a  many  sided  and 
cultured  man,  having  an  especial  fondness  for 
good  music  and  good  literature.  In  this  he  shared 
the  typical  traits  of  the  well  born  and  educated 
German,  and  his  tendency  resulted  in  a  gain  to 
Mankato  through  his  organization  of  the  Mankato 
Liedertafel.  He  was  very  socially  inclined,  and 
was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Independent 
Order    of    Odd    Fellows. 

J.  H.  Carl  Kuehne,  who  with  his  brother,  Ferdi- 
nand, succeeded  to  his  father's  wagon  business, 


was  born  in  Hamburg,  Germany,  in  1870,  and 
was  little  more  than  a  baby  when  brought  to  this 
Country  by  his  parents.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  Mankato  and  at  the  original 
Business  College  of  the  town,  and  as  a  boy  worked 
in  his  father's  wagon  manufactory,  finally  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  firm  of  Kuehne  & 
Company.  He  is  doing  a  large  business  in  manu- 
facturing buggies  and  wagons,  and  has  also  a 
large  painting  and  repairing  department.  He  in- 
herits the  thrift  and  perseverance  of  his  success- 
ful father,  and  has  strong,  forceful  and  indepen- 
dent ideas  of  business  and  general  affairs.  His 
social  side  i.'!  well  developed,  and  he  is  popular 
in  the  most  exclusive  German-American  circles 
in  this  part  of  the  county.  Mr.  Kuehne  married, 
June  21,  1904,  Rugust  Prahl,  of  Few  Ellen, 
Minnesota,  and  of  the  union  there  is  a  daughter, 
Elizabeth   L. 


KUNKEL,  PAUL.— Germany  is  the  native 
country  of  Paul  Kunkel  and  April  36,  1853,  the 
date  of  his  birth,  his  parents  having  been  Dr. 
Karl  and  Adolphenia  (Henningsen)  Kunkel, 
who  passed  their  entire  lives  'in  the  Fatherland. 
Dr.  Kunkel  was  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  con- 
siderable reputation  and  engaged  in  practice 
until  shortly  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1898.  There  were  ten  children  in  his  family 
and  all  of  them  are  still  living. 

During  boyhood  Paul  Kunkel  acquired  a  fair 
German  education  and  learned  the  trade  of  car- 
penter and  Joiner.  TJpon  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1872,  he  settled  at  Cincinnati,  OMo, 
where  he  secured  employment  in  a  furniture  fac- 
tory, remaining  for  a  year.  During  1873,  he 
came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Nicollet  county 
but  after  about  twelve  months  he  returned  to 
Cincinnati  and  resumed  work  in  the  factory 
where  he  continued  for  four  years.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time,  in  1879,  he  came  to  Blue 
Earth  county  and  purchased  a  small  tract  in 
Rapid  an  township,  where  ■  he  took  up  general 
farming.  From  time  to  time  he  added  to  his 
holdings  until  now  he  is  the  owner  of  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety  acres  in  Rap'idan  township. 
During  a  considerable  period  after  his  arrival 
in  Blue  Earth  county  he  devoted  ijior?  attention 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


467 


to  carpentering  than  to  farming,  but  since  1895 
he  has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  agricultural 
pursuits  and  has  been  successful  in  operating  his 
farm.  The  house  and  other  buildings  on  the 
place  were  erected  under  his  immediate  super- 
vision and  he  has  been  interested  in  making  val- 
uable improvements  on  the  property  as  his  means 
have  permitted. 

The  marriage  of  Mr,  Kunkel  took  place  in 
1880  and  unitecl  him  wiih  Miss  Anna  Piel, 
daughter  of  Karl  Piel,  a  German  by  birth  and 
ancestry.  After  coming  to  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Piel  settled  in  Illinois  and  engaged  in 
farming  there  until  after  the  death  of  his  wife. 
As  early  as  1872  he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  settled  in  Lyra  township  near  the  village  of 
Good  Thunder,  where  he  still  makes  his  home. 
The  family  of  !Mr.  and  ilrs.  Kunkel  comprises 
si-K  children,  namely :  August,  ilinnie,  Otto, 
Eeinhold,  Grover  and  Paul,  all  of  whom  are  yet 
with  their  parents  on  the  home  farm.  The  fam- 
ily are  members  of  the  Lutheran  church.  Polit- 
ically Mr.  Kunkel  votes  the  Democratic  ticket. 


LAMM,  STEPHEN.— The  life  which  this 
sketch  delineates  began  at  Haslach,  Baden,  Ger- 
many, December  33,  1827,  and  closed  at  Mankato, 
Minnesota,  in  March,  1904.  Xear  the  close  of  the 
year  1851,  Mr.  Lamm  crossed  the  ocean  from  his 
native  land  to  the  new  world  and  proceeded  from 
the  Atlantic  coast  westward  to  Missouri,  where 
he  sojourned  for  a  number  of  years.  During 
the  period  of  his  residence  there  he  was  united 
in  marriage,  August  1,  18.54,  with  Caroline, 
daughter  of  Matthias  Stilmire.  During  the 
spring  of  1856,  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  landed 
at  Mankato  May  1st.  Soon  afterward  he  opened 
a  general  store,  which  he  conducted  with  suc- 
cess for  a  long  period,  but  after  1885  he  gave 
his  attention  entirely  to  banlcing,  loaning  money 
and  buying  and  sellincr  real  estate.  In  1896 
ho  was  elected  president  of  the  Eirst  Xational 
Bank  of  Mankato,  and  from  that  time  until  his 
death  he  was  an  influential  factor  in  financial 
affairs  in  his  home  town. 

In  addition  to  his  association  with  business 
and  financial  concerns,  Mr.  Lamm  gave  consider- 
able   attention    to    public    affairs    and    gave    his 


stanch  support  to  any  measure  calculated  to 
promote  the  growth  of  ilankato  or  the  welfare 
of  her  residents.  For  iseventeen  years  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the  city  council  and  from  1857 
to  18G0  he  held  the  office  of  treasurer  of  Blue 
Earth  county.  From  the  early  days  of  his  resi- 
dence in  Jlankato  he  was  a  chief  supporter  of 
the  German  Catholic  church  and  no  one  aided 
more  than  he  in  the  establishment  of  its  finances 
upon  a  substantial  basis  and  in  the  extension 
of  its  field  of  usefulness.  His  children  were 
carefully  trained  in  Catholic  teachings  and  one 
of  his  daughters  is  now  Sister  M.  Lambertine  of 
ililwaukee.  The  other  children  also  have  been 
generous  contributors  to  the  faith.  They  are 
named  as  follows:  Julia,  wife  of  Clement  Sehroe- 
der;  Leo  S.,  whose  sketch  accompanies  this  ar- 
ticle; Philip,  Robert  and  Otto,  of  Mankato; 
and  Carrie,  wife  of  John  H.  Hohman,  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo. 


LAMM,  LEO  S. — Numerous  enterprises  con- 
nected with  the  commercial  development  of 
Mankato  have  enlisted  the  means  and  co-opera- 
tion of  Leo  S.  Lamm,  whose  association  with  the 
progress  of  the  city  includes  service  as  treasurer 
of  the  Mankato  Savings  and  Building  Associa- 
tion, treasurer  of  the  Standard  Brewing  Com- 
pany, (incorporated),  vice-president  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Mankato,  trustee  of  the  Man- 
kato public  library,  trustee  of  the  Calvary  Ceme- 
tery Association  and  an  active  worker  in  the 
Commercial  Club.  In  addition  to  the  responsi- 
bilities entailed  by  these  manifold  associations, 
ho  has  acted  as  executor  of  the  estate  of  his 
father  the  late  Stephen  Lamm,  one  of  the  honored 
pioneers  and  leading  men  of  Mankato.  In  this 
city  occurred  the  birth  of  Leo  S.  Lamm,  July 
23,  1861,  and  here  he  received  an  excellent  edu- 
cation in  parochial  schools,  and  the  Minnesota 
State  Xormal  School,  On  entering  the  world  of 
business  activities  he  became  collection  clerk 
ill  the  Fir.-jt  National  Bank,  Two  years  later  he 
was  promoted  to  the  position  of  bookkeeper  in 
the  bank,  which  position  he  filled  for  six  years. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  Clement  Schroeder  under  the  firm 
name  of  Lamm  &   Schroeder  and   embarked   in 


468 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


the  hardware  business  on  Front  street,  but 
after  two  years  he  withdrew. 

The  next  enterprise  in  which  Mr.  Lamm  be- 
came interested  was  the  furniture  business, .  which 
h(-  conducted  with  his  father-in-law,  John  Jilein, 
under  the  'title  of  John  Klein  &  Company.  Jan- 
uary 1,  1897,  he  retired  from  the  firm  in  order 
k)  engage  in  the  real  estate  and  loan  business 
with  his  father,  continuing  in  the  same  con- 
nection until  his  father's  death,  since  which  time 
he  has  filled  the  position  of  executor  of  the  es- 
tate. In  religious  associations  he  is  a  member 
of  St.  Peter  and  Paul's  German  Catholic  church, 
wliile  fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the 
United  Order  of  Foresters.  The  movement 
looking  toward  the  location  of  St.  Joseph's  hos- 
pital in  ]Mankato  received  his  stanch  support,  as 
have  all  other  plans  for  the  benefit  of  the  people 
and  the  enlargements  of  the  city's  field  of  useful- 
ness. 

The  first  marriage  of  ]\Ir.  Lamm  united  him, 
June  1,  1886,  with  Tillie  Klein,  who  died  in 
June,  1897,  aged  thirty-four  years.  Four  sons 
were  born  of  the  union,  namely :  William  S.. 
Alpheus  A.,  Vincent  de  Paul  and  Gregoir  I. 
Tlie  present  wif^e  of  Mr.  Lamm,  w^hom  he  married 
Xovember  1.5,  1898,  was  Minnie  C.  Luger,  a 
native  of  Wabasha  county,  Minnesota,  and  a 
daughter  of  John  Luger,  -now  residing  at  North 
Sf.  Paul,  this  state.  The  children  born  of  this 
union  are  Norbert  Leo,  Hugo  Clements  and 
George  Edward. 


LAMM.  OTTO.— Otto  Lamm,  was  born  in 
Jlankato  September  30,  1874,  and  is  the  young- 
est son  of  Stephen  and  Caroline  Lamm.  His  fa- 
ther was  born  at  Haslach,  Baden,  Germany,  on 
the  23rd  of  December,  1827,  emigrating  to  the 
United  States  in  December  of  1851,  and  locating 
at  St.  Charles,  Missouri.  Here,  on  August  1, 
he  was  married  to  Caroline,  the  daughter  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Matthias  Stilmire,  and  in  the  spring 
of  1856  came  with  his  3'oung  bride  to  Mankato. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  Stephen  Lamm 
continued  to  reside  in  Mankato  as  one  of  its 
most  prosperous  merchants,  ablest  financiers,  and 
most    trusted,    enterprising    and    liberal    citizen. 


i'rom  1856  until  1885,  his  pursuits  were  chiefly 
mercantile,  and  after  the  latter  year  his  time  was 
mainly  devoted  to  real  estate,  loans  and  banking. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  in  1902  he  had  held  the 
presidency  of  the  First  National  Bank  for  a 
period  of  seventeen  years.  He  was  treasurer  of 
Blue  Earth  county  in  1857-60,  was  long  a  mem- 
ber of  the  City  council,  as  well  as  the  incumbent 
of  other  local  offices,  and  the  measure  of  the 
public  honor  conferred  upon  him  was  simply  his 
capacity  to  perform  such  duties  and  give  his  pri- 
vate affairs  the  attention  which  was  absolutely 
necessary. 

Otto  Lamm,  the  son,  was  educated  in  the  pa- 
rochial schools,  but  was  employed  at  an  early 
age  as  assistant  bookkeeper  for  John  Klein.  From 
1S91  to  1899  he  engaged  in  the  furniture  busi- 
ness with  his  brother,  George  S.,  but  in  the  lat- 
ter year  founded  his  own  establishment  at  No. 
169  South  Front  street.  The  enterprise  con- 
tinued to  flourish  on  that  site  until  he  entered 
into  partnership  with  John  H.  Hohman,  and 
erected  the  mammoth  store  on  Front  street,  in 
1906.  This  great  four-story  building  is  of  brick, 
it."5  floor  dimensions,  seventy-six  by  one  hundred 
and  thirty  feet,  and  admirably  combined  the 
business  requisites  of  commodiousness,  conven- 
ience and  attractiveness.  Its  stock  was  remark- 
ably complete  and  up-to-date  and  as  both  part- 
ners were  practical  men,  the  quality,  as  well  as 
the  style  was  of  the  best.  But  soon  the  busi- 
ness was  disposed  of  and  the  two  partners  became 
connected  with  tha  Standard  Brewery  Company 
of  Mankato. 

Aside  from  his  devotion  to  such  an  institu- 
tion, and  the  natural  pride  which  he  takes  in  it 
as  a  personal  creation,  Mr.  Lamm  is  loyal  to  all 
movements  which  tend  to  advance  the  develop- 
ment of  Mankato,  along  business,  educational 
and  moral  lines.  He  is  a  leader  in  the  work  of 
the  Commercial  Club  and  an  active  member  of 
the  St.  Peter  and  Paul's  church;  also  identified 
with  the  Automobile  Club  and  the  fraternities. 
Knights  of  Columbus,  Elks,  and  Foresters.  Mr. 
Lamm  was  married  November  20,  1901,  to  Min- 
nie Hohman,  daughter  of  Casper  Hohman,  of 
St.  Louis,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  Eugene 
J.  and  Theresa  M. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


469 


LAMM,  EDWARD  L.— Of  the  younger  gener- 
ation of  business  men  of  Mankato  who  are  pur- 
suing useful  callings,,  mention  is  clue  Edward  L. 
Lamm,  since  liHl.")  the  owner  and  proprietor 
of  a  drug  store  at  307  North  Front  street.  iMr. 
Lamm  was  born  in  Mankato  October  8,  1879, 
and  is  a  son  of  Leo  and  Trena  (Guth)  liamm, 
natives  of  Baden,  German}^,  and  Quincy,  Illi- 
nois, respeetivelv.  Leo  Lamm  came  to  Mankato 
in  the  summer  of  1854,  and  thereafter  plied  his 
trade  of  shoemaknig  until  shortly  before  his  death 
in  1898,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four  years.  He  is 
survived  by  his  wife  and  nine"  of  his  family. 

Mr.  Lamm  was  educated  in  the  public  and 
parochial  schools  of  Mankato,  and  in  1896  be- 
gan to  learn  the  drug  business  as  a  clerk  for  the 
Seidle  Drug  Company,  with  whom  he  remained 
about  four  years.  He  next  found  employment 
Avith  the  H.  I.  Parry  Drug  Company,  and  in 
1905  bought  out  the  business  he  at  present  con- 
ducts, and  Avhieh  he  has  greatly  enlarged  and 
irr.proved.  Among  other  furnishings  he  has 
added  a  new  prescription  case  and  has  greatly 
increased  his  stock  of  staple  and  patent  drugs. 
He  has  a  neat  and  well  kept  store,  and  at  night 
thfc  lights  throw  out  an  inviting  and  cheerful 
glow  upon  the  ])asser.s  by.  Mr.  Lamm  draws 
and  keeps  trade  by  his  reliability,  thoroughness 
and  obligingness,  and  though  an  independent 
merchant  for  a  comparatively  brief  period,  he 
already  has  many  dependable  and  frequent  pa- 
trons. 

Because  of  his  musical  ability  and  appreciation, 
Mr.  Lamm  has  materially  elevated  the  musical 
standard  of  Mankato,  and  has  been  the  leader  of 
the  Lamm  orchestra  since  1901.  The  orchestra 
has  delighted  thousands  with  its  sane  and  sym- 
pathetic interpretation  of  the  best  masters,  and 
gives  promise  of  a  long  and  prosperous  musical 
c?reer,  having  already  the  reputation  of  being 
the  best  orgaJiization  of  its  kind  in  this  part  of 
Blue  Earth  county.  Mr.  Lamm's  social  side 
finds  an  outlet  in  the  Nicollet  Council,  Knights 
01'  Columbus,  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,   and   the   Commercial   Club. 


LAMP,  BENTLEY.— The   family   represented 
by  this  progressive  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  county 


originated  in  Germany  and  exhibits  in  the  lives 
cl'  its  members  the  sturdy  characteristics  of  the 
Teutonic  race.  Prior  to  the  war  of  the  Eevolu- 
Ijon  George  Lamp  emigrated  from  the  Fatherland 
and  settled  in  \'irginia.  With  him  came  a  broth- 
er, who  enlisted  in  the  war  with  England  and 
served  his  adopted  country  faithfully  and  well 
as  soldier  in  the  ranks.  Some  years  after  his 
marriage  to  ftliss  Millburn  and  the  birth  of  their 
son,  Abraham  the  original  emigrant,  George 
Lamp  left  the  Old  Dominion  and  established 
the  family  in  the  wilderness  of  Ohio,  where  he 
remained  until  death  terminated  his  pioneer  ac- 
tivities. On  a  farm  which  he  assisted  in  clear- 
ing from  the  primeval  wilderness  Abraham  Lamp 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  he  passed 
from  earth  at  an  advanced  age.  Among  the 
children  born  of  his  union  with  Eliza  Hessen, 
one  was  a  son,  Isaiah,  born  in  Belmont  county, 
Ohio,  and  married  to  Elizabeth  Burns,  a  narive 
of  the  same  place.  Her  father,  George  Xathan 
Burns,  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  whence  he  re- 
moved to  Ohio,  in  boyhood  in  company  with  his 
parents,  settling  on  a  raw  tract  of  land,  which  he 
assisted  in  developing  into  a  valuable  farm. 

On  leaving  Ohio  for  the  cheaper  lands  of  the 
west,  where  he  might  profitably  engage  in  farm 
pursuits,  Isaiah  Lamp  settled  in  Illinois,  but  two 
years  later  he  made  a  tour  of  investigation  into 
ilinnesota  and  at  that  time  selected  a  location 
ip  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  near  Mantorville, 
Dodge  county.  Returning  to  Illinois  he  brought 
his  family  with  him  to  Minnesota,  settled  on  a 
rented  farm,  and  for  two  years  remained  in  that 
place,  but  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  he 
remoA'ed  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  bought  a 
claim  in  Sterling  township.  The  remaining  years 
of  his  life  were  passed  in  farm  pursuits  on  this 
property  and  he  attained  a  fair  degree  of  success 
as  fl-ell  as  a  high  standing  among  his  neighbors. 
During  March  of  1864  he  enlisted  in  Company 
B,  Braekett's  Battalion,  and  was  ordered  to  the 
western  frontier.  For  a  year  the  company  re- 
mained on  duty  in  Idaho,  after  which  they  were 
transferred  to  Devil's  Lake  in  North  Dakota. 
In  June  of  1866  they  were  honorably  discharged 
from  the  army  and  returned  to  their  various 
homes. 

In  the  family  of  Isaiah  Lamp  there  are  four 


470 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


daughters  now  living  in  Blue  Earth  county  and 
cne  daughter  in  Kenville  county,  this  state.  The 
only  son,  Bentley,  was  born  in  Belmont  county, 
Ohio,  October  4,  1854,  and  at  an  early  age  ac- 
companied the  family  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  attended  the  schools  of  Sterling  town- 
ship. Eemaining  at  the  old  homestead  until 
1S96,  during  that  year  he  purchased  the  M.  M. 
Pi-att  farm  and  on  it  he  has  since  made  his  home, 
still  owning  however,  the  original  farm,  and  hav- 
ing altogether  landed  possessions  aggregating 
f(rur  hundred  acres.  Plowing  water  adds  to  the 
value  of  both  farms  and  good  buildings  increase 
the  ease  with  which  the  owner  cares  for  his  stock 
and  stores  his  grain.  In  addition  to  raising 
general  farm  products,  the  stock  business  is  con- 
ducted; dairy  cattle  of  the  Jersey  breed  are  car- 
ried on  the  land,  hogs  and  good  grades  are  raised 
for  the  markets  and  bring  in  excellent  revenues, 
while  Morgan  horses  are  the  type  mostly  carried 
for  work  and  for  breeding  purposes.  The  excel- 
lent condition  of  the  farm  proves  the  owner  to 
be  a  man  of  judgment,  energy  and  perseverance. 
The  marriage  of  Mr.  Lamp  took  place  in  July 
of  1878  and  united  him  with  Ella,  daughter  of 
M.  M.  Pratt,  whose  sketch  appears  elsewhere 
in  this  volume.'  The  children  comprising  their 
family  are  as  follows :  Eugenia  and  Cora,  who 
are  popular  teachers  in  this  state;  Wallace,  who 
hap  started  out  for  himself  in  Oklahoma  and 
is  meeting  with  success;  Glennie,  deceased;  Inez 
and  Lulu,  who  remain  with  their  parents  on 
the  home  farm.  Always  interested  in  educational 
affairs,  Mr.  Lamp  has  given  his  children  the  best 
local  advantages  possible  and  has  served  with 
efficiency  as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  For 
some  time  he  also  officiated  as  chairman  of  the 
township  board   of  trustees. 


LANG,  JOHF  IST. — Among  the  stock  dealers 
and  business  men  of  Mankato  and  Blue  Earth 
county,  John  ISF.  Lang,  is  among  the  most  promi- 
nent, enterprising  and  progressive  and  this,  al- 
though he  is  still  a  young  man  in  the  early  "thir- 
ties. He  is  a  native  of  Dane  county,  Wisconsin, 
born  December  4,  1864,  the  son  of  John  and 
Jcnette  (Ebe)  Lang,  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
Milwaukee,    that    state    in    1848.    and    in    1860 


migrated  to  Mitchell  County,  Iowa.  The  father 
is  still  an  active  and  prosperous  stock  dealer 
of  the  Hawkeye  state.  There  is  also  an  older 
sister  living,  ilary,  now  the  wife  of  Oscar 
Walker,  of  Keyster,  Iowa. 

John  iST.  Lang  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Wis- 
consin and  Iowa,  being  educated  in  the  common 
schools  of  these  states.  When  he  was  ten  years 
of  age  he  came  with  his  father  to  Iowa,  and  with 
him  obtained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  live 
stock  business  from  the  raising  of  the  stock  to 
its  disposition  in  the  great  markets  of  the  west. 
When  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  left  his 
father's  employ  and  started  as  an  independent 
dealer  at  Osage,  Iowa.  Several  years  later  he 
came  to  Mankato,  where  for  six  years  he  was 
proprietor  of  a  butcher's  shop,  continuing  to  buy 
and  sell  stock.  He  is  still  actively  engaged  in 
the  latter  line,  furnishing  stock  on  a  large  scale 
to  the  markets  of  St.  Paul,  Sioux  City  and 
Chicago. 

In  June,  1906,  Mr.  Lang  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Julius  A.  Anderson  in  the  livery  busi- 
ness, and  since  that  time  has  assisted  in  establish- 
ing a  first-class  trade,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Lang  &  Anderson  which  was  later  disposed  of. 
He  is  not  only  a  business  man  of  energy  and 
ability,  but  possesses  fine  social  qualities  and  is 
a  citizen  who  has  a  strong  and  good  influence 
on  the  community.  Fraternally,  he  is  a  member 
of  ths  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  Mr. 
Lang  was  married  January  19,  1885,  to  Miss 
Mary  Louise  Blogen,  a  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Mary    (Boyna)    Blogen,   of  Mankato. 


LARSOX,  DAYID  and  ELIAS.— During  the 
summer  of  1875  Beauford  township  had  added 
to  its  capable  and  industrious  farming  popula- 
tion two  brothers,  David  and  Elias  Larson,  who 
at  that  time  were  twenty-one  and  fourteen  years 
old  respectively.  They  were  the  sons  of  Ole  and 
Gertrude  Larson,  Natives  of  Bergen,  Norway, 
and  were  born  in  Ravine  county,  Wisconsin  in 
1854  and  1861,  respectively.  Ole  Larson  and 
his  wife  were  married  in  Bergen,  a  seaport  and 
the  second  city  of  Norway,  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  country,  in  1836,  and  in  1841  set  sail 
for  America,  thereafter  occupying  various  homes 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


471 


ill  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  Ra- 
cine county,  Wisconsin,  coming  to  Blue  Earth 
countv,  Minnesota,  in  1869.  Here  the  father 
died  in  1871,  the  mother  surviving  him  until 
1901.  Both  were  very  religious  and  highly  re- 
spected people,  acquiring  a  competency  as  farm- 
ers and  stock  raisers,  and  among  other  claims 
upon  the  consideration  of  their  transplanted 
coimtr3'men,  assisted  in  erecting  the  first  Norwe- 
gian Lutheran  church  in  the  United  States.  Be- 
sides Da\id  and  Elias,  who  were  the  second  and 
third  oldest  of  their  six  children,  there  survives 
John,  a  resident  of  Lamberton;  and  Mrs.  A. 
Sonve,  of  Beauford  township. 

In  Wisconsin  David  and  Blias  Larson  acquired 
a  fair  common  school  education  but  the  problem 
of  self  support  confronted  them  too  early  to  make 
study  anything  but  a  secondary  consideration. 
L'pon  coming  to  the  to-ivuship  which  now  is  their 
home  they  bought  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres 
of  land  two  miles  north  of  Mapleton  and  theii* 
industry  and  good  judgment  has  converted  this 
into  one  of  the  finest  farming  tracts  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  They  have  a  comfortable  resi- 
dence and  fine  barns  and  general  improvements, 
and  they  have  made  a  scientific  study  of  the 
soil  and  its  possibilities  in  this  northern  para- 
dise of  farmers.  In  addition  to  grain  and  gen- 
eral produce  they  raise  horses,  cattle  and  hogs, 
and  in  all  of  their  departments  of  activity  main- 
tain a  high  and  profitable  standard.  The  broth- 
ers are  congenial  companions  socially,  as  well 
a?  agriculturally  and  having  no  wives  or  imme- 
diate kin  to  minister  to  their  needs  and  com- 
fort, depend  much  upon  each  other  in  the 
every  day  struggles  of  existence.  Both  are 
kindly  disposed  and  generous  gentlemen,  devoted 
to  their  life  work,  and  always  ready  to  lend  a 
helping  hand  to  those  less  fortunate  than  them- 
selves. 


LATOUEELL,  ALEXANDER.— The  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  oldest  surviving  resident  of 
Danville  township,  residing  continuously  on  the 
same  property,  belongs  to  Mr.  Latourell,  who 
since  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1859 
has  made  his  home  on  the  farm  he  then  took  up 
as  a  claim.    The  land  lies  six  miles  east  and  one 


mile  south  of  Mapleton.  Including  originally  a 
homestead  claim  and  a  timber  claim  as  well,  the 
farm  embraces  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  rol- 
ling land,  with  excellent  drainage,  substantial  im- 
provements and  fertile  fields  bearing  their  tri- 
bute of  golden  grain  in  return  for  the  owner's 
care  and  cultivation.  Cattle  of  the  shorthorn 
variety  are  raised  on  the  farm,  also  hogs  of  Po- 
land-China strain,  while  in  horses  the  preference 
is  toward  the  Norman  grades.  Some  years  ago 
Jlr.  Latourell  was  actively  interested  in  pro- 
moting county  ditch  No.  5,  five  miles  in  length, 
extending  from  section  sixteen  in  Danville  town- 
ship in  a  northeasterly  direction  and  emptying 
into  the  Cobb  river  in  Medo  township.  By 
means  of  this  ditch  a  large  amount  of  territory 
is  drained  and  it  has  given  the  further  advan- 
tage of  drying  up  five  small  lakes. 

The  Ijatourell  family  is  of  French-Canadian 
extraction.  Alexander  was  born  in  Leeds  county, 
Ontario,  Canada,  March  7,  1836,  being  a  son  of 
Francis  De  Laire  and  Mary  Ann  (Touseau)  La- 
tourell, natives  of  Canada.  His  father,  who 
was  born  in  the  city  of  Montreal  was  orphaned 
by  the  death  of  the  grandfather.  At  the  time 
he  was  about  twelve  years  of  age,  and  three 
years  later  he  went  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he 
remained  for  seven  years.  At  the  time  of  his 
marriage  he  returned  to  Canada  and  there  made 
his  home  until  1855.  A  year  before  his  son, 
Alexander,  came  to  the  United  States  and  trav- 
eled in  search  of  a  location,  visiting  Illinois, 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  and  finally  locating  in  the 
latter  state  in  Green  Lake  county.  There  the 
father  and  other  members  of  the  family  joined 
him.  In  1859  the  majority  of  the  members  of 
the  family  came  to  ^Minnesota  and  afterward 
made  their  home  in  Danville  township  for  longer 
or  shorter  periods. 

There  were  in  tTie  family  the  following  named 
sons  and  daughters ;  Caroline,  deceased ;  Charles 
W.,  who  died  before  the  family  left  their  Cana- 
dian home;  Julia  Ann,  the  widow  of  Shadrack 
Spaulding,  ^and  a  resident  of  Wisconsin;  Alex- 
ander ;  John  Wesley,  residing  near  St.  Paul ; 
Reuben  Oscar,  who  engaged  in  farming  in  Ore- 
gon until  his  death;  Angeline,  ^Mrs.  B.  A. 
Cooper,  of  North  Dakota;  Benjamin  Franklin, 
deceased;     Francis     Washington,     residing     near 


472 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Minnesota  Lake;  and  Lucy  Ann  of  Portland, 
Oregon.  Several  of  the  sons  participated  in  the 
Civil  war  as  soldiers  of  the  Union.  October  11, 
1862,  Alexander  and  John  Wesley  enlisted  in 
Company  B,  First  ]\lounted  Regiment  of  Minne- 
sota, Tinder  Colonel  McPhail.  The  company  was 
mustered  in  at  St.  Peter,  ordered  to  Fort 
Ridgeh',  and  joined  General  Sibley  in  his  pursuit 
of  the  Indians,  driving  them  across  the  Missouri 
river.  Returning  to  Fort  Ridgelv,  the  regiment 
remained  there  for  a  short  time  and  then  was 
removed  to  Fort  Snelling,  where  they  were  hon- 
orably discharged  at  the  expiration  of  their  term 
of  enlistment.  During  their  period  of  service 
the  company  was  lined  around  the  gallows  on 
service  at  the  time  of  the  execution  of  the 
thirty-eight  Indians  at  Mankato.  The  family 
was  further  represented  in  the  army  by  Benja- 
min and  Oscar,  both  of  whom  were  honorably 
discharged  at  the  expiration  of  their  terms.  The 
former  served  principally  in  Tennessee  and  was 
a  member  of  Company  C,  Eleventh  Minnesota 
Infantry. 

The  marriage  of  Alexander  Latourell  took 
place  December  38,  1869,  and  united  him  with 
Sophia  Neller,  a  native  of  Germany,  her  father, 
Francis  A.  Neller,  having  been  a  pioneer  of  1855 
in  Minnesota.  They  became  the  parents  of  the 
following  named  children :  Cora  T.  and  Francis 
A.,  both  deceased;  Charles  E.,  now  residing  at 
Duluth,  Minnesota;  C'lara  it.,  deceased;  ilaud 
C,  teaching  in  Xorth  Dakota;  Chester  Arthur, 
a  telegraph  operator  in  Kanabec  county,  ]\Iin- 
nesota;  Florence  E.,  a  trained  nurse  in  Mankato; 
Harvey  A.  and  Grover  C,  both  of  whom  remain 
on  the  home  farm  and  aid  in  its  cultivation. 
The  family  occupy  a  comfortable  residence  and 
have  a  position  among  the  most  substantial  peo- 
ple of  the  to-\vnship.  In  religion  they  are  iden- 
tified with  the  Catholic  church  at  ]\Iapleton. 
While  Mr.  Latourell  has  now  reached  an  age  and 
a  financial  standing  that  renders  unnecessary 
further  continuance  in  life's  activities,  such  is 
his  energy  and  perseverance  that  he  finds  little 
satisfaction  in  rest,  and  allows  himself  only  the 
usual  amount  of  recreation.  Notwithstanding 
his  exceedingly  busy  life  he  does  not  show  his 
age,  but  carries  his  years  lightly  and  gives  a 
stranger   the   impression   of   being   younger   than 


he  confesses  to  be.  .Vll  through  his  long  identi- 
fication with  the  county  he  has  been  prominent 
in  township  affairs,  at  different  times  has  filled 
all  the  township  offices,  for  a  long  period  served 
as  a  school  director  and  efficiently  served  as 
chairman  of  the  township  council  for  fifteen 
years. 

In  1907  he  bought  property  in  Mapleton 
village  where  he  now  resides  and  has  left  the 
farm  in  care  of  a  renter. 


LAURISCIi,  CHRISTIAN  J.— A  young 
lawyer  of  Mankato,  an  active  Republican  and 
having  a  considerable  public  record.  Christian  J. 
Laurisch  is  a  native  of  Danville,  Blue  Earth 
county,  and  was  born  on  the  2d  of  October, 
1873.  His  parents,  John  and  Mary  (Krause) 
Laurisch,  were  natives  of  Germany  and  pioneers 
of  Wisconsin,  migrating  to  ]\Iinnesota  in  1866 
and  settling  on  a  farm  in  Danville  township. 
There  the  father  died  in  1900,  at  the  age  of  fif- 
ty-seven years,  his  wife  and  the  mother  of 
C'hristian  J.  Laurisch-  still  surviving  him.  John 
Laurisch  was  a  faithful  soldier  of  the  civil  war, 
serving  throughout  as  a  private  of  the  Third 
Wisconsin  Infantry  and  receiving  his  share  ot 
honorable  wounds.  The  year  after  the  war  he 
removed  to  Minnesota  and  for  some  time  was 
identified  somewhat  prominently  with  Mapleton, 
Blue  Earth  county. 

Christian  J-  Laurisch  was  the  fifth  in  a  fam- 
ily of  eleven  children,  nine  of  whom  are  still 
living.  Through  the  public  and  high  schools  of 
Wells,  Minnesota,  he  received  his  preliminary 
education,  being  trained  to  farm  work  during 
this  period  and  at  its  conclusion  turning  himself 
to  the  task  of  imparting  instruction  through  the 
district  schools  of  this,  and  Waseca  county. 
While  teaching  he  also  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  A.  R.  Pfau,  continuing 
thus  from  1893  until  1895,  when  he  left  to 
attend  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
i\Iinnesota,  and  when  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  the  spring  of  1896,  located  at  Mapleton. 
He  remained  at  the  latter  location  until  Pebru- 
aiy,  1906,  when  he  became  a  resident  attorney 
of  Mankato  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Pfau, 
Pfau  &  Laurisch. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


473 


Mr.  Laurisch  has  been  an  active  and  leading 
Eepublican  for  some  years,  having  served  dur- 
ing six  years  as  Village  Recorder  and  City  At- 
torney at  Mapleton.  He  is  a  stockholder  in  the 
bank  at  that  place  and  at  one  time  was  a  direc- 
tor. He  is  also  influential  in  fraternal  circles 
through  his  identiiication  with  the  A.  F.  and 
A.  M.,  K.  P.  and  B.  P.  0.  E.  Mr.  Laurisch's 
wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  August  12, 
1903,  was  formerly  Anna  Lulu  Little,  of  Water- 
town,  South  Dakota. 


LAURISCH,  PRANK.— The  high  standing 
of  Danville  township  as  one  of  the  best  agricul- 
tural communities  of  Blue  Earth  county  may  be 
attributed  to  the  energy  and  intelligence  of  the 
fanners  whose  patient  efforts  and  well-directed 
labors  have  been  fruitful  of  permanent  results 
for  the  well-being  of  the  township.  Nor  have 
other  families  been  more  energetic  or  industrious 
than  the  one  represented  by  the  gentleman  whose 
name  introduces  this  sketch  and  whose  father 
was  an  honored  and  resourceful  pioneer.  The 
homestead  so  long  occupied  by  the  father  is  now 
the  property  of  the  son  and  stands  on  section 
one,  comprising  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres 
of  choice  farming  land.  A  neat  residence  affords 
a  comfortable  home  for  the  family.  Commodi- 
ous barns  furnish  protection  for  the  stock  from 
the  icy  blasts  of  winter.  Granaries  provide  for 
the  storage  of  the  crops  raised  on  the  land. 
The  elevation  of  all  these  buildings  is  such  as 
to  provide  excellent  drainage  and  prevent  an  un- 
healthful  accumulation  of  water  even  in  times  of 
excessive  moisture. 

On  the  place  where  he  now  resides  Frank 
Laurisch  was  born  October  10,  1869,  and  was 
the  second  son  in  a  family  consisting  of  three 
sons  and  six  daughters.  One  of  his  brothers, 
C.  J.,  a  well-known  attorney  of  ilankato,  is  rep- 
resented elsewhere  in  this  volume.  The  boyhood 
years  of  Frank  were  passed  in  a  comparatively 
uneventful  manner,  the  routine  of  farm  work  in 
the  summer  being  broken  by  attendance  at  the 
district  school  during  the  winter  months.  Prom 
an  early  age  he  displayed  an  interest  in  agri- 
culture and  on  arriving  at  man's  estate  he  se- 
lected  it   as   his   life   occupation,    which   he   has 


since  followed  with  an  encouraging  degree  of 
success.  In  February  of  189"2  he  brought  a 
bride  to  his  home,  his  marriage  having  united 
him  with  iliss  Bessie  Di.xon,  a  native  of  Free- 
dom township,  ^Vaseca  county,  and  a  daughter 
of  Thomas  Dixon,  an  honored  old  settler  of 
that  county.  Five  children  bless  their  union, 
Elma,    George,   Troy,    Keuben   and    Charlotte. 

Of  recent  years  Mr.  Laurisch  has  become  in- 
terested in  raising  fine  stock  and  now  he  has  on 
his  farm  some  splendid  specimens  that  are  regis- 
tered. His  Shorthorn  cattle  have  the  attractive 
appearance  indicative  of  pure  blood,  and  the 
same  is  true  of  his  Poland-China  hogs,  tliese  two 
departments  of  stock-raising  being  his  specialties, 
and  in  them  he  has  met  vsith  commendable  suc- 
cess. He  owns  a  number  of  fine  Perchcron 
horses  and  also  has  some  high-grade  Hamble- 
tonians.  It  is  not  his  policy  or  preference  to 
participate  in  public  affairs,  his  tastes  being 
rather  for  the  Cjuiet  life  on  the  farm  and  the 
enjoyment  of  domestic  pleasures  with  his  chil- 
dren growing  up  around  him.  Yet  he  shirks 
no  duty  that  devolves  upon  a  true  patriot.  His 
interest  in  the  welfare  of  his  township  and 
county  is  deep,  and  his  affection  for  the  land  of 
his  birth  is  so  intense  that  removal  to  another 
section  of  the  country  could  not  lessen  in  his 
heart   the   ties   that  bind   him   to   the   old   hom^. 


LEHilAX,  JOHN  F.— In  the  advancement 
and  development  of  the  agricultural  prosperity 
of  Blue  Earth  county  the  German  by  birth  or 
descent  has  played  an  all  important  part.  In 
the  pioneer  days  of  the  state  his  conservatism 
v\'as  a  lever  and  his  dogged  perseverance  in  the 
face  of  difliiculties  an  al)solute  necessity.  He 
always  has  taught  the  fundamental  business  prin- 
ciple that  a  dollar  should  be  earned  before  it 
should  be  spent  and  that  to  live  within  one's 
income  ^\as  the  only  sure  preparation  for  ac- 
quiring a  competence.  The  Lehman  family, 
^.-hich  became  identified  witli  the  homestead  now 
operated  and  owned  by  John  F.  Lehman,  in 
Lyra  township,  in  the  early  "TOs,  has  set  an 
example  of  dependable  and  useful  citizenship, 
culminating  in  the  farming,  social  and  political 
services  of  the  present  head  of  the  familv. 


474 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Born  June  1,  1871,  in  Lyra  township,  Blue 
Earth  county,  John  F.  Lehman  is  a  son  of  Au- 
gust S.  and  Henrietta  (Braddmen)  Lehman,  na- 
tives of  Prussia,  Germany,  and  who  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1866.  Locating  in  Dodge 
county,  Wisconsin,  the  elder  Lehman  engaged  in 
general  farming  for  five  years,  then  moved  north 
to  Lyra  township,  where  he  tilled  the  soil,  and 
where  now,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years,  he 
still  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the 
younger  generation.  His  wife  died  February  13, 
1896,  and  five  of  her  seven  children  still  are 
living :  Hnlda,  Herman,  Minnie,  John,  and  Ade- 
line. John  F.  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
and  April  19,  1895,  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Bertha  (Ludwag),  daughter  of  John  S.  and  Al- 
bertina  (Voll)  Ludwig,  natives  of  Germany  and 
who  came  to  MapleLon,  Blue  Earth  county  in 
1885.  In  1900  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ludwig  removed 
to  North  Dakota,  and  now  are  making  their 
home  in  Lamaire.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lehman 
have  been  born  four  children:  Lillie,  Irene,  Ar- 
nold and  Alfred. 

The  Lehman  farm  consists  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  land  nearly  all  of  which  is  un- 
der cultivation.  General  farming  is  engaged  in, 
and  Poland-China  hogs  and  a  good  grade  of 
cattle  raised.  Nearly  all  of  the  buildings  on  the 
farm  were  constructed  by  the  elder  Lehman  him- 
self and  are  kept  in  excellent  repair  by  his  son. 
Mr.  Lehman  votes  the  Democratic  ticket,  and 
has  been  prominent  in  local  politics,  for  many 
years.  He  has  served  as  constable  in  Lyra  town- 
ship, supervisor  for  three  years,  and  treasurer 
of  the  school  board  for  nine  years.  In  religion 
he  is  a  Lutheran.  He  takes  a  many  sided  in- 
terest in  the  affairs  of  the  community,  and  was 
the  promoter  of  the  Lyra  telephone  company 
which,  through  his  tireless  exertions  covering 
twenty-eight  days,  now  has  thirty-seven  sub- 
scribers. For  this  service  he  is  entitled  to  and 
iu  large  measure  has,  the  gratitude  of  the  rural 
dwellers  of  the  township.  He  is  a  wide-awake 
and  enterprising  man,  thoughtful  of  the  wel- 
fare of  others,  and  winning  confidence  and  re- 
spect because  of  his  business  sagacity  and  up- 
rightness. 


LENTZ,  FREDERICK.— A  goodly  number 
of  the  men  now  prominent  in  the  agricultural 
affairs  of  Blue  Earth  county  owe  their  success 
to  the  inheritance  of  sturd}-,  thrifty,  enterpris- 
ing and  economical  .qualities  that  come  as  a 
heritage  from  a  long  line  of  Teutonic  ancestors, 
supplementary  to  which  they  have  enjoyed,  as 
factors  in  their  progress,  the  benefit  of  traits 
more  especially  characteristic  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  Included  in  the  list  of  Ger- 
man-American residents  of  the  county  we  pre- 
sent the  name  of  Frederick  Lentz,  who  for  a 
long  period  has  made  his  homo  in  Danville  town- 
ship and  meanwhile  has  acquired  the  title  to  a 
farm  comprising  nearly  four  hundred  acres.  In 
addition  to  this  property,  which  is  his  homestead, 
he  is  the  owner  of  a  quarter-section  farm  situ- 
ated in  North  Dakota.  The  acquisition  of  large 
landed  possessions  marks  him  as  a  man  of  sa- 
gacious judgment  and  keen  foresight,  while  the 
substantial  improvements  noticeable  on  his  home 
place  bespeak  his  love  of  neatness  and  order. 
Besides  the  raising  of  general  farm  products  and 
the  fattening  of  hogs  and  cattle  for  the  market, 
he  carries  a  large  herd  of  dairy  cattle  and  is 
interested  in  and  manager  of  the  Danville  Star 
creamer}',   which   is   located   on   his   farm. 

As  previously  intimated  the  Lentz  family  is  of 
German  origin.  Carl  and  Henrietta  (Buss) 
Lentz  were  born,  reared  and  married  in  Pflu- 
grade  Pommern,  Germany,  from  which  place 
they  emigrated  in  1866  and  arriving  in  the 
United  States  proceeded  direct  to  Wisconsin. 
In  1867  they  removed  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
in  Danville  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
they  passed  their  remaining  days.  Two  of  their 
children  are  now  living.  Frederick,  who  was 
the  youngest  of  the  family  circle,  was  born  in 
Pflugrade  Pommern,  Germany,  February  1,  1852, 
and  received  his  education  in  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  province.  After  accom- 
panying his  parents  to  America  he  aided  them  in 
the  development  of  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Min- 
nesota and  while  living  there  he  formed  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Miss  Louisa  Schmidt,  daughter  of 
John  Schmidt,  an  honored  pioneer  of  the  com- 
munity.    Mrs.  Lentz  was  born  in  Dodge  county, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


475 


Wisconsin,  moving  to  Minnesota  in  1867,  and 
tliere  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mr.  Lentz 
February  1,  1874,  her  death  occurring  March 
8,  1907.  Surviving  her  were  the  following  chil- 
dren: Charles  P.,  who  now  conducts  a  mer- 
cantile establishment  at  Lake  Wilson,  Murray 
county,  Minnesota;  Lydia,  who  married  Otto 
Schultz  and  died  February  24,  1907,  at  her  home 
in  Vivian,  Waseca  county,  this  state;  John,  who 
remains  at  the  old  homestead  and  assists  in  its 
cultivation ;  Sarah,  Mrs.  Karl  Schultz,  of  Vivian ; 
Walter,  William,  Clarence,  Oscar  and  Ethel,  all 
of  whom  remain  at  home. 

Ever  since  his  marriage  Mr.  Lentz  has  been 
engaged  in  independent  farming  in  Danville 
township,  where  now  he  owns  and  occupies  one 
of  the  best  places  in  the  community,  and  has 
risen  from  a  position  of  poverty  through  con- 
stant labor  to  a  place  of  honor,  influence  and 
financial  standing  in  his  locality.  The  farm 
of  which  he  is  the  owner  possesses  exceptional 
advantages  for  drainage  through  the  fact  that 
the  ground  is  rolling,  and  thus  fair  crops  can 
be  raised  even  in  seasons  when  there  is  an  excess 
of  moisture.  The  neat  residence  and  the  sub- 
stantial farm  buildings  were  built  under  his 
supervision  and  afford  .the  best  of  facilities  for 
comfort  and  convenience.  It  is  the  ambition  of 
the  owner  to  have  his  place  compare  favorably 
with  the  best  in  the  township  and  he  spared 
neither  labor  nor  time  in  bringing  about  the 
desired  result. 


LEO^TARD,  HENRY  F.— The  Leonard  fam- 
ily comes  from  Hessen  and  Prussia,  where  the 
ancestors  resided  as  far  back  as  the  genealogy 
can  be  traced.  The  founder  of  the  name  in 
America  was  Quirinus  Leonard,  who  came  from 
his  native  land  to  the  new  world  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years  and  settled  in  Milwaukee,  Wiscon- 
sin, there  attending  school  and  growing  to  man's 
estate.  Early  in  life  and  immediately  after  he 
left  school  he  followed  the  profession  of  a 
teacher,  but  after  his  removal  to  Mankato,  Min- 
nesota, he  turned  his  attention  to  business  enter- 
prises. For  a  time  he  conducted  general  mer- 
cantile affairs  and  later  became  interested  in  the 
real  esetate  and  insurance  business  at  Mankato, 


where  he  remained  until  his  death,  December 
5,  1898,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  Sur- 
viving him  is  his  widow,  Elizabeth  (Keber) 
Leonard,  a  resident  of  Mankato.  Also  he  is 
survived  by  four  of  his  ten  children,  namely : 
Frank  J.,  who  is  engaged  as  hotelkeeper  at 
Virginia,  ilinnesota;  Peter  W.,  who  entered  the 
priesthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and 
is  now  a  professor  in  Canisius  College  in  Buffalo, 
New  York;  Henry  F.,  who  was  seventh  among 
the  ten  children,  and  Katherine,  who  resides  in 
Mankato. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  at  Jordan, 
Minnesota,  Henry  F.  Leonard  was  born  May  36, 
1871.  Brought  to  Mankato  in  early  childhood, 
he  was  sent  to  the  parochial  school  in  this  city 
and  received  a  fair  education  there.  For  a  time 
he  assisted  his  father  in  the  mercantile  estab- 
lishment and  later  became  his  aid  in  the  general 
real  estate  and  insurance  business,  with  which 
gradually  he  gained  a  complete  familiarity,  and 
then  became  a  partner  under  the  firm  title  of 
Q.  Leonard  &  Son.  January  1,  1899,  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  business  after  the  death  of  his 
father  and  has  since  conducted  the  same,  rep- 
resenting among  other  companies  the  Royal, 
Liverpool,  Germania  of  New  York,  Connecticut 
of  Hartford  and  American  of  Newark,  New 
Jersey. 

The  marriage  of  Henry  F.  Leonard  in  1896 
united  him  with  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Joseph 
B.  Huettl,  of  Mankato.  They  are  the  parents 
of  five  children,  Elizabeth  M.,  Marie  K.,  Quiri- 
nus P.,  William  J.  and  Alfred  S.  The  family 
are  prominent  members  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul's 
German  Catholic  church  at  Mankato  and  have 
contributed  liberally  of  time  and  means  to  its 
charities  and  missionary  movements.  The  benevo- 
lent society  of  the  church  has  been  under  the 
leadership  of  Mr.  Leonard  as  its  president  for 
four  successive  years,  and  he  further  acts  as 
secretary  of  the  Calvary  Cemetery  Association. 
Identified  with  the  Knights  of  Columbus,  he 
has  had  the  office  of  financial  secretary  of  the 
local  lodge  for  two  3'ears  and  is  also  secretary 
of  the  D.  R.  K.  U.  G.  V.  M.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  D.  R.  K. 
U.  G.  V.  M.  The  Booster  Club  of  Mankato 
numbers  him  among  its  members,  and  he  main- 


476 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


tains  a  warm  concern  in  all  movements  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  city  and  the  extension  of  its 
business  industries.  Besides  the  organizations 
previously  named,  he  is  identified  with  the  Ger- 
man Land  Company,  in  which  he  now  holds  the 
office  of  president;  and  in  addition  he  holds  the 
position  of  president  of  the  Weekly  Post  Pub- 
lishing   Company,    Incorporated. 


LEWIS,  DAVID  J.— Many  of  the  most  thrif- 
ty and  persevering  farmers  of  Minnesota  came 
to  this  country  from  Wales,  and  among  the  num- 
ber, mention  should  be  made  of  the  late  David 
J.  Lewis,  an  honored  citizen  of  Blue  Earth 
county  and  an  industrious  farmer  occupying  a 
valuable  estate  in  South  Bend  township.  Born 
in  the  southern  part  of  Wales,  he  was  a  son  of 
Joseph  J.  and  Ann  (Rowland)  Lewis  who  were 
natives  and  lifelong  residents  of  Wales.  The 
education  of  David  J.  Lewis  was  obtained  in  the 
schools  of  his  native  land.  Under  the  careful 
training  of  his  parents  he  was  taught  to  be  eco- 
nomical, industrious  and  persevering,  and  these 
traits  stood  him  in  good  stead  when  prosecuting 
hi,"^'  life  work  in  the  northwest. 

Upon  crossing  the  ocean  to  the  United  States 
in  1842  David  J.  Lewis  settled  in  Kew  York 
and  found  no  difficulty  in  earning  a  livelihood 
there,  but  it  was  his  desire  to  become  a  land 
owner  and  he  determined  to  secure  i^roperty  in 
the  northwest,  where  lands  were  then  cheap.  In 
1855  he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  settled 
among  the  few  farmers  of  the  region.  Indians 
still  roamed  through  the  forests  and  sometimes 
molested  the  lonely  settlers  on  the  frontier,  but 
he  had  no  difficulty  with  them,  and  was  able  to 
prosecute  his  farm  work  without  interruption. 
Out  of  an  unattractive  tract  of  land  he  evolved 
a  fine  farm  and  here  he  remained  until  his  death 
in  January  of  1904.  Many  friends  mourned  his 
loss  and  testified  as  to  his  worth  of  character 
and  generosity  of  disposition. 

Upon  coming  to  Blue  Eartli  county  Mr.  Lewis 
was  a  bachelor.  A  few  years  later  he  estab- 
lished a  home.  July  12,  1859,  he  married 
Miss  Margaret  Jones,  who  was  born  in  the  south 
of  Wales  ^N^ovember  13,  1837.  Her  parents,  Thom- 
a'-   and   Ann    (Roderick)    Jones,   were  natives   of 


tiiC  part  of  Wales  where  her  birth  occurred.  As 
early  as  1841  they  came  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  at  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  wliere  they  were 
pioneers.  From  there  in  1855  they  came  to  Blue 
Eartli  county  and  settled  in  South  Bend  township 
where  the  father  died  in  1861.  Llis  widow  sub- 
sequently removed  to  Oregon,  where  her  death 
occurred  in  1877.  Although  Thomas  Jones  died 
s^ix  years  after  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
he  in  that  short  time  had  proved  himself  to  be  a 
Avorthy  citizen  and  progressive  man,  and  the 
pioneers  felt  a  personal  loss  through  his  demise. 
He  brought  the  first  threshing  machine  and  the 
first  mower  into  the  county  and  interested  others 
in  these  labor  saving  implements.  In  addition, 
he  acted  as  the  first  surveyor  in  the  county. 
While  he  had  received .  no  special  training  in 
surveying,  he  possessed  decided  skill  along  that 
line  and  his  old  surveys  are  still  recognized  as 
authoritative. 

The  family  of  Thomas  Jones  comprised  nine 
children,  namely;  Edward,  Ann,  Mary,  Humphrey 
Eliza,  Margaret,  Thomas,  John  and  Roderick.  On- 
ly three  are  now  living,  viz :  Humphrey,  Thomas 
and  ilrs.  Lewis.  The  union  of  David  J.  Lewis 
and  wife  was  blessed  with  ten  children,  eight  of 
whom  survive,  as  follows :  Joseph  R.  and  Anna 
R.,  who  make  their  home  in  North  Dakota; 
Thomas  D.,  living  in  Blue  Earth  county;  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  H.  A.  Alleman,  of  Mankato;  Mary 
and  David  E.,  who  are  living  in  North  Dakota; 
Ida  j\I.  and  Humj^hrey  E.,  who  reside  with  their 
mother  on  the  old  homestead,  Humphrey  now 
having  charge  of  its  cultivation  and  improve- 
ments. 


LEWIS,  H.  L.— The  history  of  the  little  set- 
tlement at  Jamestown  had  covered  only  a  com- 
paratively brief  period  when  the  founder  of  the 
Lewis  family  in  America  came  hither  in  com- 
pany with  a  colony  of  Welsh  families.  When 
the  Revolutionary  war  began  Samuel  Lewis,  a 
descendant  of  the  original  immigrant,  enlisted 
for  service  and  was  chosen  captain  of  his  com- 
pany, remaining  in  that  position  and  enduring 
all  the  hardships  of  that  fateful  struggle  until 
finally  peace  was  restored.  Succeeding  gener- 
ations scattered  all  over  the  country,  and  where- 


BI0GRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


471 


over  the  name  became  established  it  stood  for  pa- 
triotism, pioneer  spirit  and  a  high  degree  of  in- 
telligence. During  the  middle  years  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Rev.  G.  F.  Lewis,  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  removed  with  his  family  from  New 
York  to  Wisconsin,  where  he  took  up  preaching 
in  sparsely  settled  agricultural  districts.  Among 
his  children  was  a  son,  B.  S.,  who  was  born  in 
New  York,  studied  la^'  at  Union  college,  Schenec- 
tady, New  York,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
early  manhood,  and  during  1866  removed  to 
Minnesota,  settling  as  attorney  at  Waseca.  As 
the  years  passed  by  he  built  up  an  enviable  repu- 
tation in  his  profession  and  came  to  rank  among 
the  most  successful  attorneys  of  the.  state.  It 
was  said  by  many  that  no  lawyer  had  a  more 
thorough  knowlege  of  state  laws  and  their  appli- 
cation than  did  Mr.  Lewis,  and  his  death  in  1890 
at  the  age  of  fifty  years  removed  from  the  state 
one  of  her  most  brilliant  counselors  and  advo- 
cates. In  addition  to  hie  law  practice  he  accom- 
plished much  in  behalf  of  educational  work  in 
his  home  city  and  was  a  stanch  friend  of  the  pub- 
lic school  system.  His  wife,  who  bore  the  maiden 
name  of  Mary  Eaton  was  born  in  Wisconsin,  the 
daughter  of  a  pioneer  merchant  of  that  state. 

The  only  son  and  one  of  three  children  of  B. 
S.,  and  Mary  Lewis,  the  gentleman  whose  name 
introduces  this  article  was  born  at  AYaseca,  Min- 
nesota, July  10,  1872,  and  received  his  educa- 
tion in  public  schools.  It  had  been  his  intention 
to  take  a  collegiate  course,  but  after  graduating 
from  the  high  school  at  the  age  of  eighteen  his 
health  was  so  poor  that  further  study  was  deemed 
unwise,  accordingly  he  entered  upon  business  ac- 
tivities. For  a  time  he  was  employed  at  Janes- 
ville,  Waseca  county,  but  after  eight  months  there 
he  resigned  to  accept  an  offer  from  the  James 
Quirk  Milling  Company  at  Waterville,  this  state. 
Luring  the  following  eleven  years  he  was  mostly 
in  their  employ  and  rose  to  be  secretary,  treas- 
urer and  assistant  manager  of  the  company. 
However,  for  eighteen  months  of  this  time  he 
v.-as  away  from  the  tirm,  having  founded  a  bank 
at  Madison  Lake,  with  which  he  continued  for 
eighteen  months.  In  1903  he  bought  out  the 
Mapleton  Milling  Company,  the  capacity  of 
which  since  he  took  charge  has  been  increased 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  barrels  to  five  hun- 


dred barrels,  running  twenty-four  hours.  The 
pleasant  home  of  Mr.  Lewis  at  ilapleton  is 
presided  over  by  the  accomplished  young  lady 
whom  he  married  October  12,  1898,  and  who  was 
Miss  Grace  L.  Everett,  daughter  of  ]\L  E.  Ever- 
ett, an  attorney  of  AYatcrville,  this  state.  Two 
sons  bless  their  imion,  Mahlon  and  Benedict. 

In  this  connection  it  will  not  be  amiss  to 
make  mention  of  the  Mapkton  Milling  Company, 
the  leading  industry  of  the  town  flhose  name  it 
bears.  That  the  mill  has  been  of  gTeat  local  im- 
portance may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the 
company  not  only  buys  the  wheat  raised  by  the 
farmers  for  miles  in  every  direction,  but  also 
from  their  treasury  is  paid  out  every  year  thous- 
ands of  dollars  in  ^Yages  to  employes,  thus  prov- 
ing of  inestimable  value  to  the  business  interests 
of  the  place.  The  history  of  the  enterprise 
dates  back  to  the  year  1880,  when  Moses  Gates 
and  Peter  Nelson  visited  ^Mapleton  and  secured 
a  bonus  of  $1,000  for  a  grist  mill.  An  excellent 
mill  was  soon  in  operation,  but  the  proprietors, 
being  more  interested  in  erecting  mills  than  man- 
aging them,  sold  out  to  Sherman  Peet.  James 
Pearson  was  the  head  miller  of  the  first  mill, 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  Charles  Eogers.  In 
1886  the  old  stone  system  was  replaced  by  mo- 
dern rolls.  In  February,  18S7,  the  mill  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  Ten  days  later  the  people  of 
the  village  and  surrounding  country  assembled  in 
meeting  and  subscribed  a  bonus  of  $1,500  to 
i.s^ist  in  the  building  of  a  new  mill.  The  work 
of  reconstruction  was  taken  up  so  promptly  that 
just  four  months  after  the  fire  a  new  mill  start- 
ed to  grind  flour  with  John  Hendee  as  head  mil- 
ler. In  November,  1887,  S.  Peet  took  in  as 
partner  Daniel  W.  Brooks.  A  modern  engine 
was  purchased,  and  James  Pearson  was  prevailed 
upon  to  return  as  head  miller.  The  cash  sys- 
tem was  instituted  and  matters  were  placed  upon 
a  business  basis. 

Another  change  came  into  the  management 
of  the  mill  when  Starkcy  &  Ketzeback  bought 
the  property  in  Alay,  1893.  The  capacity  was  in- 
creased, the  plant  was  run  night  and  day  to  meet 
the  growing  demand  for  their  flour,  and  an  ele- 
vator was  erected  with  a  capacity  of  twenty-five 
thousand  bushels.  Early  in  1902  Mv.  Ketze- 
back, died,  and  in  order  that  home  business  men 


47h 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


might  retain  his  interest,  it  was  purchased  from 
his  heirs  by  W.  A.  and  E.  B.  Hanna,  H.  M. 
Qninn  and  H.  C.  Hotaling.  In  March  of  1903 
J.  T.  Starkey,  sold  liis  interest  to  H.  L.  lewis 
and  W.  E.  Everett,  and  a  reorganization  was 
effected  with  Mr.  Lewis  as  manager.  A  Corliss 
engine  was  installed  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
horsepower.  About  this  time  the  local  business 
men  sold  their  shares  to  capitalists,  so  that  the 
present  owners  are  W.  J.  Jennison  and  W.  J. 
Eussell,  of  Minneapolis,  and  Jlr.  Lewis  and 
Joseph  Zahalka,  of  Mapleton.  The  mill  con- 
sumes about  two  thousand  bushels  of  wheat  daily 
and  its  leading  brand  of  flour,  Maplesota,  is 
known  far  and  wide.  It  is  the  intention  of  the 
owners  to  increase  the  capacity  from  time  to  time 
and  also  to  adopt  every  modern  improvement  as 
it  is  presented  to  the  milling  world. 

In  fact,  it  is  the  policy  of  the  firm  to  utilize 
only  modern  machinery  for  in  no  other  way  can 
the  competition  of  the  twentieth  century  be  met. 
Everything  about  the  place  bespeaks  the  progres- 
sive spirit  of  the  owners,  and  the  only  spot  in 
the  mill  where  one  may  find  a  reminder  of  the 
milling  system  of  pioneer  days  is  in  the  base- 
ment, where  several  of  the  old  mill  stones  are 
fiimly  cemented  in  the  floor,  relics  of  early  mill- 
ing in  Mapleton. 


LEWIS,  WILLIAM  E.— The  changes  wrought 
by  the  past  one-half  century  in  the  history  of 
Blue  Earth  county  are  familiar  to  Mr.  Lewis, 
who  has  been  an  eye-witness  of  local  progress 
and  a  contributor  to  agricultural  development. 
It  was  during  the  year  1856  that  he  arrived  in 
this  section  of  the  northwest  with  other  mem- 
bers of  the  family  joining  his  father,  who  had 
come  here  the  previous  year.  At  that  time 
settlers  were  few  and  houses  were  five  miles  or 
more  apart.  The  arduous  task  of  transform- 
ing a  raw  tract  of  land  into  a  fertile  farm  fell 
upon  the  family  and  the  early  years  of  their 
residence  in  this  county  were  years  of  unceasing 
struggle  and  self-sacrificing  toil.  They  also 
witnessed  the  horrors  of  the  Indian  war  of  1862. 
Eventually  they  reaped  the  reward  of  their  la- 
bors and  became  known  as  prosperous  and  pro- 
gressive   farmers     and    upright    citizens     whose 


identification  with  the  community  was  advantag- 
eous to  its  highest  growth. 

Born  in  Wales,  July  11,  1835,  William  E.  Lew- 
is is  a  son  of  Morris  and  Mary  (Jones)  Lewis, 
the  former  a  miner,  who  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1839.  Two  years  later  the  family 
joined  him  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania.  At 
first  he  worked  at  Pottsville  and  later  at  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  from  which  city  he  went 
to  Arkon,  Ohio,  and  later  worked  in  mines  at 
Brady's  Bend,  Pennsylvania.  As  early  as  May 
of  1855  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Minnesota  and 
took  up  a  tract  of  government  land"  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  a  year  later  the  family 
joined  him.  On  the  land  that  he  pre-empted  he 
remained  for  many  years  and  here  his  death 
occurred  in  1882.  Eventually  his  widow  re- 
moved to  Mankato,  where  in  1901  her  death  oc- 
curred. The  father  was  one  of  a  family  of 
twelve  children,  whose  parents  were  humble  mem- 
bers of  a  Welsh  mining  community  and  he  had 
no  chance  whatever  to  gain  an  education  or  to 
lift  himself  out  of  the  poverty  to  which  he  was 
born;  but  notwithstanding  these  obstacles  he 
gained  independence  and  won  recognition  among 
the  farmers  of  his  locality. 

At  the  early  age  of  ten  years  William  E.  Lewis 
began  to  assist  his  father  in  the  coal  mines  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  after  he  came  to  Minnesota 
he  helped  to  clear  and  improve  the  claim  on 
Avhich  the  family  settled.  Agriculture  has  been 
his  life  work,  but  of  recent  years  he  has  retired 
from  farm  pursuits  and  is  making  his  home  at 
Lake  Crystal,  where  he  has  many  friends  among 
the  most  substantial  citizens.  In  politics  he  has 
always  been  a  stanch  believer  in  Eepublican  prin- 
ciples. During  the  Civil  war  his  sympathies 
were  strongly  on  the  side  of  the  Union,  and  De- 
cember 23,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  the  United  States 
army  in  the  Civil  War  as  a  private  in  Company 
E,  Second  Minnesota  Cavalry,  with  which  he  en- 
gaged in  service  in  the  Indian  Wars  of  those 
days.  With  the  regiment  he  received  an  honor- 
able discharge  November  22,  1865,  at  Fort 
Snelling.  Since  the  organization  of  A.  T.  Mur- 
phy Post  No.  108,  G.  A.  E.,  he  has  been  one  of 
its  active  members  and  has  maintained  an  interest 
in  its  work.  In  religion  he  is  identified  with 
the   Baptist   church. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


479 


The  marriage  of  Jlr.  Lewis  took  place  July 
29,  1862,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Sarah  Davis. 
Eight  sons  and  five  daughters  were  born  of  their 
union.  The  following  attained  years  of  ma- 
turity: John  E.,  who  resides  at  Walla  Walla, 
Washington;  Morris  M.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
thirty-five  years;  Mary  Ann,  who  married  Ed- 
ward E.  Nichols  a  farmer,  and  makes  her  home 
near  New  Ulm,  Minnesota;  Elizabeth,  wife  of 
William  S.  Evan.';,  a  farmer  of  Blue  Earth 
county;  Thomas  E.,  who  is  emploj'ed  in  the  gov- 
ernment service  in  Montana,  and  who  for  three 
years  was  a  soldier  in  Company  M,  Tenth  Unit- 
ed States  Infantry  and  spent  two  years  in  the 
Philippine  Islands;  William  M.,  who  is  mar- 
ried and  carries  on  farm  pursuits  in  Blue  Earth 
county;  Edwin,  a  farmer  residing  near  Lake 
Crj'stal;  Mattie,  who  married  Walter  Wolfenden 
and  resides  in  Lake  Crystal,  Minnesota;  and 
David  J.,  who  is  now  in  Montana  in  the  gov- 
ernment service. 


LOOK,  HENEY  LEE.— On  a  farm  in  Pleas- 
ant Mound  township  adjoining  the  township  line 
of  Shelby  on  the  east,  may  be  found  Henry  Lee 
Look  busily  engaged  in  the  various  duties  atten- 
dant upon  the  management  of  a  profitable  proper- 
ty. The  family  of  which  ho  is  a  member  has 
been  represented  in  America  ever  since  the  Pil- 
grim Fathers  crossed  the  rough  seas  to  the  bleak 
and  barren  shores  of  New  England.  His  grand- 
fathers, Samuel  W.  Look  and  Columbus  Harvey, 
were  natives  of  New  England,  and  descended 
from  pioneer  families  of  that  region.  The  par- 
ents, William  Henry  and  Emily  Luce  (Harvey) 
Look,  were  born  in  "Maine,  the  former  during 
the  year  1849.  The  second  name  of  the  mother. 
Luce,  has  been  in  the  family  for  nine  generations 
and  was  first  borne  by  a  progenitor  who  came 
over  in  the  historic  Mayflower. 

The  grandfather  was  a  sea  captain  and  com- 
manded his  own  ship.  At  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery of  gold  in  California  he  fitted  out  a  ship 
snd  started  by  ocean  to  California,  where  after 
a  long  voyage  he  landed  at  San  Francisco.  Fol- 
lowing the  custom  usual  to  the  time  and  place, 
his  crew  deserted  him.  Thereupon  he  proceeded 
io  Oregon  and  remained  for  a  year  engaged  in  the 


fibbing  business.  After  returning  to  San  Fran- 
cisco he  secured  another  crew  for  his  ship,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  sold  the  ship 
there,  and  came  the  rest  of  the  way  home  in  an- 
other vessel.  A  year  later  he  started  again  for 
Oregon  via  the  Horn.  There  he  made  a  success- 
ful trip  and  engaged  in  barter  with  the  Indians. 
On  his  return  he  was  wrecked  near  the  isth- 
mus and  for  a  time  floated  on  the  roof  of  a 
house.  After  twenty-four  hours  he  was  picked 
up  by  a  French  liner.  A  companion  also  was 
rescued,  both  being  unconscious  when  rescued. 
Tlie  ship  was  overloaded  and  comparatively  few 
were  saved. 

As  early  as  1869  William  Henry  Look  had  visit- 
ed Minnesota  and  had  returned  to  the  east  with 
a  favorable  impression  concerning  the  northwest. 

In  1883  he  came  back  and  established  their 
home  in  Shelby  township.  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  the  grandfather  died  in  1887.  In  the 
fall  of  1906  the  father  sold  his  interests  here 
and  moved  to  Idaho,  where  since  he  has  made 
his  home.  There  were  five  children  in  his  fam- 
ily, the  second  of  these  being  Henry  Lee  Look, 
who  was  born  at  New  Vineyard,  Franklin 
county,  Maine,  September  12,  1878,  and  re- 
ceived oountr}'  school  advantages,  supplemented 
Ijy  attendance  at  the  Amboy  high  school  and  the 
Parker  College  in  Winnebago.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  years  he  started  out  for  himself  and  since 
then  he  has  engaged  in  farm  pursuits  with  a 
gratifying  degree  of  success.  October  6,  1903, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Clarise  Lorena 
Salisbury,  who  was  born  in  Pleasant  Mound 
township,  Ijcing  a  daughter  of  James  Salis- 
bury and  a  granddaughter  of  H.  E.  Salisbury, 
an  honored  pioneer.  One  son  has  blessed  the 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Look. 


LOVELL,  FEEDEEICK  E.— Adjacent  to  the 
corporation  of  Vernon  Center  lies  the  homestead 
of  Mr.  Lovell,  who  since  coming  to  the  township 
in  1884  has  been  the  owner  and  occupant  of  the 
farm,  and  meanwhile  has  made  numerous  valu- 
able improvements.  The  tract  consists  of  two 
hundred  acres,  of  which  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  are  under  the  plow,  while  the  balance  is 
utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  the  stock  and  for 


480 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


such  other  purposes  as  the  needs  of  the  place 
demand.  Farm  products  suited  to  the  soil  and 
climate  are  raised  on  the  farm,  which  is  one  of 
the  most  productive  in  the  township.  In  addition 
considerable  attention  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of 
Poland-China  hogs  and  Holstein  cattle,  and  a 
specialty  is  made  of  the  dairy  industry. 

Wisconsin  is  Mr.  Lovell's  native  state,  he  hav- 
ing been  bom  December  10,  185G,  in  Dodge 
county,  where  his  parents,  John  and  Rosamund 
(Chapin)  Lovell,  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits until  their  death.  Primarily  educated  in 
public  schools  in  the  county,  he  was  later  sent 
to  Ripon  college  in  Wisconsin,  where  he  availed 
himself  of  the  fine  opportunities  cfl^ered  for  the 
acquiring  of  a  good  education.  ^ATien  he  had 
completed  his  collegiate  course  he  took  up  school 
teaching,  which  profession  he  followed  both  in 
Wisconsin  and  in  ^Minnesota,  and  later  he  dis- 
played his  deep  interest  in  educational  work  by 
rendering  faithful  service  as  a  member  of  the 
school  board  for  a  long  period,  also  as  its  treas- 
urer for  six  years. 

While  still  living  in  Wisconsin  Mr.  Lovell 
was  there  married,  September  19,  1883,  to  Clem- 
entina Whitcomb,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Mar- 
garet (C'ameron)  AAliitcomb,  pioneers  at  Hus- 
tisford,  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  engaging  in 
agricultural  pursuits  in  that  part  of  the  state 
until  their  death.  The  year  after  their  marriage 
Mr.  and  JMrs.  Lovell  came  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  settled  in  Yernon  Center  township,  where 
tliey  have  since  occupied  the  same  farm  and  giv- 
en their  attention  to  its  improvement.  In  re- 
ligious views  they  are  identified  with  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church  and  give  generously  to  its 
missionary  enterprises  and  general  benefactions. 
Three  children  blessed  their  union,  and  to  them 
every  advantage  was  given  in  order  to  prepare 
them  for  the  responsibilities  of  life.  The  only 
daughter,  iMargaret,  married  Miles  Porter,  an  at- 
torney at  Lamberton,  this  state.  The  sons, 
John  and  James,  are  yet  at  home,  and  the  form- 
er is  preparing  for  the  profession  of  the  law  by 
a  course  in  the  state  university.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Lovell  holds  membership  with  Vernon  Cen- 
ter Lodge  No.  131,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  also 
is  identified  with  the  local  work  of  the  Mutual 
Benevolent  Association.   It  has  not  been  his  custom 


to  bind  himself  to  either  of  the  political  parti( 
for  he  maintains  an  independent  attitude  in  pc 
litical  matters  and  gives  his  ballot  to  the  me: 
and  measures  he  deems  best  qualified  to  promot 
the  welfare  of  his  town  and  county  or  the  larg 
er  interesls  of  the  nation. 


LOVELL  J.  PIERCE.— During  the  eolonia 
era  of  American  history  the  Lovell  faniil 
crossed  the  ocean  from  England  to  the  ne^ 
world  and  identified  themselves  with  the  grow 
ing  fortunes  of  the  rich  colony  of  A'irginia,  h 
tlie  early  development  of  which  they  material! 
aided.  The  tide  of  emigTation  carried  them  to 
ward  the  west,'  the  first  of  the  family  to  settle  ii 
the  Mississippi  valley  being  Reuben  Lovell, 
pioneer  of  Illinois  and  a  lifelong  farmer.  Nex 
in  line  of  descent  was  George  W.  Lovell  bori 
Jan.  39th,  1843,  in  Schuyler  county,  Illinois 
and  there  married  ilary  Jane  Toland  who  wa 
born  Jan.  3,  1843,  also  a  native  of  the  same  re 
gion.  As  early  as  1864  the  family  became  pio 
neers  of  Minnesota,  where  soon  afterward  th 
father  enlisted  in  Battery  F,  First  Regiment  o 
j\Iinnesota  Heavy  Artillery.  Dnder  the  com 
mand  of  General  Thomas  he  was  stationed  a 
Xashville  and  Chattanooga  and  at  the  expira 
tion  of  his  time  received  an  honorable  discharge 
after  which  he  took  up  farm  pursuits  near  Nash 
ville  center,  Martin  county,  Minnesota,  and  eve 
since  he  has  remained  a  resident  of  the  sam 
locality. 

Among  ten  children  comprising  the  family  o 
George  W.  Lovell  the  eldest,  J.  Pierce,  was  bor: 
in  Schuyler  county,  Illinois,  January  9,  186J 
and  has  been  a  resident  of  Minnesota  from  hi 
earliest  recollections,  receiving  such  advantage 
as  the  country  schools  of  the  state  afforded  an 
gaining  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  duties  whic 
enter  into  successful  farming.  At  the  age  c 
twenty  years  he  left  the  old  farm  and  starte 
out  to  earn  his  own  way  as  an  agriculturist,  » 
curing  a  farm  near  Nashville  Center  and  opera 
ing  the  land  for  a  considerable  period.  In  189 
l.e  disposed  of  his  interests  in  Martin  county  au 
came  to  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  owns  a  far: 
on  section  twenty-eight,  Shelby  township,  nef 
the  village  of  Amboy.     The  tract  comprises  ovi 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


481 


one  hundred  acres  and  the  river  forms  its  eastern 
boundary  line.  Excellent  natural  drainage  gives 
facilities  for  the  cultivation  of  the  crops.  The 
ptoek  business  brings  a  considerable  annual  reve- 
nue, the  principle  lines  being  red  polled  cattle, 
and  Norman  and  Hambletonian  horses. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Lovell  took  place  July  2, 
1890,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Gertrude  Dodd, 
wlio  was  born  at  Catskill,  Green  county.  New 
York,  and  was  educated  at  Uie  C'atskill  Acad- 
emy. The  family  was  established  in  America 
by  her  grandfather,  William  Dodd  who  crossed 
the  ocean  in  IS'i-i  and  settled  at  Catskill,  New 
York.  Her  father,  Thomas  Dodd,  was  born  at 
Westmoreland,  England,  March  23,  1818,  and 
vas  a  small  child  when  the  family  emigrated 
to  the  United  States,  where  he  received  fine  edu- 
cational advantages  at  llui.aers  Coilego,  New 
Eiunswick,  N.  J.  During  early  manhood  he 
taught  in  a  reform  school  in  the  city  of  New 
Y'ork.  In  1819  he  married  Elizabeth  Stevens, 
v,ho  was  born  Nevember  13,  1824,  at  Gilboa, 
Schoharie  county.  New  Y'ork.  Her  mother  was 
Nancy  Du  Boice  great  grand  daughter  of  Louis 
Du  Boice,  relative  of  Guillaume  Du  Boice, 
French  statesman  and  one  of  the  negotiators 
of  the  triple  Alliance  1717  and  from  1721  till 
his  death  in  1725  lie  governed  France  as  prime 
minister,  and  Jier  father  traced  his  lineage  to 
England.  A  devoted  Christian  woman,  she  reared 
her  children  in  that  faith  and  her  daughter, 
Mrs.  Lovell,  became  a  member  of  the  Presljy- 
teriaii  church,  in  which  religion  she  in  turn 
is  training  her  only  child,  iliss  Elizabeth  Lovell. 

The  Dodd  family  left  the  east  in  1.S5G  and 
settled  in  Wisconsin.  For  six  yeais  ]\Ir.  Dodd 
taught  in  that  state,  also  in  Missouri  and  Illi- 
nois, after  which  he  returned  to  New  York  and 
remained  for  four  years.  His  residence  in  Min- 
nesota dated  from  1863,  when  he  entered  land 
in  Martin  county.  For  eight  years  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  missionary  of  the  Prcsbvterian 
board  of  home  missions  for  which  work  he  was 
admirably  qualified  by  his  profound  knowledge 
of  the  Scriptures  and  his  consecrated  devo- 
tion to  the  cause  of  Christianity.  The  last  four 
years  of  his  self-sacrificing,  earnest  existence  were 
passed  on  his  farm  west  of  Aml)ov,  this  state, 
and  there  he   passed   away   in   1875.     The   only 

91 


fi'aternal  organization  in  which  ilr.  Lovell  main- 
tains an  interest  is  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  Educational  matters  always  re- 
ceive his  earnest  support  and  he  has  rendered 
efficient  service  as  a  member  of  the  school  board 
of  his  district. 


LUDTKE,  HENRY.— The  scientific  phases  of 
agriculture  have  appealed  with  especial  interest 
to  Mr.  Ludtke  who  believes  that  some  of  the 
old-fashioned  methods  of  farming  have  no  rea- 
son for  continuance-  except  in  usage  and  tradi- 
tion ;  and  ho  has  been  in  distinct  sympathy  with 
twentieth-century  plans  of  cultivation  of  the 
soil  and  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  same. 
The  origin  of  his  interest  in  scientific  farming 
dates  back  to  his  training  in  the  Minnesota 
School  of  Agriculture  at  St.  Paul,  where  he 
took  the  complete  course  of  three  years,  grad- 
uating in  1902.  During  two  years  of  the 
course  he  took  military  training  in  addition 
to  agricultural  work  and  in  his  last  year  at  the 
school  he  was  honored  by  being  chosen  captain 
of  his  company.  His  interest  in  military  affairs 
is  inherited  from  his  father,  who  once  served  in 
the  German  army  and  always  delighted  in  the 
study  of  military  tactics. 

Born  in  Pleasant  Mound  township.  Blue  Earth 
county,  February-  24,  1875,  Henry  Ludtke  is  a 
son  of  Emel  and  .Tuli"  (Tesky)  Ludtke, . 
natives  of  Posen,  Germany.  The  paternal  grand- 
father Christov  Ludtke,  was  born  in  Posen, 
Germany,  and  there  spent  his  entire  life,  following 
the  occupation  of  farming.  During  the  year 
1867  Emel  Ludtke  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  Unit- 
ed States  and  at  once  proceeded  to  Wisconsin, 
wliere  he  settled  on  a  farm  near  Princeton. 
The  3'ear  1874,  witnessed  his  removal  from  Wis- 
consin to  Minnesota,  where  he  settled  on  a  raw 
tract  of  land  in  Pleasant  Mound  township  and 
took  up  general  farming.  In  a  short  time  he 
sold  the  land  and  hought  seventy-five  acres  where 
he  still  lives.  Subsequent  purchase  gave  him 
forty  acres  on  section  eleven,  eighty  acres  on 
section  twelve,  and  eighty  acres  on  section  four- 
teen, all  of  whicli  property  he  subsequently  trans- 
ferred to  his  son,  Henry,  with  whom  he  is  now 
living-. 


4H2 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


There  were  twelve  children  in  the  family,  of 
whom  one  son  is  deceased.  Five  sons  and  six 
daughters  are  now  living,  and  all  are  married 
and  established  in  homes  of  their  own.  The 
youngest  son,  Henry,  received  his  rudimentary 
education  in  the  district  schools,  after  which  he 
spent  three  years  in  the  State  School  of  Agricul- 
ture. September  11,  1902,  he  married  Gusta 
Bergemann,  who  was  born  in  Illinois,  and  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county  with  her  parents,  William 
and  Ernestena  Bergemann,  settling  in  the  town- 
ship of  Ceresco,  where  her  father  died.  Her 
mother    continues   to   live    in    that    township. 

Two  daughters,  Gertrude  and  Leola,  comprise 
the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ludtke.  Under  the 
management  of  Mr.  Ludtke  are  three  hundred 
and  eighty-five  acres.  Willow  Creek  runs 
through  the  farm  in  such  a  way  as  to  render 
possible  the  thorough  tiling  of  all  the  land, 
should  such  drainage  be  deemed  advisable.  Cat- 
tle, hogs  and  horses  are  raised  on  the  farm  and 
tlie  returns  from  their  sale  prove  that  the" 
owner  is  a  skilled  stock  raiser.  For  some  years 
Mr.  Ludtke  has  been  working  in  association  with 
the  Minnesota  School  of  Agriculture  to  ascer- 
tain the  value  of  different  varieties  of  commer- 
cial fertilizer.  Different  fields  are  fertilized  with 
different  varieties,  the  results  are  carefully  notect 
by  him  and  reports  are  sent  to  the  college  where 
they  are  analyzed  and  results  recorded,  the  final 
conclusions  being  published  for  the  benefit  of 
farmers   throughout  the   entire   state. 

LIJLSDORFP,  GERHARD.— The  custom  of 
learning  a  useful  trade  which  has  been  grounded 
into  the  youth  of  the  German  Fatherland  for 
many  centuries  of  its  histor)',  has  aided  in  the 
development  of  the  enterprises  of  this  country 
to  an  almost  unprecedented  extent.  Not  only  is 
the  Old  World  workman  the  soul  of  thorough- 
ness and  reliability,  having  purchased  his  ex- 
perience by  long  service,  rigorous  self  denial  and 
great  singleness  of  purpose,  but  he  maintains 
a  wholesome  respect  for  the  work  of  his  hands, 
and  labors  unceasingly  towards  its  ultimate  per- 
fection. The  splendid  possibilities  and  inde- 
pendence assured  by  such  preparedness  were  em- 
phatically expressed  in  the  career  of  Gerhard 
Lulsdorff,    whose    name    is    connected    with    the 


establishment,  in  August,  1863,  of  the  hardwar 
business  now  owned  and  managed  by  his  so] 
and  successor,  John  A.  Lulsdorff,  in  Mankato. 

ilr.  Lulsdorff  was  born  in  Cologne,  Prussia 
April  35,  1827,  and  after  a  meagre  training  ii 
the  public  schools  served  an  apprenticeship  a 
carpentering  from  his  thirteenth  to  his  seventeentl 
}'ear.  For  three  years  he  traveled  through  Ger 
many  as  a  journeyman  carpenter,  at  the  expir 
ation  of  which  time  he  was  drafted  into  th^ 
army,  and  exchanged  the  tools  of  constructioi 
for  the  weapons  of  destruction.  Army  life  prov 
ing  distasteful  to  him,  through  the  interventioi 
of  friends  he  was  released  from  the  service,  anc 
returning  to  his  native  city,  he  was  employee 
in  one  of  its  largest  factories  from  1847  unti 
1853.  With  new  world  ambitions  surging  in  hii 
brain  he  embarked  in  a  sailing  vessel  for  Amer 
ica  in  1853,  during  May  of  the  same  year  find 
ing  employment  as  a  cabinet  maker  in  New  Yorl 
City,  his  first  piece  of  work  taking  the  golc 
medal  at  the  Crystal  Palace  exhibition,  held  sooi 
after.  Beginning  in  1854  he  engaged  in  shi| 
building  in  New  York  City,  and  later  ii 
Thomaston,  Maine,  but  after  cutting  his  foo 
with  an  ax  in  the  latter  city  returned  to  Nev 
York  and  found  employment  in  a  piano  factory 
The  piano  company  failing  and  going  out  o: 
business,  he  went  on  a  tour  of  inspection  througl 
the  southern  states,  spending  the  winter  in  Nca 
Orleans,  in  the  spring  journeying  through  tb 
northern  states.  Upon  his  return  to  New  Yorl 
he  worked  in  another  piano  factory,  but  hii 
health  failing,  he  came  west  to  recuperate,  spen 
some  time  in  Wisconsin  and  Chicago,  in  thi 
latter  place  undergoing  a  severe  spell  of  sick 
ness,  upon  recovery  from  which  he  again  workec 
at  his  trade. 

In  the  winter  of  1857-8  Mr.  Lulsdorfl  wen 
into  the  building  business  with  Theodor 
Schroeder,  filled  contracts  in  several  places  ii 
the  state,  and  while  working  on  a  building  ii 
Tuscola,  Illinois,  the  scaffolding  broke  and  hi 
and  his  partner  were  painfully  if  not  serioush 
injured.  Soon  after  this  partnership  was  dis 
solved,  and  Mr.  Lulsdorff  came  to  St.  Paul,  Min 
nesota,  July  15,  1858,  the  last  of  Februarj 
1859,  accompanying  three  companions  to  th 
Red  River  country.     The  distinction  is  due  Hi 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


4M3 


of  having  helped  to  build  the  Anson  Forthrup^ 
the  first  steamer  that  ever  plowed  the  waters  of 
that  nortliern  stream.  He  also  was  one  of  the 
first  passengers  on  the  boat,  going  to  Fort  Gary, 
now  Winnipeg,  which  then  was  practically  con- 
trolled by  the  Hudson  Bay  Company.  Return- 
ing with  a  cargo  of  buffalo  hides  to  Fort  Aber- 
crombie,  the  party  went  to  St.  Paul  to  get  their 
pay  and  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions,  and  the 
return  trip,  as  were  many  others  undertaken 
around  that  time,  was  full  of  incident  and  ad- 
venture. Mr.  LulsdorfE  in  after  years  delighted 
to  recount  his  experiences  in  the  wild,  undevel- 
oped region  of  the  Red  River,  the  Indians  and 
big  game  furnishing  him  material  for  many  a 
hair  raising  narrative.  He  became  a  regularly 
accredited  employe  of  the  Hudson  River  Com- 
pany in  1860,  and  the  following  year,  while 
the  rest  of  the  country  was  torn  by  the  dissen- 
sion of  the  Civil  war,  he  built  for  the  Minne- 
sota Stage  Company  the  first  building  in  the 
present  town  of  Moorhead.  He  also  erected  sev- 
eral houses  for  the  company  in  Georgetown,  and 
in  1861  helped  build  the  second  boat  for  the 
Eed  River,  named  the  International,  and  which 
began  to  churn  the  fl-aters  of  the  river  in  the 
spring  of  18G"?.  The  same  year  occurred  the 
great  Sioux  outbreak,  and  all  of  the  employes 
of  the  company  were  obliged  to  flee  for  their 
lives  to  British  Columbia.  .V  few  trusted  men, 
however,  were  sent  back  to  look  after  the  com- 
pany's interests  at  Georgetown,  'Sir.  LulsdorfE 
being  of  that  number.  His  last  undertaking 
in  the  great  wilderness  of  the  Northwest  was 
to  take  the  boat  in  which  he  traveled  to  Fort 
Abercrombie  for  protection.  Ami  after  all,  per- 
sonality is  the  dominant  factor  in  shaping  the 
course  of  the  average  man,  and  it  A\a-;  a  tin- 
smith whom  Jlr.  LulsdorfE  met  in  his  travels, 
that  diverted  his  energy  from  the  desolate  and 
compelling  wilds,  to  tlic  city  of  ^lankato  in  the 
fall   of   1863.      He    died   June    11,    1906. 

It  was  a  small  and  unpromising  tinshop  that 
Mr.  Luladorfl  estal)lishcd  in  Mankato  during 
1863,  but  lie  applied  himself  to  his  work  with 
the  settled  determination  of  a  man  who  has 
seen  and  experienced  much,  and  who  is  glad  of 
the  chance  to  tie  his  craft  to  stable  moorings. 
Eventually  the  tinshop  was  lost  in  the  hardware 


store  which  now  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  city, 
and  the  transformation  of  which  \\'as  due  to  the 
Teutonic  grit  and  determination  of  a  man  who, 
all  through  his  diversified  life,  had  made  a  point 
of  doing  all  things  well.  In  1887  he  took  his 
son,  John  A.,  into  the  business,  which  from 
then  has  been  operated  under  the  firm  name  of 
LulsdorfE  &  Son. 

LTJNKElSrHEIMER,  JOSEPH.— Numbered 
in  the  list  of  progressive  and  energetic  farmers 
of  Blue  Earth  county  is  the  gentleman  whose 
name  introduces  this  article  and  whose  entire  life 
has  been  passed  on  the  old  homestead  he  still  oc- 
cupies. The  farm  which  he  owns  and  operates 
comprises  eighty  acres  of  well-improved  land  ly- 
ing on  section  twenty-seven.  Lime  township. 
The  improvements  on  the  place  bear  testimony 
to  the  thrift  and  orderly  spirit  characteristic  of 
the  oviTier.  "A  place  for  everything  and  every- 
thing in  its  place"  might  be  supposed  to  be  One 
of  the  mottoes  of  the  occupant  whose  careful 
supervision  is  apparent  on  e'^ery  hand.  While 
the  farm  is  small  as  to  acreage,  excellent  returns 
are  secured  from  its  cultivation,  and  the  crops  are 
always  the  best  the  weather  renders  possible. 

On  the  farm  where  he  still  resides  Joseph 
Lunkenheimer  was  born  October  12,  1863,  and 
here  he  gained  his  first  ideas  as  to  general  farm- 
ing. A  neighboring  school  gave  him  fair  ad- 
Viintages  for  acquiring  an  education  and  careful 
reading  ha,s  enlarged  his  fund  of  knowledge.  Nov- 
vcmber  9,  1893,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
]\riss  Mary  Kubias,  who  wa'^  born  in  Germany 
September  1,  1ST?,  being  a  daughter  of  .Joseph, 
and  Louisa  (■]\ralijek)  Kubias,  natives  of  Ger- 
rrany,  but  emigrants  to  the  United  States,  settling 
in  Minnesota  in  1892,  and  now  living  in  Ren- 
ville county.  Their  children  are  Joseph,  Anna, 
Mary  and  Amelia.  The  children  of  Mr.  and 
?,lrs.  Lunketiheimer  are  as  follows:  Augusta  M., 
born  August  16,  1894;  Louisa,  January  16, 
1896;  Ida  T.,  October  14,  1898;  Mary  J.,  De- 
cember 16,  1900;  Paulina,  April  38,  1901;  and 
Elizabeth,  October  3,  1904.  The  religious  views 
of  the  family  bring  them  into  association  with 
the  Roman  Catholic  church,  to  whose  philan- 
thropies they  have  been  generous  and  regular 
contributors. 


484 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


LUNKENHEIMEE,  MICHAEL.— The  Ms- 
tor}'  of  the  Liinkenheimer  family  has  been  iden- 
tified with  the  agricultural  development  of  Blue 
Earth  county  for  more  than  one-half  century. 
Few  settlers  had  arrived  in  this  then  lonely  re- 
gion fl-hen  in  1854  Jacob  Lunkenheimer  brought 
I'is  family  hither  in  a  "prairie  schooner"  and  be- 
gan housekeeping  in  the  primitive  style  com- 
mon to  the  day  and  locality.  The  spot  selected 
as  a  home  ^ras  a  tract  of  unimproved  and  un- 
broken land  lying  in  Lime  tovraship,  and  the 
most  arduous  application  was  necessary  in  order 
to  convert  the  area  into  a  productive  property. 
Eorty  years  after  he  landed  here  he  passed  from 
the  scenes  of  time.  During  that  long  period 
he  had  witnessed  many  changes  in  the  coimtry 
and  had  personally  contributed  to  the  agricul- 
tural development  of  the  county,  so  that  he  had 
worthily    won   the   title   of   an    honored    pioneer. 

Born  and  reared  in  Germany  Jacob  Lunken- 
heimer married  Agnes  Leas,  likewise  a  native 
of  that  country.  In  an  early  day  they  immigra- 
ted to  the  United  States  and  during  1854  they 
came  to  Blue  Earth  county,  where  the  mother 
died  in  1903,  nine  years  after  the  death  of  her 
husband.  They  were  the  parents  of  ten  children, 
but  Joseph  and  Michael  are  now  the  only  surviv- 
ors. Michael  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in 
Lime  township  March  13,  1870,  and  grew  to 
manhood  upon  the  estate  where  he  still  lives. 
His  marriage  took  place  in  Le  Sueur  county, 
Minnesota,  April  25,  1893,  and  united  him 
with  Miss  Theresa  M.  Winkelmiller,  who  was 
born  in  JSTicollet  county,  this  state,  April  34, 
1875.  Her  parents,  Joachim  and  Theresa  (Os- 
wald) Winkelmiller,  were  natives  of  Germany, 
the  father  born  August  21,  1835,  and  the  mother 
July  22,  1851.  Of  their  five  children,  only 
two  are  living,  Mrs.  Lunkenheimer  and  Stephen, 
the  latter  a  resident  of  Germany.  During  1873 
Mt.  Winkelmiller  and  wife  came  to  the  United 
Slates  and  settled  in  Minnesota,  where  she  died 
June  30,  1880.  The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs, 
lAinkenheimer,  has  been  blessed  by  six  children 
namely:  Henry  M.,  born  May  29,  1894;  Leo  J. 
born  August  7,  1896;  Frank  G.,  born  April  28 
1898;  August  B.,  February  27,  1900,  and  Celia 
M.  and  Clarence  J.  (twins)  born  March  8,  1905 
the  family  are  earnest  people  and  up  to  date  agri- 
culturists. 


MeCAETY,  A.  F.— The  quiet  discharge  c 
such  duties  as  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  farmer  hav 
characterized  the  years  of  Mr.  McCarty's  resi 
dence  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Bach  season  ha 
brought  its  discouragements  and  its  sueeesse 
and  the  majority  of  them  have  brought  a  nea 
profit  to  repay  the  tiller  of  the  soil  for  his  un 
wearied  industry,  so  that  now  the  man  wh' 
came  here  without  any  capital  whatever  i 
classed  among  the  prosperous  citizens  of  Lyr; 
township.  ^Hien  he  arrived  in  Blue  Eartl 
county  in  1876  he  was  without  money,  but  h' 
had  youth  and  health  and  an  abundance  o: 
energy,  and  he  took  up  agricultural  pursuits  ii 
Lyra  township  with  every  hope  of  gaining  thi 
success  he  has  since  achieved.  In*  addition  t( 
raising  grain  and  hay  he  has  engaged  extensively 
in  raising  Shorthorn  cattle  and  Poland-Chini 
hogs. 

In  Cook  county,  Illinois,  near  the  city  o; 
Chicago,  A.  F.  McCarty  was  born  February  20 
1845,  being  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Catherini 
(ISToon)  McCarty,  natives  of  Ireland,  and  pic 
neers  of  1843  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  when 
they  took  up  a  tract  of  land  from  the  govern 
ment.  Somewhat  later  they  removed  to  Clifton 
Illinois,  and  during  1877  came  to  Minnesota 
joined  their  son  in  Blue  Earth  county,  estab 
lished  a  home  in  Mapleton,  and  soon  becami 
well  known  among  the  residents  of  the  village 
They  died  there  and  were  laid  to  rest  in  Maple 
ton  cemetery.  Of  their  ten  children  eight  ar( 
still  living,  A.  F.  having  been  the  fifth  in  ordei 
of  birth.  As  before  stated,  he  came  to  Minne^ 
sota  in  1876  and  settled  in  Lyra  township,  Blu( 
Earth  county,  where  he  has  since  risen  fron 
poverty  to  independence  by  dint  of  determinec 
efforts. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McCarty  took  place  ii 
1872  and  united  him  with  Miss  Mary  Fogerty 
daughter  of  Edward  and  Johanna  (HindsJ 
Fogerty,  natives  of  Ireland,  but  pioneers  o: 
Washington  county,  Wisconsin,  and  after  187' 
residents  of  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota 
where  they  settled  on  a  farm  in  Lyra  townshi] 
and  continued  here  until  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs 
McCarty  are  the  parents  of  ten  children,  all  o 
whom  have  received  excellent  educations  am 
several  have  engaged  in  educational  work  witl 
noteworthy  success.     The  eldest  son,  Edwaid  P. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


485 


is  an  instructor  of  mining  engineering  in  tlie 
Minnesota  State  University  and  has  gained  a  wide 
reputation  for,  accurate  knowledge  of  his  spec- 
ialty. The  second  son,  Andrew  L.,  is  superin- 
tendent of  mining  engineering  at  Silver  City, 
J^ew  Mexico,  and  like  his  older  brother  is  thor- 
oughly proficient  in  his  chosen  sphere  of  activity. 
The  other  members  of  the  family  are  Mary, 
Julia,  Eaymond,  Charles,  Mark,  Joseph  and 
Catherine,  The  family  hold  membership  in  the 
Eoman  Catholic  church.  In  politics  Mr.  Mc- 
Carty  has  never  allied  himself  with  any  party, 
but  has  maintained  an  independence  of  thought 
and  has  cast  his  ballot  for  the  men  he  considers 
best  qualified  to  represent  the  people,  irrespec- 
tive of  their  opinions  concerning  the  national 
problems.  More  than  once  he  has  been  called 
upon  to  serve  the  people  of  his  township  in  posi- 
tions of  trust,  and  he  has  acted  as  chairman  and 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees,  also  has  been 
interested  in  securing  good  roads  and  in  the 
building  up  of  good  schools  throughout  the  town- 
ship. 


McCLEAEY,  HON.  JAMES  THOMPSON.— 
Distinguished  in  the  annals  of  Minnesota  is  the 
name  of  Congressman  McCleary,  whose  talents 
have  won  recognition  in  the  fields  of  educational 
progress,  civic  advancement  and  economic  wel- 
fare. It  has .  been  stated  with  emphatic  convic- 
tion by  men  competent  to  judge  that  few  citizens 
of  the  northwest  have  wielded  a  larger  influence 
throughout  the  United  States  than  he;  few  have 
been  more  intimately  conversant  with  problems 
affecting  the  national  welfare  and  few  have  given 
their  talents  more  unreservedly  than  he  to  the 
promotion  of  progressive  measures.  Any  history 
of  the  state  must  necessarily  give  prominence  to 
the  name  of  a  statesman  whose  labors  have  been 
so  effective  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  commonwealth 
along  the  lines  of  permanent  educational,  moral 
and  economic  growth.  Nor  is  the  value  of  his 
statesmanship  lessened  (but,  on  the  contrary, 
materially  heightened)  when  it  is  learned  that  he 
IS  not  a  native-born  son  of  the  country  with 
whose  national  problems  he  has  become  extra- 
ordinarily familiar  and  whose  important  issues 
have   been    thoroughly    grasped    by    his    forceful 


mind.  By  birth  and  parentage  he  is  of  Canadian 
stock  and  his  education  was  obtained  in  one  of 
the  foremost  institutions  of  that  country.  But 
ever  since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  a 
resident  of  the  states,  and  his  adoption  of  citizen- 
ship has  been  contributory  to  the  highest  wel- 
fare of  the  country. 

The  life  which  this  narrative  sketches,  began  in 
IngersoU,  Ontario,  February  5,  1853,  in  the  home 
of  Thompson  and  Sarah  (McCutcheon)  Mc- 
Cleary, the  former  of  whom  was  an  architect  and 
builder  of  considerable  local  prominence,  and  suf- 
ficiently prosperous  to  give  to  his  son  the  best 
educational  advantages  which  the  province  af- 
forded. The  latter,  upon  leaving  McGill  Uni- 
versity in  Montreal,  sought  the  opportunities  of- 
fered by  the  United  States,  whither  he  came  at 
the  age  of  twenty  years.  His  tastes  and  educa- 
tion qualified  him  for  educational  work  and  we 
find  him  successfully  following  that  occupation 
in  country  and  village  schools  in  Wisconsin. 
Soon  his  talents  commanded  a  wider  scope  of 
usefulness,  and  he  was  made  superintendent  of 
the  schools  of  Pierce  county.  It  was  only  a  short 
time  until  his  championship  of  modern  methods 
of  pedagogy  attracted  the  attention  of  promi- 
nent educators,  who  enlisted  his  services  in  teach- 
ers' institute  work.  In  the  year  1881  he  came 
to  Mankato  as  professor  of  history  and  civics  in 
the  State  Normal  School  and  ever  since  then 
he  has  been  an  influential  citizen  of  Mankato, 
whose  residents  maintain  a  feeling  of  pride  in 
the  prestige  which  his  successful  career  has  given 
to  the  city. 

While  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  Normal 
School  during  the  winter  months  it  was  the 
custom  of  Mr.  JlcCleary  to  devote  the  rest  of 
the  year  to  institute  work,  and  as  an  instructor 
in  these  gatherings  he  became  prominent  not 
only  in  Jlinnesota  and  Wisconsin,  but  as  far 
away  from  home  as  Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Col- 
orado. In  1888  he  published  a  work  entitled 
"Studies  in  Civics,"  which  was  followed  six  years 
later  by  a  "Manual  of  Civics,"  and  both  of  these 
have  since  come  into  general  use  as  text-books  in 
the  best  schools  of  the  country.  In  1883  he 
served  as  secretary  of  the  Minnesota  Educational 
Association  and  in  1891  he  was  honored  with 
election  as  its  president.     While  the  duties  inci- 


486 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


dent  to  his  work  called  him  to  various  parts  of 
the  country,  he  nevertheless  was  able  to  spend 
a  considerable  portion  of  each  year  in  his  Man- 
kato  home,  with  his  wife,  who  was  Mary  Edith 
Taylor,  and  their  son,  Leslie  T. 

In  1892  Mr.  McCleary  was  elected  to  congress 
by  the  Eepublicans  of  the  Second  Congressional 
District,  to  which  oilice  he  has  been  returned 
for  seven  successive  terms.  Through  his  speeches 
in  the  House,  on  matters  of  vital  importance  he 
has  become  well  known  all  over  the  country. 
Defeated  for  re-election  to  congress  in  1906,  he 
was  immediately  on  the  expiration  of  his  term  as 
congressman,  appointed  by  President  Roosevelt  as 
Second  Assistant  Postmaster  General,  in  charge 
of  the  transportation  of  the  mails. 

Whatever  of  growth  our  nation  may  boast  in 
the  future,  whatever  of  permanent  stability  may 
come  to  her  industries,  whatever  of  progress  may 
be  enjoyed  by  her  commerce  at  home  and  abroad, 
and  whatever  of  prosperity  may  bless  the  homes 
of  her  thronging  multitudes,  the  credit  for  such 
achievements  belongs  to  the  group  of  patriotic, 
far-seeing  anl  talented  statesmen,  of  whom  Mr. 
McCleary  is  numbered  among  the  most  eminent. 


McGregor,  BYROIvT.— in  studying  the  bio- 
graphical history  of  Blue  Earth  county,  it  is  in- 
teresting to  note  the  fact  that  the  work  so  nobly 
begun  by  the  pioneers  of  earlier  days  is  now  car- 
ried forward  with  increasing  success  under  the 
management  of  their  descendants.  The  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  pioneers  are  the  noblest  heri- 
tage they  have  bestowed  upon  the  world,  and 
those  who  xemain  in  the  county  to  carry  to  com- 
pletion the  tasks  commenced  by  their  fathers  are 
bringing  to  their  family  names  additional  honor 
and  prestige.  Such  is  true  of  the  McGregor 
family,  influential  in  the  agricultural  develop- 
ment of  Mapleton  township  and  ever  prominent 
in  circles  to  which  worth  of  character  is  the 
open  sesame.  Elsewhere  in  this  volume  mention 
is  made  of  Eraser  and  Lucy  (Latourell)  Mc- 
Gregor, natives  respectively  of  Scotland  and  Can- 
ada, and  early  settlers  of  Blue  Earth  county. 
It  is  therefore  unnecessary  to  the  purport  of  this 
sketch  to  reproduce  the  events  of  their  lives;  suf- 


fice it   to   say  that   tlieir   names   are  honored   i 
local  annals  and  in  the  memory  of  their  posterit 

Among  the  four  cliildren  of  Eraser  McGreg( 
the  next  to  the  youngc  st  was  Byron,  whose  birl 
occurred  in  Mapleton  township  December  3i 
1873,  and  whose  early  education  was  secured  i 
the  district,  school  near  the  old  homestead.  Sine 
leaving  school  he  has  been  a  reader  of  currei 
periodicals  as  well  as  magazines  pertaining  to  th 
occupation  of  agriculture,  and  by  extensive  reac 
ing  and  close  observation  he  has  gained  a  larg 
fund  of  valuable  information.  Regarding  agr: 
cultural  affairs  he  is  particularly  well  informec 
The  treatment  of  the  soil,  the  cultivation  of  th 
crops,  the  harvesting  of  the  grain,  the  raising  o 
stock,  with  these  and  kindred  subjects  he  is  thoi 
oughly  familiar  from  an  experience  dating  bac 
to  boyhood  years.  It  is  his  ambition  to  be 
successful  agriculturist,  and  nothing  less  thaj 
the  best  is  satisfactory  to  him. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  McGregor  took  place  ij 
February  of  1900  and  united  him  with  Amandi 
Cummings,  daughter  of  William  Cunimings,  con 
cerning  whom  mention  is  made  elsewhere  in  thi 
volume.  Mrs.  McGregor  was  born  in  Mapletoi 
township,  received  her  education  in  the  townshi] 
schools  and  has  always  made  her  home  withi] 
the  environment  familiar  to  her  earliest  years 
The  three  children  of  their  marriage  are  Laverne 
Archibald  and  Grace.  Since  the  death  of  Erase: 
McGregor  the  son,  Byron,  has  been  in  charge  o: 
the  old  homestead,  which  is  said  to  be  one  of  th( 
very  finest  farms  in  the  entire  county.  An  abun- 
dance of  water  is  furnished  by  flowing  wells  oi 
the  property,  also  by  the  big  slough  and  anothei 
creek  that  pass  through  the  farm.  The  place  ii 
large,  aggregating  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
practically  all  under  cultivation.  Adequate  build 
ings  have  been  erected  for  the  care  of  the  ma^ 
chinery,  the  shelter  of  stock  and  the  storage  o: 
grain.  Like  many  other  progressive  farmers  o: 
the  county,  Mr.  McGregor  realizes  the  importanci 
of  securing  the  best  breeds  of  stock  and  he  hai 
made  a  specialty  of  thoroughbred.  Shorthorn  cat 
tie  and  Percheron  horses.  Among  the  people  o 
the  township  he  is  respected  for  the  sterlinj 
traits  and  energetic  temperament  that  are  bring 
ing  him  success. 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


487 


McGEEGOE,  B.  F.— The  cashier  of  the  Ma- 
plcton  State  Bank  is  eminently  fitted  for  his 
important  responsibility  by  years  of  experience  as 
a  legal  practitioner,  and  by  a  natural  aptitude 
for  precision,  painstaking  and  mathematics.  His 
development  from  youth  to  manhood  in  the  en- 
vironment in  whicli  he  now  lives  has  been  a  logi- 
cal one,  in  strict  accord  with  his  practical  home 
training,  and  his  inheritance  of  paternal  Scotch 
and  maternal  French  characteristics.  No  more 
typical  Scotsman  ever  invaded  the  land  of  per- 
fect freedom  than  Praser  ilcGregor,  father  of 
B.  F.  McGregor,  the  banker  of  Mapleton.  Born 
in  Cromarty  county,  sixteen  miles  from  the  town 
of  Inverness,  Scotland,  the  elder  JMcGregor  came 
to  Canada  with  his  father,  G.  F.  John  Mc- 
Gregor, in  1846,  settling  in  Kippen,  Ontario. 
Here  father  and  son  engaged  in  farming,  and 
Eraser  married  Lucy  Latourell,  of  Montreal,  and 
with  whom  he  came  to  Mapleton,  Blue  Earth 
coimty,  Minnesota,  in  1858.  He  was  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  en- 
gaged in  farming,  and  he  eventually  settled  in 
ilapleton,  where  B.  F.,  the  oldest  of  his  four 
children,  was  born  May  9,  1869.  Mr.  McGregor 
possessed  those  traits  which  have  made  the 
Scotchman  a  distinctive  and  substantial  factor  of 
every  community  in  which  he  elects  to  reside, 
and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1903,  at  the 
age  of  sixty-three  years,  was  held  in  highest 
esteem  by  all  who  had  come  in  contact  with  his 
forceful,    conservative   and   honest    personality. 

After  a  course  in  the  public  schools  of  Ma- 
pleton, B.  F.  McGregor  entered  the  Llinnesota 
State  Normal,  from  which  he  was  duly  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  1889.  He  then  taught 
school  for  a  couple  of  years,  after  which  he  began 
the  study  of  law,  and  in  1895  graduated  from 
the  law  department  of  the  University  of  'SUn- 
nesota.  Locating  in  New  Eichland,  Waseca 
county,  this  state,  he  engaged  in  a  general  prac- 
tice of  law,  relinquishing  the  same  in  1903  to 
assume  his  present  position  as  cashier  of  the 
Mapleton  State  Bank.  This  bank  was  organized 
in  1896,  and  has  an  excellent  rating  among  the 
strong  monetary  enterprises  of  Blue  Earth 
county. 

May  10,  1899,  :\Ir.  McGregor  married  Cath- 
erine Brisbane,  of  Waseca  county,  and  daughter 


of  Alexander  Brisbane,  a  native  of  New  York 
state,  and  pioneer  of  Minnesota.  Jlr.  and  Mrs. 
ilcGregor  are  the  parents  of  two  children: 
Fraser  and  Janet.  Mr.  McGregor  is  a  man  of 
broad  general  information,  and  pronounced  views 
upon  the  questions  which  engage  the  public  at- 
tention. He  is  esteemed  for  his  sterling  integ- 
rity, his  kindly  manner,  and  the  well  directed  in- 
dustrv    and   usefulness    of    his    life. 


McKlBBEN,  JOHN  L.— One  of  the  pleasant- 
ly-situated farms  of  Blue  Earth  county  lies  in 
Pleasant  Mound  township  and  comprises  two 
hundred  and  twenty  acres,  the  estate  being  the 
property  of  John  L.  Mclvibben.  Under  his  en- 
ergetic and  judicious  supervision  the  land  has 
been  placed  in  a  fine  state  of  cultivation,  a  neat 
set  of  buildings  has  been  erected,  fences  have 
been  built  to  divide  the  land  into  fields  of  con- 
venient size,  and  the  \arious  improvements  have 
been  made  that  mark  a  place  as  bearing  twen- 
tieth-century equipment.  Twenty  acres  of  the 
farm  is  in  native  timber  and  furnishes  a  grove 
for  the  stock  as  well  as  fuel  for  the  family.  On 
the  farm  may  be  seen  good  breeds  of  stock,  in- 
cluding a  number  of  fine  horses,  and  a  con- 
siderable lierd  of  cattle  as  well  as  a  large  drove 
of  hogs,  and  the  owner  has  found  stock-raising 
to  be  a  valuable  adjunct  of  general  farming. 

The  family  was  established  in  the  United 
States  by  Joseph  iMcKJibben,  a  native  of  Scotland, 
who  crossed  the  ocean  in  early  manhood  and  en- 
gaged in  farm  pursuits  in  the  new  world.  His 
son,  Lemen  Fonts,  was  born  near  ilarietta,  Ohio, 
and  married  Jlary  Theresa  West,  daughter  of 
Edward  and  Elizabeth  West.  She  was  born  at 
Schenectady,  New  York,  August  11,  1833,  and 
died  in  June  of  1893.  Grandfather  ilcKibben 
removed  to  Illinois  in  an  early  day,  but  after  a 
few  years  there  in  1858  he  came  to  Minnesota 
and  established  himself  among  the  pioneers  of 
Shelby  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
remained  during  the  balance  of  his  life.  Upon 
taking  up  farm  pursuits  for  himself  Leman  F. 
ilcKibben  settled  in  Pleasant  Mound  township, 
where  he  developed  a  fine  farm  and  became 
known  as  a  successful  agriculturist.  There  his 
death  occurred  in  November  of  1904.     Through 


488 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


all  Ms  life  he  maintained  a  warm  interest  in 
public  affairs  and  was  especially  devoted  to  the 
temperance  cause.  At  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war  he  determined  to  enlist  in  the  service  of  the 
(Jnion.  October  1,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private 
in  the  Third  Kansas  Battery  under  Captain 
John  F.  Aduddell.  On  several  occasions  he 
was  sent  out  in  command  of  foraging  and  re- 
connoitering  expeditions.  In  recognition  of  patri- 
otic services  he  was  promoted  to  be  a  corporal, 
and  €s  such  he  was  honorably  discharged  at 
Leavenworth,  Kansas,  January  19,  1865,  after  an 
active  service  of  considerably  more  than  three 
years. 

In  a  family  of  five  children  (all  but  two  of 
whom  are  living)  John  L.  McKibben  was  the 
next  to  the  youngest,  and  he  was  born  at  Ed- 
wards, Peoria  county,  Illinois,  January  7,  1867. 
During  boyhood  days  he  became  familiar  with 
the  northwest  and  has  in  maturer  manhood  felt 
no  desire  to  remove  to  other  sections  of  the 
country,  preferring  to  lead  a  quiet  and  contented 
existence  on  his  well-kept  farm.  'In  the  com- 
munity he  is  universally  honored  and  bears  a 
reputation  as  a  citizen  worthy  of  all  confidence. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  are  active  workers'  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  he  is  officially 
connected  with  the  congregation  in  the  capaci- 
ties of  trustee  and  steward.  For  seven  years  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  of  his 
district  and  meanwhile  has  accomplished  much 
for  the  upbuilding  of  the  district  school  and  the 
extension  of  its  usefulness.  December  4,  1890, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Lauretta  B. 
Salisbury,  of  Garden  City,  daughter  of  H.  E. 
Salisbury,  whose  sketch  is  presented  upon  an- 
other page  of  this  volume.  They  are  the  parents 
of  the  following-named  children :  Elsa,  Pearl, 
Ralph  Edward,  Esther  L.,  Irma  L.,  Ruth  I.  and 
Walter  E.  It  is  their  ambition  to  give  their  boys 
and  girls  the  training  and  education  which  will 
qualify  them  for  positions  of  honor  and  useful- 
ness in  the  world. 


Mclaughlin",  JAMES.— in  James  Mc- 
Laughlin is  found  a  representative  of  the  happy, 
resourceful  and  intelligent  transplanted  Irish- 
man   whose     very     persistency     and     tirelessness 


brings  his  way  the  good  things  of  life,  and  who 
is  so  wide  awake  and  many  sided  that  he  touches 
at  many  points,  and  with  telling  effect,  the  in- 
terests which  go  to  make  up  his  prosperous 
adopted  community  of  Mapleton.  Of  his  early 
home  among  the  hills  of-  County  Tyrone,  Ulster, 
Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  18-12,  Mr.  Mc- 
Laughlin recalls  practically  nothing,  for  he  was 
but  seven  years  old  when  brought  to  this  coun- 
try in  a  sailing  vessel  in  1849,  settling  first  in 
Ohio,  and  in  1855  moving  north  to  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota.  Here  a  crushing  grief  awaited  the 
liitle  family  in  the  death  of  the  father  three 
days  after  the  arrival  in  St.  Paul,  and  subse- 
quently the  mother  took  her  children  to  Scott 
county,  the  same  state,  where  they  lived  on  a 
farm  for  thirteen  years.  In  1868  removal  was 
made  to  a  farm  south  of  where  the  town  of  Ma- 
pleton now  is  situated,  and  here  fair  financial 
returns  rewarded  the  labor  and  hopes  of  a  fam- 
ily which  suffered  many  hardships  and  discour- 
agements ere  a  secure  footing  was  made  in  the 
protecting   land    of    the   stars    and    stripes. 

James  McLaughlin's  youth  went  hand  in  hand 
with  hard  physical  exertion  and  grave  mental 
responsibility.  A  cessation  of  work  in  the  win- 
ter time  enabled  him  to  attend  the  district 
school,  but  for  the  great  part  his  education  has 
been  acquired  outside  the  school  room,  and  when 
the  toil  of  day  was  ended.  October  16,  1870, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Margaret  O'Brien, 
daughter  of  John  O'Brien,  an  early  settler  of 
Hartford,  Wisconsin,  in  which  he  located  in  the 
beginning  of  the  '50s.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc 
Laughlin  have  been  born  five  children:  Mary, 
deceased;  Elizabeth,  an  educator  at  St.  Cloud, 
Minnesota;  John,  George  and  Mark,  all  graduates 
of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  and  the  last 
two  members  of  the  law  firm  of  Morris  &  Com- 
pany, of  Minneapolis.  John,  the  oldest  son,  at 
"the  age  of  seventeen  years,  spent  the  summer  of 
1893  visiting  the  World's  Pair,  at  Chicago,  and 
while  there  received  an  appointment  as '  inspec- 
tor, in  which  capacity  he  since  has  visited  many 
parts  of  the  world,  including  the  greater  part 
of  the  four  continents  and  the  larger  islands  of 
the  sea,  Greenland  and  the  two  poles  being  about 
the  only  places  of  importance  at  which  he  has 
not  reported. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


4K9 


In  1873  Mr.  McLaughlin  left  the  farm  and 
moved  to  the  village  of  Mapleton,  the  follow- 
ing year  establishing  the  furniture  business  with 
which  his  name  ever  since  has  been  connected. 
From  small  beginnings  and  in  a  store  sixteen 
by  twenty-four  feet,  he  has  worked  up  a  large 
and  profitable  trade,  in  time  moving  into  a 
store  twenty  by  forty  feet,  and  eventually  into 
the  brick  structure  which  he  erected  in  1896. 
The  store  is  a  prepossessing  building  with  stone 
facings  and  having  two  stories  and  a  basement, 
all  of  which  is  utilized  by  the  owner  in  his 
business.  Xot  only  has  he  added  continually  to 
his  stock  of  furniture,  but  carries  a  large  line 
of  carpets,  rugs,  curtains  and  bedding,  and  con- 
ducts an  up-to-date  undertaking  department.  For 
the  last  named  he  is  well  equipped  with  all  that 
tends  to  dignify  and  ameliorate  a  necessary  duty 
in  the  passage  from  earth  to  paradise.  In  the 
conduct  of  his  large  business  Mr.  McLaughlin 
observes  the  most  modern  of  method  and  ethics, 
is  invariably  courteous  and  kindly  disposed,  and 
maintains  his  standing  as  much  by  his  pleasing 
personality  and  willingness  to  oblige,  as  by  his 
progressiveness  and  fair  dealing. 

Independent  in  local  politics,  Mr.  McLaugh- 
lin has  filled  several  important  offices,  including 
tliat  of  postmaster  under  the  Cleveland  adminis- 
tration, member  of  the  town  council  and  school 
commissioner.  In  the  cause  of  religion  he  is 
as  active  as  in  business,  and  lie  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  construction  of  the 
present  Catholic  church  of  J\[apleton.  All  of 
tht  members  of  the  community  think  well  of 
the  prosperous  furniture  merchant  and  his  in- 
teresting family  and  wide  spread  appreciation 
is  felt  of  his  many  strong  and  sterling  qualities. 

A  desire  for  travel  and  its  many  advantages 
has  been  increasingly  manifest  in  James  Mc- 
Laughlin, .and  as  he  himself  says  he  wants  to  see 
as  much  of  this  beautiful  world  as  possible  before 
leaving  it.  Expecting  to  meet  many  interesting 
personalities  from  all  parts  of  the  world  in  the 
mansions  above,  and  wishing  to  exchange  ex- 
periences with  them,  lie  has  visited  nearly  every 
i^late  in  the  union,  also  jMexieo  and  Canada.  Ac- 
companied by  his  wife,  in  the  summer  of  1907, 
he  accomplished  an  extended  tour  of  Europe, 
sailing  from  Boston  to   Naples,   spending  a   day 


in  the  resurrected  city  of  Pompeii,  and  later 
visiting  other  parts  of  Italy,  also  Switzerland, 
Germanj',  France  and  the  British  Isles.  He  now 
is  in  excellent  health  and  spirits,  and  has  many_ 
pleasing  memories  to  brighten  his  remaining 
days. 


MeQHEBN,  WILLIAM  L.— Both  through 
his  successful  work  as  an  agriculturist  and 
tlirough  his  able  service  as  a  member  of  the  state 
legislature  Mr.  McQueen  has  won  the  confidence 
of  associates  and  the  esteem  of  acquaintances. 
Since  1896,  when  he  removed  from  his  farm  in 
Sterling  township,  he  has  owned  and  occupied 
a  comfortable  home  in  Mapleton,  surrounded  by 
six  acres  of  attractive  grounds,  within  the  town 
limits.  Though  somewhat  retired  from  arduous 
cares,  he  still  finds  his  time  full}'  occupied  in 
the  management  of  his  landed  interests  and  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  falling  upon  him  as  a 
progressive  citizen  and  public-spirited  man,  soli- 
citous to  promote  the  welfare  of  Blue  Earth 
county.  For  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  quite 
active  in  local  politics.  A  number  of  township 
offices  were  filled  with  such  intelligence  and 
energy  as  to  suggest  adaptability  for  higher 
trusts,  accordingly  in  1906  he  was  elected  to 
represent  this  district  in  tlie  state  legislature. 
The  record  which  he  left  as  a  legislator  refiects 
credit  upon  his  ability  and  wise  discernment. 
Never  allowing  his  judgment  to  be  biased  by 
undue  influence,  he  quietly  solved  the  problems 
for  himself  and  studied  each  bill  brought  before 
the  assembly  with  a  view  to  ascertaining  its  ex- 
act purpose  and  end.  His  support  of  the  bill 
providing  an  appropriation  for  the  Xormal  school 
vras  particularly  appreciated  by  his  constituents, 
ov/ing  to  the  fact  that  the  Normal  school  is 
located  at  Mankato.  Another  bill  which  he  as- 
sifted  in  passing  provided  a  large  appropriation 
for  the  Minneopa  Falls  state  park  at  South 
Bend,  three  miles  south  of  Mankato,  a  pictur- 
esque resort  that  enjoys  a  growing  popularity. 

The  McQueen  family  traces  its  lineage  to 
Scotland,  where  James  McQueen  was  an  exten- 
sive farmer  and  leased  large  tracts  of  land. 
Among  his  children  was  William,  a  native  of 
the   shire  of   Stirling,   and  married   to   Margaret 


490 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Keir,  of  the  same  shire.  In  1850  after  his  mar- 
riage lie  brought  liis  wife  to  the  United  States 
and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  where  hti  took  up  a 
claim  in  the  midst  of  a  frontier  environment. 
Aften  ton  years  of  pioneer  existence  in  Wiscon- 
sin, he  removed  to  Minnesota  in  1860  and  set- 
tled in  Shelbyvillc  in  the  south^^•estern  corner 
of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  took  up  general 
farm  pursuits,  March  12,  1865,  he  enlisted  in 
Company  G,  First  Minnesota  Infantry,  under 
Colonel  j\Iark  W^  Dowie,  and  was  sent  to  the 
front  with  the  regiment,  being  assigned  to  duty 
near  the  point  where  Lee  surrendered.  However, 
the  war  was  near  its  end  and  he  saw  little  ac- 
tive service,  being  honorably  discharged  July 
14,  1865,  and  returning  to  his  Minnesota  home, 
lu  the  spring  of  1866  he  moved  from  Shelby- 
ville  to  ilankato  and  became  interested  in  the 
manufacture  of  brick.  After  two  years  he  bought 
and  removed  to  a  farm  in  Lyra  township,  and 
there  he  engaged  actively  in  agTicultural  work 
until  the  fall  of  1886,  when  he  retired,  removed 
to  Mapleton,  and  there  spent  the  balance  of  his 
life.  Through  all  the  years  of  his  residence  in 
Blue  Earth  county  he  was  warmly  interested 
in  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  county  and  the 
development  of  its  material  resources.  Eor 
some  time  he  served  as  county  commissioner  and 
he  also  filled  other  township   ofEices. 

The  only  survivor  of  the  four  children  of  Wil- 
liam McQueen  is  a  son  named  in  his  father's 
honor  and  born  in  Vernon  county,  Wisconsin, 
August  25,  1852.  When  the  family  removed 
to  Minnesota  he  remained  with  an  uncle  in  Wis- 
consin and  attended  district  schools,  receiving 
a  fair  education.  In  1862  he  joined  his  parents 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  since  he  has  beeii 
an  enterprising  farmer  and  popular  citizen.  In 
1881  he  bought  land  in  Sterling  township  and 
remained  until  1896  on  the  farm  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  which  he  owned  up  to  1900. 
The  land  is  well  adapted  to  general  farming  ah 
well  as  the  stock  business  and  bears  a  reputa- 
tion as  one  of  the  most  fertile  tracts  in  the 
locality.  He  now  owns  the  old  McQueen  home- 
si  cad  of  three  hundred  twenty  acres  in  the 
township  of  Lyra.  About  the  time  of  buying 
his  Sterling  farm  Mr.  McQueen  married  and  when 
he  settled  on  the  new  place  he  brought  his  bride 


here,  so  that  they  began  housekeeping  on  theii 
own  homestead.  January  3,  1883,  he  marriec 
Catherine  E.  Howieson,  a  native  of  Wisconsir 
and  a  member  of  a  pioneer  family  of  Sterling 
tc«uship,  represented  elsewhere  in  this  volume, 
j\lr.  and  Mrs.  McQueen  have  two  daughters,  Jen- 
liie  E.  and  Jessie  Margaret,  of  whom  the  eldei 
is  ]iow  engaged  in  the  millinery  business  in  Ma- 
pleton. The  family  are  prominent  in  social 
affairs  of  the  village  and  number  their  friends 
among  the  most  cultured  people  of  the  commun- 
ity. In  fraternal  relations  Mr.  McQueen  became 
affiliated  with  the  Masons  many  years  ago  and 
still  retains  a  warm  interest  in  the  blue  lodge 
to  which  he  belongs,  contributing  with  accus- 
tomed generosity  to  its  charities,  as  to  other 
movements  for  the  individual  or  common  welfare. 


3IACBETH,  CHAELES  J.— The  firm  of 
Macbeth  &  Gardner  control  one  of  the  largest 
packing  establishments  in  -the  state  of  Minne- 
sota, and  one  which,  as  an  adjunct  of  the  com- 
mercial life  of  Mankato,  is  important  as  a  large 
employer  of  labor,  and  an  extensive  distribu- 
tor of  poultry  and  other  perishable  products. 
The  plant  of  the  company  covers  half  a  block, 
and  in  perfection  of  equipment  is  not  excelled 
by  any  other  concern  in  the  country.  At  its 
head  are  men  who  are  so  thoroughly  conversant 
with  their  business,  and  possess  such  marked 
good  judgment  and  far  sightedness,  that  they 
have  been  able  to  weather  not  only  general 
financial  depression,  but  the  enormous  loss  in- 
separable from  certain  conditions  governing  this 
always  hazardous  department  of  human  supply. 
As  indicating  the  capacity  and  demand  for  the 
products  of  the  plant  it  is  only  necessary  to  state 
that  it  is  not  unusual  to  dispose  of  twenty  thous- 
and ducks  in  a  single  season.  The  company  dis- 
burse through  several  retail  markets,  and  also 
conduct  a  large  wholesale  trade  throughout  the 
state.  They  have  a  strong  commercial  reputa- 
tioD,  and  are  quoted  as  among  the  most  reliable 
merchants    in    the    central    northwest. 

Charles  J.  Macbeth,  senior  member  of  the  firm 
of  Macbeth  &  Gardner,  is  a  native  of  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  and  was  born  December  38,  1862. 
He   is   a   son   of   Calvin   and   Ellen    (Downing) 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


491 


Macbeth,  the  former  of  whom  was  born  in 
Scotland,  and  the  latter  in  Ireland,  and  both  of 
whom  had  the  sterling  characteristic  traits  of 
their  respective  fatherland.  The  elder  ilacbeth 
was  an  early  settler  of  St.  Paul,  where  he  first 
engaged  in  the  meat  business,  and  later  was 
identified  with  the  freighting  business  of  Culver 
&  Farrington.  He  brought  his  family  to  Man- 
kato  in  1866,  and  with  George  Peter  Hoerr 
conducted  a  stock  enterprise  until  his  death,  Oc- 
tober 16,  188.J.  He  Avas  survived  by  his  wife, 
whose  death  occurred  in  1905,  and  by  his  six 
children,    the   oldest    of    whom    is    Charles    J. 

A  waiting  incentive  to  learn  the  stock  business 
was  furnished  by  the  activity  and  success  of 
Calvin  Macbeth,  and  his  son  found  his  early 
ambitions  revolving  around  this  ever  fascinating 
and  opportunity  laden  occupation.  Eventually 
he  was  taken  into  the  firm,  and  continued  with 
his  father's  partner  until  the  death  of  the  lat- 
ter in  1898.  Thereafter  he  continued  alone  with 
increasing  success  until  disposing  of  his  stock 
in  1901,  and  in  March,  the  same  year,  formed 
his  present  partnership  with  Thomas  J.  Gard- 
ner. Xor  do  these  undertakings  represent  the 
extent  of  ilr.  Macbeth's  business  enterprise.  He 
is  a  director  in  the  Standard  Brewing  Company, 
and  for  the  past  ten  years  has  been  president 
of  the  Young  Men's  Investment  Company.  He 
is  socially  prominent  and  popular,  and  a  member 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  Be- 
nevolent Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  several 
other  fraternal  and  social  organizations.  In 
188G  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Alice  A. 
Monfore,  of  Springfield,  South  Dakota,  and  of 
the  union  there  is  a  daughter,  Florence  M.  Mr. 
.Macbeth  is  one  of  the  live-wide-awake  and  enter- 
prising men  of  the  town,  having  ambition  and 
the  ability  and  initiative  to  carry  it  to  realiza- 
tion, and  possessed  of  a  wealth  of  that  good  na- 
ture and  hopefulness  which  makes  smooth  the 
rough  places  of  life,  and  dra^vs  one  within  the 
charmed  circle  of  success,  good  will  and  unceas- 
ing encouragement. 


MADSON,  HENEY.— It  is  a  fine  trait,  which 
is  perhaps  more  observable  among  those  of 
foreign  birth  or  foreign  parentage,  than  among 


those  of  long-established  American  forefathers, 
for  a  son  to  have  so  great  a  respect  for  his 
father's  trade  that  he  makes  it  a  life-long  pur- 
suit, striving  only  after  greater  excellence  with 
the  progress  of  the  times,  or  -with  the  advantages 
of  better  conditions  and  more  favorable  surround- 
ings. These  generalities  are  deduced  from  a  con- 
sideration of  such  families  as  the  Jladsons,  whose 
father,  sons  and  daughters,  have  been  identified 
with  ilankato  for  nearly  forty  years.  The  father 
has  been  a  lifelong  tailor,  and,  with  two  of  his 
sons,  is  still  following  that  vocation  in  Califor- 
nia, while  Henry  iladson,  the  eldest  of  the  fam- 
ily, has  also  walked  in  the  paternal  footsteps  and 
is  now  the  well  knowm  proprietor  of  the  North- 
western Steam  Dye  Works  and  Pantorium. 

Mr.  Madson  is  a  native  of  Mankato,  born  De- 
cember 27,  1880,  and  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Car- 
rie (Alfden)  Madson,  natives  respectively  of 
Denmark  and  Xorway.  The  father  came  to 
America  in  1870,  first  working  on  a  farm  in 
Butternut  Valley  township.  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  remained  for  five  years  before  locating 
ii  ilankato.  He  there  learned  the  tailors  trade, 
and  industriously  and  successfully  folio -wed  it  for 
thirty  years,  being  for  some  time  in  partnership 
with  Hans  Jorgensen.  In  1880  he  married  Car- 
rie Alfden,  by  whom  he  has  had  ten  children. 
In  1905  the  parents,  with  most  of  the  family, 
removed  to  California.  The  living  children 
born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  Madson  are  as 
follows :  Henry,  the  oldest ;  Albert  and  James, 
who  are  in  business  with  their  father;  Minnie 
and  Marian;  Julia,  now  the  wife  of  H.  Hansen, 
also  living  in  California;  and  Clara. 

Henry  Madson  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  IMankato  and  learned  his  father's  trade 
early  in  life,  having  followed  it  continuously  in 
that  city,  with  the  exception  of  the  period  spent 
as  a  soldier  in  Spanish-American  war.  He  en- 
listed in  the  Fourteenth  ilinnesota  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  later,  for  five  years,  was  Lieutenant 
of  Company  H,  Second  ^Minnesota  National 
Guard,  but  resigned  tlie  latter  position  in  1905. 
For  the  past  seven  years  he  has  conducted  the 
tailoring  and  steam  dye  works,  at  Xo.  120  East 
Jackson  street,  known  as  above,  and  has  built 
up  a  trade  of  goodly  proportions  and  profitable 
condition. 


492 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Mr.  Madson's  wife,  whom  he  married  April 
23,  1903,  was  formerly  Miss  Clara  Gulp,  daugh- 
ter of  C.  \V.  Gulp,  of  Mankato.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  Eoyal  Arcanum, 
and  a  popular,  industrious  and  useful  citizen. 


MAH0:NEY,  JAMES  P.— During  his  many 
years  of  residence  in  Blue  Earth  county  James 
F.  Mahoney  has  demonstrated  the  possession  of 
practical  capabilities  as  a  farmer  and  many 
sided  worth  as  a  business  man  and  office  holder. 
His  present  position  in  the  community  is  indi- 
cated by  a  well  tilled  farming  property,  and  as 
secretary  of  the  St.  Clair  Creamery,  a  stock- 
holder and  director  in  the  St.  Clair  Bank,  clerk 
of  the  school  board,  justice  of  the  peace  and 
treasurer    of   the    Catholic   church. 

As  his  name  indicates,  Mr.  Mahoney  is  of 
Irish  family,  and  he  was  born  in  Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin,  in  October,  1863.  His  father,  John 
Mahoney,  who  died  in  McPherson,  this  state,  in 
1896,  was  born  in  Cork,  Ireland,  as  was  also 
his  wife,  in  girlhood,  Johanna  Sullivan,  who 
survived  him  until  1897,  and  who  also  is  buried 
in  the  cemetery  at  McPherson.  Mr.  Mahoney 
preceded  his  prospective  bride  to  America  by  a 
few  months,  and  they  subsequently  were  mar- 
ried in  Massachusetts  in  1841,  the  following 
year  coming  west  to  Wisconsin,  where  they  lived 
cii  a  farm  for  twenty-eight  years.  They  then 
moved  to  Blue  Earth  county  where  Mr.  Mahoney 
took  up  a  farm,  the  patent  to  which  was  signed 
by  Andrew  Johnson,_  and  as  success  came  his 
way  he  reaped  a  comfortable  income  from  his 
three  eighty  acre  tracts.  He  was  an  industrious 
and  frugal  man,  ever  ready  for  a  Joke  or  good 
story,  and  maintaining  to  the  last  the  good 
nature  for  which  his  countrymen  are  famous. 
A  large  family  profited  by  his  patrimony,  seven 
sons  and  seven  daughters,  nine  of  whom  still  are 
living.  In  political  preference  he  was  a  Repub- 
lican,   and   religiously   a   Roman    Catholic. 

James  P.  Mahoney  was  educated  in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  Minnesota,  and  in  youth  helped 
to  till  the  acres  of  his  father's  farm.  His  many 
excellent  qualities  of  heart  and  mind  not  only 
have  brought  him  into  intimate  touch  with  the 
practical   needs   of   the   community,   but   through 


earnest  and  satisfactory  service  have  won  him  an 
abiding  place  in  the  upbuilding  and  maintenance 
of  the  highest  civic  ideals. 


MALONEY,  JAMES.— The  turning  point  in 
the  life  and  fortunes  of  James  Maloney  came 
when  he  decided  to  leave  his  native  country,  Ire- 
land, and  seek  a  home  beyond  the  seas,  where 
opportunities  were  greater  than  in  his  own  pov- 
erty stricken  home  land.  The  change  proved  to 
be  for  the  better  and  he  has  no  reason  to  regret 
the  decision  ^^•hich  brought  him  to  the  new 
world  and  the  northwest.  It  had  not  been  pos- 
sible for  him  to  secure  an  education  in  boyhood. 
Instead,  it  A\'as  necessary  for  him  at  an  early 
age  to  take  up  the  task  of  earning  a  livelihood. 
His  youth  was  one  of  poverty  and  toil,  and 
wlien  he  married  Miss  Julia  Cotter  the  young 
couple  had  little  or  no  means  with  which  to 
embark  in  housekeeping. 

Shoitly  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Maloney 
Ijrought  his  young  wife  across  the  Atlantic  to 
the  United  States.  For  a  number  of  years  he 
was  emploj'ed  in  New  York  state,  but  the  north- 
west lured  him  on  tO'  its  possibilities,  and  he 
came  to  J\linnesota,  where  he  settled  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  land  which  he  pre-empted 
after  his  arrival  has  continued  to  be  his  home 
to  the  present  time.  Many  improvements  have 
Ijten  made  in  the  tract  since  it  came  into  his 
possession.  Then  it  was  in  the  primeval  eon- 
dition  of  nature.  The  most  constant  toil  on  the 
part  of  himself  and  family  was  necessary  in 
ordel'  to  bring  the  tract  under  cultivation  and 
make  of  it  a  re\'enue-producing  estate,  but  in- 
dustry eventually  brought  the  desired  reward, 
and  prosperity  crowned  the  united  efforts  of 
parents   and   children. 

The  farm  owned  and  occupied  by  James  Ma- 
loney lies  on  section  thirty-six,  Decoria  township, 
and  comprifies  four  hundred  acres,  the  greater 
part  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  The  build- 
ings have  been  erected  by  the  present  owner, 
who  also  has  put  fences  where  needed  and  made 
other  changes  as  deemed  advisable.  In  his 
family  there  were  six  sons  and  six  daughters,  of 
whom  one     son  and  two  daughters  are  deceased. 

Those    now    living    are    as    follows:    Michael, 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


493 


JohB,  James,  Andrew,  Francis,  Mary,  ISTora, 
Ellen  (wife  of  William  Honn,  a  farmer  of  Wa- 
seca county)  and  Sarah.  Three  sons,  one  of 
whom  is  married,  al^sist  the  father  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  home  place.  Two  sons  and  one 
daughter  own  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres  lying 
on  section  six,  Decoria  township.  All  of  the 
children  are  prosperous  and  have  enjoyed  the 
benefit  of  their  father's  assistance  upon  starting 
out  for  themselves.  The  family  hold  member- 
ship with  the  Eoman  Catholic  church.  In  poli- 
tics the  father  and  sons  are  stanch  believers  in 
the   principles    of    the    Democratic    party. 


MALTBY,  DE.  HAEEISOX  W.— Modern  de- 
velopments of  the  art  of  healing  have  rendered 
possible  the  method  of  osteopathy,  which  forms 
one  of  the  most  practicable  and  popular  acces- 
sions given  by  recent  years  to  the  science  of  the- 
rapeutics. Included  in  the  large  and  growing 
list  of  those  who  have  adopted  its  practice  with 
enthusiasm  and  are  conducting  the  same  with 
skill  and  success,  mention  belongs  to  Dr.  Maltby 
of  Mankato.  With  the  assistance  of  his  wife,  also 
^  graduate  osteopath,  he  devotes  his  time  and  at- 
tention to  the  relief  of  those  suffering  from  the 
ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir.  Since  he  came  to 
this  city,  July  1,  1901,  he  has  become  known  to 
an  increasing  circle  of  patients,  and  at  the  same 
time  has  gained  many  warm  personal  friends. 

Descended  from  an  ancestor  who  came  from 
England  to  America  three  generations  ago  and 
settled  in  Kew  York  state.  Dr.  Maltby  was  born 
in  Cresco,  Howard  countj',  Iowa,  March  30, 
1876.  His  parents,  Henry  and  Sarah  (Forbes) 
Maltby,  were  also  natives  of  Iowa  and  now  re- 
side at  Cherokee,  that  state,  where  the  father 
has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  Five 
children  formed  the  family  and  all  are  still  liv- 
ing. The  second  in  order  of  birth,  Harrison  W., 
received  his  education  in  the  grammar  schools 
and  Cherokee  high  school,  and  by  subsequent  ex- 
tensive reading  has  become  a  widely  informed 
man,  possessing  broad  culture  and  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  current  events.  That  he  is  patri- 
otic his  record  shows  in  the  Spanish-American 
war,  when  he  enlisted  in  the  Fifty-second  Iowa 
Vohmteer   Infantry   and   for  ten   months   served 


as  a  hospital  steward.  On  the  expiration  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  Iowa,  where  previously  he 
had  spent  a  year  of  study  under  a  practitioner 
of  allopathy,  and  also  had  gained  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  drugs  through  being  employed  in  a 
wholesale  and  retail  drug  store.  After  the  war 
he  was  engaged  in  general  mercantile  pursuits  at 
Callender,  Webster  countj',  Iowa. 

The  inclinations  of  Mr.  Maltby  had  been  from 
youth  in  the  direction  of  medical  work,  hence 
after  a  year  in  merchandising  we  find  him  re- 
turning to  such  studies.  This  time,  however,  he 
turned  his  attention  to  osteopathy,  concerning 
which  he  had  read  and  studied  much.  In  1898 
he  matriculated  in  the  College  of  Osteopathy  at 
Des  Moines,  Iowa,  where  he  took  the  complete 
course  of  preparatory  study  and  training,  and  at 
the  expiration  of  the  regular  course  he  was  grad- 
uated June  2G,  1901.  A  few  days  later  he  came 
to  Mankato,  where  he  has  his  office  at  No.  301 
South  Front  street.  In  the  years  that  have 
elapsed  since  his  settlement  in  this  city  he  has 
continued  a  student  of  the  profession  and  has 
kept  pace  with  every  development  and  discovery 
made  in  the  realm  of  medicine,  so  that  he  is 
enabled  to  be  thoroughly  modern  and  up-to-date 
in  his  practice.  As  before  stated,  he  has  the 
capable  assistance  of  his  wife,  a  graduate  of  the 
College  of  Osteopathy  in  Drs  Moines,  and  form- 
erly ^liss  Florence  A.  Barton,  her  father  being 
Joseph  Barton,  of  Gravity,  Iowa.  Their  mar- 
riage was  solemnized  June  22,  1904,  and  since 
then  thev  have  identified  themselves  with  the 
cultured  circles  of  Mankato,  where  they  are  active 
workers  in  the  Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  contributors  to  movements  for  the 
general  welfare.  His  desire  to  promote  the  com- 
mercial growth  of  the  town  Dr.  Maltby  shows 
by  his  identification  with  the  Business  Men's 
Club.  In  fraternal  relations  he  has  membership 
in  the  Knights  of  Pythias  and  acts  as  chancellor 
in  the  local  lodge.  Military  affairs  have  engaged 
his  support  ever  since  his  service  in  the  army  and 
at  this  writing  he  ranks  as  captain  of  Company 
H,  Second  Eegiment  of  Minnesota  National 
Guards. 

l\rAETIN,  WILLIAM  JASPEE.— For  a  per- 
iod of  more  than  forty  years  comprising  the  in- 


494 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


terval  between  his  arrival  in  Mankato  and  his 
death  in  tliis  city,  ifr.  Martin  was  recognized 
as  one  of  the  forces  active  in  the  development 
of  local  real  estate  and  commercial  interests.  His 
keen  mind  bent  its  formative  energies  tovrard 
the  progress  of  his  home  town.  His  influence 
was  ever  given  to  the  promotion  of  progressive 
projects,  and  no  enterprise  inaugurated  for  the 
benefit  of  tlie  community  lacked  his  sagacious 
assistance.  To  such  pioneers  as  he  ^Mankato  owes 
the  fact  that  the  foundation  of  its  commercial 
fortunes  was  laid  broad  and  deep,  forming  a 
substantial  basis  for  the  superftructure  of  pros- 
perity to  be  erected  by  future  generations.  While 
in  the  course  of  his  daily  business  activities  no 
great  fortune  ever  came  to  him  nor  did  he  boast 
of  any  remarkable  achievements,  yet  his  industry 
and  energy  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  a 
competency  sufEicient  to  provide  the  declining 
days  of  himself  and  wife  with  the  comforts  they 
so  justly  merited. 

The  founders  of  the  Martin  family  in  America 
were  natives  of  Scotland.  As  early  as  1820 
they  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world  and 
secured  land  near  JefPerson,  Schoharie  county, 
Xew  York,  where  they  turned  their  attention  to 
the  development  of  a  farm.  WhHe  living  at  that 
place  their  son,  William  Jasper,  was  born 
January  18,  18-28.  The  schools  of  that  era 
were  less  thorough  than  those  of  the  present,  yet 
they  offered  fair  opportunities  to  diligent  pu- 
pils, and  William  J.  Martin  was  very  solicitous 
to  secure  a  good  education,  so  that  he  embraced 
every  opportunity  for  enlarging  his  fund  of 
knowledge.  At  tlie  age  of  eighteen  years  he  was 
graduated  from  the  academy  at  Blenheim,  ISTew 
York,  and  immediately  afterward  he  began  to 
teach  school,  which  occupation  he  followed  suc- 
cessfully for   a   number  of  years. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Martin  was  solemnized 
January  7',  18.i2,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Sarah  A.  Payne,  who  was  born  at  Blenheim, 
New  York,  January  24,  1835,  and  received  a 
fair  education  in  the  schools  of  Jefferson  county. 
Descended  on  the  paternal  side  from  a  long  line 
of  English  ancestry,  she  was  a  daughter  of  Will- 
iam Payne,  who  came  from  England  to  America 
about  1820  and  settled  in  'New  York.  There 
he  met  and  married  Gertrude  Crapser,  who  was 


born  in  Pennsylvania  of  German  descent.  Seek- 
ing a  home  amid  the  newer  opportunities  of  the 
Northwest,  in  1858  Mr.  Martin  brought  his 
young  wife  to  Minnesota  and  settled  at  Man- 
kato, where  they  afterward  made  their  home. 
Shortly  after  his  arrival  he  took  up  a  claim  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land 
and  Ijy  selling  this  later  at  a  fair  price  for  those 
days  he  secured  his  start  in  the  business  world. 
The  money  was  invested  in  his  general  mercan- 
tile store,  which  he  conducted  for  many  years, 
meeting  with  fair  success  by  reason  of  his  hon- 
orable dealings  with  all.  Prom  time  to  time  he 
invested  in  real  estate  and  the  increase  in  valua- 
tions made  him  fair  profits.  Keen  business 
faculties  enabled  him  to  lay  the  foundation 
for  a  prosperous  old  age  and  to  surround  his 
family  with  the  comforts  of  life. 

While  devoting  himself  with  energy  to  per- 
sonal affairs,  Mr.  ilartin  never  neglected^  his 
duty  as  a  citizen,  and  he  was  especially  active 
at  the  time  of  the  Civil  war,  when  his  sym- 
pathies were  strongly  on  the  side  of  the  Union. 
August  19,  1862,  he  enlisted  in  Company  E, 
Ninth  ]\Iinnesota  Infantry,  in  which  he  held  the 
commission  of  sergeant,  and  with  which  he  re- 
mained at  the  front  until  the  close  of  the  strug- 
gle. When  peace  was  declared  he  received  an 
honorable  discharge.  May  31,  1865,  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee.  Afterward  he  became  an  active 
worker  in  the  Grand  Army  Post  at  Mankato. 
Politically  he  voted  with  the  Eepublican  party 
until  the  first  nomination  of  Grover  Cleveland 
for  president,  after  which  he  voted  with  the 
Democrats.  Tlirough  all  his  residence  in  Man- 
kato he  maintained  a  warm  interest  in  local 
affairs.  For  a  time  he  held  office  as  member  of 
the  board  of  aldermen. 

After  a  long  and  honorable  life  William  Jas- 
per Martin  passed  from  earth  November  14, 
1899.  His  wife  survived  him  -some  years  and 
died  April  7,  1906,  while  in  San  Diego,  Califor- 
nia, having  gone  to  the  Pacific  coast  with  the 
hope  of  regaining  her  health.  Her  body  was 
brought  to  Mankato  and  interred  beside  the  re- 
mains of  Mr.  Martin  in  Glenwood  cemetery. 
Tliey  had  reared  four  children  to  maturity,  but 
two  of  these  had  died  prior  to  the  death  of 
their  mother,  namely:  Nevada,  who  passed  away 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


495 


December  10,  1890;  and  John  J.,  whose  death 
occurred  February  6,  1900.  The  two  surviving 
members  of  the  family  are  William  A.,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  police  force  of  Minneapolis,  and  ]\Iiss 
Ida  il.,  who  resides  at  the  old  homestead,  No. 
306  Willard  street,  and  numbers  a  host  of  warm 
friends   among   the   people   of    Mankato. 


MATTESON",  A.  H.— Long  identification 
with  the  farming  interests  of  Blue  Earth  county 
has  given  Mr.  Matteson  an  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  possibilities  of  the  soil,  the  cereals  to 
which  the  lands  are  best  adapted,  the  best  meth- 
ods of  cultivation  and  the  most  successful  meth- 
ods of  prosecuting  the  livestock  business.  The 
family  became  established  in  this  county  shortly 
after  the  close  of  the  Civil  war.  Ever  since  his 
arrival  he  has  followed  agriculture  and  is  now 
the  owner  of  one  hundred  and  sixtv  acres  lying 
on  section  thirty-five,  Decoria  township.  In  the 
organization  of  this  township  he  was  helpful 
and  for  twenty-two  years  he  held  office  as  town 
clerk,  in  addition  to  which  he  has  been  chair- 
man of  the  board  for  several  years,  and  in  every 
capacity,  public  and  private,  had  labored  to  pro- 
mote the  welfare  of  the  farmers  of  the  county. 

Born  in  Pennsylvania  in  August  of  1838,  A. 
H,  Matteson  and  his  sister  were  the  only  child- 
ren of  Soloman  and  Phoebe  A.  (Hopkins)  Mat- 
teson, both  of  whom  were  natives  of  the  east, 
the  father  of  Ehode  Island.  For  eight 
years  they  made  their  home  in  Illinois,  and 
there  they  sent  their  son,  A.  H.,  to  the  common 
schools.  A  later  residence  in  Wisconsin  covered 
fourteen  years,  meanwhile  the  father  engaging 
in  the  cultivation  of  a  farm.  In  earlier  life 
he  had  given  considerable  attention  to  the  stone 
mason's  trade,  which  he  had  learned  in  youth. 
During  1865,  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  took  up  a  tract 
of  unimproved  land  and  ,<jave  his  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  place.  However,  he  was 
not  spared  to  accomplish  the  improvements  he 
desired,  but  died  in  September,  1867,  before 
old  age  had  come  to  him.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him  for  many  years  and  passed  away  in 
September,  1885,  when  quite  advanced  in  years. 

From  Pennsylvania  to  Illinois,  from  that  state 


to  Wisconsin,  and  eventually  to  ^finncsota,  A. 
II.  Mattesdii  removed  with  his  parents  and  in 
search  of  a  permanent  home.  While  he  had 
few  advantages  he  acquired  a  fair  education  by 
self-culture  and  close  obs('r\ation,  while  in  the 
line  of  his  s]iecialty.  agriculture,  he  is  recog- 
nized  as  proficient. 

During  his  residence  in  Minnesota  he  met 
Mary  P.  Tillotson,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and 
ti'ey  were  married  Xovember  11,  ISG-j.  Their 
union  was  blessed  with  five  sons  and  fi^e  daugh- 
ters, namely ;  Frank,  who  died  in  early  life ;. 
William,  who  is  engaged  in  farming  in  the 
northern  part  of  Minnesota;  .Tessie,  who  married 
Edward  Ady  and  lives  on  a  farm ;  Ardell,  wife 
of  James  Ady,  a  lumberman ;  Horace  G.,  a 
farmer  operating  land  near  St.  Clair,  Blue  Earth 
county;  Lulu,  wife  of  David  Getty,  a  farmer  of 
Blue  Earth  county:  Howard,  an  engineer  and 
farmer  living  in  this  county;  Harry,  who  as- 
sists in  the  cultivation  of  his  father's  farm; 
Clara  Belle  and  Mrytle,  both  of  whom  are  suc- 
cessful teachers  in  this  county.  The  family  hold 
membership  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
of  which  Mr.  Matteson  is  a  generous  supporter. 
Movements  for  the  benefit  of  his  locality  receive 
his  -stanch  support,  and  politically  he  has  given 
his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  although 
ir  local  matters  he  believes  the  opinions  of 
the  candidates  concerning  national  problems  is 
of  less  importance  than  their  character,  intelli- 
gence and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the 
county. 


:MAT,  OEOEGE.— Aside  from  its  local  impor- 
tance as  an  exponent  of  high  agricultural  stand- 
ards, the  farm  owned  and  operated  by  George 
^fav  in  ^FcPherson  township,  has  many  points 
of  interest  for  the  student  of  Blue  Earth  county 
history,  not  the  least  being  the  fact  that  a  part 
of  the  house  now  occupied  by  ^Fr.  JMay  was 
erected  by  the  government  for  one  of  its  deposed 
Indian  chiefs.  The  Stay  family  has  stood  for 
the  strength  and  morality  of  the  community 
ever  since  its  establishment  in  McPhcrson  town- 
ship during  the  last  year  of  the  Civil  war.  At 
that  time  removal  was  made  from  a  farm  a  mile 
from    Mankato,    where    Joseph    and     Catherine 


496 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


(Troutli)  May  had  located  the  year  previous, 
Tipon  their  arrival  in  the  state  from  Dodge 
county,  Wisconsin.  This  couple  had  a  large 
family  of  children,  fourteen  in  number,  of  whom 
George  May  was  born  in  Dodge  count}'-,  Wiscon- 
sin, March  15,  1854.  The  elder  May  possessed 
shrewd  business  sagacity  and  a  capacity  for  pro- 
fitable pioneering,  and  not  only  took  up  three 
hundred  and  t^-enty  acres  of  land  from  the  gov- 
ernment, but  the  following  October  bought  a 
similar  amount,  and  a  year  later  purchased 
eighty  acres.  At  one  time  in  his  long  and  succes- 
ful  life  he  owned  eighteen  hundred  acres  in 
Blue  Earth  county.  This  property  he  greatly 
improved,  and  continued  to  manage  and  farm  it 
imtil  about  ten  }-ears  before  his  death,  in  1894. 
His  wife  died  March  4,  1908,  at  the  age  of 
86   years    7  months   33   days. 

George  ^fay  was  ten  years  old  when  he  came 
to  the  state  with  his  parents.  May  20,  1864.  He 
helped  to  clear  the  crude  land,  and  all  his  life 
has  made  a  study  of  the  best  methods  of  agri- 
culture and  stock-raising,  and  also  has  aug- 
mented his  training  in  the  public  schools  of 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota  with  study  along  vari- 
ous lines  of  research.  He  has  amassed  a  fortune 
in  his  own  riglit  by  his  steady  application  to  his 
life  work,  independent  of  any  aid  which  may 
have  come  to  him  through  the  success  of  his 
father.  Politically  a  democrat,  he  has  served  as 
township  supervisor,  and  held  other  ininor  of- 
fices. For  some  years  'Mr.  May  has  been  vice- 
president  of  the  St.  Clair  State  Bank,  an  insti- 
tution recognized  in  Banking  circles  as  thor- 
oughly reliable  and  safe. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  May  and  Mary  M.  Ho- 
dapp,  of  Blue  Earth  county  occurred  in  1879, 
and  of  the  union  there  are  ten  children,  six  soiu 
and  four  daughters,  Phillip  J.  of  Mount  Angel, 
Ore.,  Kate  J\[.,  wife  of  Joseph  L.  Ivruse  a  far- 
jjer  of  Iverkhoven,  this  state,  George  Stepheu 
jfidward  ('olnclius,  Maria  X.,  OtilJia  E.  Anna  E... 
Joseph,   Aloysc  H.   and   Carl  Joseph. 

The  family  are  members  of  the  Eoman  Catho- 
lic Church.  As  a  boy  and  man  in  the  same 
commu.nity  Mr.  May  has  so  fashioned  his  life, 
and  improved  his  opportunities  as  to  win  the 
approval  of  all  who  know  him;  he  is  cautious 
and  painstaking  and  being  honorable  in  his  deal- 


ing with  others,  may  reasonably  expect  a  con- 
tinuation and  enlargement  of  his  present  good 
fortune. 


MAYEE  BEOS.— It  is  said  that  the  largest 
foundry  and  machine  shop  in  the  state  of  Min-. 
nesota  outside  of  the  twin  cities  and  Duluth  is 
located  at  Mankato.  The  proprietors,  Louis  and 
Lorenz  Mayer,  began  'as  blacksmiths,  learning 
the  t;-ade  under  their  father  and  acquiring  un- 
usual skill  in  their  work.  Being  ambitious  to 
enlarge  their  business  interests,  they  founded 
the  business  which  under  their  supervision  has 
been  enlarged  many  fold  from  its  original  di- 
mensions. For  a  time  a  third  brother,  Conrad, 
was  jointly  interested  in  the  foundry,  but  three 
years  later  he  withdrew,  leaving  Louis  and 
Lorenz  the  sole  proprietors.  It  has  been  thp 
policy  of  the  owners  to  invest  all  of  their  profits 
in  the  business,  so  that  from  year  to  year  they 
have  added  to  the  buildings,  the  improvements 
or  the  equipment,  and  the  foundry  at  No.  126 
West  Eock  street  is  now  exceptionally  well  equip- 
ped for  their  work  as  machinists,  boiler-makers, 
manufacturers  of  hammers,  steam  shovels  for 
dredging,  etc.  The  brick  and  steel  shop  is  a 
modern  structure,  60x200  feet  in  dimensions,, 
while  the  foundry  is  40x50  with  an  addition  for 
an  engine  room  30x70,  and  in  addition  there  is 
a  storge  building  30x40,  also  a  stone  and  brick 
boiler    works,    30x60    feet. 

The  president  of  the  company,  Louis  Mayer, 
was  born  in  Germany  November  2,  1867.  The 
secretary  and  treasurer,  Lorenz  L.,  was  born 
in  Mankato,  Minnesota,  September  18,  1874. 
Their  father,  Lawrence,  left  his  native  land  for 
the  new  world  and  settled  at  Mankato,  Minne- 
sota, in  1871.  A  blacksmith  by  trade,  he  at 
once  began  to  work  at  his  chosen  occupation 
and  continued  until  1896,  when  he  retired. 
Some  years  before  leaving  Germany  he  married 
Katherine  Euder,  who  was  born  and  reared  in 
that  country,  and  died  at  Mankato  in  1890) 
aged  fifty-four  years.  Three  of  their  children 
are  living,  Louis,  Conrad  and  Lorenz  L.,  all  of 
whom  reside  in  Mankato  and  are  practical- 
skilled  blacksmiths,  the  second  son  still  follow- 
ing   that   occupation.      The   three   brothers   were 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


497 


educated  in  parochial  schools  and  at  early  agei» 
learned  the  hlacksmith"s  trade  under  their 
father's  careful  training.  For  five  years  Louis 
engaged  as  a  blacksmith  for  the  Mankato  Ce- 
ment Company.  May  "24,  1890,  he  married 
Eegina  Lambert,  of  JIarysburg,  Minnesota,  by 
whom  he  has  three  children,  Mary  ^I.,  Veronica 
E.  and  Alois.  In  fraternal  relations  Louis  and 
Lorenz  are  prominently  identified  with  the 
Knights  of  Columljus  and  have  been  warmly 
interested  in  the  work  of  the  German  Benevo- 
lent Society.  Lorenz  was  married  August  21, 
1900,  his  wife  being  Anna  Huettl,  of  Man- 
kato. Three  children  ha\'e  blessed  their  union, 
namely:  Bertram,  Clotilda  and  Cornelius  H. 
The  brothers  have  many  friends  in  Jlankato, 
where  they  are  esteemed  for  their  sterling  worth, 
commendable  enterprise,  keen  sagacity  and  per- 
severing industry.  The  success  already  gained 
and  that  which  the  future  promises  are  richly 
merited  by  their  self-sacrificing  efforts  in  the 
establishment  of  a  substantial  business  in  their 
home  city. 


MAYEE,  JOHN  B.— An  old  territorial  settler 
still  living  in  ^Mankato  came  to  that  city  Oct. 
15,  1S5T.  He  was  born  in  Eolendorf,  Ehine 
province,  Germany,  Jan.  27,  1827,  and  came  to 
America  in  April,  1852,  settling-  at  Prairie  du 
Sac,  (now  Sauk  City),  Wis.,  where  he  engaged 
in  blacksmithing  and  horseshoeing  for  five  rears 
with  his  brother,  who  had  located  there  a  year 
previous.  In  1857  he  went  to  St.  Paul  and  after 
spending  three  or  four  days  there,  he  took  a 
steamboat  for  ]\rankato  but  owing  to  low  water 
the  boat  came  only  as  far  as  St.  Peter  and  he 
ivas  compelled  to  complete  the  distance  on  foot, 
arriving  here  Oct.  15tli  of  that  year. 

South  Bend  and  ]\radelia  were  then  making 
strong  efforts  to  increase  their  population,  the 
former  offering  :\rr.  :\rayer  two  and  the  latter 
five  lots  if  he  would  open  a  shop  there,  but  after 
viewing  both  places,  walking  the  distance,  he 
•  decided  to  locate  in  Mankato  and  opened  a  sliop 
m  a  small  shanty  which  stood  on  the  rear  of  the 
lot  just  south  of  where  the  A.  J.  Busch  whole- 
sale house  now  stands.  This  he  conducted  for 
about   two   years    when    he   took    in   partnership 


jMr.  Adam  Frendle,  who  had  a  shop  in  the  north 
part  of  the  city,  and  his  shop  was  moved  on 
the  front  of  Mr.  Ma3'er"s  lot,  the  two  remaining 
in  partnership  until  about  '61  when  Mr.  Mayer 
bought  Mr.  Frendle's  interest  and  ran  the  shop 
alone.  In  his  shop  was  done  the  horseshoeing, 
manacle  making,  etc.,  for  the  United  States 
troops  during  tire  campaign  of  '62  when  they 
were  stationed  here.  Mr.  Mayer  still  has  the 
sledge  hammer  which  was  borrowed  of  him  to 
drive  into  place  the  heavy  timber  constituting 
the  gallons  on  which  the  Indians  were  hanged. 
This  hammer  is  now  in  the  State  Historical 
Society  collection  at  St.  Paul.  This  with  his 
other  tools  and  implements  was  brought  here 
from  St.  Paul  by  wagon.  Here  he  braved  the 
J^ardships  and  privations  of  frontier  life,  includ- 
ing the  panic  of  '59-'61  when  money  was  a 
novelty  and  goods  and  labor  were  exchanged  for 
produce,  etc.,  and  some  of  ]\Iankato's  respected 
citizens'  ''best"  consisted  of  a  pair  of  trousers 
made  of  gunny  sacks  and  an  Indian  blanket  for 
a  coat.  After  many  ups  and  downs  he  was  able 
about  '66  to  build  a  large  brick  shop  on  the 
rear  of  the  lot  on  the  east  corner  of  Front  and 
Mulberry  streets  at  a  cost  of  $2,200,  where  he 
conducted  his  business  until  about  1888,  when  he 
sold  the  property  to  the  late  N"ic  Lang,  who  re- 
modeled the  building  and  it  is  now  part  of  the 
Lang  estate. 

In  1808  Mr.  :\Iayer  was  married  to  Miss 
Theresa  Harzberg.  then  shortly  from  his  native 
land,  and  eight  children  have  blessed  their 
union :  John,  deceased ;  Emma,  now  Mrs. 
Charles  A.  Eckman;  Eosa,  Mrs.  Adolph  C. 
Eockcy:  Charles  K. :  Ida.  ]\rrs.  David  Pugh; 
Tillie.  :\Irs.  George  G.  Serene,  all  living  in  Man- 
kato:  Lydia,  :\rrs.  Clarence  0.  Williamson,  of 
St.    Paul:    and    William,    deceased. 

In  18S2  Mr.  and  :\rrs.  Mayer  started  a  gro- 
cery and  confectionery  store  on  Korth  Front 
street  which  was  successfully  conducted  by  '^hs. 
flayer,  her  luisband  assisting  her  after  closing 
out  his  business  until  the  fall  of  1900  when 
they  retired  and  now  live  in  their  comfortable 
home   on   North    Broad   street. 

^fr.  :\rayer  is  of  a  rather  retiring  disposition, 
industrious,  amiable  and  companionable,  a  lover 
of  home  and  home  life,  and  up  to  a  few  years 


498 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


ago,  when  his  eyesight  became  impaired,  derived 
much  pleasure  from  reading,  which  covered  a 
wide  range  of  topics.  He  has  a  large  acquaint- 
ance in  the  county  among  the  early  settlers  and 
his  kindness,  honesty  and  punctuality  have  won 
for  him  their  highest  esteem. 


MEAGHER,  HOIST.  JOHN"  F.— Of  the  large 
brained  and  warm  hearted  men  who  during  a 
long  residence  in  Mankato  have  shed  luster  upon 
Iheir  own  names  and  reflected  honor  upon  the 
State  of  Minnesota,  none  are  remembered  with 
more  enduring  admiration  and  affection  than 
the  late  Hon.  John  P.  Meagher.  His  energj' 
was  as  uncontrollable  as  his  generosity  was 
boundless,  and  his  broad  judgment  kept  pace 
with  his  mental  alertness  so  that  although  his 
ambitions  were  high  they  seldom  exceeded  his 
ability  to  accomplish  his  undertakings.  In  many 
n:ore  respects  than  could  be  enumerated  in  suc!i 
a  brief  review  as  this,  he  was  one  of  the  finest 
types  of  the  Irish-American  who  ever  helped 
to  give  the  city  and  the  State  a  name  for  enter- 
prise, true  progress  and  high  worth. 

John  P.  Meagher  was  born  in  County  Kerry, 
Ireland,  April  11,  1836,  and  emigrated  to 
Am.erica  when  he  was  but  eleven  years  of  age. 
Por  several  years  thereafter  he  worked  on  a  farm 
in  LaSalle  Count)^,  Illinois,  and  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  apprenticed  himself  to  learn  the  tin- 
smith trade  at  Ottawa,  that  state.  In  Septem- 
ber, 1857,  several  months  after  .he  had  passed 
his  majority,  he  located  at  Red  Wing,  Minneso- 
tn,  and  in  June  of  the  following  year,  became  a 
resident  of  Mankato.  By  1861,  his  industry  and 
efficiency  as  a  tinsmith  and  his  economy  and 
Ijood  management  as  a  business  man,  enabled 
liim  to  gather  small  capital  with  which  he 
purchased  the  tin  and  hardware  establishment 
of  Taylor  &  Hotaling.  To  thiis  line  he  soon 
iulded  farm  machinery  and  speedily  developed  in- 
to a  leading  merchant  and  financier.  In  1868 
he  assi>sted  in  the  organization  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  was  its  vice-president  until 
1872,  when  he  became  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Citizens'  National  Bank,  of  which  he  was 
president  for  twenty  years,  as  well  as  of  the 
National  Citizens'  Bank  (into  which  it  was  mer- 


ged in  1893)  until  the  time  of  his  death  June 
18,  1897. 

Besides  ably  managing  his  banking  interests 
iMr.  Meagher  was  active  and  prominent  in  var- 
ious business  enterprises,  building  many  houseb, 
dealing  extensively  in  lands,  and  acquiring  much 
property.  But  although  almost  uniformly  suc- 
cessful in  such  ventures  and  transactions,  he 
retained  the  confidence  and  respect  of  all,  both 
because  of  his  straightforward  conduct  and  his 
pleasing  and  noble  presence.  The  bravery,  in- 
dependence and  earnestness  which  so  marked  his 
public  career,  added  to  the  manifest  usefulness 
of  his  services,  also  increased  the  admiration 
and  gratitude  which  his  fellow  citizens  felt  for 
him    as    a    private    individual. 

On  the  outbreak  of  the  Indian  War  in  1863, 
Mr.  Meagher  enlisted  for  service  and  was  made 
First  Lieutenant  of  a  company,  gallantly  par- 
ticipating in  the  defense  of  New  Ulm,  and  sub- 
sequently being  commissioned  Captain  of  another 
company  organized  foi'  the  protection  of  Man- 
kato. He  first  entered  actively  into  politics 
when  he  was  elected  county  treasurer  on  the 
Democratic  ticket.  In  1870  and  1871  he, was 
sent  to  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature,  and  in 
1873  to  the  State  Senate,  making  a  valuable 
record  in  both  bodies.  That  his  influence  in 
politics  was  strong  and  general  is  evident,  as  in 
1876  he  was  chosen  by  his  party  as  Democratic 
Presidential  Elector  at  large.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  director  in  various  State  institutions, 
and  among  the  later  positions  to  which  he  was 
appointed  was  a  member  of  the  commission  to 
locate  and  erect  the  New  TJlm  battle  monument, 
he  being  accorded  the  honor  of  making  the  pre- 
sentation address  at  its  formal  dedication  Au- 
gust 28,  1891. 

Mr.  Meagher  married  September  14,  1866, 
Miss  Mary  A.  Battelle,  who  was  born  March  14, 
1844,  and  died  at  Santa  Barbara,  California, 
April  34,  1895.  She  was  a  most  estimable  and 
beloved  woman,  and  her  death  was  deeply  mourn- 
ed by  her  intimates  and  universally  regretted  by 
those  of  the  community  who  had  been  privileged 
to  know  her  well.  The  children  of  this  union  were 
as  follows:  John  B.  born  July  3,  1867;  Alonzo 
E.,  bom  December  2,  1868,  and  died  August 
33,    1890;    John    William,   born    May    6,    1871, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


499 


and  died  March  1,  1893;  Felix  K.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1874;  Katlierine  F.,  now  Mrs.  Jamas 
Spencer;  Mary  B.,  and  Agnes  J. 


MERTESDOEF,  PETEE.— That  abundant 
opportunities  are  afforded  by  the  soil  of  Blue  Earth 
county  to  farmers  of  intelligence  and  industry 
is  exemplified  in  the  life  and  activities  of  Peter 
Mertesdorf,  who  has  risen  from  a  position  of 
poverty  to  one  of  influence  and  prosperity.  When 
he  arrived  in  Fond  du  Lac  county,  Wisconsin,  in 
1854,  he  had  a  total  capital  of  only  $11,  but  he 
possessed  an  abundance  of  energy,  determination 
and  perseverance,  and  a  robust  constitution 
aided  him  in  his  labors,  here  he  stayed  eight 
years,  moving  to  Blue  Earth  county,  Min- 
nesota, in  1862  where  he  has  been  ever  since. 
Landing  here  he  made  his  home  in  Yernon  Center 
township  and  has  owned  land  a  short  distance 
north  of  the  village  of  that  name.  Through 
tireless  application  and  rigid  economy  he  has 
become  the  owner  of  a  section  of  land,  all  of 
which  is  fenced  and  under  cultivation.  Substan- 
tial buildings  have  been  erected  by  the  owner, 
who  has  maintained  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
improvement  of  the  property  and  also  has  been 
extensively  engaged  thereon  in  the  raising  of 
shorthorn  cattle  and  Poland-China  hogs. 

Born  in  Prussia  near  the  Ehine,  October  11, 
1827,  the  gentleman  whose  name  introduces  this 
article  is  the  son  of  the  late  Peter  and  Barbara 
(Zimmerman)  Mertesdorf,  who  passed  their  en- 
tire lives  in  Germany.  Educated  in  the  excellent 
schools  of  his  native  land,  he  early  determined  to 
seek  a  home  beyond  the  seas,  and  in  1854  tools- 
passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  bound  for  Xew  York 
City,  where  he  landed  on  the  1st  of  Xovember. 
From  there  he  journeyed  to  Chicago  and  in  a 
Aort  time  proceeded  to  Fond  du  Lac  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  he  secured  employment  as  a 
farm  laborer.  Wl^ile  living  in  that  state  he 
married  ]\ri?s  JMary  Tausch,  who  like  himself 
descended  from  German  ancestry.  Seven  daugh- 
ters were  born  of  that  union,  namely:  Marv, 
Anna,  Hattie.  Minnie,  Emma,  Hannah  and 
Elizabeth.  The  second  marriage  of  Jlr.  :Mer- 
tesdorf  was  solemnized  October  20.  1875,  and 
united  him  with  Miss   Mary,   daughter  of  Gott- 


leib  and  Anna  (Posan)  Kaul,  lifelong  residents" 
of  Germany.  Of  this  marriage  there  are  four 
sons,  Fredrick,  John,  George  and  Edward,  all  of 
whom  yet  remain  with  their  parents.  The  family 
hold  membership  in  the  Baptist  church  and  con- 
tribute to  its  maintenance,  as  well  as  to  other 
organizations  for  the  common  good.  While 
never  aspiring  to  office,  Islr.  Mertesdorf  has  been 
actively  interested'  in  local  politics  and  has 
favored  movements  for  the  benefit  of  his  township 
and  county,  having  been  particularly  interested 
in  measures  for  the  building  and  improving  of 
roads. 


ME'SEEVY,  ALFEED  A.— With  the  .ex- 
ception of  the  period  of  his  absence  in  the  south 
during  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Meservy  has  remained 
in  Blue  Earth  county  ever  since  coming  to  this 
part  of  the  northwest  in  1860,  and  during  the 
long  association  with  the  agricultural  interests 
of  the  region  he  has  gained  a  reputation  as  a 
sterling  citizen,  persevering  farmer  and  accom- 
modating neighbor.  While  he  is  a  native  of  Can- 
ada and  has  never  forgotten  the  land  of  his 
birth  during  the  many  years  of  his  absence  there- 
from, he  is  thoroughly  devoted  to  his  adopted 
country  and  believes  in  the  principles  which  form 
the  foundation  of  our  government.  The  quiet, 
busy  life  of  a  farmer  has  suited  his  inclinations, 
but  he  has  not  allowed  existence  to  become  nar- 
row; on  the  other  hand,  he  has  maintained  an 
interest  in  all  movements  for  the  uplifting  of 
the  people  and  the  promotion  of  the  common- 
wealth's  prosperity. 

Born  in  Canada  in  1829,  Alfred  A.  Meservy 
received  his  education  in  his  native  land  in  the 
schools  of  Few  England.  During  the  year  1844, 
the  family  crossed  over  into  the  states  and 
settled  in  Wisconsin,  taking  up  a  tract  of  raw 
land  at  Fox  Lake.  At  that  place  in  1858  oc- 
curred the  death  of  the  mother,  Margaret,  a  na- 
tive of  Ireland.  The  father,  Eodney,  who  was 
a  native  of  Maine  and  a  farmer  and  mechanic 
by  occupation,  remained  at  Fox  Lake  until  1860; 
during  that  year  he  became  a  pioneer  of  Minne- 
sota, where  he  died  in  1891  in  Garden  City. 
:\feanwhile  the  son,  Alfred  A.,  had  become  inter- 
ested in  agricultural  pursuits,  first  in  Wisconsin 


500 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


and  later  in  Minnesota,  where  he  has  made  his 
home  since  1860.  When  the  Civil  war  began 
his  sympathies  were  enthusiastically  on  the  side 
of  the  Union,  and  he  was  eager  to  ofEer  his  ser- 
vices to  the  country,  but  for  a  time  home  duties 
deterred  him  from  enlisting.  However,  in  1862 
he  became  a  Union  soldier,  being  accepted  in  the 
Xinth  ilinnesota  Infantry  in  August  of  that  year. 
His  duties  were  confined  to  the  western  depart- 
ment and  at  first  he  served  in  the  Indian  cam- 
paigns under  General  Sibley,  but  later  he  was 
sent  to  the  front,  where  he  took  part  in  the 
battles  of  Guntown,  Tupelo,  Nashville,  and  the 
Price  campaign  in  Arkansas.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  the  war  he  was  mustered  out  at  Memphis, 
Tennessee,  and  received  an  honorable  discharge 
with  the  commission  of  corporal.  As  a  soldier 
he  proved  himself  loyal  to  his  adopted  country, 
quick  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  military  tac- 
tics and  courageous  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  deep  interest  which  Mr.  Meservy  always 
has  felt  in  school  affairs  led  him  at  one  time  to 
accept  a  position  on  the  school  board,  where  he 
freely  gave  of  his  time  and  energies  in  an  eifort 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  local  schools. 
Among  the  local  offices  he  has  held  may  be 
mentioned  that  of  chief  of  police.  Interested  in 
movements  for  the  spiritual  upbuilding  of  man- 
kind, he  has  been  an  attendant  at  the  services 
of  the  Methodist  church  and  has  contributed  to 
religious  enterprises  with  characteristic  gener- 
osity. Ever  since  his  marriage  in  1869  he  has 
been  blessed  by  the  co-operation  of  an  efficient 
helpmate,  his  wife,  formerly  Mary  Eitchie,  being 
a  woman  of  ability  as  well  as  attractive  character. 
They  are  the  parents  of  one  son  and  two  daugh- 
ers,  namely:  A.  C.  Meservy,  who  is  now  in 
Garden  City;  Emily,  Mrt.  William  Shaver  of 
Garden  City;  and  Birdie,  Mrs.  J.  C.  Ward,  also 
a  resident  of  this  town. 


]\rEYEB,  JOHN.— A  number  of  the  successful 
agriculturists  and  business  men  of  Blue  Earth 
county  are  of  German  parentage  or  nativity,  and 
among  these  may  be  mentioned  the  name  of  .John 
Meyer,  a  native  of  Mankato  township  and  a 
son  of  a  worthy  German-American  farmer.  Ba- 
varia, Germany,  is  the  native  home  of  John 
Meyer,  Sr.,  and  1830  the  year  of  his  birth.  After 


having  received  a  fair  education  in  the  Germ 
language  he  took  up  the  task  of  earning  a  lii 
lihood,  and  with  customary  German  thrift,  sav 
a  part  of  his  earnings,  utilizing  the  same  in  t 
payment  of  his  passage  on  an  American-bou: 
ship.  During  the  year  1852  he  landed  at  N( 
York  and  from  there  proceeded  to  Milwaub 
Wisconsin,  where  he  secured  emplojanent  and  i 
mained  for  a  considerable  period.  In  that  ci 
he  married  Dora  Oehler,  who  died  there,  aft 
having  borne  him  three  children :  Lena  ai 
Lizzie,  both  deceased;  and  George,  who  resid 
with  the  subject  of  this  -sketch.  Some  yea 
later  the  father  married  ilary  Schriver,  who  w, 
born  in  Mecklenburg  in  1830  and  came  to  tl 
United  States  in  1863,  settling  in  Milwauke 
During  the  spring  of  1866  the  family  came 
^Minnesota  and  took  up  land'  in  Blue  Earl 
county,  where  the  mother  died  in  1871.  Tl 
father  still  survives  and  makes  his  home  with  h 
son,  John.  Three  children  were  born  of  h 
second  marriage.  The  eldest,  Minnie,  is  the  wi: 
of  Charles  Timm  and  makes  her  home  in  I 
Sueur  county,  this  state.  The  second  daughte 
Emma,  is  the  wife  of  Peter  Williams  and  livi 
in  Blue  Earth  county. 

The  youngest  member  of  the  family,  John,  Ji 
was  born  in  Mankato  township  November  1: 
1870,  and  grew  to  manhood  on  a  farm,  nieai 
time  attending  school  in  the  winter  months  an 
aiding  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil  during  the  sun 
mer.  During  1894  he  purchased  the  farm  whei 
since  he  has  made  his  home,  the  same  comprii 
ing  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  improve 
land  situated  about  four  miles  north  of  Mai 
kato  on  section  nineteen.  Lime  township.  A 
yet  he  has  not  established  domestic  ties,  but  givi 
a  home  to  his  aged  father  and  also  has  his  old( 
brother  with  him.  For  some  years  he  has  bee 
a  member  of  the  school  board  of  his  distric 
Other  movements  for  the  well-being  of  the  con 
munity  receive  his  stanch  co-operation  and  actii 
support.  Politically  he  has  espoused  the  prh 
eiples  of  the  Democratic  party  and  supports  thei 
principles  by  his  ballot,  but  he  has  never  di 
played  a  partisan  spirit  nor  has  he  sought  tl 
emoluments  of  political  positions,  although  abu: 
dantly  qualified  to  fill  such  positions  with  cred 
to  himself  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  coi 
cerned. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


501 


MILLEE,  ABE  L.— Two  generations  of  the 
lliller  family  have  been  identified  with  the  agri- 
cultured  development  of  Blue  Earth  county,  and 
A.  L.  Miller,  a  representative  of  the  second  gen- 
eration, is  a  native-born  son  of  the  county,  hav- 
ing been  born  in  the  town  of  Shelby,  December 
17,  18G6.  His  father,  James,  a  native  of  Indi- 
ana, established  the  family  in  this  part  of  the 
northwest,  and  is  remembered  and  honored  for 
those  sterling  traits  of  character  that  in  any 
community  win  and  retain  friends.  As  early  as 
1857  he  came  from  Indiana  to  Minnesota  and 
settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  soon  won 
the  liking  of  the  pioneers  of  the  region.  In  com- 
mon with  others  he  endured  many  trials  in  seek- 
ing to  clear  a  farm  from  land  in  the  primeval 
conditions  of  nature,  but  eventually  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  owning  a  tract  of  vaulable  land 
with  good  buildings  and  divided  by  fences  into 
fields  of  convenient  size.  While  engaged  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  estate  he  was  ever  ready  to 
lend  a  helping  hand  to  others  and  was  known 
as  a  man  of  generous  spirit  and  friendly  disposi- 
tion. His  last  days  were  quietly  passed  at  Win- 
aebago  City,  Earibault  county,  where  he  died 
April  17,  1907,  mourned  by  the  large  circle  of 
friends  wliom  he  had  won  during  the  long  period 
of  his  residence  in  the  state.  His  wife,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Eliza  Ann  Campbell, 
was  born  in  Indiana  and  died  October  12,  1888, 
in  Blue  Earth  county. 

The  schools  adjacent  to  the  homestead  offered 
fair  advantages  to  A.  L.  Miller  and  in  them  he 
acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  common  branches. 
Up  to  the  time  of  his  majority  he  remained  at 
home  and  assisted  his  father,  but  afterward  he 
assumed  the  management  of  the  old  homestead, 
which  he  conducted  for  three  years,  and  then 
moved  to  his  present  farm  on  rural  route  ISTo. 
1,  Garden  City.  Here  he  is  the  owner  of  a  fine 
farm  improved  with  a  neat  set  of  buildings  well 
adapted  to  their  special  purposes,  and  presenting 
an  appearance  of  thrift  indicative  of  the  occu- 
pant's energy  of  disposition. 
I  Though  not  a  partisan  in  his  opinions,  Mr. 
Miller  stanchly  supports  Eepublican  principles 
and  casts  his  ballot  for  the  men  pledged  to  the 
promotion  of  these  principles.  For  himself  he 
lias  never  sought  office,  preferring  to  devote  his 


attention  to  the  care  of  his  land  and  the  en- 
joyment of  his  home.  In  religion  he  is  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  doctrines  of  the  Christian  church, 
which  he  attends  with  his  family.  Fraternally 
he  belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows.  In  his  marriage  to  Josephine  Strum, 
who  was  born  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  received 
her  education  in  local  schools,  he  was  united 
with  one  of  the  popular  young  ladies  of  the 
county,  and  they  enjoy  the  warm  friendship  of 
their  associates.  Their  marriage  was  solemnized 
Septerpber  1,  1889,  since  which  time  they  have 
resided  on  their  present  farm.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  namely :  Martha  Eliza, 
aged  seventeen  j-ears;  Walter  Dell,  fifteen;  and 
Eoy  Lincoln,  thirteen. 


MILLS,  TITUS  F.— Although  not  a  native 
01  Blue  Earth  county,  the  early  recollections  of 
Mr.  Mills  cluster  around  this  part  of  the  north- 
west, for  he  was  less  than  four  years  of  age  when 
the  family  sought  a  home  in  what  was  then  an 
unsettled  wilderness.  Born  in  Lake  county,  Il- 
linois, December  19,  1850,  he  was  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel T.  and  Permelia  L.  Mills,  the  former  born 
ill  Massachusetts  in  1819  and  the  latter  born  in 
Xow  York  in  lS-34.  Early  in  the  year  1854  the 
family  journeyed  by  "prairie  schooner"  from  Illi- 
nois to  ilinnesota  and  settled  in  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  the  father  pre-empted  a  claim 
oj'  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  There  were  no 
neighbors,  and  for  six  months  after  their  arrival 
the  mother  did  not  sec  a  white  woman  or  child. 
The  existence  was  one  of  great  privation  as  well 
as  loneliness.  Indian  outbreaks  were  numerous 
and  more  than  once  the  family  were  in  great 
danger  from  the  savages.  The  first  religious  ser- 
vice in  the  township  was  held  in  their  cabin, 
also  the  first  election. 

In  those  days  farmers  from  as  far  south  as  the 
Iowa  line  and  even  beyond  were  obliged  to  go  to 
ilankato  to  have  their  wheat  ground,  and  as  their 
claim  was  on  the  main- traveled  road  they  saw 
considerable  passing.  In  1856  the  father  built 
a  log  tavern  on  the  farm  in  order  to  accommo- 
date passengers  obliged  to  remain  over  night 
on  their  way  to  mill.  In  18G4  he  replaced 
the  log  cabin  with  a  frame  hotel  of  suitable  di- 


502 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


mensioDB.  Over  the  hotel  the  wife  and  mother 
presided,  cooking  appetizing  foods  for  the  hungry 
travelers  and  cheering  them  on  their  lonely  way. 
Though  her  life  was  one  of  great  toil  and  con- 
stant privation  she  looks  back  on  those  busy 
days  as  among  the  happiest  of  her  useful  exist- 
ence. JSTor  did  the  strenuous  labor  impair  her 
health,  for  she  is  a  remarkably  well  preserved 
woman,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  she  is 
eighty  three  years  of  age  (1907.)  Throughout 
the  community  she  is  known  and  honored  for 
her  beautiful  character  and  her  effective-  labors 
as  a  pioneer. 

Although  the  schools  of  that  day  were  far  in- 
ferior to  those  of  the  present  time,  Titus  F. 
Mills  succeeded  in  securing  a  fair  education  in 
the  common  branches,  and  he  is  now  a  well 
informed  man.  Agriculture  has  been  his  occu- 
pation throughout  life,  and  his  home  place  on 
rural  route  No.  1,  Lake  Crystal,  bears  the  evi- 
dence of  his  thrift  and  industry.  The  busy  life 
of  a  farmer,  the  sowing  and  the  planting,  the 
cultivation  and  the  harvesting  of  the  crops,  en- 
gross his  time  and  attention,  but  not  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  duties  devolving  upon  a  progressive 
citizen.  At  all  times  he  has  shown  himself  to 
be  willing  to  promote  local  measures  by  his  time 
and  influence.  At  intervals  during  thirty  years 
he  served  as  a  member  of  the  town  board,  while 
for  twenty  years  he  rendered  faithful  service 
on  the  school  board.  In  addition  he  has  served 
as  a  state  weigher.  In  religious  identification 
lie  and  his  family  are  connected  with  the  Chris- 
tian church  at  Garden  City. 

The  marriage  of  Titus  P.  Mills  was  solemn- 
ized March  2,  1880,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Li  da  Sharp,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  but  from 
early  childhood,  a  resident  of  ilinnesota,  her 
parents  having  come  to  this  state  in  18.55 
and  established  a  home  at  Belgrade,  I^icollet 
county.  Three  children  comprise  the  family 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mills.  The  son.  Earl  Ray, 
who  is  an  enterprising  young  man  of  twenty- 
six  years,  is  now  in  the  government  employ 
at  Belle  Pourche,  Butte  county,  South  Dakota. 
The  older  daughter,  Jessie  D.,  who  is  twent}'-two 
years  of  age,  married  Rev.  John  Mitchell,  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman  now  stationed  at  Houtz- 
dale,      Clearfield      county,      Pennsylvania.      The 


youngest  child,  Ruth,  has  been  given  an  excellent 
musical  education  and  is  now  a  teacher  of  that 
art. 

Mrs.   Permelia   L.    :\[ills    died   Jan.    28,    1908, 
at  the  home  of  her  son,  Titus  P.  Mills. 


MOORE,  ELI  JAMES. — The  best  training 
for  the  merchant  is  that  of  the  salesman,  and  it 
takes  a  salesman  of  a  very  high  grade  to  make 
a  successful  commercial  traveler.  The  logical 
conclusion  is  that  it  is  almost  a  foregone  conclus- 
ion that  if  a  superior  traveling  salesman 
launches  into  an  independent  business  his  venture 
will  be  a  success  from  the  start.  He  has  come 
to  understand  the  art  of  placing  customers  at 
their  ease,  without  overdoing  the  polite  act,  and 
he  has  the  typical  air  of  confidence  attaching  to 
those  of  his  profession  which  inspires  confidence 
and  brings  sales.  A  living  illustration  of  these 
business  truths  is  found  in  E.  J.  Moore,  of  Man- 
kato,  who  seven  years  ago  established  a  hard- 
ware trade  in  that  city,  whose  success  was  as- 
sured from  his  long  previous  experience  in  the 
same  line,  but  in  the  employ  of  others. 

Mr.  Moore  comes  of  an  old  Southern  family, 
although  he  has  to  his  credit  three  years  of 
brave  and  honorable  service  in  the  Union  cause. 
He  is  a  native  of  Maryland,  born  June  27, 
1843,  the  son  of  John  and  Ann  (Caloway) 
Moore,  who  were  also  born  in  that  state  and  re- 
moved to  Ohio  when  E.  J.  was  but  a  lad. 
There  John  Moore  engaged  in  farming  and  died 
when  only  fifty-two  years  of  age,  his  widow  sur- 
viving him  for  many  years  and  finally  passing 
away  when  eighty-four.  They  were  the  parents 
of  five  children,  of  whom  the  following  are  liv- 
ing: William  T.,  of  Middlefort,  Ohio,  and  E. 
J.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  deceased  are 
John  H.,  who  served  during  the  Civil  war  in  the 
Thirty-fourth  Indiana  Infantry  and  died  at  New 
Haven,  Kentucky;  Peter  H.,  formerly  a  resident 
of  Roseville,  Ohio,  who  died  in  May,  1907,  and 
Elizabeth  Ann,   who   died  in  childhood. 

E.  J.  ]\[oore  was  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Logan,  Ohio,  at  Eastman  Business  College, 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  in  the  world  of 
experience  and  hard  work.  He  had  scarcely 
reached   his    majority   when   he    enlisted   in   the 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


503 


Sixty-second  Ohio  Infantry,  Company  H,  for  tlie 
tliree-montiis'  service,  at  the  close  of  which  he  re- 
enlisted  in  the  Fifty-first  Ohio  Eegiment,  Com- 
pany K,  continuing  with  the  latter  command  un- 
til his  honorable  discharge  in  1864.  He  was  in 
all  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  campaign,  and 
was  one  of  the  faithful  millions  who  served  their 
country  in  the  ranks  without  expectation  of 
prominence  and  without  regret  at  the  outcome. 
Such  as  Jie  saved  the  country  from  disruption. 
Mr.  Moore  early  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness, being  first  connected  with  the  retail  trade 
at  Columbus,  Ohio,  for  a  period  of  about  five 
years,  his  next  experience  being  as  a  traveling 
salesman  for  the  large  manufacturing  laardware 
concern  of  Redeay  &  Burton,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 
The  firm  afterward  located  him  at  Kansas  City, 
where  he  remained  as  long  as  it  continued  in 
business,  and  then  engaged  with  the  Excelsior 
Manufacturing  Company  (hardware),  of  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  with  which  he  remained  until 
he  established  himself  at  Mankato,  in  1900. 

In  that  yeai  Mr.  Moore  opened  a  fine  and  com- 
plete line  of  hardware  for  the  retail  trade,  but 
later  associated  himself  with  Edward  W.  Tobin, 
and  the  firm  of  Moore  &  Tobin,  thus  formed, 
represents  one  of  the  leading  business  factors 
of  Mankato.  The  store,  which  is  located  at  No. 
323  South  Front  street,  has  the  substantial  ap- 
pearance befitting  the  prosperous  and  growing 
state  of  the  business.  In  1871  Mr.  Moore  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Emma  J.  Eawson, 
daughter  of  the  late  E.  T.  and  Wealthy  Ann 
Rawson,  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  she  died  in 
December,  1875.  He  is  a  man  of  both  busi- 
ness ability  and  of  social  qualities,  his  wide  and 
intimate  identification  with  leading  fraternities 
being  indicated  by  his  membership  in  the  G.  A. 
R.,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  I.  0.  0.  F.,  and  B.  P.  0.  E. 


MORLOCK,  F.  H.— One  of  the  substantial 
financial  institutions  of  Blue  Earth  county  is  the 
State  Bank  of  Good  Thunder  which  during  the 
period  of  its  existence  has  wielded  a  large  and  in- 
creasing influence  upon  the  community  and  has 
become  recognized  as  a  reliable  concern,  quali- 
fied to  exert  a  wise  influence  upon  monetary  mat- 
ters.    Much  of  the  success  of  the  bank  is   due 


tc  the  conservatism  and  sagacity  of  the  cashier. 
F  H.  Morlock,  who  seconds  the  able  efforts  of 
the  president,  J.  G.  Graham,  and  the  vice  presi- 
dent, R.  L.  Houk,  in  the  management  of  affairs 
connected  with  the  institution,  and  who  has  been 
relied  upon  by  them  to  an  unusual  degree.  His 
identifleation  with  the  bank  dates  back  to  its 
organization,  when  he  was  chosen  teller  and  flve 
months  later,  in  July  of  1893  he  was  elected 
cashier,  in  which  responsible  position  he  remains 
at  the  present  time. 

The  genealogy  of  the  Morlock  family  shows 
German  lineage.  Jacob  and  Mary  (Ruehling) 
Morlock,  were  born  in  Germany,  but  at  early 
ages  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States.  For 
a  time  the  father  found  employment  in  Buffalo, 
New  York.  Later  he  spent  two  years  in  Fort 
Wayne,  Indiana.  From  there  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota and  took  up  land  in  Scott  county,  but  in 
1862  moved  into  the  village  of  Jordan  and  started 
a  meat  market.  Shortly  afterward  he  turned 
his  attention  to  the  buying  of  grain  and  stock, 
in  which  occupation  he  continued  for  thirty- 
eight  years.  At  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years  he 
is  now  living  at  Jordan,  retired  from  business 
activities.  Three  of  his  children,  Frederica, 
Louise  and  Henry,  also  reside  at  Jordan,  while 
the  third  child  and  older  son  makes  his  home  at 
Good  Thunder.  He  was  born  at  Jordan  August 
20,  1869,  and  received  his  education  in  the 
common  schools  of  that  village,  supplementing  the 
knowlege  there  acquired  by  a  course  of  study  in 
the  New  XJlm  college,  where  he  was  a  student 
for  one  year.  Since  leaving  college  he  has  been 
connected  with  the  bank. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Morlock  took  place  in 
1894  and  united  him  with  Rosalia  Juergues, 
daughter  of  F.  W.  and  Regina  (Schutz)  Juer- 
gues, who  settled  at  Shakopee,  Scott  county, 
Minnesota,  prior  to  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Juer- 
gues there  following  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith 
for  many  years.  Removing  to  Jordan  in  1880, 
he  invested  considerable  means  in  a  drug 
store,  of  which  his  son  was  the  manager. x  For 
fifteen  years  he  continued  in  the  drug*  business. 
Since  his  retirement  he  has  continued  to  make 
his  home  at  Jordan.  The  family  of  Mr.  and 
I\rrs.  ilorlock  comprises  three  children,  ^Marie 
R.,    Gertrude    A.    and    Wallace   J.,    who    arc    re- 


504 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


eeiving  excellent  educations  in  the  local  schools. 
Since  1894  Mr.  Moiiock  has  been  a  member  of 
the  school  board  of  Good  Thunder  and  mean- 
while has  accomplished  much  in  the  interests 
of  the  schools.  AVith  his  wife  he  holds  member- 
ship in  the  Evangelical  church  and  contributes 
t")  its  maintenance.  Ever  since  attaining  his 
majority  he  has  voted  with  the  Republican  party 
and  has  been  interested  in  its  success.  During 
1895  he  was  chosen  village  treasurer  and  ever 
since  that  time  he  has  continued  to  fill  the 
office,  the  bank  acting  as  the  depository  of 
the  funds  of  the  village.  Measures  for  the  up- 
building of  the  town  receive  his  stanch  and  in- 
telligent advocacy  and  he  has  accomplished 
much  in  promoting  the  welfare  and  prosperity 
of   the   community. 


MORRIS,    JACOB    COXRAD.— One    of    the 

most  interesting  and  instructive  farming  enter- 
prises in  Mapleton  township  is  that  owned  and 
managed  by  Jacob  Conrad  Morris,  located  one 
and  a  half  miles  west  of  Mapleton,  and  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres  in  extent.  This  formerly 
was  the  Shanbett  place,  and  under  its-  present 
ownership  many  important  changes  have  taken 
place  in  its  equipment  and  extension  of  inter- 
ests, also  in  its  conformity  to  the  best  accepted 
standards  of  landscape  effects  through  the  me- 
dium of  trees,  flowers  and  shrubs.  Many  fine 
apple  trees  yield  large  returns  in  exchange  for 
the  time  and  care  bestowed  upon  them,  and  a 
beautiful  grove  supplies  shelter  for  man  and 
beast  in  the  summer,  and  serves  as  a  break  when 
the  winds  howl  across  the  farm  lands.  All  of 
the  property  is  under  cultivation,  and  the  owner 
is  justly  proud- of  his  splendid  Percheron  horses. 
Shorthorn  and  Durham  cattle  and  Poland-China 
hogs.  He  also  is  much  interested  in  chicken 
culture,  preferring  Plymouth  Rock  and  Leghorn 
varieties,  and  is  very  successful  along  this  line. 
He  has  made  a  scientific  study  of  all  kinds  of 
stock,  and  his  farm  is  operated  with  scientific 
exactness  and  due  regard  for  economy  of  time 
and  labor  and  for  thirteen  years  he  has,  with 
his  own  means  kept  the  one-half  mile  of  high- 
way running  along  side  of  his  farm-  in  the  best 


of  shape,  until  now  for '  three  miles  out  from 
Mapleton  the  folks  have  gotten  together  and. 
keep  up  the  road,  making  it  the  best  road  going 
into  Mapleton. 

Mr.  Morris,  who  was  born  in  1856,  has  the 
distinction  of  being  the  first  white  child  born  in 
the  Taylor  colony,  and  the  first  fl'hite  boy  born 
in  Sterling  township,  of  Blue  Earth  county. 
His  father,  James  Morris,  was  a  successful 
farmer,  who  owned  land  and  was  unstinted  in 
his  appreciation  of  this  county  as  a  place  of  resi- 
dence. He  was  born  in  Arama,  Ireland,  in  1835, 
and  in  1846  he  was  married  to  Cristina  Harri- 
son. They  had  one  child  born  in  Ireland,  and 
lived  with  his  father,  who  ran  a  small  farm 
and  tavern,  half  way  between  Dublin  and  Dairj', 
until  1849,  when  he  came  to  this  country  and 
lived  in  New  York  three  years,  where  there  were 
three  children  born,  but  they  all  three  died  be- 
fore he  left  with  the  Taylor  colony  and  came  to 
Duluth,  Minnesota,  where  he "  purchased  a  yoke 
of  oxen  and  a  wagon,  a  cow,  two  pigs,  and  some 
chickens;  he  then  came  by  boat  tO'  Mankato, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death  in  1894.  He 
always  advised  his  sons  to  remain  here  as  long 
as  they  lived,  and  those  who  followed  his.  ad- 
vice have  found  that  it  was  to  their  distinct  ad- 
vantage. The  maternal  family  of  Harrison  is 
of  Scotch  origin,  early  forefathers  having  re- 
moved from  Scotland  to  the  north  of  Ireland  in 
1?20.  T^he  maternal  grandfather  was  a  miller 
l)y  occupation,  having  operated  a  mill  and  a 
thirty  acre  farm.  ilr.  ilorris  received  a  com- 
mon school  education,  to  which  foundation  he 
has  added  by  constant  reading  and  research.  He 
married  July  6th,  1885,  Cora  V.  Chandler, 
daughter  of  the  late  H.  M.  Chandler,  an  early 
settler  in  Blue  Earth  county,  and  a  farmer  for 
many  years  in  Sterling  township.  Pour  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morris; 
Frank  A.,  xVmy,  Mable  and  James.  Mr.  Morris 
is  in  no  sense  a  politician,  casting  his  vote  in- 
variably for  the  man  best  qualified  to  serve  the 
public  interests.  He  is  a  genial,  whole-souled 
man,  a  favorite  with  his  neighbors,  and  an  ex- 
ample of  the  thrifty,  energetic  and  practical 
American  farmer  of  the  early  part  of  the  twen- 
tieth century. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


505 


MOERIS,  JOHN  THOMAS.— The  Sterling 
Centre  stock  farm  in  Sterling  township  ranks 
among  the  finest  estates  in  Blue  Earth  county 
and^  it  may  be  added,  in  all  of  southern  ilinne- 
sota.  The  modern  and  attractive  residence  stands 
on  an  elevation  commanding  a  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  At  a  suitable  distance  from 
the  house  stand  the  five  barns  and  the  other  out- 
buildings necessary  for  the  storage  of  crops  and 
the  shelter  of  stock.  Each  building  has  been 
equipped  with  conveniences  so  as  to  facilitate 
the  work  incident  to  the  farm,  and  the  machin- 
ery as  well  shows  that  an  effort  is  made  to  re- 
duce to  a  minimum  the  amount  of  hand  labor 
needed.  Crops  adapted  to  the  soil  and  the  cli- 
mate are  grown  on  the  land,  all  of  which  is  un- 
der cultivation;  and  a  goodly  number  of  stock 
may  also  be  seen,  including  fine  Shorthorn  cattle, 
about  twenty  cows  of  milk-producing  strains,  a 
large  drove  of  Poland-China  hogs  and  about 
twenty  head  of  horses,  Percherons  and  Standard- 
bred  trotters  being  the  choice.  The  farm  com- 
prises four  hundred  and  twenty  acres  and  its 
soil  in  places  is  a  black  sandy  loam  with  a  depth 
of  more  than  four  feet.  An  abundant  supply  of 
water  is  furnished  by  means  of  a  hydraulic  ram. 

Born  in  the  city  of  Xew  York  December  15, 
1854,  John  Thomas  iforris  is  a  son  of  James 
and  Christina  (Harrison)  Morris,  natives  of  the 
north  of  Ireland.  During  the  year  1849  the 
father  came  to  America  and  settled  in  New  York 
City,  where  lie  secured  work  as  a  teamster.  When 
a  colony  was  organized  to  migrate  to  the  north- 
west in  1866  he  became  one  of  the  members  and 
accompanied  the  party  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  secured  a  claim  on  section  twelve.  Ster- 
ling township.  On  this  place  he  continued  to 
make  his  home  until  his  earthly  life  ended  in 
1893  at  the  age  of  sixty-nine  years.  Through 
the  long  period  of  ]iis  residence  here  he  proved 
himself  to  be  a  loyal  citizen  and  industrious 
farmer.  Personally  he  was  of  reserved  tempera- 
ment, retiring  in  disposition,  yet  kind-hearted  as 
is  the  custom  of  his  race,  and  willing  to  help 
anyone  in  distress  or  need  with  self-sacrificing 
generosity. 

Out  of  eleven  children  comprising  the  paren- 
tal family  seven  are  now  living.  Four  remain 
in   Blue   Earth   county,   viz:     J.    C,   James   A., 


John  Thomas,  and  Elizabeth,  Mrs.  D.  J\I.  Harri- 
man,  of  Mapleton.  Those  residing  elsewhere  are 
as  follows :  Abraham  L.,  now  at  Tenstrike,  Min- 
nesota; J.  W.,  who  makes  his  home  in  James- 
town, New  York;  and  Ada,  \^■ho  is  married  and 
resides  at  Canisteo,  New  A'ork.  When  the  family 
settled  in  Blue  Earth  county  John  Thomas  Mor- 
ris was  a  very  small  child,  hence  his  early  recol- 
lections are  associated  with  the  scenes  still  fa- 
miliar to  his  maturer  years.  At  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one he  left  the  old  homestead  and  began  to 
till  the  soil  of  a  farm  near  Mapleton.  In  1899 
he  bought  what  fl'as  then  known  as  the  old 
]\Iyron  N'rooman  place  in  Sterling  township  and 
here  he  has  since  made  his  home,  engaging  ex- 
tensively in  agricultural  pursuits.  On  his  farm 
is  located  the  Sterling  Co-operative  creamery,  in 
the  work  of  which  he  takes  a  warm  interest,  con- 
tributing of  his  influence  and  time  to  promote 
its  success  and  usefulness. 

The  marriage  of  ]\Ir.  Morris  took  place  October 
3,  1885,  and  united  him  with  Bupheuiia  Sharp, 
a  native  of  Scotland,  and  a  daughter  of  John 
Sharp,  who  came  to  Sterling  in  1874.  The  fam- 
ily consists  of  five  children  now  living ;  Eobert, 
James  Edward,  Enssell,  John  and  Jessie.  The 
fourtli  child,  Nellie,  was  taken  from  tlie  home  by 
deatli  in  lier  infancy. 


MOEEOW,  JOHN.— The  local  records  indi- 
cate that  the  first  house  erected  in  Beauford 
township  was  built  by  James  Jlorrow,  who  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county  as  early  as  18(14  and  put 
up  a  cabin  on  the  banks  o£  the  Big  Cobb  river. 
P>.\-  pre-emption  and  purchase  he  secured  the 
title  to  a  large  tract  of  land  and  here  he  engaged 
in  farming  pursuits  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1898.  Of  Canadian  birth  and  parent- 
age, he  had  passed  the  years  of  youth  in  his 
native  land  and  there  married  Jeanctte  Currie, 
who  died  four  years  after  his  demise.  On  leaving 
tlie  home  of  their  early  years  they  came  to  Min- 
nesota in  1863  and  settled  in  Winona  county, 
fl-hence  they  removed  to  Blue  Earth  county  the 
following  vear.  They  became  the  parents  of  ten 
children,  namely:  James,  a  farmer  residing  in 
the  northern  part  of  Beauford  township;  John, 
who  was  born  at  Perth,  Lanark  county,  Ontario, 


506 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Canada,  Xovember  1,  1847,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
leading  farmers  of  Beauford  township;  Jane; 
.Marj-;  Jeanette;  Angus;  Barbara,  deceased; 
William  and  Eobert,  both  of  whom  are  repre- 
sented else-\vhere  in  this  volume;  and  Maggie, 
now  deceased. 

The  early  recollections  of  John  Morrow  cluster 
around  the  village  of  Perth  in  Ontario.  When 
about  sixteen  years  of  age  he  accompanied  his 
parents  to  ilinnesota  and  aided  them  in  paying 
for  the  land  'Which  they  purchased.  Upon  start- 
ing out  for  himself  he  embarked  in  farming  in 
Beauford  township,  where  now  he  owns  two 
hundred  and  five  acres  of  land,  one  hundred 
acres  of  the  tract  being  under  the  plow.  The 
land  is  mostly  rented  to  others,  but  he  retains 
a  small  tract  for  his  own  use  and  is  interested 
in  raising  shorthorn  cattle  and  Poland-China 
hogs.  Here  he  has  lived  since  1876  and  the 
neat  house  which  he  occupies  lies  directly  across 
the  road  from  the  cabin  originally  put  up  by  his 
father  on  coming  to  the  county. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Morrow  took  plac£ 
in  1875  and  united  him  with  Annie  Uhlig, 
daughter  of  August  Uhlig.  Mrs.  Annie  Morrow 
died  in  1886  and  is  survived  by  three  children, 
namely :  John  C,  now  a  resident  of  St.  Louis 
count}',  Minnesota;  Jeanette,  who  married  J.  W. 
Oger,  a  farmer  of  Beauford  township;  and  Hat- 
tie.  The  second  wife  of  Mr.  Morrow  bore  the 
maiden  name  of  Eugenia  Leeb  and  died  in  1897, 
leaving  three  sons,  namely :  James  and  Lloyd, 
who  make  their  home  with  their  uncle,  Eobert 
Morrow;  and  Archie,  who  remains  with  his 
father.  Por  many  years  Mr.  Morrow  has  been 
prominent  in  the  public  life  of  his  township, 
where  he  has  held  ofEiee  as  assessor  and  constable. 
For  the  long  period  of  thirty-three  years  he  has 
served  as  treasurer  of  the  school  board,  and  dur- 
ing all  of  the  period  he  has  been  deeply  interested 
in  the  welfare  and  progress  of  the  sehools.  In 
fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with 
ilapleton  Lodge  Nc  138,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  at  Maple- 
ton,  and  in  religious  belief  he  is  of  the  Methodist 
faith.  Beginning  without  means,  he  deserves 
credit  for  attaining  a  position  of  financial  sta- 
bility in  his  community  and  for  giving  his  influ- 
ence to  all  movements  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
township. 


MOEEOAV,  EOBEET  HUGH.— The  names  of 
few  families  bear  a  more  intimate  association 
with  the  agricultural  development  of  Beauford 
township.  Blue  Earth  county,  than  does  that  of 
^lorrow,  whose  original  immigrant,  the  father 
of  the  present  generation  of  farmers,  put  up  the 
first  cabin  in  the  tofl-nship  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  was  connectel  with  almost  every 
movement  for  the  moral,  educational  and  agri- 
cultural progress  of  the  community.  Eeferenee 
to  the  family  history  will  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  volume  in  the  sketches  of  John  and  William 
^Morrow,  who  with  their  brother  Eobert  H.,  oc- 
cupy a  leading  position  among  the  farmers  of  the 
township.  The  family  came  from  Ontario,  Can- 
ada, where  Eobert  PI.  was  born  December  20, 
1861.  At  the  age  of  two  years  he  was  brought 
to  ]\Iinnesota  and  hence  his  earliest  recollections 
cluster  around  the  sights  and  scenes  in  this  then 
frontier  region.  As  a  boy  he  aided  in  placing  the 
homestead  under  cultivation  and  during  the  sum- 
mer months  gave  his  capable  assistance  in  the 
harvesting  of  the  crops,  while  in  the  winter  he 
was   a  pupil  in  the  neighboring  school. 

The  establishment  of  domestic  ties,  which  oc- 
curred in  1895,  united  Mr.  Morrow  with  Miss 
Emma  Hermann,  a  daughter  of  John  and  Sophia 
(Waterman)  Hermann,  natives  of  Prussia,  Ger- 
many, the  former  born  in  1831,  and  the  latter  in 
1842.  Upon  starting  out  to  earn  his  own  way 
in  the  world  Mr.,  Hermann  came  to  the  United 
States  and  settled  in  Blue  Island,  Illinois,  where 
he  married  Miss  Waterman.  During  1864  he 
became  a  pioneer  of  ilinnesota  and  took  up  a 
tract  of  raw  land,  to  the  development  of  which 
he  gave  his  industrious  attention  for  a  long 
period  of  years.  Upon  retiring  from  agricultural 
cares  he  removed  to  Mapleton,  this  county,  where 
he  now  makes  his  home.  Of  his  nine  children 
all  but  two  are  still  living.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morrow 
have  no  children  of  their  own,  but  adopted  a 
daughter,  Margaret,  and  also  have  given  a  home 
and  aflfectionate  care  to  the  two  motherless  sons 
of  John  Morrow.  A  sister,  who  owns  an  interest 
in  the  homestead,  also  resides  with  them. 

The  old  homestead,  which  Mr.  Morrow  occu- 
pies and  operates,  comprises  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  of  land,  the  greater  portion  of  which 
is  under  the  plow,  the  balance  being  utilized  for 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


507 


the  pasturage  of  Shorthorn  cattle.  Besides  his 
iine  cattle  Mr.  Morrow  is  making  a  specialty  of 
Poland-China  hogs  and  has  won  deserved  suc- 
cess with  this  popular  breed  of  swine.  Since  'nc 
acquired  the  property  he  has  made  a  number  of 
improvements^  chief  among  which  has  been  the 
building  of  a  barn.  It  has  been  his  aim  to  put 
up  substantial  fences  and  considerable  work  of 
that  nature  has  been  accomplished  under  his  su- 
pervision. Devoting  his  attention  to  farming 
with  unwavering  energy,  he  has  had  neither  leis- 
ure nor  inclination  to  participate  in  public  af- 
fairs and  has  held  no  positions  except  school  of- 
fices, nor  has  he  taken  any  part  in  politics  aside 
from  voting  the  Eepublican  ticket.  In  religious 
connections  he  and  his  wife  are  believers  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  United  Brethren  church. 


MOEEOW,  WILLIAM.— The  early  recollec- 
tions of  William  Morrow  are  associated  with  the 
ftate  of  Minnesota,  but  Canada  is  his  native 
land,  his  birth  having  occurred  in  the  province 
of  Ontario  February  12,  18G0.  Wlien  he  was 
three  years  of  age  he  was  brought  to  the  United 
States  by  his  parents,  James  and  Jeanette 
(Currie)  Morrow,  and  in  1864  the  family  set- 
tled in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  the  father 
built  the  first  house  in  Beauford  township.  The 
oiiginal  caljin  stood  across  the  road  from  where 
now  may  be  seen  the  comfortable  country  home 
of  John  Morrow,  one  of  the  older  sons  in  the 
family.  Eight  of  the  ten  children  survive,  Bar- 
bara and  Maggie  being  deceased.  The  eighth  in 
order  of  birth  was  William,  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  article  and  whose  education  was  se- 
cured in  the  country  schools  of  this  county.  The 
years  of  boyhood  and  youth  he  passed  unevent- 
fully in  the  schoolroom  and  on  the  farm,  and 
after  he  had  attained  manliood  he  started  out  to 
earn  his  own  way  as  a  farmer. 

The  marriage  of  William  Morrow  and  Nellie 
S.  Taylor  was  solemnized  in  1888,  and  has  been 
blessed  by  one  child,  Agnes,  who  was  born  April 
2",  1898.  Mrs.  Morrow  is  a  daughter  of  Eob- 
crt  Taylor,  concerning  whom  mention  is  made 
in  the  sketch  of  T.  B.  Taylor  elsewhere  in  this 
volume.  Through  diligent  application  and  wise 
judgment   Mr.   jMorrow  has  become  the  owner  of 


four  hundred  and  fifteen  acres  of  land.  Fifteen 
acres  lie  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Maple- 
ton  in  Beauford  township.  The  large  farm  is 
improved  with  neat  buildings  and  fences,  and 
every  facility  has  been  provided  for  the  prompt 
and  sytematic  discharge  of  farm  work.  Upon 
retiring  from  the  personal  management  of  the 
land  Mr.  Morrow^  moved  into  Mapleton  in  ISHU 
and  here  he  has  an  attractive  residence  bearing 
modern  improvements.  During  the  summer  af- 
ter his  removal  into  town  he  sold  machinery  and 
in  1906  he  began  to  buy  wheat  for  the  Mapleton 
Milling  Company.  He  is  too  young  a  man  to 
enjoy  complete  retirement  from  business  activ- 
ities and  hence  we  find  him,  although  no  longer 
on  the  farm,  interesting  himself  in  everything 
that  makes  for  the  improvement  of  the  farm 
lands  of  the  county  or  for  the  upbuilding  of  the 
village. 

It  has  been  Mr.  ilorrow's  custoju  for  years  to 
keep  posted  concerning  political  issues  and  he 
has  given  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican  party 
after  carefully  weighing  the  platforms  of  the  va- 
rious political  organizations.  In  his  opinion 
the  principles  of  the  Eepublican  party  will  best 
conserve  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  At  one 
time  he  was  chosen  to  act  as  assessor  of  Beauford 
township,  but  with  that  exception  he  has  not 
been  personally  identified  with  local  affairs. 
Through  all  of  his  life  he  has  endeavored  to 
exe]nplify  the  doctrines  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  of  which  he  is  a  consistent  mem1)er,  and 
ho  has  further  striven  to  live  iip  to  the  lofty 
principles  of  brotherhood  as  enunciated  by  the 
jMasonie  fraternity.  In  the  latter  organization  he 
holds  membership  with  ^Mapleton  Lodge  Xo.  128, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  maintains  a  warm  interest 
in  the  activities  of  the  order. 


JMOUNTAIN,  JAMES.— The  farm  in  Lyra 
township  upon  whicli  ifr.  Mountain  has  made 
his  home  since  187?  embraces  two  hundred  and 
seventy  acres  of  fertile  land,  bearing  excellent 
improvements  and  brought  under  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  The  neat  appearance  of  the  prop- 
erty is  attributed  to  the  energy  of  the  man  who 
has  been  its  owner  for  thirty-one  years.  Under 
his    supervision    all    of    the    improvements    have 


508 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


been  made  and  he  has  been  especially  careful 
to  maintain  the  fertility  of'  the  soil  by  means 
of  proper  methods  of  fertilization  and  by  a  sys- 
tematic rotation  of  crops.  The  annual  harvests 
bring  him  fair  returns  for  his  care  and  cultiva- 
tion. A  portion  of  the  crops  is  sold  in  the  mar- 
kets and  the  balance  is  fed  to  the  stock,  which 
includes  graded  cattle  and  hogs.  A  special  fea- 
ture is  also  made  of  the  breeding  of  French 
coach  horses. 

Born  in  Washington  count}-,  Wisconsin,  June 
28,  1846,  James  ilountain  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Ann  (Flynn)  Mountain,  the  father  a  na- 
tive of  the  United  States,  the  mother  born  in 
Ireland,  but  living  in  this  country  after  IS^J. 
For  a  time  he  followed  railroading  in  his  early 
manhood,  but  later  he  devoted  his  time  wholly 
to  farming  pursuits.  Early  in  the  40's  he  be- 
came a  pioneer  of  Washington  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  took  -up  a  tract  of  raw  land  from  the 
government  which  he  converted  into  a  productive 
tract.  During  the  year  1868  he  removed  to 
Minnesota  and  settled  in  Lyra  township,  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  he  died  in  1900.  His  wife 
passed  away  in  190^  at  the  age  of  more  than 
ninety  years.  In  politics  he  always  voted  with 
the  Democratic  party.  His  tastes  were  averse 
to  public  affairs  and  he  never  consented  to  hold 
office. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  the 
common  schools,  James  Mountain  was  sent  for 
one  year  to  the  Wisconsin  State  University  at 
iladison  and  after\^•ard  took  up  agricultural  pur- 
suits in  his  native  county.  During  1876  he 
married  Catherine  Gaynor,  a  daughter  of  Pat- 
rick and  iMary  (Coughlan)  Gaynor,  natives  of 
Ireland,  and  pioneers  of  Washington  county, 
Wisconsin,  where  they  settled  the  same  year  with 
the  family  of  William  Mountain.  From  Wis- 
consin they  came  to  Minnesota  during  the  year 
1877  and  settled  in  Lyra  township,  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  the  father  died  in  1900.  The 
mother  had  passed  away  in  1886.  All  of  their 
eight  children  are  living  excepting  one.  In  the 
family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mountain  there  are 
six  children,  namely :  William  J.,  who  received 
his  education  in  the  Mankato  State  Normal  and 
is  now  engaged  in  mining  at  Xome,  Alaska;  M. 
Cecelia,    who    was    graduated    from    the    Normal 


and  is  now  the  wife  of  John  E.  Flynn,  a  banker 
at  Park  Eapids,  Minnesota;  Edwin  J.,  who  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  Normal;  Louella,  a 
graduate  of  the  Normal  at  iMankato;  Lillian  and 
Rose,  "who  like  the  older  children  are  being 
given  excellent  educational  advantages.  It  has 
been  the  ambition  of  the  parents  to  prepare  their 
cliildren  for  -whatever  responsibilities  may  await 
them  and  they  have  spared  no  pains  in  giving 
ti-iem  the  best  opportunities  their  means  afEord. 
The  Roman  Catholic  church  represents  the  re- 
ligious viefl-s  of  the  family  and  they  have  been 
generous  in  promoting  its  maintenance  and  philan- 
tliropies.  In  politics  Mr.  Mountain  votes  with 
the  Democratic  party  and  has  kept  posted  con- 
cerning the  issues  before  our  nation.  During 
the  year  1890  he  was  selected  to  serve  as  county 
commissioner.  The  other  township  offices  he  has 
filled  with  care  and  fidelity,  including  the  offices 
of  supervisor  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
township  trustees. 


:\IOUNTAIN,  JOHN.— While  only  a  small 
proportion  of  the  citizens  of  Blue  Earth  county 
trace  their  lineage  to  Ireland,  those  who  possess 
Irish  ancestry  display  in  their  lives  a  cheerful 
acceptance  of  circumstances,  a  willingness  to 
make  the  best  of  adverse  surroundings,  and  a 
persistent  application  that  in  the  end  rewards 
them  with  a  fair  degree  of  success.  In  this 
class  mention  belongs  to  the  ilountain  family 
of  Blue  Earth  county,  whose  present  representa- 
ti\es  are  among  the  most  energetic  and  resource- 
ful farmers  of  their  various  communities.  A 
record  of  the  family  in  brief  outline  appears  in 
the  sketch  of  James  Mountain,  a  brother  of 
John  and  a  son  of  William  Mountain,  who  dur- 
ing 186-8  settled  in  Lyra  township  and  there 
remained  until  his  death  in  1900.  The  wife 
and  mother  died  seven  years  later. 

A  native  of  Washington  county,  Wisconsin, 
John  ilo'antain  grew  to  manhood  in  the  place 
of  his  birth,  receiving  only  a  meagre  education 
and  at  an  early  age  became  self-supporting. 
Farming  was  his  chosen  occupation  and  he  re- 
mained on  a  farm  in  Washington  county  for  a 
considerable  period.  Five  years  after  his  brother 
James   settled    in   Blue    Earth    county   he   came 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


509 


to  ■  this  part  of  jMinne'sota  and  took  up  a  tract 
of  raw  land,  where  he  became  interested  in  gen- 
eral farming.  In  1883  he  married  Bridget 
O'Connor,  daughter  .of  David  and  Johanna 
(Gleason)  O'Connor,  natiycs  of  Ireland,  hut  at 
early  ages  emigrants  to  the  United  States,  set- 
tling first  in  Washington  county,  \VisconsiTi. 
From  there  they  removed  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
ilinnesota,  and  about  1873  took  up  land  in 
Beauford  township,  where  ]\Ir.  O'Connor  passed 
away.  Later  his  widow  made  her  home  with  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  ilountain,  until  her  death.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Mountain,  namely:  Mary  A.,  who  married  Will- 
iam Weir,  a  fanner  of  Lyra  township;  David 
J.,  Cartherinc,  William  L.,  Joanna  B.,  Francis 
(deceased),  Gertrude  E.,  :\rartha  E.  and  Lorettai 
A.  The  children  have  been  educated  in  the 
county  schools  and  have  been  trained  in  the 
faith  of  the  Eoman  Catholic  church,  with  which 
their  parents  are  identified. 

The  farm  owned  and  operated  by  John  jMoun- 
tain  lies  in  Lyra  township  and  comprises  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  acres,  of  which  two  hun- 
dred acres  are  under  the  plow.  Stock  on  the 
place  include  Xorman  horses,  (Shorthorn  cattle 
and  Poland-China  hogs,  in  each  of  which  only 
good  grades  are  kept.  A  neat  house  furnishes  a 
comfortable  home  for  the  family.  A  substantial 
barn  and  other  buildings  add  to  the  equipment 
of  the  homestead  and  furnish  needed  conven- 
iences for  the  care  of  the  stock.  Since  coming 
here  iff  1882  Mr.  Mountain  has  worked  with  un- 
tiring zeal  and  has  wrought  a  transformation  in 
the  appearance  of  the  property  which  speaks 
eloquently  of  his  industry  and  thrift.  The  fine 
grove  of  maple  and  willow  trees  was  set  out  by 
himself  years  ago  and  now  furnishes  a  wind- 
break that  is  ornamental  as  well  as  useful.  In 
politics  he  always  has  voted  the  Democratic 
ticket.  For  four  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Lyra  township  and  for  a 
long  period  he  served  as  school  clerk,  being  will- 
ing at  all  times  to  aid  movements  for  the  general 
welfare  of  the  community  and  particularly  for 
the  building  up  of  good  roads  and  good  schools. 

MOUNTAIN.   P.    H.— While   having   the   ad- 
vantage of  receiving  aid  from  his  father  in  se- 


curing a  start  in  agricultural  affairs,  yet  the 
large  holdings  of  ^^Ir.  ^Mountain  have  come  prin- 
cipally through  his  own  exertions,  and  by  dint  of 
energy,  perseverance  and  wise  judgment  he  has 
risen  to  a  position  among'  the  large  land-owners 
of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  owns  and  op- 
erates a  farm  in  Lyra  townsliip.  Born  in  Wash- 
ington county,  AA'isconsin.  Xovcmber  24,  1854, 
he  was  a  son  of  William  and  Ann  (Flynn) 
Mountain,  pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county,  and 
the  parents  of  children  who  have  been  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  development  of  this 
county.  The  family  removed  here  from  Wiscon- 
sin in  an  early  da}-,  the  son,  P.  H.,  having  re- 
ceived previously  a  fair  education  "in  the  com- 
mon schools  of  his  childhood  '  home.  During 
1882  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  ]\Iiss  Alice 
Belson,  daughter  of  John  and  Bridget  (Carey) 
Belson,  natives  of  Ireland,  but  immigrants  to 
the  United  States  and  pioneers  of  Washington 
county,  Wisconsin,  where  they  remained  until 
death. 

The  family  of  Mr.  and  ]\frs.  Mountain  com- 
prises twelve  children,  all  of  whoni  are  yet  at 
home  and  are  being  given  the  best  educational 
advantages  within  the  means  of  the  parents. 
They  are  named  as  follows:  William  J.,  Ed- 
ward F.,  Len,  ilichael  J.,  Catherine  M.,  Cecelia, 
Theresa,  Madeline,  Theodore,  Arthur  and  Eve- 
lyn. Ever  since  coming  to  this  county  from 
Wisconsin  ^Fr.  ^Mountain  has  remained  on  the 
same  farm,  it  being  the  old  homestead  originally 
purchased  bv  his  parents  after  their  arrival  in 
Lyra  township.  At  this  writing  he  is  the  owner 
of  six  hundred  acres,  of  which  five  hundred 
acres  are  under  the  plow  and  twenty-five  acres 
are  in  heavy  timber,  the  balance  being  utilized 
for  pasturage  of  Shorthorn  cattle  and  other 
stock.  A  specialty  of  the  owner  is  the  raising 
of  Poland-Cliina  hogs.  The  greater  part  of  the 
large  tract  is  operated  bv  the  owner  with  the 
assistance  of  his  sons,  only  a  small  portion  oi 
the  estate  being  rented  out  to  others.  Of  recent 
years  a  number  of  valuable  improvements  have 
been  made.  The  house  is  neat  and  comfortable, 
the  barns  substantial  and  the  other  buildings 
well  adapted  to  their  several  purjioses.  the  whole 
forming  an  estate  that  may  well  be  the  own- 
er's pride. 


510 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Eeared  in  the  faith  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
denomination,  Mr.  ilountain  always  has  been 
stanch  in  his  adherence  to  the  doctrines  of  that 
church  and  has  contributed  generously  to  its 
charities.  In  politics  he  votes  independently, 
giving  bib  support  to  candidates  whom  he  con- 
siders best  qualified  to  represent  the  interests  of 
the  people.  For  several  years  he  has  filled  the 
office  of  school  director  and  meanwhile  has  been 
a  stanch  supporter  of  movements  for  the  benefit 
of  the  schools  of  his  district.  Fraternal  or- 
ganizations do  not  appeal  to  his  tastes  and  he 
has  never  become  identified  with  any,  finding  in 
his  farm,  his  cliurcli  and  his  community  a  suffi- 
cient outlet  for  his  energies.  Among  the  people 
of  the  neighborhood  he  is  considered  a  thrifty 
farmer  and  capable  citizen. 


?tIf)I'XTAIX,  WILLIAJl.— One  of  the  large 
and  well-improvtd  farms  of  Lyra  township  be- 
longs to  William  j\[nuntain,  wlio  for  a  long 
period  has  made  his  home  on  the  place  and  to 
whose  energetic,  judicious  efforts  may  be  at- 
tributed the  neat  appearance  of  the  homestead 
as  well  as  its  profitable  cultivation.  The  farm 
consists  of  four  hundred  acres,  all  -ivithin  the 
limits  nf  the  township  and  near  the  village  of 
Good  Thunder.  At  the  time  of  the  location 
here  of  the  jiresent  owner  the  land  was  in  almost 
the  primeval  condition  of  nature,  few  attempts 
having  been  made  to  till  the  soil  hitherto.  Un- 
der his  o\'ersight  buildings  have  been  put  up, 
fences  have  been  placed  where  needed,  a  sys- 
tematic rotation  of  crops  has  been  adopted,  and 
satisfactory  rtsults  have  been  secured.  In  stock 
a  specialty  has  been  made  of  Shorthorn  cattle 
and   Poland-China  hogs. 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1847,  William  Mountain 
was  born  on  a  farm  in  Washington  county,  Wis- 
consin, being  a  son  of  William  and  Margaret 
(Flynn)  j\liiuntain,  natives  of  county  Cork,  Ire- 
land, and  emigrants  to  the  United  States  during 
their  early  life.  The  family  settled  among  the 
pioneers  of  Washington  county,  Wisconsin,  and 
there  the  mother  died  in  1S6G.  Surviving  her 
are  the  father  (now  ninety-five  years  of  age) 
and  five  children,  William,  Margaret,  David,  Ed- 
ward and  Ann.     The  first-named  received  a  com- 


mon-school education  in  Washington  county  and 
at  an  early  age  gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
tilling  the  soil  under  the  oversight  of  his  father. 
When  he  arrived  at  man's  estate  he  started  out 
to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world  and  during 
ISTO  arrived  in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years.  Eeturning  to  Wisconsin 
he  spent  three  years  there  and  then  again  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county,  this  time  as  a  permanent 
settler.  AYhile  back  in  Wisconsin  he  married 
Winifred  Shannon,  who  died  in  Blue  Earth 
coi.nty,  leaving  three  children,  James,  Mary  A. 
and  Margaret.  Later  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  IMary  Garvey,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Johanna  (O'Connell)  Garvey,  natives  of  Ireland 
and  for  many  years  farmers  .  of  Washington 
county,  Wisconsin.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr. 
Mountain  was  blessed  with  six  children,  all  liv- 
ing, namely:  Hannah,  Thomas,  Winifred,  Wal- 
ter, ]\Iathew  and  Lloyd.  The  family  are  believ- 
ers in  the  doctrines  of  the  Eoman  Catholic 
church  and  have  been  generous  contributors  to 
the  charities  of  the  denomination.  For  many 
years  Mr.  Jlountain  has  held  school  offices  and 
meanwhile  he  has  been  warmly  interested  in 
all  movements  for  the  advancement  of  the  dis- 
trict schools.  Politically  he  has  been  stanch 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party  and 
always  has  given  his  ballot  and  influence  to  its 
men    and    measures. 


MUELLEE,  LEWIS  P.— For  more  than  fifty 
years  the  farm  on  section  twenty-six,  Lime  town- 
sliip,  now  owned  by  Lewis  P.  ^tueller,  has  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  family.  The  eventful 
year  of  IS.Ki,  which  witnes'^ed  the  arrival  of 
many  of  the  pioneers  later  prominent  in  the  his- 
tory of  Blue  Earth  count}-,  brought  hither  Philip 
^fueller,  who  secured  the  land  through  pre- 
emption and  gave  his  attention  to  transforming 
the  wild  tract  into  a  productive  property.  In 
this  his  efforts  were  sucessful.  Industry  and  in- 
telligent tilling  of  the  soil  brought  him  a  fair 
degree  of  prosperity.  His  quiet  but  useful  life 
afforded  another  illustration  of  the  thrift  and 
energy  of  our  German-American  citizenship. 
Born  in  Germany  January  9,  1829,  he  received  a 
fair  education  in  his  native  language  and  grew 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


511 


to  manhood  sturdy,  self-reliant  and  economical. 
In  1856,  three  3'ears  after  his  arrival  in  the 
United  States,  he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
Minnesota,  Joining  the  small  colony  of  pioneers 
ambitious  to  develop  this  section  of  the  country. 
During  October  of  1863  he  married  Augusta 
Liedloff,  who  was  born  in  Germany  ilarch  19, 
1846,  and  at  the  age  of  about  one  year  was 
brought  to  America,  but  did  not  come  to  Blue 
Earth  county  until  the  early  part  of  the  year 
1863.  After  their  marriage  they  settled  on  the 
claim,  which  was  then  a  wilderness.  The  ensu- 
ing years  were  filled  with  toil,  but  brought  in- 
creasing success  and  eventually  they  were  enabled 
to  retire  from  active  labors,  having  accumulated 
a  competency.  In  1890  they  removed  to  Man- 
kato,  where  the  father  died  ^STovember  3,  1906; 
since  his  death  the  mother  has  continued  to 
make  this  city  her  home. 

There  were  thirteen  children  in  the  Mueller 
family,  but  only  two  are  now  living,  namely: 
Adolph  and  Lewis  P.  The  last  named  was  born 
on  the  farm  where  he  still  lives.  After  having 
completed  the  studies  of  the  district  schools,  he 
entered  the  Mankato  State  Normal  School  and 
continued  there  until  his  graduation  in  1888. 
Two  years  later  he  began  to  teach  school  and 
for  three  years  he  continued  successfully  in  that 
work,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  old  home- 
stead and  took  up  the  work  of  an  agriculturist. 
October  38,  1902,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Elizabeth  Oehler,  who  was  born  in  Blue 
Earth  county  September  13,  1883,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  Adolph  and  Mary  (Schell)  Oehler.  The 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mueller  has  been  blessed 
with  two  children,  namely :  L.  Inez,  born  De- 
cember 6,  1903;  and  M.  Harold,  March  30,  1907. 
Ever  since  attaining  his  majority  Mr.  Mueller 
has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  Eepublican  prin- 
ciples and  never  fails  to  give  the  party  the  sup- 
port of  his  franchise,  but  at  no  time  has  he 
sought  political  positions,  his  interest  being  that 
of  a  public-spirited  citizen,  not  a  partisan  or 
politician.  Without  solicitation  on  his  part  in 
1907  he  was  chosen  to  fill  the  office  of  treasurer 
of  Lime  township,  and  this  position  he  fills  with 
efficiency.  In  addition  for  the  past  six  or  more 
years  he  has  filled  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace.     In    fraternal    relations    he    is    identified 


with  Madison  Lake  Lodge  No.  375,  A.  -0.  U.  W. 
Among  the  people  of  the  township  he  and  his 
wife  have  a  large  circle  of  friends,  who  repose 
ithe  highest  confidence  in  their  integrity,  hospi- 
tality and  fine  characters. 


:\IUEPHY,  JOHN.— The  fact  that  he  has 
risen  to  a  position  among  the  most  prosperous 
farmers  of  Garden  City  township  proves  Mr. 
ilurphy  to  be  a  man  of  considerable  native  abil- 
ity, for  he  had  no  advantages  whatever  in  youth. 
Born  in  Ireland  in  1840,  he  was  of  humble 
parentage  and  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  earn 
his  own  livelihood  from  childhood,  so  that  he 
had  no  educational  advantages  whatever.  His 
parents,  Patrick  and  Bridget  (ilaroney)  ^^lurph)', 
were  natives  of  Ireland  and  came  to  the  United 
States  when  their  son  was  quite  small.  The 
father  secured  employment  in  slate  quarries  in 
the  east,  but  wages  were  small  and  the  struggle 
to  provide  the  necessities  of  life  for  the  family 
was  unusually  severe.  Before  he  had  conquered 
poverty  he  died  in  Brooklyn;  hifi  wife  passed 
away  at  Eochester,   New  York. 

As  already  intimated,  John  ]\rurphy  was  self- 
supporting  at  an  age  when  most  boys  are  pupils 
in  school.  ;Vny  occupation  that  offered  an  honest 
livelihood  was  eagerly  grasped,  and  early  and 
late  he  labored  for  others.  For  a  short  time  he 
was  employud  in  a  store  at  Lyons,  New  York. 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  was  in  sympathy 
with  the  cause  of  the  Union  and  soon  offered  his 
services  in  behalf  of  his  adopted  country.  Dur- 
ing January  of  1863  he  was  accepted  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  New 
York  Infantry,  which  in  1864  was  consolidated 
with  the  Ninety-fourth  New  York  Eegiment. 
During  the  period  of  his  service  he  was  with  his 
regiment  at  the  front  and  participated  in  many 
of  the  most  decisive  battles  of  the  war,  among 
them  being  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Eun, 
South  IMountain,  Slaughter  Mou.ntain,  Antie- 
tam,  Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg.  Peters- 
burg and  Appomattox.  While  fighting  at  Gettys- 
burg he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  but 
later  was  sent  to  the  parole  camp,  where  he  re- 
mained for  some  five  months,  when  his  exchange 
was  effected,   and  he  returned  to  the  regiment. 


51! 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  rmistered  out  at 
Washington,  where  he  participated  in  the  grand 
review. 

Immediately  after  receiving  an  honorable  dis- 
charge from  the  army  Mr.  Murphy  came  to  Min- 
nesota and  in  August  of  1865  became  a  resident 
of  Blue  Earth  county,  where  ever  since  he  has 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  owning  a  well- 
improved  tract  of  land  in  Garden  City  township, 
on  rural  route  Xo.  2,  out  from  Lake  Crystal. 
His  neat  cottage  is  presided  over  by  Mrs. 
ilurphy,  formerly  ]\Iiss  Eachel  Pedwin,  whom  he 
married  in  1ST8.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
daixghtcrs.  The  family  attend  the  Baptist  church 
at  Lake  Crystal  and  contribute  to  its  mainte- 
nance. For  years  Mr.  Murphy  has  been  an  in- 
terested worker  in  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Ee- 
public,  holding  membership  with  A.  T.  Murphy 
Post  No.  108,  at  Lake  Crystal,  and  sharing  with 
the  other  members  the  pleasure  of  frequent  re- 
unions around  the  camp-fire,  where  stories  are 
told  of  thrilling  events  connected  with  their  ser- 
vice in  the  south  during  the  war. 


NAYLOE,  JAMES.— When  reflecting  upon 
the  agricultural  progress  of  Minnesota  Mr.  ISTay- 
lor  may  well  say,  "All  of  which  I  saw  and  part 
of  which  I  was."'  More  than  fifty  years  have 
come  and  gone  since  he  arrived  in  what  was  then 
the  frontier  region  of  the  United  States.  In- 
dians stili  molested  the  white  settlers  and  on 
more  than  one  occasion  he  has  shouldered  his 
rifle  and  gone  forth  to  fight  the  savages.  It  was 
during  18.56  that  he  landed  in  Minnesota  and 
six  years  later  he  enlisted  as  a  volunteer  in  the 
Union  army,  being  accepted  as  a  private  in  Com- 
pany A,  Tenth  Minnesota  Infantry,  assigned  to 
the  army  of  the  west,  and  later  transferred  to 
the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  army  of  the  south. 
His  service  in  the  war  covered  a  period  of  three 
3'ears  and  fourteen  davs  and  came  to  an  end 
with  the  close  of  the  contest,  when  he  was 
granted  an  honorable  discharge.  After  he  en- 
listed his  first  battle  was  with  the  Indians  at 
Devil's  lake  in  Minnesota,  and  later  he  took  part 
in  the  battles  at  Nashville,  Tupelo,  and  other 
points  in  the  south,  but  sickness  forced  him  to 
remain  in  a  hospital  at  Memphis  for  six  months 


and  in  the  battles  of  that  period  he  had  no  part. 
As  a  soldier  he  proved  efficient,  courageous  and 
quick  to  grasp  military  tactics,  and  he  served  his 
adopted  country  faithfully  and  well. 

Born  in  Lincolnshire,  England,  October  31, 
181-2,  James  Naylor  is  a  son  of  John  and  Eliza- 
beth (Eux)  Naylor  natives  of  the  same  shire  as 
himself  and  emigrants  therefrom  to  America 
during  the  year  1850.  Their  first  location  was 
on  a  tract  of  land  in  Cook  county,  Illinois,  near 
Chicago.  During  1856  they  brought  their  chil- 
dren to  Minnesota  and  took  up  a  claim' in  Steele 
coanty,  where  afterward  they  engaged  in  devel- 
oping and  improving  a  farm.  On  that  place  the 
wife  and  mother  died  in  1899  and  the  father  in 
190.3.  They  were  parents  of'  eight  children, 
namely:  John,  Edward,  George,  Mary,  James, 
Elizabeth,  William  and  Arthur.  When  the  fam- 
ily came  to  the  United  States  James  was  about 
eight  years  old  and  he  was  fourteen  at  the  time 
of  arriving  in  Minnesota,  where  he  has  since 
made  his  home. 

The  marriage  of  .James  Kaylor  took  place  Au- 
gust 7,  1867,  and  united  him  with  Carrie  Bur- 
gess, daughter  of  Joshua  Burgess,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts  and  a  pioneer  of  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty, Minnesota,  where  he  followed  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter.  On  account  of  the  failure  of  his 
health  he  went  west  and  traveled  in  the  hope 
that  he  might  be  benefited  by  the  change,  but  the 
hope  proved  futile  and  he  died  while  stopping 
in  Salt  Lake  City.  Mr.  and  ^Irs.  ISTaylor  have 
three  children.  The  eldest  child,  Herbert,  mar- 
ried Myrtle  Eemick  and  makes  his  home  in  Min- 
neapolis, where  he  is  employed  as  a  bridge  car- 
penter. The  second  son,  E.  J.,  who  married 
Alice  Croswell,  now  has  charge  of  the  home  farm. 
The  only  daughter.  Myrtle,  was  educated  in  the 
]\rankato  State  ISTormal  and  now  is  engaged  in 
teaching  school  in  ISTorth  Dakota. 

After  many  years  of  residence  in  another  part 
of  Minnesota  Mr.  Na^dor  came  to  Blue  Earth 
county  in  1887  and  now  owns  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  in  Eapidan  township,  of  which  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  are  under  the  plow.  The  at- 
tractive residence,  erected  by  the  present  owner, 
is  sheltered  by  a  grove  of  forest  trees  and  pre- 
Lscnts  an  appearance  of  refinement  and  thrift. 
The  land  is  under  excellent  cultivation  and  bears 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


513 


valuable  improvements,  all  made  by  Mr.  Naylor, 
who  deserves  to  be  classed  among  the  progressive 
men  of  his  township.  For  years  he  has  been 
connected  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic 
at  Mankato.  In  polities  he  is  a  Eepublican.  In- 
terest in  local  affairs  led  him  to  accept  the  offices 
of  overseer  of  the  roads  and  school  director,  and 
the  movements  toward  good  roads  and  good 
schools  have  in  him  a  firm  friend  and  intelligent 
champion. 


XEILSEX,  XEIL.— The  landscape  gardeners 
art  ever  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most 
satisfying  of  the  creative  industries  of  man.. 
The  lover  of  nature  knoMs  that  his  opportunities 
are  boundless,  and  his  work  one  which  always  is 
appreciated  bv  the  majority  of  his  kind.  Sluch 
tliat  is  noble  must  live  in  the  heart  of  a  man  who 
thus  is  permitted  to  spend  his  days  in  close  com- 
panionship with  liis  flowers,  shruljs  and  the  vistas 
of  distance  whieli  he  is  able  to  create.  One  finds 
the  truth  of  this  assertion  in  Neil  Xeilsen,  who, 
though  a  companative  newcomer  to  ^fankato,  has 
made  his  influence  felt  through  his  success  as  a 
florist   and  gardener.' 

Practically  all  of  Mr.  Xeilseu"s  life  has  been 
spent  in  an  atmosphere  of  flowers,  and  their  care 
and  propogation  w^as  the  keynote  of  the  industry 
which  prevailed  in  the  home  in  Denmark,  wliere 
he  was  born  February  24,  18GG.  His  father, 
Christian  Xeilsen,  was  an  ardent  devotee  of  flow- 
ers and  plants  and  shrubs,  and  his  entire  active 
life  was  spent  in  developing  and  selling  them. 
Under  his  wise  direction  the  son  grew  in  knowl- 
edge of  the  fascinating  industry,  flnally  succeed- 
ing to  the  management  of  the  paternal  business. 
Thrifty  as  are  his  people  as  a  nation,  he  lived 
within  his  means,  saved  a  little,  and  in  1891 
established  a  home  of  his  own,  marrying  Chris- 
tiana Petersen,  a  native  also  of  Denmark.  The 
young  people  came  to  America  during  the  fall 
following  their  marriage,  and  ^[r.  Xeil^on  se- 
lected Chicago  as  a  ])nssible  field  fm-  liis  future 
life  work.  For  five  years  he  was  employed  by 
various  gardeners  and  florists,  and  his  ability  and 
knowledge  received  ample  recognition,  especially 
when  the  World's  Fair  was  in  process  of  build- 
ing,   when   he    served    three   years    in    the   land- 


scape department.  He  next  went  to  St.  Paul, 
Minnesota,  and  was  employed  by  a  leading  flor- 
ist, in  1901  coming  to  ]\Iankato,  which  since  has 
been  his  home. 

In  Mankato  Jlr.  Xeilsen  bought  the  green- 
houses establishel  more  than  thirty  years  ago 
by  Herman  Lorentz,  and  located  on  the  corner 
of  State  and  Marshall  streets.  In  the  meantime 
he  has  greatly  enlarged  their  capacity,  and  his 
space  now  is  represented  by  aljout  eight  thousand 
feet  of  glass.  He  is  engaged  in  a  large  trade 
throughout  the  county,  sending  to  many  distant 
towns  cut  flowers  and  potted  plants,  as  well  as 
catering  to   a  gratifying  local  demand. 

Mr.  Xeilsen  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
in  religion  is  a  member  of  the  Danish-Norweg- 
ian church.  To  himself  and  wife  have  been  born 
five  children:  Christian,  Letta,  Ernest,  Holger 
and  Harold. 


XELSEX^,  JACOB  B.— It  has  been  the  mis- 
sion  of  Jacob  B.  Xelsen  to  contribute  more  to- 
wards the  making  of  his  architectural  surround- 
ings than  any  other  man  in  southern  Minnesota. 
It  is  a  pleasure  and  satisfaction  when  walking 
abroad  in  ^Mankato  to  st'e  on  every  hand  evidences 
of  his  skill  and  reliability,  of  his  ability  to  house 
the  institutions  and  people  of  the  community, 
and  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by  individ- 
uals, singly  and  in  the  aggregate.  Xor  is  his 
reputation  dependent  upon  local  estimate,  for 
scattered  throughout  the  state,  and  even  in  the 
adjoining  states,  are  public  and  private  buildings 
erected  under  his  supervision,  and  with  that  thor- 
oughness and  regard  for  detail  and  substantiality 
^\hich  characterizes  the  man  who  labors  for  the 
love  of  his  work,  and  who  thinks  his  best  is  none 
too  good  for  an  expression  of  himself. 

'Mv.  Xelsen  typified  tlie  best  that  comes  to  our 
shores  from  the  little  country  of  Denmark,  where 
ho  was  born  April  14,  186.3,  and  wliere  he  re- 
ceived a  ])ractical  education  in  the  public  schools. 
His  immigration  to  America,  in  188.'J,  at  the  age 
of  twent\'-two  years,  was  characteristic  of  the 
spirit  of  advancement  which  since  has  influenced 
his  career,  leading  him  to  a  citizenship  as  varied 
and  many  sided  as  it  is  useful  and  influential. 
A^'ere   the   bottom   to    drop    out   of   the   building 


5U 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


business  he  might  turn  his  attention  to  the  miller 
trade  with  assurance  of  success,  as  it  was  this 
line  of  work  which  yielded  him  his  first  inde- 
pendent livelihood.  For  a  3'ear  and  a  half  he 
followed  the  miller' ^^  trade  in  Omaha,  Nebraska, 
then  came  to  Mankato,  where  he  since  has  en- 
gaged in  contracting  and  building,  at  first  as  an 
employe  of  0.  E.  Mather,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained about  six  years.  During  this  time  he 
learned  every  phase  of  the  business,  and  by  his 
faithfulness  and  quickness  of  perception,  laid 
the  foundation  for  his  subsequent  success.  In  the 
fall  of  1893  he  began  to  build  and  contract 
along  advanced  lines,  and  in  the  meantime  has 
erected  the  Public  Library,  Chicago,  ililwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  Eailway  Passenger  Station,  Immanuel 
Hospital,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
Buildings,  Eichard's  Block,  J.  I.  Case  Building, 
F.  M.  Currier's  Residence  and  the  State  Normal 
School,  Mankato,  Minn.  He  also  built  the  Court 
house  at  Windom,  Minn.,  the  Court  House  at 
Fairmont,  Minn.,  also  Gustavus  Adolphus  Col- 
lege, County  Jail,  High  School  and  Nurses'  Dor- 
mitory, State  Hospital,  St.  Peter,  Minn.,  the 
Park  Hotel,  St.  James,  Minn.,  the  Presbyterian 
Chuch  and  Ladies'  Dormitory  at  the  State  Agri- 
cultural College,  Brookings,  S.  D.,  Nurses'  Dor- 
mitory, State  Hopsital,  Eochester,  Minn.,  the  St. 
Lucas  Hospital  at  Faribault,  Minn.,  and  other 
buildings. 

Mr.  Nelsen  makes  his  home  in  North  Man- 
kato, where  he  has  a  beautiful  residence,  and 
where  he  is  prominent  in  the  political  and  sncial 
life  of  the  community.  He  has  been  three  terms 
president  of  the  Village  Council,  and  at  present 
is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  now  is 
Past  Noble  Grand.  He  is  also  connected  with 
the  32nd  Degree  of  Masons  and  Shriners,  the 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  His  business 
sagacity  and  substantial  wealth  have  brought 
him  into  active  association  with  the  banking  in- 
terests of  the  town  and  county,  and  he  is  a 
director  of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce  of 
ifankato,  Minn.  In  1899  ili'.  Nelson  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Anna  Xelsen,  a  native  of  JFankato, 
and  of  the  union  there  as  six  children;  Lucile, 


Engrel,  Lillian,  Edvold,  Esther  and  Jennes.  Adapt- 
iveness  and  resource  have  been  important  fac- 
tors in  Mr.  Nelson's  assimilation  with  American 
in.?titutions  and  responsibilities.  He  has  none 
of  the  clannishness  or  norrowness  met  with  in 
many  of  our  capable  representatives  from  other 
countries,  but  on  the  other  hand  has  given  of  a 
sunny  and  sj'mpathetic  nature  to  the  many  peoplp 
and  interests  with  which  he  has  beSn  and  now  is 
identified. 


NELSON,  JOHN.— While  most  men  are  for- 
tunate if  master  of  one  useful  trade,  it  is  given 
to  John  Nelson  to  confidently  face  the  future  with 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  two.  Should  he  dis- 
continue his  present  profitable  tailoring  business 
in  Mankato,  Mr.  Nelson  could  command  recogni- 
tion as  a  carpenter  and  builder,  an  occupation 
with  which  he  became  familiar  as  soon  as  he  was 
old  enough  to  handle  tools,  and  which  he  learned 
from  his  father  in  Norway.  Born  in  that  far  off 
and  picturesque  country  September  26,  1864,  he 
is  a  son  of  Nels  and  Amelia  Christensen,  neither 
of  whom  ever  left  Norway-,  and  the  former  of 
whom  died  at  the  age  of  forty-eight  years.  Nels 
Christensen  was  a  farmer  as  well  as  carpenter 
in  early  life,  but  latterly  has  devoted  his  ener- 
gies entirely  to  building.  In  his  family  are 
seven  children,  all  of  whom  are  living. 

Educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Norway,  John 
Nelson  quit  the  carpenter  trade  at  the  age  of 
sixteen,  and  learned  the  trade  of  tailor,  to  which 
he  since  has  devoted  his  energies.  In  search  of 
larger  opportunity  than  seemed  to  exist  in  his 
native  land,  he  emigrated  to  America  in  1882, 
locating  first  in  Winona,  this  state,  and  in  1887 
settling  in  lyiankato,  where  in  1902,  he  established 
his  present  tailoring  business  at  206  South  Front 
street.  Mr.  Nelson  has  a  growing  and  depend- 
able trade,  and  his  reputation  for  skill,  good 
judgment  and  reliability  has  been  won  by  un- 
ceasing devotion  to  the  best  business  tenets.  He 
supplies  all  grades  of  masculine  wearing  apparel, 
and  can  turn  out  a  Tuxedo  or  hack  about  suit 
with  equal  facility. 

April  20,  1889,  Mr.  Nelson  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Jennie  Enerson,  of  Faribault  county, 
this  state,  and  of  the  union  there  are  two  chil- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


515 


dren:  VAwm  Martin  and  Einer  Arnold.  Mr. 
Xelson  is  prominently  identified  with  the  Xor- 
wegian  Lutheran  Synod  church,  and  has  served 
as  trustee  for  many  years,  and  as  treasurer  for 
ten  years.  Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the 
lioval  Arcanum,  and  politically  is  a  Eepubli- 
can.  He  is  tactful  and  obliging,  always  keeps  his 
word,  and  is  above  subterfuge  and  misrepresenta- 
tion dealing  with  his  many  customers. 


XELSOX,  OLE.— A  really  honest  and  su- 
perior workman  lias  his  reward  not  only  in  the 
good,  tangible,  usuable  things  of  the  world,  but 
in  the  unqualified  respect  which  he  receives  from 
all  classes  of  men  and  women.  This  is  the  en- 
viable station  in  life  occupied  by  Ole  Xelson,  the 
expert,  reliable  and  prosperous  metal  worker  of 
ilankato.  Does  the  householder  or  business  man 
require  first-class  furnace  work,  a  steel  ceiling, 
a  water-proof  sky-light,  nr  any  other  thing  in 
the  line  of  tin,  copper  and  galvanized  iron  work, 
the  first  thought  is  of  Mr.  Nelson  and  his  where- 
abouts. The  result  of  his  skill  and  faithfulness 
in  these  specialties  is  to  give  him  the  great  bulk 
of  the  ]\rankato  trade. 

Ole  Xelson  is  a  carefvil,  industrious,  true  son 
of  Denmark,  son  of  farmer  parents  and  born 
September  l."),  1868.  As  his  father  died  when  he 
was  a  mere  lad,  at  the  age  of  eleven  years  he 
came  to  America  to  live  ^\ith  his  sister  ^laria, 
whose  husband,  Hans  Knudson,  was  connected 
with  the  Eapidan  mill,  in  Eapidan  township,  this 
coiinly.  Here  Ole  was  employed  for  a  time,  be- 
fore commencing  to  learn  the  tinning  trade  with 
Lamm  &  Schroeder,  of  ^Fankato,  in  188.").  He 
afterward  secured  em])loyment  along  these  lines 
in  the.  Twin  Cities  and  at  various  points  in  Xe- 
braska,  but  finally  returned  to  ^lankato  and  be- 
came connected  with  Schroeder  &  ]\Iurpliy.  Thus 
thoroughly  qualified  to  do  efl'icient  metal  work, 
iir.  Xelson,  in  1899,  made  the  fortunate  venture 
of  opening  an  establishment  of  his  own  at  ">23 
South  Front  street,  and  his  reliable  work, 
promptly  ext'cuted,  has  since  brought  to  him 
there  the  patronage  of  the  l)est  people  in  the 
city. 

l^lr.  Xelson  is  a  member  of  the  Commercial 
Club,  of  Slankato;  is  affiliated  with  the  ^lodern 


Woodmen  of  America,  fraternally,  and  his  politi- 
cal relations  are  with  the  Democracy.  He  is  a 
kind  and  indulgent  man  of  family;  married  to 
Turena  Woge,  of  iladelia,  Minnesota,  in  June, 
189'?.  he  is  the  father  of  four  children:  Isla 
D..  Howard  0.,  Marie  A.  and  George  E. 


XEEBOYIG,   51.    D.,    CHEISTOPHEE  H.— 

Since  establishing  his  home  and  professional 
headquarters  in  ilankato  in  1901,  Dr.  Xerbovig 
has  engaged  in  the  practice  of  neurology  and 
ophthalmolog}'.  Xeurology  is  the  science  of  an- 
alyzing the  causes  of  human  ills  in  such  a  mathe- 
matically accurate  manner  that  nearly  all  of 
them  may  be  found  and  removed  without  the 
use  of  drugs  or  operations.  Ophthalmology  is  a 
branch  of  neurology  and  treats  of  the  eyes.  If 
the  eyes  consume  an  amount  of  the  body's  re- 
serve force  in  excess  of  their  natural  share,  some 
of  the  organs  must  suffer  because  they  have  so 
exhausted  the  nerve  supply  that  nb  organ  can 
perform  its  functions  purely  from  a  lack  of  nerve 
forci'  tn  operate  it.  Then  there  are  symptoms  of 
deranged  functions.  Without  the  use  of  medi- 
cine or  operations  he  has  been  able  to  effect  some 
remarkable  cures,  thus  proving  the  practical  value 
of  the  method  he  has  adopted.  The  close  rela- 
tion of  the  eyes  to  the  rest  of  the  nerves  and 
the  fact  that  the  eyes  are  the  most  delicate  and 
yet  capable  of  performing  more  labor  than  any 
organ  in  the  body,  and  under  normal  conditions 
consumes  ten  per  cent  of  the  nerve  force  of  the 
body,  but  when  defective  can  consume  as'  high 
as  eight  per  cent  more  than  the  normal  amount, 
thus  depriving  the  normal  organs  of  their  neces- 
siiry  supply,  and  causing  all  kinds  of  disturb- 
ances which  are  called  disease,  hut  in  reality  are 
only  functional  disturbances.  Tn  preparing  for 
his  work  he  had  the  advantage  of  a  course  of 
study  in  the  Xorthern  Illinois  College  of  Oph- 
tbalmolo<;T,  and  also  the  ^feCorraick  Xeurolog- 
ioal  College  of  Chicago,  from  both  of  which  in- 
stitutions he  received  diplomas  at  the  comple- 
tion of  the  regular  course. 

Born  in  Xorway  Xovember  18.  1807,  Dr.  Ner- 
bovig  is  a  son  of  Hans  H.  and  Gurina  Xerbovig, 
also  natives,  of  that  country.  During  1870  the 
father  brousrht  the  family  to  America  and  settled 


516 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


in  Jlinnesota,  where  for  five  years  lie  lived  at 
ilankatOj  later  resided  in  Janesville  and  Winona 
and  since  1903  has  made  his  home  at  Waseca. 
From  early  life  he  has  followed  the  trade  of  a 
jeweler.  Uf  his  family  of  ten  children  five  died 
in  infancy.  John  is  a  photographer;  Carrie  is 
the  widow  of  Harry  Blanchard,  of  Wapello, 
Iowa;  Halver  H.  is  a  jeweler  at  Sheldon,  Iowa; 
and  George  C.  is  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
neurology  and  ophthalmology  at  Faribault,  this 
state.  The  mother  of  these  children  died  in  1887 
at  the  age  of  forty-four  years. 

The  public  schools  of  Janesville  and  Winona 
ga\'e  to  Christopher  H.  Xerbovig  the  necessary 
educational  preparaticn  for  a  busy  career.  While 
still  a  mere  boy  he  L.gan  to  help  his  father  in 
the  jewelry  business  a^xd  gained  a  knowledge  of 
the  trade,  which  he  followed  for  some  years,  first 
in  St.  Charles,  and  later  at  Mapleton,  Minne- 
sota. Meanwhile  his  attention  had  been  called  to 
the  science  of  ophthalmology  as  early  as  1891 
and  he  becaine  a  close  student  of  optics.  When 
his  means  permitted  the  collegiate  training  he 
desired  he  gave  up  his  trade  and  entered  college, 
where  he  thoroughly  equipped  himself  for  his 
life  work.  Since  leaving  college  he  has  built  up 
a  growing  practice  in  Mankato.  Sharing  with 
him  the  esteem  of  the  people  of  this  city  is  his 
wife,  whom  he  married  November  18,  1891,  and 
who  was  Anna  M.  Van  Gorder,  a  native  of  Few 
York  state,  but  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  a 
resident  of  Winona,  Minnesota.  Six  children 
were  born  of  their  union,  three  now  living, 
namely :  Gertrude  Lucille,  Myrtle  Louise,  Har- 
riet Blanche  and  Christopher  Herbert.  Two 
sons,  Harold  C.  and  Kenneth  C,  died  in  infancy. 
The  fraternal  connections  of  Dr.  Nerbovig  in- 
clude membership  in  the  Eoyal  Arcanum,  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  blue  lodge 
and  chapter  of  the  Masonic  order,  and  the  East- 
ern Star,  and  in  the  last-named  order  he  has  been 
honored  with  the  office  of  worthy  patron  of  the 
Mankato  chapter.  He  also  is  a  member  of  the 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  the  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks. 

NICHOLS,  L.  M.— One  of  the  veterans  of  the 
Civil  war,  whose  service  covered  the  entire  period 
of  the  struggle  and  a  portion  of  the  period  of 


reconstruction  afterward,  was  L.  M.  Nichols, 
who  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1869  and  was 
identified  with  the  agricultural  interests  of  this 
part  of  the  state.  For  almost  thirty  years  he 
resided  in  Eapidan  township  on  the  farm  which 
during  that  entire  period  he  owned  and  operated. 
Though  not  one  of  the  largest  farmers  of  the 
township,  he  was  an  industrious  farmer  and  la- 
bored Avith  the  greatest  persistence  to  secure  the 
needed  improvements  on  his  property.  More 
than  ordinary  discouragement  came  to  him,  for 
twice  his  house  was  burned  down,  but  each  time 
he  rebuilt,  and  the  family  now  have  a  neat  little 
home  furnished  in  a  manner  indicative  of  their 
refined  tastes  and  orderly  spirit. 

Near  Saratoga  Springs  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  L.  M.  Nichols  was  born  June  5,  1840,  be- 
ing a  son  of  William  and  Charity  (Hewett) 
Nichols,  natives  of  New  York  and  pioneers  of 
Wisconsin,  where  they  died  on  a  farm.  The  edu- 
cation o-f  L.  M.  Nichols  was  secured  in  country 
schools  in  Wisconsin.  While  still  quite  young 
he  enlisted  in  a  Blackhawk  company  and  later 
became  a,  private  in  Company  C,  Fourth  Wiscon- 
sin Infantry,  in  which  he  served  for  two  years, 
until  the  expiration  of  his  time.  Shortly  after 
he  enlisted  in  the  Fourth  Wisconsin  Cavalry  and 
remained  with  it  at  the  front  until  after  the 
close  of  the  war,  being  in  active  service  for  more 
than  five  years.  On  leaving  the  army  he  re- 
turned to  Wisconsin  and  took  up  general  farm 
pursuits.  From  1869  he  made  his  home  in  Blue 
Earth  county  and  since  1879  he  lived  on  the 
present  homestead  in  Eapidan  township  until  his 
death  which  occurred  September  11th,  1907,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-seven  years,  three  months  and 
eleven  days.  His  was  an  industrious,  persevering 
life,  and  he  won  the  esteem  of  a  large  circle  of 
acquaintances. 

xA.t  the  time  of  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  for  some  time  thereafter  Mr.  Nichols  was  a 
single  man,  but  in  1877  he  established  domestic 
ties,  being  united  during  that  year  with  Miss 
Jane  Lonlett,  daughter  of  Mitchell  and  Jane 
(Tasscy)  Lonlett,  natives  of  Vermont  and  pio- 
neers of  Blue  Earth  county.  The  death  of  Mrs. 
Lonlett  occurred  in  Madelia,  while  her  husband 
passed  away  in  Vernon  Center  township.  There 
are  four  children  in  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


517 


Nichols.  The  eldest  child,  Cortenous,  is  a  resi- 
dent of  ilankato.  Stella  is  married  and  lives  in 
this  count}-.  Allen  B.  and  Edward  V.  remain 
with  their  mother  on  the  home  farm  in  R.apida,n 
township.  Ever  since  casting  his  first  ballot  Mr. 
Nichols  was  a  stanch  Republican  and  supported 
local  candidates  of  that  party  by  his  ballot  and 
influence.  For  years  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Mankato  and 
maintained  a  warm  interest  in  the  reunions  of 
the   veterans   of   the  war. 


NIMS,  S.  J. — Ever  since  establishing  his  home 
in  Blue  Earth  county  in  1865  Mr.  Nims  has 
been  a  resident  of  Vernon  Center  township,  with 
whose  agricultural  and  commercial  interests  his 
name  is  closely  associated.  A^'ery  soon  after  his 
arrival  here  as  a  resident  he  acquired  land  by 
purchase  and  to  the  original  tract  he  added  from 
time  to  time  until  now  he  owns  a  farm  of  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  acres,  which  under  his 
sagacious  management  has  been  transformed 
from  a  desolate  waste  of  school  land  into  a  val- 
uable and  productive  property,  bearing  neat  im- 
provements and  the  necessary  equipment  in  build- 
ings to  enable  the  tenant  to  carry  forward  ex- 
peditiously the  work  of  the  place.  After  having 
cultivated  the  land  for  twentj'-four  years,  in  1889 
he  rented  the  farm  and  removed  to  Vernon 
Center,  where  he  owns  a  beautiful  residence  sur- 
rounded by  an  acre  of  well-kept  grounds.  For 
some  time  he  has  been  retired  from  active  cares, 
but  at  first  after  removing  to  town  he  had  nu- 
merous business  identifications.  For  six  years  he 
engaged  in  the  buying  and  shipping  of  stock 
and  wheat,  for  the  latter  purpose  building  an  ele- 
vator that  still  stands.  For  four  years  he  car- 
ried on  a  lumber  yard.  While  actively  engaged 
in  the  shipping  business  he  shipped  the  first 
shelled  corn  and  the  first  baled  hay  ever  sent 
out  from  A'ernon  Center.  In  all  of  his  dealings 
with  farmers  he  proved  to  be  thoroughly  honest 
and  straightforward,  and  he  won  their  confidence 
by  his  honorable  methods  of  conducting  busi- 
ness. 

In  Saratoga  county,  New  York,  S.  J.  Nims 
was  born  June  5,  1841,  being  a  son  of  Alpheus 
and  Almena   (Randall)    Nims.     The  father,  who 


was  likewise  a  native  of  Saratoga  county,  fol- 
lowed saw-milling  in  an  early  day  and  also  en- 
gaged in  carpentering.  For  a  time  he  took  con- 
tracts for  buildings  of  all  kinds.  During  the 
early  '50s  he  came  to  the  west  and  settled  in 
Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  where  he  engaged  in 
carpentering  for  twenty  years.  A  brief  sojourn 
was  then  made  in  Missouri,  after  "which  he  re- 
turned to  Buffalo  county,  Wisconsin,  to  make  his 
home.  During  1887  he  removed  to  Washington 
and  settled  in  the  growing  city  of  Seattle,  where 
his  death  occurred  in  1893.  Nine  children  com- 
prised his  family,  namely:  Eliza,  Martha,  De- 
vritt,  who  died  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  in 
1863,  S.  J.,  Amelia  (who  died  in  girlhood), 
Paulina,  Mary,  Julius  and  Julian,  who  died  in 
infancy. 

The  marriage  of  S.  J.  Nims  occurred  in  1865 
and  united  him  with  Sarah  J.  Cook,  by  whom 
he  has  one  daughter,  Winnifred;  the  latter  in 
1884  was  united  with  Joseph  D.  Morrison,  a 
carpenter  engaged  in  business  at  Vernon  Center. 
The  father  of  Mrs.  Nims  was  Sheldon  Cook,  a 
native  of  New  York  state,  by  occupation  a 
farmer,  and  after  1858  a  resident  of  Wisconsin, 
where  he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in 
Dodge  county,  dying  there  in  1869  ;  his  wife,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Alma  Covley,  died  in 
1ST6.  During  the  year  of  his  marriage  Mr. 
Nims  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  settled  in 
Vernon  Center  township,  where  since  he  has  been 
intimately  identified  with  farm  and  business  ac- 
tivities, meanwhile  holding  a  high  place  in  the 
regard  of  acquaintances,  and  contributing  his 
quota  to  the  development  of  the  material  re- 
sources of  the  township.  Deeply  interested  in 
educational  work,  he  has  held  school  offices  for 
many  years  and  has  done  all  within  his  power 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  schools  of  the 
township.  The  only  political  office  which  he  has 
held  is  the  position  of  township  assessor,  to  which 
he  was  elected  by  the  Republican  party  of  the 
town.  In  religion  he  holds  membership  with  the 
Baptist  church,  while  his  wife  is  of  the  Presby- 
terian faith.  Both  were  well  educated  in  Fox 
Lake  college  in  Wisconsin  and  Mrs.  Nims  taught 
school  after  completing  her  studies,  winning  a 
local  fame  for  thorough  work  as  an  educator. 
Possessed  of  literary  ability,  she  has  written  con- 


518 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


siderable  poetry,  has  often  reported  for  leading 
papers  of  Minnesota,  and  lias  the  distinction  of 
liaving  written  more  obituary  notices  and  memoirs 
than  any  other  resident  of  tire  entire  county. 
Por  this  work  she  is  qualified  by  her  wide  ac- 
quaintanceship, fine  command  of  language  and 
thorough  education,  and  her  influence  extends 
through  all  of  the  most  cultured  circles  of  the 
county. 


NOE,  JOHN  C. — Intimately  conversant  with 
the  values  of  farm  lands  and  real  estate  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  Mr.  Noe  has  the  necessary  equip- 
ment for  the  successful  prosecution  of  his  special 
work  in  the  buying  and  selling  of  properties,  and 
for  a  long  period  he  has  conducted  such  an  en- 
terprise with  significant  success,  meanwhile  also 
carrying  on  a  loan  agency.  Xo  one  is  more 
deeply  interested  than  he  in  the  promotion  of  the 
city's  welfare,  and  his  home  town  of  Mankato 
has  been  benefited  by  his  residence  therein,  cov- 
ering the  entire  period  from  February  of  1871: 
to  the  present  time.  Meanwhile  he  has  served 
as  president  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  has  been 
prominent  in  other  agencies  for  the  development 
and  extension  of  Mankato's  commerce,  and  has 
given  proficient  and  judicious  aid  to  worthy  pro- 
jects in  their  days  of  struggle  for  a  business  foot- 
hold. 

Born  in  Xewburgh,  New  York,  ilay  2,  1814, 
John  C.  Noe  was  a  son  of  Albert  Noe,-  a  well- 
known  merchant  of  that  city.  During  the  years 
of  his  boyhood  he  received  excellent  advantages 
in  local  schools  and  later  qualified  himself  for 
the  legal  profession  by  a  thorough  course  ol 
study  of  the  law.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866, 
he  took  up  professional  work  in  his  native  city, 
where  he  passed  through  the  discouragements 
which  fall  to  the  lot  of  all  in  securing  a  start 
in  the  midst  of  older  and  more  experienced  law- 
yers. In  1873  he  decided  to  settle  in  the  west, 
and  in  search  of  a  suitable  location  he  came  to 
Minnesota,  making  a  brief  sojourn  in  Winona, 
where  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  this  state 
in  1873.  In  February  of  the  following  year  he 
came  to  Mankato,  where  he  has  since  engaged 
in  the  real  estate  and  loan  business  and  the  prac- 
tice  of   his   profession    and    also   has   maintained 


an  interest  in  civic  affairs,  proving  himself  a 
conscientious  supporter  of  every  good  work. 
Sharing  with  him  in  the  esteem  of  the  com- 
munity is  his  wife,  formerly  j\liss  Anna  Chandler, 
whom  he  married  June  23,  1868,  at  Fishkill, 
New  York,  and  wlio  is  a  member  of  one  of  the  old 
families  of  the  east. 


NORTON,  JOHN  R.— Very  soon  after  tlie 
building  of  the  railroad  through  Mapleton  had 
brought  the  village  into  close  touch  with  the 
outer  world,  Mr.  Norton  became  a  pioneer  of  the 
place  and  since  has  been  identified  with  its  busi- 
ness interests.  Finding  a  favorable  opening  for  a 
lumber  business,  he  opened  a  yard  soon  after  be- 
coming a  resident  of  the  town  and  from  that 
time  to  tlie  present  he  has  engaged  continuously 
in  the  business.  His  yards  are  situated  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  town  and  contain  a 
general  line  of  hard  and  soft  lumber  of  all  kinds, 
as  well  as  doors,  sash,  lime,  stone,  cement  and  all 
other  lines  of  building  material.  A  generous  pro- 
portion of  the  trade  in  his  line  comes  to  his 
yards  -and  his  reputation  among  the  people  of  the 
community  is  that  of  an  honorable  business  man 
and  progressive  citizen. 

On  the  western  coast  of  Ireland,  in  the  county 
of  Limerick  and  near  the  city  of  the  same  name 
whose  sweet-toned  chimes  have  made  its  name 
familiar  through  all  parts  of  the  world,  there 
still  stands  the  homestead  where  the  Norton  fam- 
ily followed  agricultural  pursuits.  Thomas,  son 
of  John  Norton,  was  born  there  in  1801,  and 
married  Margaret  Reedy,  a  native  of  the  same 
county,  born  in  181G.  In  1852,  years  after  their 
marriage,  they  came  to  the  United  States  and 
settled  at  Sherburne,  Chenango  county.  New 
York.  Four  years  later  they  proceeded  still 
further  west  and  identified  themselves  with  the 
pioneers  of  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin,  where  the 
father  developel  a  raw  tract  of  land  into  a  fertile 
farm.  Upon  retiring  from  agricultural  pursuits 
in  1880  he  moved  to  Waukesha,  Wisconsin,  and 
there  he  passed  from  earth  in  1885,  having  sur- 
vived his  -wife  six  years.  They  were  the  parents 
of  five  sons  and  five  daughters,  the  fifth  of  the 
ten  children  being  John  R.,  who  was  born  in 
Limerick,   Ireland,   March   19,   1840,   and   at  the 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


519 


age  of  twelve  years  accompanied  the  family  to 
the  new  world.  Four  years  later  he  came  west 
with  them  and  aided  in  the  hard  task  of  clearing 
the  home  farm. 

After  having  spent  the  years  1864-G5  as  an 
employe  in  a  machine  shop  in  Rockford,  Illinois, 
during  the  latter  year  ilr.  Xorton  became  inter- 
ested in  the  raising  and  dealing  of  hops,  which 
he  continued  for  ten  years,  meanwhile  also  deal- 
ing in  stock.  As  previously  stated,  he  came  to 
ilapleton  shortly  after  the  completion  of  the 
railroad  and  since  then  he  has  been  a  prominent 
business  man  of  the  town.  Prospered  financially, 
he  has  become  a  director  in  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Mapleton  and  has  acquired  other  inter- 
ests in  or  near  his  home  town.  While  devoting 
himself  with  assiduous  enthusiasm  to  business 
matters,  at  the  same  time  he  has  discharged  every 
duty  devolving  upon  a  patriotic  citizen  and  has 
been  active  in  his  support  of  educational  and 
public  measures  beneficial  to  town  and  county. 
As  a  member  of  the  school  board  he  has  earnestly 
labored  to  promote  the  usefulness  of  the  town 
schools.  Though  preferring  not  to  accept  politi- 
cal offices,  he  has  been  interested  in  politics  and 
has  maintained  a  stanch  allegiance  to  the  Demo- 
cratic   party. 


O'CONNOR,  CHARLES.— The  family  repre- 
sented by  this  well-known  citizen  of  St.  Clair 
traces  its  lineage  to  Ireland,  where  many  succes- 
sive generations  li^'ed  and  labored.  It  was  not 
until  near  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 
that  this  branch  of  the  family  established  a  home 
in  the  United  States,  the  original  immigrant  hav- 
ing been  Patrick  O'Connor,  a  native  of  county 
Sligo,  Ireland,  and  a  man  of  versatile  ability  and 
unquestioned  loyalty  to  the  country  of  his  adop- 
tion. To  him  belongs  the  distinction  of  having 
been  the  first  man  to  sign  as  a  volunteer  for  the 
Mexican  war.  When  he  crossed  the  Atlantic 
to  the  new  world  in  1838  he  was  accompanied 
by  his  wite,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  •  ]\Iar- 
garet  ifcDerniott  and  was  a  native  of  Dublin. 
After  they  had  established  a  home  in  Albany, 
New  York,  there  was  born  to  them  a  son,  Charles, 
December  10,  1843.  The  family  left  Albany  in 
18-17  and  journeyed  to  Chicago  in  the  primitive 


fashion  preceding  the  introduction  of  railways. 
For  nine  years  they  remained  in  Cbicago,  where 
the  son  attended  school  and  where  it  was  his 
privilege  to  study  in  the  famous  university,  St. 
JIary's  of  the  Lake. 

A  later  place  of  residence  was  at  Fond  du 
Lac,  \Visconsin,  where  the  family  made  their 
home  for  nine  years.  From  there  they  came  to 
Jlinnesota  in  1864  and  settled  in  Blue  Earth 
count}^,  where  they  pre-empted  a  claim  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Both  in  Wisconsin, 
where  he  had  secured  government  land,  and  sub- 
sequently in  Minnesota,  the  father  conducted 
general  farming  and  earned  a  livelihood  by  till- 
ing the  soil.  His  last  years  were  passed  in  re- 
tirement from  agricultural  cares  and  he  passed 
away  at  St.  Clair  in  1905  one  year  after  the 
demise  of  his  devoted  wife.  Among  the  pioneers 
of  his  part  of  the  county  he  is  remembered  as 
a  farmer  of  ability,  a  kind-hearted  neighbor, 
generous  to  all  in  need,  and  solicitous  to  pro-, 
mote  the  welfare  of  his  community. 

The  marriage  of  Charles  O'Connor  was  sol- 
emnized in  January  of  1875  and  united  him  with 
i\liss  Susan  Goodwin,  a  native  of  Canada.  Three 
sons  and  one  daughter  blessed  their  union, 
namely :  Arthur,  who  is  engaged  in  the  freight- 
ing business;  Charles,  William  E.  and  Laura, 
all  living  in  St.  Clair.  The  oldest  son  is  mar- 
ried and  has  one  child.  The  family  are  faithful 
members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  and  con- 
tribute generously  to  religious  movements  under 
charge  of  that  denomination.  In  politics  Mr. 
O'Connor  has  been  a  believer  in  Democratic  prin- 
ciples all  of  his  life,  and  has  voted  that  ticket 
ever  since  attaining  his  majority.  For  eight  years 
he  held  the  office  of  postmaster  of  St.  Clair,  to 
which  office  he  was  appointed  upon  the  solicita- 
tion of  prominent  members  of  his  party.  For 
twenty  years  he  has  officiated  in  the  capacity  of 
town  clerk  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  he 
has  been  justice  of  the  peace.  His  qualifications 
for  the  latter  office,  as  indeed  for  all  positions 
held  by  him,  are  increased  by  his  knowledge  of 
the  law,  which  he  studied  in  early  manhood  for  a 
considerable  period,  thus  familiarizing  himself 
with  jurisprudence  to  a  degree  very  useful  to 
him  in  subsequent  affairs.  As  an  attorney  his 
counsel  often  has  been  sought  by  the  people  of 


520 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


the  village  and  surrounding  country  and  his  ad- 
vice upon  disputed  legal  points  is  considered  au- 
thoritative by  his  clients.  As  a  citizen  he  has 
shown  a  constant  interest  in  all  measures  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  town  and  has  contributed  of 
time  and   influence  to   aid  important  projects. 


O'CONNOR,  FRANCIS.— An  enquiring  mind, 
constant  progression  and  well  applied  industry 
are  responsible  for  the  success  of  Francis  O'Con- 
nor, who,  with  his  brother,  Charles  O'Connor,  is 
farming  the  old  O'Connor  homestead.  In  the 
sketch  of  Charles  O'Connor,  on  another  page  of 
this  work,  is  a  more  complete  record  of  the  fam- 
ily connection  with  Blue  Earth  county.  Fran- 
cis O'Connor  is  a  son  of  Patrick  and  ]\[argaret 
McDermot  O'Connor,  the  former  of  whom  died 
April  9,  1905,  in  St.  Clair,  and  the  latter  died 
January  24,  1904. 

Mr.  O'Connor  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  has  had  the  average  advantages  of 
the  country  leared  youth.  Pie  is  a  natural  farm- 
er, interested  in  his  work,  and  a  believer 
in  its  dignity  and  usefulness.  Politically  he  is 
a  democrat,  but  aside  from  the  foimality  of  cast- 
ing his  vote,  he  is  not  interested  in  local  political 
undertakings.  In  religion  he  is  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic. Mr.  O'Connor  enjoys  an  enviable  reputation 
in  his  township,  and  is  a  promoter  of  all  that 
tends  to  the  greater  enlightenment  and  happiness 
of  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 


ODJARD,  OLE  0. — Specializing  in  business 
and  manufactures  is  now  as  much  the  rule  as 
following  and  developing  a  specialty  in  the  pro- 
fessions, and  it  require^  an  especially  high  order 
of  excellence  in  work  and  ability  of  character  to 
succeed  in  either.  In  the  line  of  furniture 
manufacturing,  Mr.  Odjard,  senior  member  of  Od- 
jard  &  Knoff,  the  well  known  Mankato  firm,  has 
e.itablished  a  fine  business  in  the  making  and 
sale  of  bank,  ofEice,  church  and  saloon  fixtures, 
being  the  pioneer  in  this  specialty  in  the  city, 
and  the  interiors  of  many  of  the  prominent 
buildings  of  the  locality  bear  witness  to  his  skill- 
ful and  tasteful  workmanship.  He  is  a  practical 
wood    worker    and    before    establishing    his    own 


manufactory  had  enjnyed  a  thorough  training  in 
all  the  details  of  hL<  trade. 

Mr.  Odjard  is  a  native  of  Norway  and  was 
born  October  29,  1844  being  reared  as  a  farmer's 
son  and,  to  the  age  of  fourteen  years,  receiving 
a  limited  education  in  the  parochial  schools  of 
his  Patlierland.  His  parents  lived  and  died  in 
Norway,  having  a  family  of  five  children,  of 
-whom  Ole  and  two  brothers  came  to  America.  The 
former  early  learned  the  trade  of  carpentry  and 
wood  working,  and  in  186G  became  a  resident  of 
Piodgeville,  Wisconsin,  where  for  five  years  he 
was  employed  at  furniture  making  and  in  other 
lines  of  his  vocation.  In  February,  1871,  he 
located  at  Mankato,  but  before  commencing  work 
secured  a  land  claim  in  Martin  County,  Minne- 
sota. Soon  afterward  he  became  associated  with 
lierman  Knoff  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture 
and  for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  have  worked 
and  prospered  together,  their  output  gradually 
being  directed  toward  supplying  the  demand  in 
the  specialties  mentioned  above.  With  the  in- 
. crease  of  their  business  they  have  enlarged 
their  plant  from  time  to  time  until  their  present 
manufactory  at  516-518  South  Front  street  is 
one  of  the  most  substantial  looking  establish- 
ments  of  Mankato. 

Ole  0.  Odjard  was  married  in  1872,  to  Miss 
Plelen  Holverson,  also  a  native  of  Norway,  who 
came  with  her  parents  to  Wisconsin  when  she  was 
five  years  of  age.  She  was  a  well  educated  and 
refined  woman  and  was  for  some  time  a  compan- 
ion to  the  wife  of  Governor  Dodge,  the  first  ex- 
ecutive of  Wisconsin.  Mrs.  Odjard  died  in 
1903,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years,  leaving  the 
following  children:  Anna  Ovedea,  who  is  a  gi-ad- 
uate  of  Vassar  College  and  is  now  teaching  in 
Albuquerque,  New  Mexico;  Lelia  Grace,  a  gradu- 
ate of  the  Mankato  Pligh  School  and  the  State 
Normal  School,  also  a  teacher;  and  Cora  May, 
Mho  graduated  from  the  same  institutions  and  ib 
engaged  in  teaching  at  Wells,  Minnesota.  Mr. 
Odjard  is  connected  with  the  A.  F.  &  A.  M., 
Royal  Arcanum,  Eastern  Star  and  Knights  ol 
Pythias.  In  local  affairs  he  is  politically  inde- 
pendent, but  on  national  issues  is  a  Republican, 
Although  reared  a  Lutheran,  he  is  not  a  member 
of  the  church,  but  is  a  supporter  of  the  moral 
and    religious   institutions   and   movements   which 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


521 


he  judges  to  be   for  the  best  good  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  is  so  useful  a  factor. 


OLESOX,  GAEL  L.— The  development  of  a 
town  is  in  no  instance  more  permanantly  pro- 
moted than  by  the  establishment  of  banking  in- 
gtitutions  of  undoubted  stability  and  solid  worth. 
Such  concerns  prove  of  inestimable  importance 
in  aiding  the  prosperity  of  a  community,  and 
those  having  them  in  charge  contribute  to  the 
general  welfare  in  a  degree  not  to  be  overlooked. 
The  substantial  financial  interests  of  Mankato  have 
been  promoted  by  the  keen  judgment  and  finan- 
cial ability  of  Carl  L.  and  Albert  0.  Oleson,  who 
in  1902  inaugurated  the  enterprise  taking  form- 
in  the  incorporation  of  the  National  Bank  of 
Commerce  capitalized  at  $100,000,  with  the  follow- 
ing officers:  Albert  0.  Oleson,  president;  John 
Diamond,  vice-president;  and  Carl  L.  Oleson, 
cashier.  Since  the  establishment  of  the  bank  it 
has  been  successful  beyond  the  most  sanquine 
expectations  of  its  founders  and  has  won  a  high 
place  in  the  moneyed  circles   of  the   county. 

The  Oleson  brothers  are  natives  of  Lansing, 
Icwa.  Carl  L.,  who  was  born  January  23,  1859, 
attended  grammar  school,  later  was  a  student  in 
the  high  school  at  Waukon,  Iowa,  after  which  he 
took  a  course  in  a  business  college.  For  some 
years  he  was  employed  as  a  bookkeeper  by  vari- 
ous companies.  During  1878  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota and  settled  in  Eock  county,  where  he  was 
employed  for  six  years.  In  ISS.)  he  was  united 
in 'marriage  with  Jliss  Hattie  ^linard,  formerly 
of  Luverne,  Eock  county,  this  state,  and  of  this 
union  there  are  three  daughters,  Louise,  ilildreJ 
and  Loretta.  Albert  0.  Oleson  was  married  in 
1892  to  Xora  Heath,  of  Howard,  South  Dakota, 
and  they  have  two  daughters,  Esther  and  Muriel. 

Besides  the  bank  at  Mankato  the  brothers  have 
been  instrumental  in  founding  other  financial 
institutions  and  have  carried  on  with  unexampled 
success  a  number  of  such  concerns,  among  them 
being  the  Wells  National  Bank  at  Wells,  this 
state,  (of  which  Carl  is  vice-president)  the  First 
Xational  Bank  of  Howard,  South  Dakota,  (of 
which  he  acts  as  president)  and  the  Security 
State  Bank  of  Delavan,  Minnesota.  Possessing 
keen    insight,    careful    discrimination,    sagacious 


judgment  in  investments,  and  aprogressive  spirit, 
he  has  been-qualified  by  natural  gifts  for  large 
success  as  a  financier.  Aside  from  his  banking 
business,  he  has  been  prominent  in  various  fra- 
ternities, including  the  Ancient  Order  of  United 
Workmen,  of  which  he  has  been  gTand  Eeceiver 
in  the  Xorth  and  South  Dakota  Jurisdiction.  A 
stanch  believer  in  the  principles  of  Masonry,  he 
has  filled  all  of  the  chairs  in  the  blue  lodge  and 
also  has  risen  to  the  Eoyal  Arch  Cliapter  and 
the  Mvstic  Shrine. 


OLIYEE,  GEOEGE  G.— The  traits  of  in- 
dustry and  economy  that  almost  invariably  char- 
acterize the  representatives  of  the  Welsh  national- 
ity in  whatever  part  of  the-  world  they  may  be 
found,  predominate  in  the  character  and  life  of 
George  G.  Oliver,  one  of  the  prosperous  land 
owners  of  Blue  Earth  county  and  a  leading 
farmer  of  Pleasant  Mound  township,  where  he 
owns  and  cultivates  an  estate  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  acres.  Horses,  cattle  and  hogs  are  to 
be  found  on  his  place,  and  in  addition  he  is  prob- 
ably the  uKist  extensive  sheep  raiser  in  this  sec- 
tion of  ilinnesota,  having  a  large  flock  that  each 
year  brings  him  a  neat  income  fruiii  the  sale  of 
the  wool  and  mutton.  The  improvements  on  the 
farm  include  a  neat  residence  and  substantial 
outbuildings,  surrounding  which  may  be  seen  a 
fine  grove  of  hardwood  trees  forming  a  desirable 
windbreak  in  winter  storms. 

William  and  ]\Iary  (Hughes)  Oliver,  natives 
of  Wales,  came  to  the  United  States  in  181G  and 
stopped  for  a  time  in  ^Milwaukee,  wliich  at  the 
time  contained  only  a  very  few  houses.  From 
there  they  proceeded  to  Waukesha  county,  Wis- 
consin, and  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  that 
then  sparsely  settled  region,  where  the  father  de- 
voted the  balance  of  his  life  to  farming.  The 
mother  had  four  uncles  who  were  clergymen  in 
Wales,  and  the  grandfather  also  was  a  life-long 
worker  in  the  ministry.  There  were  eleven  chil- 
dren in  the  family  of  William  Oliver,  among 
whom  we  mention  the  name  of  George  G.  Oliver, 
born  on  the  farm  in  Waukesha  county,  Wiscon- 
sin, November  10,  1856,  and  reared  in  the  lo- 
cality familiar  to  his  earliest  memories.  During 
1880    he   removed   to    Minnesota   and    settled    in 


522 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  has  since  risen  to  a 
position  of  prominence  among  tlie  farmers  of 
Pleasant  Mound  township.  As  a  stock  raiser  he 
has  had  a  long  and  successful  experience  and  has 
found  the  silo  the  greatest  possible  aid  in  the 
work,  enabling  him  to  utilize  the  feed  without 
any  waste  and  with  the  utmost  benefit  to  the 
stock.  His  silo  has  a  capacity  of  one  hundred  and 
eighty  tons  and  it  is  his  decision  after  a  thor- 
ough trial  of  the  same  that  he  would  not  keep 
stock  on  the  farm  without  the  aid  of  one  of  these 
feed-storage  plants. 

Prior  to  removing  from  Wisconsin  to  Minne- 
sota domestic  ties  had  been  established  by  Mr. 
Oliver,  who  was  united  in  marriage  November  20, 
1879,  with  ]\Iiss  ilary  Eoberts,  a  native  of  Dela- 
ware count)',  Ohio,  and  a  daughter  of  Eev.  Hugh 
and  Alice  (Evans)  Eoberts,  natives  of  the  north 
of  Wales.  During  childhood  Hugh  Eoberts  was 
deprived  by  death  of  parental  affection  and  care, 
but  with  self-reliance  and  determination  he  work- 
ed his  way  along  through  school,  acquired  an  ex- 
cellent education  and  entered  the  ministry  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  denomination,  to  which 
self-sacrificing  labors  he  devoted  his  entire  ac- 
tive years.  The  mother  also  had  two  uncles,  two 
brothers,  and  a  half  brother  who  were  ministers. 
In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  ilrs.  Oliver  there  are 
five  sons,  namely :  William  H.,  who  graduated 
from  Parker  college  with  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts,  and  is  now  manager  of  a  hardware  busi- 
ness in  Michigan;  Claude  J.,  now  a  student  in 
Parker  college;  Earl,  Frank  and  Burt,  students 
in  the  local  schools.  Through  all  of  his  life  Mr. 
Oliver  has  been  in  symijathy  with  educational 
work  and  by  a  service  of  eighteen  years  on  the 
school  board  he  has  been  helpful  in  promoting 
the  welfare  of  his  school  district. 


OLSOX,  BAEXEY.— Intelligent  and  arduous 
labor  merits  success,  a  fair  degree  of  which  it 
ufually  b&stows  upon  its  seekers,  and  thus  it  has 
come  about  that  Barney  Olson  ranks  among 
the  successful  farmers  of  Medo  township.  When 
ho  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  during  the  spring 
of  1866,  a  few  months  after  the  expiration  of 
his  army  service,  he  was  without  means,  but  he 
possessed   an  abundance   of  energy  and  a  sturdy 


constitution,  so  that  he  was  able  to  endure  sacri- 
fices that  might  have  daunted  one  of  less  phy- 
sical or  mental  hardihood.  When  he  came  to 
Medo  township  and  bought  as  a  claim  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  thirty-four,  he  found 
only  a  few  settlers  in  this  part  of  the  count}-. 
With  the  other  pioneers  he  endured  many  vicis- 
situdes. Eoads  had  not  yet  been  opened  nor  had 
bridges  been  built,  so  that  the  pioneers  were 
compelled  to  ford  all  streams  and  make  then 
way  as  best  they  could  .across  the  unbroken, 
stretches  of  land.  To  sustain  his  family  and  pro- 
vide them  -with  the  necessities  of  life  during 
that  trying  period  was  no  easy  task,  but  it  de- 
veloped the  best  in  his  nature,  and  those  days 
of  arduous  labor  remain  among  the  most  pleas- 
ant of  his  memories. 

The  early  years  of  the  life  of  Barney  Olson 
were  passed  in  his  native  place,  Bergen,  Nor- 
v.'ay,  near  the  rugged  Atlantic  coast,  whose  stern 
and  rock-bound  shores  brought  destruction  to 
many  of  the  little  fishing  craft  that  furnished 
a  means  of  livelihood  to  the  toilers  of  the  sea. 
His  father,  Ole  B.  Olson,  was  a  native  of  Ber- 
gen and  passed  his  entire  life  on  a  farm  there. 
The  son  was  born  February  2,  1836,  and  at  an 
early  age  was  put  to  work  as  an  assistant  in 
the  support  of  the  family.  Seeking  a  more 
favorable  opening,  he  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1858  and  settled  in  Jefferson  county,  Wis- 
consin, but  eighteen  months  later  he  removed  to 
Deerfield,  Dane  county. 

During  1864,  j\Ir.  Olson  enlisted  in  the  union 
army  as  a  member  of  the  Forty-ninth  Wisconsin 
Infantry  and  was  mustered  into  service  at  Madi- 
son, Wisconsin,  from  which  city  he  was  ordered 
t'l  Benton  Barracks  in  Missouri.  Afterward  his 
regiment  traveled  through  various  parts  of  Mis- 
souri and  followed  gangs  of  bushwhackers  and 
rc'bbers  then  infesting  the  country.  In  1865, 
he  received  an  honorable  discharge  at  the  close 
of  the  war  and  returned  to  his  Wisconsin  home, 
but  from  there  in  the  spring  of  1866,  he  moved 
to  Minnesota  and  settled  on  the  quarter-section 
farm  which  he  still  owns,  and  which  is  situated 
east  of  Cottonwood  lake  in  Medo  township.  By 
additional  purchase  he  has  increased  the  size  of 
the  farm,  which  now  comprises  two  hundred  and 
forty  acres.     Crops  are  raised  such  as  are  adapted 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


523 


to  the  soil  and  climate^  and  a  good  grade  of  cattle, 
horses  and  hogs  are  also  raised.  The  owner  has 
been  successful  in  his  farming  operations  and 
furnishes  an  excellent  example  of  the  Norwe- 
gian element  that  forms  a  sturdy  addition  to 
the  population  of  our  commonwealth. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Olson  took  place  in  June 
of  1859,  and  united  him  with  Annie  Olson,  who 
came  from  Bergen,  Xorwa\-,  to  the  United  States 
in  185G,  settling  with  other  members  of  her 
family  in  Wisconsin.  Tliey  are  the  parents  of 
the  following  named  children :  Betsy,  ]\lrs.  C, 
0.  Strom  of  Fargo,  Xorth  Dakota;  Benner,  also 
living  in  Fargo;  Martha,  who  is  married  and 
makes  her  home  in  Fargo;  Casper,  of  Grand 
Forks,  North  Dakota.;  Albert  who  has  settled 
in  the  state  of  Washington;  Peter,  Franklyn  and 
John,  who  still  remain  -with  their  parents  and 
assist  in  the  work  of  the  home  farm. 


OLSON,  OLE  K.— To  begin  independent 
farming  without  any  capital  except  a  pair  of 
willing  hands,  a  robust  constitution  and  a 
resourceful  mind,  and  to  attain  a  position  of 
prominence  as  an  extensive  farmer  and  progres- 
sive stockman,  proves  that  one  possesses  more 
than  ordinarv  ability.  Such  may  be  claimed 
for  Mr.  Olson,  who  is  unanimously  pronounced 
to  be  one  of  the  most  enterprising  young  farm- 
ers of  Blue  Earth  county,  as  he  i.s  also  one  of 
the  largest  farmers  of  Sterling  township.  All 
of  his  farm  operations  are  conducted  upon  an 
extensive  scale,  yet  each  is  superintended  with 
the  most  exacting  scrutiny  and  the  strictest  at- 
tention to  detail.  The  Norwegian  race  in  Min- 
nesota, recognized  as  furnishing  a  most  sub- 
stantial addition  to  our  population,  has  no  repre- 
-ientative  more  industrious,  capable  and  energetic 
than  is  Mr.  Olson,  whose  success  is  well  merited 
by  the  exercise  of  qualities,  of  honor,  sobriety 
and   industry. 

Of  American  birth  and  Norwegian  parentage, 
Ole  K.  Olson  ^i-as  born  in  Winneshiek  county, 
Iowa,  ifarch  30,  1SG2,  being  a  son  of  Kettle 
Olson,  who  came  from  Norway  in  young  manhood 
and  settled  in  Iowa  during  the  '50s.  The  year 
1864  found  him  in  I\Iinnesota,  where  he  bought 
out  the  right  to  a  tract  of  land  in  Sterling  town- 


ship, Blue  Earth  county,  and  since  tiien  he  has 
devoted  his  attention  to  superintending  the  de- 
velopment of  the  fine  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  the  practical  work  of  which  has  been 
given  over  to  the  charge  of  his  son  Theodore, 
although-  the  father  continues  to  make  it  his 
home.  When  old  enough  to  attend  school  Ole  Iv. 
Olson  was  sent  to  the  country  schools  in  Ster- 
ling tow-nship  and  thus  acquired  a  fair  education 
in  the  common  branches  of  study.  ITpon  starting 
out  for  himself  he  selected  agriculture  for  his 
lll'e  work.  In  1882  he  rented  the  Elder  Hunt 
pjace  of  one  himdred  and  sixty  acres.  Soon  he  ac- 
quired the  title  to  the  property  Ijy  purchase  and 
added  to  tlie  same  by  buying  eighty  acres  ad- 
joining. Later  he  bought  the  Farrell  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  His  next  pur- 
chase consisted  of  eighty  acres  of  tlie  old  ilonger 
farm.  All  of  these  tracts  he  still  o\vus  and  oper- 
ates. In  addition  he  rents  the  Curry  farm  of 
two  hundred  acres  and  one  hundred  sixty  acret 
belonging  to  his  brother,  so  that  altogether  he 
controls  and  operates  more  than  eight  hundred 
acres. 

Making  a  specialty  of  thoroughbred  stock, 
3Ir.  Olson  has  a  registered  animal  of  fine  quali- 
ty at  the  head  of  his  herd  of  Dnrhams  and 
Shorthorn  cattle  numbering  about  two  hundred 
head.  The  cattle  are  fattened  and  shipped  to  the 
Chicago  market.  At  times  he  has  as  many  as 
tv,  0  hundred  head  of  hogs,  Poland-Cliinas  being 
his  favorites.  In  horses  he  breeds  the  Pcrcherons 
and  lias '  eight  registered  mares  of  the  finest 
qjiality,  besides  which  he  usually  keeps  twelve 
other  horses  of  the  finest  type  of  Percheron.  The 
c(  Its  are  sold  in  the  home  market  and  brinsr 
very  high  prices.  As  a  judge  of  fine  stock  Mr. 
Olson  has  few  superiors.  As  a  stockman  he  is 
progressive,  seeking  only  the  best  and  discard- 
ing from  his  herds  all  animals  that  give  evidence 
of  falling  below  the  accepted  standard  of  per- 
fection. 

The  marriage  of  'Sir.  Olson  took  place  in  ISi)? 
and  united  him  with  Maggie  A.  Currv,  of  Ster- 
ling township,  daughter  of  the  honored  pioneer, 
Robert  Curry.  They  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren, Robert  Walter,  Theodore  Edward,  Ole  Nello 
and  ;\Iary  Eliza.  Notwithstanding  the  large  tract 
of  land  w^hich  he  owns  or  rents  and  in  spite  of 


524 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


the  many  duties  demanding  his  constant  care,  ilr. 
(Jlgon  finds  leisure  to  keep  posted  concerning  local 
matters  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  tlie  public- 
spirited  citizens  of  the  township.  For  one  term 
he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  and  during 
that  period  his  decisions  -were  recognized  as  show- 
ing a  wide  knowledge  of  the  law  as  well  as  an 
impartial  spirit.  For  four  years  he  filled  the  of- 
fice of  assessor  and  for  eight  terms  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  town  board  of  supervisors^  during 
which  time  he  gave  his  support  to  many  move- 
ments for  the  benefit  of  the  to'iviiship  and 
county. 


OTTEESTBIX,  FEAITK  E.— In  no  occupa- 
tion embodied  in  the  great  working  forces  of  the 
world  is  greater  patience,  persistency  and  good 
judgment  required  of  its  followers  than  in  the 
science  of  farming.  In  it  there  are  no  short  cuts 
to  success,  no  magic  by  which  hard  work  even 
with  the  best  of  modern  facilities,  can  be  avoided, 
of  the  real  issues  turned  from  their  counsel.  To 
profit  by  failure,  to  anticipate  such  emergencies 
as  result  from  the  uncertainty  of  the  seasons,  and 
to  keep  ever  burning  the  lamp  of  research  and 
advancement  are  the  chief  roads  upon  which  one 
man  travels  faster  or  to  better  advantage  than  his 
neighbor  of  the  same  calling.  It  follows,  there- 
fore, that  to  own  a  large  property  when  formerly 
one  had  no  visible  asset?,  to  be  influential  when 
in  youth  one  was  obscure,  there  are  to  be  drawn 
deductions  only  of  the  most  praiseworthy  and 
encouraging  character.  In  this  connection  it  is 
gratifying  to  mention  the  name  of  Frank  E. 
Otterstein,  the  owner  of  more  than  four  hundred 
acres  of  valuable  land  in  section  33,  Shelby  town- 
ship, Blue  Earth  county. 

j\Ir.  Otterstein  was  born  in  Dodge  county,  Wis- 
consin, Xovember  15,  1853,  and  is  a  son  of  Carl 
Otterstein,  a  native  of  Germany.  The  elder 
Otterstein  was  a  widower  when  he  came  to  the 
United  States  as  a  comparatively  young  man, 
and  he  became  one  of  the  early  pioneers  of  Wis- 
consin, where  he  farmed  and  married  a  second 
wife,  Frank  E.  being  a  son  of  this  union.  Thfe 
lad  was  early  depeiident  upon  his  own  resources, 
for  his  father  died  when  he  was  eight  years  old 
and  his  mother  a  few  years  later.     He  was  vari- 


ously employed  in  Wisconsin  until  1877,  when 
he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  bought  a 
part  in  his  present  farm  in  Shelby  township.  The 
land  was  crude  and  undeveloped  at  the  time  of 
purchase,  but  now  it  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
properties  in  the  county,  having  ample  facilities 
for  the  raising  of  high  grade  stock,  including 
Durham  cattle,  J^orman  horses  and  Poland-China 
hogs.  This  farm  embodied  the  most  advanced 
agricultural  ideals  known  to  the  present  genera- 
tion of  toilers,  and  may  well  be  an  example  to  the 
youth  desiring  the  l^est  start  in  his  farming  life. 
July  17,  1879,  Mr.  Otterstein  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Minnie  Brown,  who  was  born  in 
Fillmore  county,  Minnesota,  October  26,  1861, 
a  daughter  of  Frederick  W.  Brown,  of  Quebec, 
Canada,  and  j\Iaria  J.  (Andrews)  Brown,  a  na- 
tive of  Cattarauguas  county,  Xew  York.  Mr. 
Brown  came  to  Des  Moines,  Iowa,  in  1856,  and 
later  bought  land  in  Fillmore  county,  Minnesota, 
flhere  he  remained  until  1862.  He  then  moved 
to  Blue  Earth  county  and  took  up  a  farm  in  sec- 
tion 33,  Shelby  township,  where  he  both  culti- 
vated his  land  and  followed  his  trade  as  carpen- 
ter and  builder.  In  the  neighborhood  he  built 
many  of  the  houses  and  barns  which  now  still 
stand  as  monuments  to  his  conscientious  work, 
and  continued  to  make  this  his  home  until  his 
death,  November  16,  1871.  He  was  the  parent 
of  four  daughters,  two  of  whom  are  living :  Mrs. 
Alice  M.  Covell,  of  Minneapolis,  and  Mrs.  Otter- 
stein, "Sir.  and  Mrs.  Otterstein  are  the  parentb 
of  the  following  children;  Nellie,  deceased;  Ag- 
I'cs,  now  Mrs.  J.  H.  Kinney,  of  Amboy;  Earl, 
of  Minneapolis ;  Fred  W. ;  Iva,  deceased ;  George ; 
Harold-  Eugene;  Robert  Jlerton;  Paul  Aklen; 
and  Dorisetta  and  Alicetta,  twins,  now  deceased. 
Mr.  Otterstein  rejoices  in  his  large  and  interest- 
ing family,  and  his  children  are  receiving  the 
best  possible  advantages  within  his  power  to  be- 
slow.  The  two  eldest  sons  graduated  from  the 
Winnebago  high  school — Earl  in  1906,  and  Fred 
in  1907. 

OYEEilAN,  ADOLPHITS  M.— The  business 
interests  of  ilankato  received  an  energetic  acqui- 
sition when  in  1902  A.  M.  Overman  came  to  this 
city,  where  since  he  has  conducted  a  music  store 
on  the  corner  of  Jackson  and  Second  streets.     A 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


525 


long  experience  in  the  business,  dating  back  to 
the  years  of  his  childhood  and  his  assistance 
given  in  a  music  store  owned  by  his  father,  en- 
ables him  to  buy  musical  instruments  with  un- 
excelled judgment.  There  are  few  qualifications 
more  important  to  a  music  dealer  than  an  ear 
trained  to  tones  and  harmonies,  aljle  to  detect 
discords  instantaneously,  and  well  versed  in  the 
people's  preferences  and  musical  tastes;  these 
qualities  Mr.  Overman  possesses  and  they  enable 
him  to  conduct  a  growing  l)usiness  with  judg- 
ment and  success.  Among  the  makes  of  pianos 
which  he  carries  are  the  Schimmel,  Chickering, 
ililler,  Whitney,  Schiller  and  the  Story  &  Clark, 
together  with  the  Cecilian  plaj^ers;  while  in  or- 
gans he  makes  a  specialty  of  the  Kimball,  Far- 
rand  and  Xewman  Brothers  varieties.  A  full 
line  of  sheet  music  is  kept  in  stock,  including 
the  very  latest  additions  to  the  modern  musician's 
repertoire,  and  furthermore  he  carries  stringed  in- 
struments of  all  kinds. 

Knightstown,  Indiana,  is  Mr.  Overman's  na- 
tive place,  and  July  18,  187;i,  the  date  of  his 
birth,  his  parents  being  Eeuben  E.  and  Anna 
(Ashbaugh)  Overman,  natives  of  Cleveland,  Indi- 
ana. The  father,  who  for  years  engaged  in  the 
music  business,  died  in  Indiana  in  August,  1906, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-six,  and  is  survived  by  his 
widow.  Of  their  three  children  the  eldest,  A.  M., 
received  a  fair  education,  begun  in  public  schools 
and  completed  in  Fairmount  college.  From  boy- 
hood he  was  familiar  with  musical  instruments 
and  assisted  his  father  in  the  store.  On  select- 
ing an  occup_ation  it  was  natural  he  should  choose 
the  one  with  which  he  was  most  familiar,  and 
he  has  made  the  selling  of  musical  instruments 
his  occupation.  During  1899,  he  came  to  Minne- 
sota and  settled  in  Lanesboro,  but  in  1902  came 
to  Mankato  as  offering  a  more  favorable  opening 
for  the  music  business,  and  his  decision  in  this  re- 
spect he  has  had  no  reason  to  regret.  A  fe^v 
months  before  coming  to  Mankato  he  was  united 
in  marriage  in  September,  1901,  with  Miss  Vina 
Ploff,  of  Wykoff,  Minnesota,  who  shares  with  him 
the  esteem  of  their  acquaintances. 

OWEN,  CHAELES  CLIFFOED.— No  city  in 
the  northwest  affords  a  better  opportunity  to 
secure  a  thorough  education  than  does  Mankato. 


Side  by  side  with  the  State  Normal  School,  with 
exceptional  advantages  for  the  training  of  teacli- 
ers,  stands  the  Toland  Business  Siliool,  offering 
exceptional  opportunities  to  young  men  and 
women  of  limited  means  to  secure  a  business  edu- 
cation. Four  years  ago  tliis  institution  formed 
one  of  a  series  of  several  similar  colleges  organ- 
ized Ijy  Jlr.  F.  J.  Toland  and  conducted  along  the 
lines  of  modern  business  methods  for  the  pur- 
pose of  preparing  young  people  for  business 
activities.  The  supervision  of  the  Shorthand  and 
Typewriting  departments  rests  with  Charles  Clif- 
ford Owen,  who  has  the  distinction  of  being  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  school,  and  who  for  the 
past  ten  years  has  been  connected  with  the  Tol- 
and chain  of  schools  located  in  Wisconsin,  Iowa 
and  Minnesota.  In  June  lOOT,  Mr.  Owen  pur- 
chased the  Mankato  school,  thereby  1)ecoraiug  sole 
owner,  and  while  it  is  not  the  lai'gcst  in  the 
state,  it  is  one  of  the  most  modern  liusiness  train- 
ing schools  in  southern  ^linnesota.  In  the  mod- 
ern office  of  today  will  be  found  Neostyles,  Tab- 
ulators, ^Mimeograph,  ifultigraph,  Commercial 
graphophone  and  Burroughs  adding  machine. 
These  will  be  found  in  the  Toland  School,  and 
it  is  to  this  thorough  and  modern  preparation 
that  had  made  the  graduates  of  this  school  more 
than  ordinarily  successful.  'Sh.  Owen's  "ten 
years  at  it"  has  qualified  him  to  wisely  advise  and 
counsel  young  men  and  women  and  plan  and 
direct  their  commercial  education  with  a  degri.'e  of 
assurance  for  their  success  that  will  be  un- 
equalled. 

Jlr.  Owen  was  born  at  Black  Eiver  Falls,  Wis., 
Feb.  ir,  1ST4,  and  is  the  son  of  Smith  and 
Carrie  (Peck)  Owen,  natives  of  Elmira,  N.  Y., 
and  Springfield,  111.  Among  five  children  he  was 
the  eldest  and  he  and  his  brother  Lloyd  are  the 
only  survivors. 

Mr.  Owen  received  his  eaidy  education  in  the 
public  schools  at  ^luscatine  and  Lansing.  Iowa. 
After  leaving  high  school  with  the  class  of  1889, 
Mr.  Owen  took  up  newspaper  work  and,  as  he  is 
an  accomplished  pen  artist,  he  entered  the  car- 
toon department  of  the  La  Crosse  Daily  Press, 
La  Crosse,  Wis.  A  few  years  later  he  took  his 
commercial  course  in  the  Toland  Business  Uni- 
versity of  the  same  city,  from  which  lie  graduated 
in   1899.     This  supplemented   with   an   academic 


526 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


course,  fitted  him  for  teaching  and  he  was  en- 
gaged by  Mr.  Toland  as  an  instructor  until  1903. 
During  the  year  of  1903-'04  he  was  principal  of 
the  Commercial  department  of  the  LaSalle-Peru 
Township  High  School,  La  Halle,  111.,  but  at  the 
close  of  the  year  resigned  at  the  solicitation  of 
Jlr.  Toland  to  come  to  Mankato  for  the  purpose 
of  establishing  the  Toland  college.  For  three 
years  Jlr.  Owen  was  its  manager  and  executive 
head  and  its  gratifying  progress  is  due  to  his 
unceasing  efforts  and  skilled  leadership  to  make 
the  school  the  representative  of  Its  kind.  He  has 
been  an  active  member  of  the  Mankato  Commer- 
cial Club  since  its  organization  and  is  Scci'etarv 
of  the  ilankato  Boosters'  Club.  However,  while 
championing  every  movement  and  organization 
for  the  benefit  of  the  city,  he  concentrates  his 
attention  almost  wholly  upon  his  especial  work. 
He  was  married  September  1,  1806  to  Miss  Etta, 
daughter  of  J.  J.  ^fyrick,  ilenomonie,  "Wis.,  and 
their  pleasant  home  in  Mankato  is  brightened  by 
the  presence  of  their  two  children,  Lelia  Bernice 
and  Donald  Alvin. 


OWEJTS.  0^\'EX  E.— For  more  than  forty 
years  Mr.  Owens  made  liis  home  upon  the  same 
farm,  and  during  that  long  period  he  witnessed 
many  changes  in  Blue  Eartli  county,  endured 
many  vicissitudes,  overcame  many  oljstacles  and 
surmounted  many  difficulties.  It  was  during 
the  spring  of  18(53  that  he  arrived  in  Minneso- 
ta and  shortly  afterward  he  took  up  a  claim 
frnm  the  government  comprising  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres.  From  that  time  until  he 
retired  to  the  A'illage  of  Lake  Ci'ystal,  in  1904, 
he  gave  liis  attention  to  the  clearing  of  the  land 
and  the  improvement  of  a  valuable  farm.  The 
early  years  were  times  of  siifl^ering  and  self- 
sacrifice,  ^lisfortune  often  befell  the  hardy 
pioneers.  Perhaps  the  greatest  of  their  troubles 
occurred  at  the  time  of  the  grasshopper  plague, 
when  fields  of  waving  grain  were  left  as  bare 
as  a  table  and  the  settlers  were  left  in  desper- 
ate straits.  Many  sutfered  for  needed  food  and 
c.'othing,  and  more  than  one  caljin  home  bore  the 
mark  of  destitution  before  another  crop  could 
be  raised.  Frequently  ^fr.  Owens  walked  to  the 
i\rankato  mill  with  a  team  of  oxen  and  the  trip 
of  twelve  miles  was  rendered  unusually  wearisome 


by  reason  of  worn-out  shoes.  Sometimes,  too, 
he  went  twenty-four  miles  for  a  load  of  lumber. 
After  his  crops  were  ruined  by  the  grasshoppers 
he  was  compelled  to  go  elsewhere  in  order  to 
secure  a  start  for  another  year.  In  spite  of  such 
■\'icissitudes,  the  pioneers  never  abandoned  hope, 
but  continued  to  be  patient,  cheerful  and  optimis- 
tic, always  believing  that  prosperity  in  due  time 
would  reward  their  exertions. 

Owen  E.  Owens  was  born  in  Oneida  county, 
Xew  York,  January  .5,  1833,  being  a  son  of 
Eichard  and  Ellen  Owens,  the  latter  of  whom 
died  at  the  old  homestead  when  her  son  was 
a  boy  of  ten  years.  The  former  attained  old 
age  and  passed  away  in  187  9,  in  Oneida  county. 
The  common  schools  of  that  county  afforded 
l\lr.  Owens  fair  advantages  considering  the  time, 
and  he  always  has  been  a  reader  and  close  ob- 
ser^■er,  so  that  now  he  ranks  among  the  well- 
informed  men  of  his  town.  Agriculture  has  been 
his  life  occupation  and  he  is  familiar  with  all 
of  its  details.  The  character  of  the  soil  of  Blue 
Earth  county,  the  adaptability  of  the  land  to 
certain  crops,  the  possibility  of  success  along 
certain  lines  of  diversified  farming,  and  the  in- 
tricacies of  the  stock  industry,  all  these  problems 
have  become  familiar  to  him  through  long  and 
varied  experience.  While  laboring  to  develop 
his  farm,  he  neglected  no  duty  falling  upon 
public-spirited  citizens.  In  politics  he  always 
has  voted  with  the  EepulDlican  party  and  advocat- 
ed its  principles,  and  npon  this  ticket  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  county  supervisor,  which 
he  filled  with  recogTiized  efficiency  and  faithful- 
ness. In  religion  he  is  of  tlie  Welsh  Calvinis- 
ti'-  faith. 

Upon  coming  to  the  northwest  Mr.  Owens  was 
married,  he  having  been  united,  December  9, 
1856,  with  Miss  ^fargaret  Meridh  a  native  of 
Oneida  county,  Xew  York,  and  like  himself  a 
descendant  of  Welsh  ancestry.  Three  sons  and  five 
daughters  were  born  of  their  marriage,  but  they 
have  suffered  a  heavy  bereavement  in  the  loss 
of  six  of  the  children  by  death.  Only  twi_' 
daughters  are  now  living.  ilargaret  is  the 
wife  of  Eichard  Jones  and  Imogene  married 
Eobert  Hughes ;  lioth  dangliters  reside  npon 
farms  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  share  with  their 
parents  the  esteem  of  acquaintances  and  a  stand- 
ing in  the  best  society. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


PALMEE,  GEOEGE  M.— Inseparably  asso- 
ciated with  the  city  of  Mankato  is  the  name  of 
George  M.  Palmer,  who  for  many  years  has  been 
connected  with  the  manufacture  of  flour  is  widely 
known  through  his  association  with  the  agricul- 
tural and  commercial  interests  of  the  northwest. 
Though  at  no  time  an  agriculturist,  few  men  are 
better  informed  than  he  concerning  condition  of 
the  soil,  suitability  of  certain  crops  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  soil,  and  the  possibilities  of  the 
season's  grain  output,  and  this  knowledge  has 
come  to  him  largely  in  his  connection  with  the 
elevator  business.  For  years  he  has  made  a  spe- 
cialty of  the  buying  and  selling  of  wheat.  Along 
the  line  of  the  adjacent  railway's  the  elevators 
of  his  company  may  be  seen.  These  are  stored 
with  the  products  bought  from  the  farmers  after 
harvest  and  are  held  until  sales  can  be  made  to 
an  advantage.  It  has  been  his  task  to  superin- 
tend the  buying,  storing  and  selling,  and  when 
it  is  considered  that  in  addition  to  such  im- 
portant and  large  enterprises,  he  has  also  been 
active  in  financial  matters,  has  aided  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  board  of  trade,  and  for  many 
years  has  labored  hard  for  the  good  road  cause, 
has  labored  for  the  higher  usefulness  of  the 
local  schools,  has  been  a  worker  in  reform  move- 
ments and  in  religious  affairs,  and  has  ably 
filled  the  office  of  maj'or  of  ;\Iankatn,  it  may  be 
seen  that  his  is  a  busy  and  useful  life. 

Though  born  in  the  west,  Mr.  Palmer  was  rear- 
ed principally  in  N"ew  England.  The  Palmer 
family  was  established  in  'New  Hampshire  from 
England  at  a  very  early  period  of  our  colonial 
history  and  in  1809,  removed  to  Maine.  John 
Palmer,  a  native  of  ^a^etto,  Maine,  removed  to 
Wisconsin  in  1848,  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw 
land.  His  wife  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Cordelia 
Morrison  and  likewise  was  born  in  Payette  of 
colonial  ancestry.  The  Morrison  family  came 
originally  from  Scotland.  In  Winnebago  county, 
Wisconsin,  George  M.  Palmer  was  born  Xovem- 
ber  17,  1853.  At  the  age  of  eight  years  he  went 
to  make  his  home  with  an  uncle,  who  settled  in 
Monmouth,  Maine,  and  there  the  youth  attended 
the  common  schools  and  academy.  In  1SG8,  he 
returned  to  the  west,  this  time  establishing  him- 
self at  Garden  City,  Minnesota,  where  he  at- 
tended  school  and  later  clerked  in  a  store.     In 


1872  he  took  a  course  in  a  business  college  at 
8t.  Paul.  After  leaving  the  college  he  became 
bookkeeper  for  the  Mankato  Linseed  Oil  company, 
of  wliieh  B.  D.  Hubbard  fl-as  the  manager, 
and  this  position  he  filled  from  18?3  until  the 
autumn  of  1879.  Upon  resigning  as  bookkeeper 
he  joined  Mr.  Hubbard  in  the  building  and 
management  of  the  ]\Iankato  flouring  mill,  with 
which  he  since  has  been  identified. 

In  partnership  with  S.  H.  Grannis  in  1888, 
Mr.  Palmer  embarked  in  the  business  of  buying 
and  storing  wheat  and  erected  elevators  along 
the  line  of  the  railroad.  After  four  years  Mr. 
Grannis  retired  and  the  firm  became  Hubbard 
&  Palmer,  in  1897,  being  changed  to  the  Hub- 
bard-Palmer  Company  of  which  Mr.  Palmer  has 
acted  as  president  from  the  first.  In  addition, 
he  is  president  of  the  First  jSTational  Bank  of 
Mankato,  in  which  he  has  been  for  years  a  di- 
rector and  large  stockholder.  With  a  firm  belief 
in  the  prosperity  of  this  region  he  has  investec! 
extensively  in  real  estate  and  has  bought  and 
sold  many  properties.  As  a  judge  of  real  estate 
values  he  is  regarded  as  an  expert.  His  faith  in 
the  commercial  and  agricultural  development  of 
his  state  gives  him  an  optimistic  temperament, 
which  temporary  discouragements  do  not  daunt 
nor  depressions  lessen.  Wiile  acting  as  mayor 
in  188-5,  he  was  able  to  promote  many  movements 
for  the  general  welfare  and  accomplished  much' 
for  the  development  of  the  city;  nor  did  his  in- 
terest decrease  with  his  retirement  from  office, 
Init  he  furnishes  an  example  of  the  type  of  citi- 
zen (seen  none  too  often)  whose  contributions 
to  the  civic  progress  are  as  important  coming 
from  a  private  citizen  as  from  an  office  holder. 
His  marriage  occurred  in  1888  to  Miss  Olivia 
M.  Eoberts,  whose  parents  were  William  E.  and 
Mary  E.  (Fowler)  Eoberts,  being  then  residents 
of  Mankato.  Two  children  bless  their  union. 
Earl  M.,  and  Euth.  The  family  belong  to  the 
Baptist  church,  in  which  Mr.  Palmer  has  been  a 
leader  in  Sunday  school  work,  and  he  also  has 
been  associated  with  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
AsiSociation. 

PALilEE,  WILLIAM  E.— Early  in  the  his- 
tory of  America  two  brothers  bearing  the  name 
of  Palmer  crossed  the  ocean  from  England  and 


rv28 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


cf^tablished  the  famil)'  in  the  new  -world.  One 
blanch  Ijecame  identified  with  the  history  of 
the  south,  while  the  other  became  transplanted 
in  the  west.  From  the  latter  branch  descended 
William  H.  Palmer,  an  honored  pioneer  of  Min- 
nesota and  for  years  identified  witli  tlie  growth  of 
his  locality.  During  the  pioneer  era  he  settled 
in  Money  creek  Talley,  Nicollet  county,  and  for 
some 'time  acted  as  engineer  of  the  Eagle  ilills. 
Eeraoving  to  ^Mankato  in  1880,  he  held  a  position 
as  engineer  in  the  oil  mill  for  several  years.  In 
this  city  his  death  occurred  in  September,  1905, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  By  his  marriage 
to  x\lvikla  Ballinger,  who  survives  him,  he  had 
a  family  of  four  sons,  namely :  John,  deceased ; 
Alfred  E.,  a  resident  of  Grand  Forks,  North  Da- 
kota; William  E.,  whose  name  introduces  this 
article,  and  who  was  born  in  Nicollet  county 
Minnesota,  December  3,  1871;  and  George  who 
makes   his   home  in   Bemidji,   this   state. 

Upon  the  completion  of  his  education  in  the 
Franklin  and  Mankato  scliools,  William  E.  Pal- 
mer began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a  jeweler  with 
C.  D.  Taylor,  of  j\Iankato,  and  remained  in  the 
same  capacity  until  he  had  perfected  his  trade 
in  1893.  Going  to  the  west,  he  pursued  his 
chosen  occupation  at  Helena  and  Missoula,  Mon- 
tana, and  at  Wallace,  Idaho,  but  the  failure  of 
his  death  obliged  him  for  a  time  to  relinquish 
his  employment.  As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  re- 
sume work  he  secured  a  position  as  foreman  with 
C.  D.  Taylor  of  Mankato.  Here  he  continued 
as  an  employe  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Taylor, 
after  which  he  purchased  the  entire  stock  and 
has  since  remodeled  and  enlarged  the  store  at 
No.  311  South  Front  street.  Showcases  of  the 
finest  glass  have  been  purchased  for  the  display  of 
the  stock  and  the  interior  fittings  of  the  store  are 
rctfined  and  elegant,  while  the  stock  comprises 
the  largest  line  of  exclusive  jewelry  in  the  city. 

The  marriage  of  William  E.  Palmer  and 
Emma,  daughter  of  Albert  Krieg,  took  place 
April  10,  1902,  and  united  two  of  the  pioneer 
families  of  the  state.  Two  children  bless  their 
union,  E.  H.,  and  Lucile  E.  Fraternally  l\Ir. 
Palmer  holds  membership  with  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen.  Personally  he  possesses 
the  energy  and  ability  requisite  to  success  in  the 
field  of  commerce,  and  at  the  same  time  has  the 


genial  temperament  and  strict  integrity  that  win 
and  retain  friends. 


PALMEE,  WILLTAil  H.— The  genealogical 
records  of  the  Palmer  family  trace  their  line- 
age back  to  England  whence  some  of  the  namu 
crossed  the  ocean  to  America  during  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  colonies.  From  that  time  forward 
for  several  generations  the  descendants  were  iden- 
tified with  the  agricultural  development  of  New 
England.  Somewhere  near  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century  John  Palmer  was  born  in 
Maine.  There  he  passed  the  uneventful  years  of 
boyhood,  there  he  embarked  upon  agricultural 
pursuits  and  there  he  established  domestic  ties 
through  his  marriage  to  Cordelia  Morrison  like- 
wise a  native  of  Maine,  of  English  extraction. 
AYhile  they  -svere  living  on  a  farm  in  Maine  their 
son,  William  H.,  was  born  September  17,  1843. 
During  the  year  1849  the  family  followed  the  tide 
of  emigration  that  drifted  steadily  toward  the 
unknown  west.  The  state  of  Wisconsin  was  the 
objective  point  of  their  journey  and  soon  after 
their  arrival  they  secured  land  near  Oshkosh, 
wh.ere  they  spent  many  busy  and  useful  years. 
The  father  died  there  April  9,  1868,  and  was 
survived  by  his  wife  for  fifteen  years.  Of  their 
five  sons  and  four  daughters,  four  sons  and  one 
daughter   are  now  living. 

The  eldest  member  of  the  family  circle  was 
V.'illiam  H.  Palmer,  who  was  six  years  of  age 
at  the  time  of  removing  to  Wisconsin.  While 
lie  had  very  meagre  opportunities  for  acquiring 
an  education,  lie  liecanic  well-informed  through 
habits  of. reading  and  observation.  Nothing  oc- 
curred to  mark  the  years  of  youth  until  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  war,  when  he  enlisted  in 
Company  K,  Eighth  Wisconsin  Infantry,  ac- 
companied his  regiment  to  the  front,  participated 
in  its  struggles,  hardships,  forced  marches  and 
encounters  ^^■ith  the  enemy,  remaining  in  the 
army  until  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  three 
years.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  came  to 
Minnesota  and  took  up  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  government  land  in  Nicollet  county, 
v.'here  he  engaged  in  farming  until  1879.  From 
the  farm  he  came  to  Mankato  and  secured  em- 
ployment in  the  old  oil  mill,  but  after  seven  years 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


529 


he  resigned  that  position  in  onler  to  identify 
himself  with  tlie  Hnbbard  flour  mill.  Some  three 
years  later  he  and  his  brother  engaged  in  busi- 
ness for  themselves,  having  a  number  'of  thresh- 
ing outfits  through  the  ivheat  country.  Up  to 
the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  September 
10,  1905,  he  continued  the  business  activities 
which  netted  him  a  fair  income  and  left  his 
family  in  comfortable  circumstances  at  his  de- 
mise. To  a  man  of  his  temperament  politics 
presented  no  attractions,  and  it  is  not  strange 
therefore  that  he  took  no  part  in  tlic  same.  How- 
ever, he  was  well  posted  concerning  the  national 
issues  and  always  voted  the  Republican  ticket. 
In  fraternal  relations  he  held  membership  with 
the  Masons  and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  in  religion  he  was  an  active 
worker  in  the  Baptist   church. 

The  marriage  of  William  H.  Palmer  occur- 
red March  16,  186G,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Alwilda  J.  Ballenger,  eldest  daughter  of  John 
E.  and  Theresa  (Oyler)  Ballenger,  natives  of 
Indiana,  and  descended  from  old  Virginian  fam- 
hes  of  English  extraction.  The  grandparents 
left  the  Old  Dominion  about  1816  and  sought 
the  opportunities  of  the  then  undeveloped  west- 
ern frontier,  becoming  among  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  the  Hosier  state.  The  land  they  then 
purchased  remained  in  the  hands  of  their  descend- 
ants and  became  very  valuable.  To  the  union 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer  there  were  born  four 
children  who  attained  muturity,  namely,  John, 
who  died  June  30,  1900  i  Erve,  now  engaged  in 
the  jeweli-y  business  at  Grand  Eorks,  North  Da- 
kota; Ellsworth,  who  has  a  jewelry  store  at  Man- 
ksto;  and  George,  who  resides  in  Mankato  and  is 
engaged  in  the  dental  profession. 


PARKS,  WILLIAM  S.— The  family  repre- 
sented by  this  influential  farmer  of  Blue  Earth 
county  comes  of  Irish  extraction  and  was  founded 
in  the  United  States  by  John  Parks,  a  native 
of  Londonderry,  Ireland,  who  crossed  the  ocean 
about  1810.  Fext  in  line  of  descent  ^^as  Robert 
Parks,  born  January  18,  1809,  and  one  year  of 
age  at  the  time  the  family  came  to  America. 
The  last-named  married  Louise  Ketchum,  who 
was  born   in    Canada    February    3,    1812.      Thej 

n 


became  the  parents  of  the  following  named  child- 
r€n:  Sarah  A.,  now  deceased;  Richard  D.,  who 
enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Eighteenth. 
Few  York  Infantry  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilder- 
ness; John  S.,  who  was  born  at  Quebec,  Canada, 
April  24,  1835,  and  was  one  year  old  at  the  time 
the  family  removed  to  New  York  state;  William 
S  ,  'ivho  was  born  in  Clinton  county.  New  York, 
January  31,  1841;  Eliza  J.,  Mrs.  Nelson  Lattin; 
Henry  H.,  living  in  Slinnesota;  Zadie  M.,  who 
married  J.  H.  Davis  and  resides  in  Pasadena, 
California;  Edward  S.,  who  remains  in  the  old 
homestead  in  New  York;  and  Frank,  Mrs.  F.  0. 
Pearl,  of  North  Dakota. 

At  one  time  Robert  Parks  thought  seriously 
of  coming  west  but  his  plans  were  changed  and 
he  remained  in  New  York  state,  continuing  on 
the  original  farm  and  owning  another  in  the 
same  vicinity.  There  his  death  occurred  April 
29,  1857.  His  son,  John  S.,  went  to  Connecti- 
cut in  the  spring  of  1861,  but  soon  came  west  to 
Wisconsin  and  in  1863  removed  to  Minnesota, 
where  he  took  up  land  on  section  twenty-six, 
Pleasant  Mound  township.  Blue  Earth  county. 
Prom  that  place  he  removed  in  1905  to  Amboy, 
where  now  he  lives  in  retirement.  In  March  of 
1864  he  married  Helen  M.  Cra}',  a  sister  of 
Judge  Lorin  Cray.  They  are  the  parents  of  five 
children,  namely:  R.  D.,  who  is  a  traveling  sales- 
man and  resides  at  Lake  Crystal,  Minnesota; 
Walter  M.,  a  teacher  near  Sioux  City,  Iowa; 
Elmer  Lorin,  now  in  North  Dakota;  Ray  D.  and 
Roy  L.,  (twins),  graduates  of  a  splendid  busi- 
ness college  in  ^linneapolis.  For  thirty-seven 
years  John  S.  Parks  served  as  postmaster,  besides 
which  he  was  census-taker,  member  of  the  town 
board  and  also  a  member  of  the  school  board. 

When  twenty-five  years  of  age  William  S. 
Parks  came  to  ]\[innesota  and  spent  several 
months  in  Blue  Earth  county,  but  the  ties  of 
kindred  and  old  associations  were  sufficiently 
strong  to  lure  him  iiack  to  New  York  state,  where 
he  remained  for  twelve  years  at  the  old  home.  In 
1879  lie  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  as  a  per- 
manent resident.  For  a  time  he  rented  land  in 
Pleasant  ^lound  Township,  but  in  1883  he  pur- 
chased his  present  property  on  section  twenty- 
nine  of  that  township,  where  he  has  one  hundred 


530 


BTOGEAPHICAL  HrSTORY. 


and  sixty  acres  of  -well-irapToved  land,  suitably 
equipped  for  the  raising  of  crops  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  climate.  Good  grades  of  horses,  cattle 
and  hogs  are  to  be  found  on  the  place.  A  spe- 
cialty is  also  made  of  fruit  business.  Apples 
are  grown  in  large  quantities,  cherries  and  plums 
also  are  grown,  as  well  as  the  different  kinds  of 
small  fruits. 

The  marriage  of  William  S.  Parks  took  place 
March  11,  1870,  and  united'  him  with  Cornelia 
Pearl  of  Clinton  county,  Kew  York,  daughter 
of  Almon  Pearl,  member  of  an  honored  colonial 
family  of  the  east;  when  quite  advanced  in  years 
I\rr.  Pearl  came  to  Minnesota  to  make  his  home 
with  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Parks,  who  died  Novem- 
ber 9th,  1892,  caused  by  paralysis,  her  father  sur- 
viving her  till  1897.  The  family  of  Mr.  and 
ifrs.  Parks  corprises  the  following  children: 
Zelphia,  Mrs.  Arthur  Langman,  a  resident  of 
Truman,  Martin  county,  Minnesota;  Zadia,  who 
married  Charles  Eoe  and  lives  in  Martin  county; 
Ada,  Mrs.  William  Sharp  of  Faribault  county; 
Robert  M.,  who  is  married  and  resides  at  Shell 
Lake,  Wisconsin;  Mellie,  wife  of  Clarence  Smith, 
of  Winnebago  City,  Minnesota;  Emma,  who  mar- 
red L.  Doolittle,  of  Martin  county;  Harry  and 
Pearl,  who  reside  with  their  parents,  the  latter 
being  engaged  in  teaching  school;  Edward, 
who  makes  his  home  at  present  with  his  sister, 
Mrs.  Sharp;  and  Catherine,  who  is  with  her 
father  on  the  old  homestead. 


PAEMELEE,  BENSOIST  C— Mr.  Parmelee, 
whose  long  and  creditable  experience  in  the  im- 
plement business  has  earned  him  a  responsible 
position  with  the  branch  of  the  great  Interna- 
tional Harvester  Company,  as  superintendent  of 
warehouses  and  repair  rooms,  and  shipping  and 
receiving  of  goods,  has  been  a  familiar  figure  in 
this  line  to  the  agricultural  communities  of  Min- 
nesota for  the  past  thirty  years.  He  has  been 
a  valued  resident  of  Mankato  for  the  past  eight 
years,  coming  here  as  an  employee  of  the  Deer- 
ing  Harvester  Company.  Mr.  Parmelee  is  of 
old  English  origin,  the  family  having  its  distinc- 
tive coat  of  arms,  and  his  individual  traits  of 
persistency  and  solid,  common  sense,  are  typical 


of  his  people.  His  parents,  Egbert  and  Melina 
D.  (Koise)  Parmelee,  were  natives  of  Chenango 
County,  Xew  York,  and  in  1858  removed  to  Dodge 
County,  Wisconsin,  where  their  son,  Benson  C, 
was  born  on  the  10th  of  March,  1859.  The  father 
was  a  farmer  and  a  nurseryman  and  died  in  Wis- 
consin in  1866,  while  the  widow  and  mother 
came  to  Mankato,  where  she  still  resides.  Of 
their  five  children,  the  following  four  are  living: 
Benson  C;  Martin  E.,  residing  in  Knoxville, 
Tennessee;  Charles  M.,  of  Minneapolis,  Minne- 
sota; and  Orpheus  M.,  of  Chicago.  Elizabeth, 
the  fifth  child,  died  in  1875,  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
four. 

^Ir.  Parmelee  attended  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  town  of  Oak  Grove,  Wisconsin  and  also 
received  a  high  school  education  there,  but  he  was 
early  employed  in  the  grain  and  machinery  busi- 
ness, and  in  April,  1877,  removed  to  Waseca, 
Minnesota,  where  he  engaged  in  the  sale  of  farm 
implements  and  machinery  in  partnership  with 
C.  A.  Wright,  under  the  firm  name  of  Parmelee 
&  Wright.  Later  Mr.  Wright  sold  his  interest 
to  Eudolph  Eoesler,  and  Parmelee  &  Eoesler 
continued  in  business  until  1895,  when  the 
former  entered  the  employ  of  the  Deering  Har- 
vester Company  and  removed  to  Mankato.  He 
continued  with  that  company  until  its  consoli- 
dation with  the  International  Harvester  Com- 
pany, when  he  was  appointed  to  his  present  re- 
sponsible  position. 

Married  in  November,  1882,  to  Miss  Eletha 
Hull  of  Juneau,  Wisconsin,  Mr.  Parmelee  lost 
his  first  wife  by  death  in  April,  1892,  she  having 
born  him  four  children  as  follows;  Bessie  L.,  now 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Powell,  of  Savannah,  Illinois;  Egbert 
Nelson,  married  and  living  in  Chicago,  Illinois; 
Horace  E.,  married  and  living  in  North  Yaki- 
ma; and  Charles  B.,  married  and  living  in 
Mankato.  His  second  marriage  in  June,  1893, 
was  to  Mrs.  Lillie  Barnes  of  Waseca,  Minne- 
sota, she  had  one  child,  Laura  E.,  who  became 
the  wife  of  C.  W.  Dunkelberger,  of  Clinton,  Iowa. 
By  his  second  marriage  Mr.  Parmelee  had  one 
child,  Mildred   M. 

Mr.  Parmelee  is  a  member  of  the  A.  E.  & 
A.  M.  and  is  identified,  religiously,  with  the 
Centenary  M,  E.  Church. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORT. 


531 


PATTERSON,  LESTER.— In  Lester  Patter- 
son is  foimd  a  representative  of  that  much  needed 
class  of  men  who  start  out  right  in  the  world, 
who  keep  going  right,  and  who  therefore  reaci^ 
the  end  of  their  business  career  while  still  theiv 
faculties  are  unimpaired  and  their  capacity  for 
enjoyment  keen.  The  ability  to  see  the  end  as 
well  as  the  beginning  of  his  association  with 
opportunities  has  been  a  salient  feature  of  his 
many  sided  success.  ]\Ir.  Patterson  has  browsed 
pleasantly  and  profitabl}'  in  many  a  fertile  finan- 
cial pasture,  but  when  he  has  put  up  the  bars  be- 
hind him  has  always  left  the  soil  in  good  condi- 
tion for  his  successors.  jMany  have  acquired 
^vealth  and  influence  through  his  instrumentality, 
aiid  his  own  competence  has  not  been  amassed 
a<  the  expense  of  either  principle  or  his  fellow 
men.  He  has  been  a  creator  rather  than  a  de- 
structionist,  and  as  a  result  has  carried  with  him 
to  his  present  sun  kissed  California  home,  the 
good  will  of  the  people  of  every  community  in 
which  his  social  and  commercial  lot  has  been 
cast. 

Manlcato  has  profited  substantially  by  Mr.  Pat- 
terson's identification  with  its  affairs.  His  life 
began  on  a  farm  near  Alliance,  Mahoning  county, 
Ohio,  December  24,  1841,  and  for  twenty-two 
years  he  shared  in  the  duties,  advantages  and 
pastimes  of  his  native  locality.  He  then  was  var- 
iously employed  until  his  marriage,  in  186.").  to 
Melissa  A.  Kibler,  of  Palmyra,  Oliio,  and  the 
following  year  he  moved  to  Deerfield,  Ohio,  and 
until  1873,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  tow 
from  flax  straw.  At  Yan  Wert,  the  same  state, 
he  conducted  a  similar  business,  and  at  the  same 
time  engaged  in  several  lines  of  activity  which 
materially  redounded  to  the  prestige  of  the  com- 
munity. He  was  a  director  of  tlie  First  Na- 
tional Bank  at  Yan  Wert,  and  one  of  the  in- 
corporators of  the  Cincinnati,  Yan  Wert  &  Michi- 
gan Railroad,  now  an  important  transportation 
line.  Thinking  to  enjoy  a  wider  range  of  oppor- 
tunity, he  moved  to  Clncago  in  1881,  and  there 
engaged  in  the  boiler  plate  jobbing  business  until 
h&  location  in  Mankato  in  1884. 

Mr.  Patterson's  standing  with  his  former  busi- 
ness associates  became  apparent  during  his  early 
business  career  in  ]\Iankato,  for  he  succeeded  in 
interesting  Van  Wert  financiers  in  the  Mankato 


Gas  Works,  which  subsequently  developed  into  the 
Mankato  Gas  &  Electric  Light  Company,  at  best 
an  expensive  project. 

Before  his  arrival  here,  he  began  to  plan  for 
the  large  wholesale  grocery  business  opened  in 
April,  1884,  in  a  two  story  building  on  South 
Front  street.  Two  years  later  removal  was  made 
to  a  three  story  building  at  214  South  Front 
street  and  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  May,  1897. 
This  was  immediately  replaced  by  the  four  story 
and  basement  brick  building  now  occupied  by  the 
Company  and  which  houses  one  of  the  most 
widely  known  wholesale  grocery  enterprises  in 
the  state  of  Minnesota,  being  owned  and  con- 
trolled by  himself  and  his  two  sons.  Mr.  Pat- 
terson recently  has  opened  a  large  wholesale  gro- 
cery at  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  in  which  also 
his  sons,  H.  A.  and  Eugene  L.,  are  interested. 
He  is  a  director  and  one  of  the  heaviest  stock 
holders  in  the  Citizens'  Bank,  of  Mankato,  and 
has  heavy  land  interests  in  North  Dakota  and 
northern  Minnesota,  owned  by  the  Patterson  Land 
Company  of  which  he  is  president  with  offices  in 
St.  Paul.  There  are  few  enterprises  of  note 
in  the  community  which  in  some  way  have 
not  profited  by  the  direct  qr  indirect  influence  of 
this  prince  of  promoters.  He  favors  everything 
which  tends  to  the  greatest  usefulness  and  the 
greatest  happiness  of  the  race,  and  his  ethics, 
business  methods,  and  general  principles  are  con- 
ceived and  maintained  with  wisdom,  consis- 
tency and  forethought.  While  in  Mankato  he 
occupied  a  self  constructed  residence  which  ma- 
terially adds  to  the  architectural  grace  and  sub- 
stantiality of  the  city;  built  in  1887. 


PATTRIDGE,  ABEL  J.— After  years  of  un- 
^vearied  labors  in  farming  pursuits  Mr.  Pattridge 
retired  from  agricultural  activities  and  now  makes 
his  home  in  the  Yillage  of  Yernon  Center  re- 
taining, however.  1he  ownership  of  considerable 
land,  and  supervision  of  which  occupies  much 
of  his  time.  While  he  has  disposed  of  the  old 
homestead,  he  still  owns  four  Inmdred  and  ninety- 
five  acres,  of  which  one-quarter  section  lies  in 
Canada  and  the  balance  is  located  in  Cotton- 
wood and  Brown  counties.  In  addition  to  the 
farm  property  he  has  real  estate  in  town.     The 


532 


BTOGEAPHTCAL  HISTOEY. 


accumulation  of  this  estate  represents  a  life- 
tirne  of  intelligent  energy  and  entitles  him  to 
the  enjoyment  of  the  comforts  which  a  compe- 
tency gives  to  the  afternoon  of  his  busy  exist- 
ence. 

Born  in  Pennsylvania  February  16,  1841,  A. 
J.  Pattridge  is  a  son  of  Charles  A.  and  Maria 
A.  (Tullar)  Pattridge,  natives  respectively  of 
New  Hampshire  and  Kew  York.  In  an  early 
day  the  parents  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  took 
up  land  in  Dodge  county,  where  the  father  im- 
proved a  farm  and  remained  until  his  death  in 
1876.  Later  the  widowed  mother  became  an  in- 
mate of  the  home  of  her  son,  A.  J.,  and  here  she 
was  surrounded  by  every  comfort  until  she  pass- 
ed away  in  1890,  at  his  home  in  Pleasant  Mound 
township.  Six  children  comprised  her  family, 
but  two  O'f  these  died  in  infancy.  The  oldest 
son,  John  M.,  died  Oct  25,  1908,  in  Jackson 
county,  Wisconsin.  The  eldest  daughter,  Emily, 
m.akes  her  home  with  her  brother,  A.  J.  The 
younger  sister,  Sophronia,  Mrs.  Mackintosh,  is 
a  resident  of  Massachusetts,  where  her  husband 
follows  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  and  joiner.  Dur- 
ing early  life  Charles  A.  Pattridge  voted  the 
Whig  ticket  and  upon  the  disintegration  of  that 
party  he  became  an  advocate  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples, which  afterward  he  supported  until  his 
death. 

Educated  in  the  common  school  of  Wisconsin, 
A.  J.  Pattridge  remained  in  that  state  and 
made  his  home  in  Dodge  county  for  a  consider- 
able period.  In  1869  he  married  Sarah  A.  O'Con- 
nor, who  was  born  July  30,  1838,  in  the  shire  of 
Somerset,  England,  and  accompanied  her  mother 
to  the  United  States,  settling  in  Waukesha 
county,  Wisconsin  and  moved  to  Dodge  county  in 
1854.  During  1871,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pattridge 
came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and  settled  in  Pleas- 
ant Mound  township,  where  they  resided  until 
1899,  the  date  of  their  retirement  from  farming 
and  their  removal  to  Vernon  Center.  They  are 
the  parents  of  four  children,  of  whom  the 
eldest,  George,  is  living  at  Spokane,  Washington, 
Lulu,  Mrs.  P.  D.  Dewey,  and  Olive  C,  Mrs. 
M.  B.  Harrison,  live  upon  farms  in  Cottonwood 
county,  Minnesota.  Archie,  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  is  a  farmer  in  Brown  county,  Minnesota. 
During   early    life    Mr.    Pattridge   was   a   mem- 


ber of  the  lodge  of  Good  Templars  and  always 
has  been  a  strict  believer  in  the  principles  of 
p]-ohibition  to  which  he  gives  the  influence  of 
hir  example  and  precept.  In  former  years  he  has 
held  school  offices.  A  gratifying  degree  of  pros- 
perity has  come  to  him  as  a  reward  of  his  dili- 
gent application  and  wise  investments,  and  he 
now  deservedly  occupies  a  prominent  position 
among  the  successful  retired  farmers  of  the 
county. 


PAY,  BENJAMIN  D.— Had  he  the  descrip- 
tive skill  of  a  Cooper,  Benjamin  D.  Pay  might 
fashion  out  of  the  events  of  his  own  life  a  nar- 
rative of  absorbing  interest  and  adventure,  an  au- 
thoritative chronicle  of  the  turbulent  events  of 
the  third  quarter  of  the  last  century  which  marked 
the  iinal  subduing  of  the  Indian  in  Blue  Earth 
county.  This  prominent  business  man  and  nat- 
ural fighter,  whose  terms  as  deputy  sheriff  dur- 
ing the  Civil  war  was  unequalled  for  excitement 
and  amount  of  good  accomplished,  has  been  a 
resident  of  this  part  of  Minnesota  since  October, 
1856.  In  his  veins  runs  the  blood  of  courageous 
English  sires,  but  he  himself  is  essentially  Ameri- 
can, having  arrived  only  at  his  fifth  year  when 
he  was  brought  to  America  from  Dover,  Eng- 
land, where  his  birth  occurred  October  3,  1831. 
His  parents,  William,  and  Susanna  (Pilcher) 
Pay,  also  were  natives  of  England,  and  upon 
reaching  this  country  in  1837,  settled  in  Water- 
town,  New  York,  where  the  father  engaged  in  the 
bakery  and  cracker  business  for  the  balance  of 
his  active  life. 

Educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Watertown, 
New  York,  Benjamin  D.  Pay  learned  his  father's 
business  from  the  bottom  up,  in  time  represent- 
ing his  father  on  the  road  as  a  traveling  sales- 
man. In  1851  he  went  to  Watertown,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  traveled  for  a  cracker-  factory  Iraewn 
as,  George  Head  &  Bro.,  of  that  town,  and  in 
November,  1853  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
A.,  daughter  of  Horatio  and  Anna  (Eeed)  Eoper, 
of  Juneau,  Wisconsin.  In  the  summer  of  1854 
Mr.  Pay  engaged  in  the  livery  business  at  Hori- 
con,  Wisconsin,  and  in  1856  sold  his  business 
and  located  on  a  claim  on  the  Watonwan  river, 
in  Vernon  township.     He  devoted  most  of  that 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


533 


winter  to  teaming  between  Mankato  and  St.  Paul 
and  the  winter  of  1857  and  1858  was  spent  in 
logging  at  Mankato.  For  a  short  time  he  operated 
a  livery  in  ilankato  during  the  spring  of  1858, 
returning  then  to  the  farm  in  ^"ernon  township; 
upon  the  improvement  of  which  he  was  working 
at  the  time  of  the  Sioux  outbreak  in  1863.  Then 
it  was  that  the  courage  and  strength  of  character 
of  Mr.  Pay  received  practical  recognition  by  his 
appointment  as  deputy  sheriff,  an  office  in  which 
h'^"  evinced  a  high  degree  of  initiative  and  effi- 
ciency. His  keen  insight  into  human  motives, 
especially  of  those  which  animated  the  breasts 
of  the  deadly  Sioux,  stood  him  in  good  stead, 
and  he  was  always  ready  to  do  anything  in  his 
power  to  assist  in  the  capture  and  prosecution 
of  desperadoes.  He  assisted  in  furnishing  mater- 
ial for  the  erection  of  the  gallows  where  occurred 
the  execution  of  thirty-eight  Indians,  December 
26,  1868,  and  he  helped  secure  the  conviction  of 
the  half-breed,  John  Campbell,  for  the  murder 
of  the  Jewett  family  in  Eapidan  township,  May 
2,  1865.  The  half-breed  was  hung  on  evidence 
furnished  by  himself  in  the  shape  of  clothing 
taken  off  of  him  by  Mr.  Pay,  and  taken  by  Mr. 
Pay  and  Mr.  Charles  Slocom,  then  editor  of 
"The  Union"  to  the  families  of  Mr.  Tyler  and 
Mrs.  Benjamin  Evans  of  Garden  City,  who  iden- 
tified it  as  formerly  belonging  to  the  Jewett  fam- 
ily. Subsequently,  it  was  the  untiring  efforts  of 
Mr.  Pay  which  brought  about  the  expulsion  from 
the  timber  back  of  Mankato  to  the  consciousless 
companions  of  the  murderer.  During  these  ter- 
rible times  Mr.  Pay  was  subject  to  almost  con- 
tinous  danger,  and  his  escapes  from  death  in  the 
open  and  in  ambush,  were  many  and  miracu- 
lous. He  never  faltered  in  his  purpose  however, 
and  a  recital  of  his  deeds  and  daring  must  always 
inspire  profound  admiration  in  the  hearts  of  all 
who  ever  hear  of  them.  Day  and  night  he  was 
in  the  saddle  or  wagon  intent  upon  some  im- 
portant detail  of  his  business,  entirely  forgetful 
of  self,  and  working  always  for  the  welfare  of  the 
supplanting  white  brethren. 

While  deputy  sheriff,  Mr.  Pay  engaged  in  the 
livery  business  in  Mankato  with  sheriff  D.  H. 
Tyner,  but  their  barn  was  destroyed  by  fire  dur- 
ing the  winter  of  1863  and  1864,  and  the  part- 
nership   dissolved.      Soon   after,    Mr.    Pay   estab- 


lished a  livery  business  of  his  own,  which  he  con- 
tinued until  190'3,  in  1888  taking  his  son,  W.  H. 
Pay,  in  as  a  partner.  In  1902  father  and  son 
sold  their  livery  and  opened  a  candy  factory  at 
Mankato,  which  they  eince  have  conducted  with 
characteristic  energy  and  success.  Mr.  Pay  has 
been  a  stanch  promotor  of  Eepublican  politics, 
and  not  only  has  been  deputy  sheriff  under  sev- 
eral administrations,  but  has  served  as  alderman 
and  chief  of  the  fire  department.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pay  are  tlie  parents  of  four  children;  William 
Horatio,  his  father's  business  partner;  Benjamin 
P.,  of  the  firm  of  Powler  &  Pay,  of  Mankato; 
Nellie  E.,  of  the  firm  of  Porter  &  Pay,  of  Man- 
kato; and  Mary  L.,  with  Fowler  &  Pay. 

Through  his  intimate  association  with  events 
in  the  past,  no  less  than  his  active  participation 
with  the  substantial  business  interests  of  the 
present,  Mr.  Pay  is  enrolled  among  the  citizens 
of  broadest  view  and  greatest  usefulness  in  the 
history  of  Blue  Earth  county. 


PEAESON,  WILLIAM.— More  than  forty 
years  with  their  eventful  changes  have  come  and 
gone  since  William  Pearson,  then  a  young  man 
about  thirt}'  years  of  age,  landed  in  Mankato,  a 
stranger  amid  a  strange  environment,  far  from 
the  home  of  his  childhood.  It  was  on  the  20th 
of  Maj',  1866,  that  he  walked  over  the  gang- 
plank of  the  steamer,  MoUie  Mohler,  and  made 
his  advent  into  Mankato,  at  that  time  an  insigni- 
ficant village  set  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  over- 
looking the  river.  Of  those  whom  he  met  on 
the  eventful  morning  of  his  arrival  he  recalls 
only  one,  and  that  was  John  Page,  who  had  his 
pony  and  dray  at  the  landing  and  drew  up  the 
hill  the  first  sofa  brought  into  the  village.  Kindly 
greetings  were  given  to  the  stranger  on  every 
hand,  and  soon  he  came  to  feel  at  home  in  the 
midst  of  these  hospitable  westerners.  In  those 
days  Second  street  was  little  more  than  a  cow 
pasture.  State  street  a  cornfield,  while  Pleasant, 
Grove  and  Clark  streets  were  a  tangle  of  hazel 
brush  and  fallen  timber.  In  the  absence  of  rail- 
roads, steamboats  were  largely  utilized  by  travel- 
ers, while  for  those  journeying  overland  the  Bur^ 
bank  stage  line  was  a  help,  and  in  addition  many 
traveled  on  the  'Gopher'  train,  drawn  by  twenty- 


534 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


four  yoke  of  oxen  and  owned  by  Young,  Thomp- 
son &  Eeid. 

In  Spencerville,  Canada,  William  Pearson  was 
born  October  28,  1836,  being  a  son  of  John  and 
Agnes  (Murray)  Pearson,  natives  of  Scotland, 
but  after  1830  residents  of  Canada.  The  father, 
a  miller  by  occupation,  died  in  Canada  at  the 
age  of  sixty-nine  years,  and  the  mother  passed 
away  when  thirty-six.  As  far  back  as  the  records 
can  be  traced  the  Pearsons  were  millers  or  mill- 
wrights, while  the  male  members  of  the  Murray 
family  followed  the  sea.  Out  of  eight  children 
forming  the  family  of  John  Pearson  five  sons 
survive,  namely:  James,  a  resident  of  Mountain 
View,  Oklahoma;  William,  of  Mankato;  John,  of 
Syracuse,  JSTew  York;  Murray,  of  Mankato,  who 
lives  a  retired  life;  and  Prank,  living  in  Man- 
kato township.  Under  the  supervision  of  his 
father  William  Pearson  learned  the  miller's  trade 
immediately  after  leaving  school  and  this  he  fol- 
lowed until  his  removal  to  the  United  States. 
Here,  finding  opportunities  for  the  same  kind  of 
work,  he  continued  at  the  trade  with  which  he 
was  most  familiar.  For  many  years  he  conducted 
what  is  known  as  the  Eed  Jacket  mill  in  Man- 
kato township  in  partnership  with  C.  P.  Halley. 
Eetiring  from  that  business  in  1876  he  became 
connected  with  the  Hubbard  &  Palmer  mill  at 
Mankato,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  Ow- 
ing to  the  ill  health  of  his  wife  he  finally  deemed 
it  advisable  to  give  up  business  activities  and 
twenty  years,  until  death  relieved  her  from  her 
sufferings,  he  gave  her  his  entire  time  and  the 
most  devoted  care.  She  was  Abigail,  daughter^ 
of  Jacob  Smith,  of  Elizabethtown,  Canada,  where 
they  were  married  April  1,  1856.  At  the  time 
of  her  death  in  1903  she  had  attained  the  age  of 
seventy-three  years.  Seven  children  were  born  of 
their  union,  but  four  died  in  infancy.  Three 
sons  survive,  namely :  John,  living  in  Mountain 
View,  Oklahoma;  Lewis  S.,  who  makes  his  home 
in  Lake  Charles,  Louisiana,  and  Lorin  C,  now 
living  in  the  west. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Pearson  has  been  identi- 
fied with  the  Masonic  order,  and  likewise  he  has 
been  interested  in  other  movements  for  the  bene- 
fit of  humanity  and  the  extending  of  philan- 
thropies. He  carried  the  first  brick  and  mortar 
used  in  the  erection  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 


church.  Many  of  the  early  enterprises  for  th,e 
development  of  the  village  received  his  gratuitous 
aid  and  practical  help.  It  has  never  been  a 
source  of  regret  to  him  that  he  came  to  Mankato, 
although  fortune  has  brought  him  no  alluring 
rewards  in  return  for  his  labors.  Bravely  doing 
his  part,  he  received  in  recompense  enough  for 
his  needs,  and  his  only  grievance  has  been  tha,t 
his  wants  are  few  and  his  tastes  so  simple  as  to 
be  easily  gratified.  In  the  twilight  of  his  life, 
retired  from  private  cares  or  public  duties,  he 
sees  a  second  generation  at  the  van  of  progress, 
while  a  third  generation  is  now  growing  up  in 
preparation  for  the  work  of  the  future!  Watch- 
ing these  with  the  interest  of  a  warm  friend,  he 
rejoices  in  each  upward  step  that  brings  pros- 
perity to  his  city  and  success  to  its  citizens. 


PEEEIN,  HOEACE  B.— Hon.  Horace  B.  Per- 
rin.  Secretary  and  General  manager  of  the  Citi- 
zens' Fire  Association,  of'  Mankato  and  long 
identified  with  the  vehicle  business  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  state,  is  at  the  same  time  an  old 
soldier,  an  ex-member  of  the  Legislature  and  al- 
together one  of  the  best  known  and  most  honor- 
able citizens  of  southern  Minnesota.  He  comeb 
of  an  old  and  substantial  N'ew  England  family, 
whose  first  members  located  in  Sekouk,  Massachu- 
setts, as  early  as  1635,  'coming  from  the  Old 
World  in  the  good  ship  "Safety."  N"oah  Perrin, 
grandfather  of  Horace  B.,  was  the  fifth  genera- 
tion in  the  United  States,  and  became  a  settler 
of  Vermont  in  1800.  His  son,  William  Perrin, 
married  Martha  Green,  also  a  native  of  the  Green 
Mountain  State,  and  the  son  who  is  of  chief  in- 
terest in  the  progress  of  this  narrative  was  born 
to  them  on  the  16th  of  January,  1843.  In  1857 
the  family  came  to  Wisconsin,  and  five  years 
later  removed  to  Shelby  Township,  Blue  Earth 
County,  where  for  many  years  its  different  mem- 
bers continued  to  do  honor  to  themselves  and- 
their  ancestors.  William  Perrin  reached  a  posi- 
tion of  considerable  public  influence,  serving  for 
twenty  years  as  chairman  of  the  Township  Com- 
mittee and  finally  was  sent  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture. He  died  in  1903,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-six  years,  and  his  wife,  who  passed  away 
in  1898,  had  spanned  her  eighty-one  years  of  life. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HlSTOiiY. 


535 


To  this  honorable  and  venerable  couple  had  been 
born  three  children — Horace  B.,  the  first;  Willis 
L.,  connected  with  the  Postoffice  Department  at 
Washington,  D.  C. ;  and  Ada,  the  widow  of  T.  L. 
Eice,  of  Mankato. 

Horace  B.  Perrin  cajne  with  his  parents  to 
Wisconsin  and  obtained  his  education  in  the 
district  schools  and  at  Lawrence  University,  and 
during  the  second  year  of  the  Civil  war  removed 
with  the  family  to  Shelby  Township,  this  county, 
where  he  assisted  his  father  on  his  farm  until 
August  1,  1864.  That  was  the  date  of  his  en- 
listment in  Company  C,  Eleventh  Minnesota  In- 
fantry, and  he  served  for  one  year  as  corporal 
with  faithfulness  and  honor,  returning  then  to 
Shelbyville.  At  Amboy,  this  county,  he  con- 
ducted a  vehicle  establishment  for  twelve  years, 
and  upon  his  removal  to  Mankato,  in  1894,  con- 
tinued in  that  line  assisted  by  his  son,  Harry  H., 
the  firm  of  Perrin  &  Son  being  widely  and  fav- 
orably known  to  the  agricultural  communities 
and  the  principal  centers  of  population  in  South- 
ern Minnesota. 

On  January  1,  1898,  Mr.  Perrin  became  Sec- 
retary and  Manager  of  the  Citizens'  Fire  Associ- 
ation of  Mankato,  and  has  since  devoted  his  time 
almost  exclusively  to  its  interests,  which,  under 
his  control,  have  been  much  expanded.  The  as- 
sociation, which  was  only  organized  in  1894,  does 
a  business  which  amounts  to  four  and  a  half  mil- 
lion dollars.  Mr.  Perrin  is  also  a  Eepublican  of 
prominence,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature in  1889,  and  is  influential  in  all  matters  of 
public  moment.  He  is  president  of  the  Man- 
kato Cemetery  Association  and  prominently  iden- 
tified with  other  institutions. 

Mr.  Perrin  was  married  in  1866  to  Miss  Alice 
L.  Holmes,  of  Kenton,  Ohio,  and  they  had 
three  children,  Minnie,  Harry  H.  and  Alice,  all 
residing  in  Mankato. 


PEEEIN,  HAEEY  H.— Harry  H.  Perrin,  jrm- 
ior  member  of  the  firm  of  H.  B.  Perrin  &  Son, 
dealers  in  wag-ons  and  agricultural  implements,  is 
a  native  of  Pleasant  Mound,  Blue  Earth  County, 
Minnesota,  born  March  11,  1876,  the  son  of  Hor- 
ace B.  and  Alice  L.  (Holmes)  Perrin,  of  Mankato, 
a  biography  of  the  former  also  appearing  in  this 


work.  The  business  conducted  by  this  firm, 
which  has  been  under  active  management  of 
Harry. H.  Perrin  since  1898,  is  now  one  of  the 
most  important  in  Mankato,  and  is  a  credit  to 
liis  energy,  enterprise  and  good  judgment.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Amboy  this 
county,  at  the  Sioux  Falls  Baptist  University 
and  the  Sioux  Falls  Business  University,  com- 
ing to  Mankato  in  1894,  and  engaging  with  his 
father  in  the  vehicle  business.  Four  years  after- 
ward his  father  withdrew  from  active  participa- 
tion in  it,  which,  as  stated,  has  since  been  man- 
aged by  the  junior  partner. 

Mr.  Perrin  was  united  in  marriage  in  1897  to 
Miss  Edith  S.  Esgar,  who  is  a  native  of  England, 
and  they  have  become  the  parents  of  Dorthia 
and  Burnham  H.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Commercial  Club,  which  has  done  a  useful  work 
in  the  development  of  Mankato's  business  and  in- 
dustrial interests,  and  is  also  identified  with  the 
Eoyal  Arcanum  and  the  United  Order  of  For- 
esters. In  more  ways  than  have  been  men- 
tioned Mr.  Perrin  is  one  of  the  brightest  and 
most  progressive  young  business  men  of  the  city, 
and  is  a  most  worthy  representative  of  his  family. 


PETEESEN,  NICHOLAS.— Since  his  arrival 
in  Mankato  in  the  fall  of  1878,  Nicholas  Petersen 
has  made  his  name  a  respected  one,  and  as  the 
years  have  passed  has  evidenced  increasing  busi- 
ness aptitude,  and  capacity  for  discharging  those 
ci\'ic  obligations  which  directly  affect  the  entire 
community.  Born  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  the 
storm  center  of  modern  Danish  history,  January 
26,  1851,  he  gained  the  rudiments  of  education 
in  a  neighboring  school,  and  developed  a  far  see- 
ing mind  keenly  conscious  of  its  surrounding 
limitations.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  embarked 
in  a  sailing  vessel  bound  for  America,  and  after 
a  stormy  voyage  walked  down  the  gang  plank  at 
the  New  York  docks,  soon  after  securing  a  posi- 
tion in  the  eastern  metropolis  as  clerk  in  a 
grocery  store.  From  New  Y^ork  he  went  to  St. 
Louis,  remained  there  three  months,  then  spent 
a  year  in  a  grocery  store  in  New   Orleans. 

From  1869  until  1875  Mr.  Petersen  lived  in 
Chicago,  Illinois,  during  that  time  availing  him- 
self of  clerking  and  other  wage  earning  resources. 


536 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


He  had  kept  his  eyes  open  and  karned  consider- 
able of  American  business^  had  parted  with  much 
of  his  foreign  brogue^  but  his  heart  beat .  loyally 
for  the  relatives  and  friends  whom  he  had  left 
behind  in  the  fatherland.  What  seemed  a  small 
fortune  had  been  accumulated  through  his  faculty 
of  self  denial  and  saving,  and  a  part  of  this  went 
into  transportation  back  to  Sehleswig-Holstein, 
where  familiar  faces  greeted  him,  and  familiar 
voices  soon  wished  him  God-speed  on  his  journey 
back  to  the  adopted  land.  Settling  in  Mankato, 
he  conducted  a  cigar  factory  for  three  years,  then 
established  the  business  of  bottling  soda  and  min- 
eral waters  in  which  he  since  has  been  engaged. 
He  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Standard 
Brewing  Company,  and  has  been  identified  with 
other  enterprises  of  the  town  and  county,  at  the 
present  time  being  vice  president  of  the  Citizens 
Telephone   Company. 

In  politics  Mr.  Petersen  takes  a  commendable 
interest  in  the  local  undertakings.  In  1891  he 
was  elected  alderman  of  Mankato,  and  for  six 
years  ably  discharged  the  responsibilities  of  that 
ofEice.  In  1901  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the 
town,  and  held  the  position  until  1903.  The 
city  has  known  no  more  conscientious  and  prac- 
tical public  servant. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Petersen  and  Marie  Bode, 
of  Chicago,  occurred  September  24,  1874.  Of 
this  union  there  is  a  daughter,  Anna,  who  is  the 
wife  of  A.  W.  Paegel,  of  Mankato.  Fraternally 
Mr.  Petersen  is  identified  with  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  He  is  a  vigorous  and 
energetic  man,  of  pleasing  manner  and  person- 
ality, and  popular  with  all  classes  with  whom  he 
comes  in  contact. 


PBTRICK,  A.  W.— The  business  interests  of 
the  village  of  Vernon  Center  have  a  capable  rep- 
resentative in  A.  W.  Petrick,  who  has  been  long 
and  honorably  associated  with  the  commercial 
life  of  the  place  and  in  many  ways  has  left 
the  impress  of  his  forceful  personality  upon  local 
progress.  The  postofllice  building  and  other  vil- 
lage property,  including  a  neat  residence,  belong 
to  him,  and  in  addition  he  owns  a  stock  of  gen- 
eral merchandise,  having  conducted  a  store  at 
this   point  for   about  twenty-five  years.      During 


1886  the  postoffice  was  brought  to  his  building 
and  since  then  he  has  officiated  as  postmaster. 
For  twenty  years  or  more  he  has  kept  the  only 
stock  of  drugs  in  the  village,  this  being  main- 
tained as  a  department  of  the  store. 

More  than  fifty  years  ago  Fred  and  Mollie 
(\^'einkauf}  Petrick  left  their  native  land  of 
Prussia  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  United 
States.  While  they  were  still  on  the  ocean,  on 
the  last  day  of  May,  1854,  a  son  was  born,  and 
he  it  is  whose  name  introduces  this  article.  The 
family  settled  in  Green  Lake  county,  Wisconsin, 
where  the  father  entered  a  claim  and  began  to 
improve  a  farm.  While  by  trade  he  was  a  tailor, 
he  principally  followed  agricultural  pursuits. 
During  1867  he  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in 
Wabasha  county,  ^\•here  he  died  in  1891  on  the 
farm  which  he  had  developed  from  a  wilderness. 
At  this  writing  the  widowed  mother  makes  her 
home  with  her  youngest  son  in  Elgin,  this  state. 
The  family  consisted  of  ten  children,  and  eight 
of  these  are  still  living,  A.  W.  being  the  first- 
born. He  received  a  fair  common-school  educa- 
tion in  Minnesota  and  in  1876  had  the  privilege 
of  a  course  of  study  in  the  university  at  Roches- 
ter, this  state.  During  1882  he  came  to  Vernon 
C^enter  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  and  settled 
in  the  village  where  since  he  has  made  his  home. 

The  year  after  coming  to  Vernon  Center  A.  W. 
Petrick  married  Augusta  Kopischke,  who  died  in 
1888.  His  second  marriage  took  place  in  1892 
and  united  him  with  Pauline,  daughter  of  Au- 
gust and  Ernestina  (Wodsky)  Wojahn.  In  his 
family  there  are  four  children.  The  eldest 
daughter,  Sophia  C,  is  now  studying  music  in 
Rochester,  New  York.  The  other  children,  Sel- 
ma,  Hobart  W.  and  Valeria,  are  yet  with  their 
parents.  In  addition  to  their  own  children  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Petrick  have  taken  into  their  home  an 
adopted  child,  Marie  Z.  Felson.  The  family  arc 
identified  with  the  German  Lutheran  church  and 
contribute  generously  to  movements  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  people'  religiously  and  morally.  The 
political  views  of  Jlr.  Petrick  bring  him  into 
afl'iliation  with  the  Republican  party.  Frequently 
he  has  been  asked  to  fill  local  offices  of  trust,  for 
his  fellow-citizens  realize  that  he  possesses  quali- 
ties necessary  to  the  efficient  office-holder.  For 
thirteen  years  he  served  as  town  clerk,   besides 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


337 


which  he  filled  the  offices  of  town  treasurer  and 
reeorder.  For  two  years  he  was  justice  of  the 
peace  and  for  seventeen  j'ears  he  was  a  notary 
public.  Interested  in  educational  matters,  he  has 
been  a  warm  supporter  of  the  local  schools  and 
during  a  service  of  seven  years  as  director  aided 
in  promoting  the  usefulness  of  the  schools  of  his 
village. 


PPAU,  ALBERT  R. — To  have  never  known 
father  or  mother  is  to  have  taken  from  one's  life 
a  lasting  joy  and  inspiration;  but,  to  be  left  an 
orphan  in  infancy  and,  bereft  of  all  the  memo- 
ries and  encouragements  of  the  home  circle,  to 
persistently  and  successfully  fight  one's  way  to 
the  front  and  to  an  honorable  place  in  the  world, 
as  husband,  father  and  public  man — this  is  an 
achievement  which  is  placed  to  the  everlasting 
credit  of  Alfred  R.  Pfau,  the  able  lawyer  and 
leading  citizen  of  Mankato.  He  is  a  native  of 
Prussia,  born  February  14,  1847,  and  when  he 
was  two  years  of  age  his  parents  started  with  him 
for  America.  Both,  however,  died  on  shipboard, 
and  the  baby  was  left  an  orphan;  but  he  was 
reared  and  educated  by  friends  in  New  York 
State,  and  in  his  youth  studied  law  in  the  office 
of  Judge  R.  S.  Hart. 

In  the  spring  of  1868,  when  he  had  barely 
passed  his  majority,  Mr.  Pfau  removed  to  Wis- 
consin, where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  in 
the  following  year  came  to  Mankato.  His  prog- 
ress here,  in  his  profession  and  in  the  best  paths 
of  American  citizenship,  has  been  continuous 
and  noteworthy.  He  has  served  for  seven  years 
as  County  Attorney,  one  year  as  City  Attorney 
and  four  years  as  Mayor,  and  at  the  present  time 
is  local  attorney  for  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  & 
St.  Paul  and  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Rail- 
way companies.  Most  of  the  thirty-six  years  of 
his  career  as  a  practicing  attorney  in  Mankato 
have  been  occupied  in  independent  practice,  but 
for  some  time  past  he  has  been  associated  with 
his  second  son,  Albert  R.,  under  the  firm  style 
of  Pfau  &  Pfau. 

Professionally,  Albert  E.  Pfau  is  a  lawyer  of 
marked  ability — prompt,  vigorous  and  thorough 
in  the  prosecution  of  cases,  as  well  as  in  the 
general  conduct  of  all  litigation  entrusted  to  him; 


and  possessed  of  an  eminently  ready  mind  to 
grasp  legal  propositions.  Personally,  he  is  socia- 
ble, obliging  and  generous.  Politically,  he  is  a 
Democrat,  and  there  is  none  in  thi.s  locality 
whose  influence  is  stronger  or  better. 

In  ISTl,  Mr.  Pfau  was  married  to  Miss  Corne- 
lia Brown,  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  Brown, 
of  Mankato,  and  their  children  are  James  F., 
Albert  R.,  Jr.,  Caroline,  Mrs.  L.  Pendergast; 
Edith    and    Mary. 


PIHALE,  JOHN  J.— The  best  possible  proof 
of  a  man's  worth  is  to  earn  respect  and  substan- 
tial standing  in  the  locality  of  his  birth,  to 
achieve  an  honorable  position  in  his  own  country, 
where  all  his  acts  and  his  entire  character  are 
under  review  and  subject  to  judgment,  froju  first 
to  last.  John  J.  Pihale,  the  well  known  feed 
merchant,  of  ilankato,  has  run  the  gauntlet  and 
emerged  from  the  ordeal  strong,  honored  and 
successful.  He  was  born  in  the  citj-,  October  27, 
1872,  son  of  George  and  Theresa  (Bruska) 
Pihale,  his  parents  being  natives  of  South  Ger- 
many. His  father,  who  was  a  tailor  by  trade, 
was  born  in  1833;  married  May  13,  18G0;  came 
to  Mankato  the  same  year  and  industriously  con- 
tinued his  trade  until  his  death  in  April,  1906, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-three  years.  His  widow  still 
survives,  the  mother  of  five  children  of  whom 
three  are  living  and  John  J.,  the  third  in  order 
of  birth. 

John  J.  Pihale  is  well  educated,  having  attended 
both  the  public  and  parochial  schools  and  pur- 
sued a  business  course  in  a  commercial  college. 
In  his  earlier  years  he  assisted  his  father,  and  in 
1894  was  employed  by  Bennett  &  Hertzog  in 
their  mill  and  feed  business.  Later  he  was  con- 
nected with  A.  C.  Rockey,  in  the  same  line,  and 
in  August,  1896,  bought  his  business  which  he  has 
since  successfully  conducted  as  proprietor.  His 
establishment  was  originally  on  Main  street,  but 
was  moved  to  the  corner  of  Second  and  Walnut 
streets,  where  its  growing  business  is  still  trans- 
acted. Although  it  naturally  consumes  most  of 
his  strength  and  ability,  he  is  interested  in  all 
local  affairs  and  creditable  movements,  which 
promise  to  advance  Mankato  as  a  city  and  benefit 
her  people. 


538 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Mr.  Pihale  was  married  May  16,  1900,  to  Mist 
liosa  Schuttle,  daughter  of  Henry  Schuttle,  of 
Lime  township,  and  they  have  one  child,  Flor- 
ence M.  He  is  a  member  of  the  German  Catho- 
lic church,  and  he  carries  his  religion  and  his 
morality  into  his  business  and  all  the  other  activi- 
ties of  his  life. 

PEATT,  MAETIN  M.— During  the  era  of 
seventeenth  century  development  in  America 
there  came  to  the  shores  of  the  new  world  two 
brothers,  Boyle  and  Job  Pratt,  who  became  the 
founders  of  the  family  on  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic ocean.  The  pioneer  instinct  seemed  inbred 
in  the  race  and  successive  generations  contribut- 
ed their  quota  toward  the  transforming  of  the 
wilderness  into  fertile  farms.  One  of  the  family, 
Peter  Pratt,  became  the  first  white  settler  on  the 
river  in  Cattaraugus,  county  New  York,  where 
lie  had  purchased  a  large  tract  lying  in  the  Hol- 
hmd  purchase.  A  nephew  of  this  pioneer,  Dar- 
ius Pratt,  was  born  in  Cheshire,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  1833,  removed  from  Montgomery  county. 
New  York,  to  Cattaraugus  county,  that  state, 
ivhere  he  engaged  in  farm  pursuits  until  his 
death.  Meanwhile  he  cleared  from  the  wilderness 
a  tract  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  erected 
farm  buildings,  made  substantial  improvements 
on  the  farm,  and  kept  a  dairy  herd  of  forty 
cows.  In  early  manhood  he  married  Jeannette 
Morrow,  who  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
and  whose  maternal  grandfather,  Eobert  Currie, 
was  the  first  to  establish  a  mill  on  the  Schoh- 
arie river,  that  being  about  the  time  of  the  Eevo- 
Intionary  war. 

Pive  sons  and  five  daughters  comprised  the 
family  of  Darius  and  Jeannette  Pratt,  and  of 
these  Martin  M.,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  in 
Montgomery  county.  New  York,  October  29,  1827. 
During  boyhood  days  he  walked  two  and  one-half 
miles  to  school  and  in  a  building  of  logs  he 
studied  the  blue-backed  speller,  with  other  text 
books  characteristic  of  the  day.  As  might  be 
inferred,  the  broad  information  he  now  possesses 
has  been  obtained  from  self-culture  and  observa- 
tion rather  than  from  attendance  at  school.  In 
November,  of  1850,  he  married  Carljde  A.  Orr, 
a  native  of  Cattaraugus  county.  New  York, 
and   a   daughter   of  Hugh   Orr,  who   removed  to 


that  state  from  Vermont.  The  children  born  of 
their  union  are  as  follows:  Ella,  Mrs.  G.  Bent- 
ley  Lamp,  of  Sterling  township;  Ida,  Mrs.  Jack- 
son J.  Buel,  of  Amboy,  Minnesota;  Homer,  de- 
ceased; Jennie,  Mrs.  Milton  Wood,  of  Salt  Pork 
township.  Grant  county,  Oklahoma;  and  Howard, 
who    remains   with   his   father. 

Taking  up  agricultural  pursuits  near  the  old 
family  homestead  in  Cattaraugus  county,  Mr. 
Pratt  continued  there  busily  engaged  at  his  tasks 
until  the  Civil  war  threw  its  shadows  over  the 
country.  In  response  to  calls  for  volunteers  he 
enlisted  August  2,  1862,  in  Company  B,  One 
Hundred  and  Fifty-fourth  New  York  Infantry, 
under  Colonel  D.  B.  Allen.  The  company  was 
mustered  in  at  Elmira,  New  York,  and  ordered 
to  Arlington  Heights,  Virginia,  thence  to  Hay- 
market,  and  remaining  there  until  ordered  to 
Fredericksburg.  On  the  return  of  General  Am- 
brose E.  Burnside  they  joined  him  in  his  march. 
May  1,  1863,  they  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville.  Later  they  were  in  the  engage- 
ment at  Gettysburg  that  lasted  three  days.  From 
there  they  were  transferred  under  General  Hooper 
to  Chattanooga  to  reinforce  Eosecrans.  The  lat- 
ter was  superseded  by  General  U.  S.  Grant,  under 
whom  th.ey  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Lookout 
Mountain  and  Mission  Eidge.  In  the  spring  of 
1864,  they  took  part  in  the  memorable  march  of 
General  Sherman  to  the  sea.  In  the  first  battle, 
on  the  8th  day  of  May,  at  Eocky  Face  mountain, 
so  terrible  was  the  carnage  that  the  regiment  to 
which  Mr.  Pratt  belonged  lost  one  hundred  and 
fifty-four  men  in  less  than  twenty  minutes.  Of 
this  number  six  were  color-bearers.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  march  they  proceeded  to  Wilming- 
ton, North  Carolina  and  from  there  to  Goulds- 
burg,  where  they  remained  some  time,  moving 
oat  to  follow  General  Joseph  Johnson  near  Ea- 
leigh,  where  they  heard  of  Lee's  surrender.  Pro- 
ceeding into  Ealeigh,  they  witnessed  the  surren- 
der of  Johnson  to  Sherman.  Later  they  march- 
ed to  Washington  and  took  part  in  the  grand 
review,  after  which  June  11,  1865,  Mr.  Pratt 
received  an  honorable  discharge  from  the  army, 
at  Batonsburg,  Maryland.  Eeturning  to  his  old 
home  he  sold  his  farm  in  October  of  the  same 
year  and  came  to  Minnesota,  arriving  at  Man- 
kato  October  29  and  proceeding  to  Sterling,  where 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


539 


be  bought  a  farm.  Prom  that  time  until  1895, 
he  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  then  re- 
moved to  Mapleton,  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he 
has  since  lived  in  retirement. 

Por  twenty  years  Mr.  Pratt  was  a  member  of 
the  school  board  and  he  also  has  held  various 
township  ofiiees.  Fraternally  he  belongs  to  the 
blue  lodge  of  Masons  and  is  also  warmly  inter- 
etted  in-  Sam  Louden  Post  No.  T-l,  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  of  which  he  has  been  honored 
with  the  office  of  commander.  In  December  of 
1895,  he  lost  his  first  wife.  He  was  again  mar- 
ried April  ly,  1898,  his  wife  being  Mrs.  Julia 
Hamm,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Mary  (Taylor)  Rasey,  formerly  of 
Lake  George,  New  York.  One  of  the  greatest 
pleasures  of  Mr.  Pratt's  life  he  enjoyed  in  1895, 
when  at  the  close  of  the  national  encampment  of 
the  Grand  Army  at  Buffalo,  he  returned  to  the 
scenes  of  his  boyhood  and  early  manhood,  where 
he  participated  in  a  reunion  of  the  descendants 
of  the  Pratt  and  Morrow  families.  More  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  relatives  were  seated  at 
one  table  on  the  occasion  of  the  reunion.  Among 
those  present  was  a  brother  of  Mr.  Pratt  who  for 
twelve  years  or  more  has  officiated  as  judge  of 
probate  at  Fairmont,  Minnesota.  A  picture 
\ras  taken  of  these  two  brothers,  together  with 
two  other  brothers,  and  four  sisters,  who  at  that 
time  survived  out  of  the  original  family  of  ten. 
Another  photograph  was  taken,  which  Mr.  Pratt 
also  prizes  highly  and  which  shows  the  entirt 
aesomblage  as  they  appeared  at  the  reunion. 

PRICE,  REV.  ROBERT  D.— More  than  fifty 
years  have  come  and  gone,  bringing  'with  them 
remarkable  changes  to  the  commonwealth  and  its 
people,  since  Rev.  Robert  R.  Price  first  came  to 
Minnesota  as  a  pioneer  worker  in  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  Welsh  race  in  the  state,  and  ever 
since  then  he  has  been  a  leader  among  his  fellow- 
countrymen  here.  Advancing  years  placed  him 
in  the  superannuated  list,  but  did  not  cause  him 
nor  did  it  weaken  his  desire  to  promote  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  race.  Now  in  retirement 
from  ministerial  duties,  he  passes  his  time  quietly 
at  his  home  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  continues, 
as  his  strength  permits,  his  association  with 
movements  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity. 


The  shire  of  Caernarvon,  in  the  northern  part 
of  Wales,  is  the  native  home  of  Robert  D.  Price, 
and  he  was  born  in  Conway  August  21,  182  T, 
being  a  son  of  Robert  and  Margaret  (Davis) 
Price,  natives  and  lifelong  residents  of  Wales. 
Although  by  trade  a  blacksmith  and  a  worker 
at  that  occupation  in  early  life,  later  Robert 
Price  gave  his  attention  to  farming  and  was  ap- 
pointed o\erseer  of  two  large  estates  in  Wales, 
the  supervision  of  which  he  continued  until  his 
death.  In  his  family  there  were  nine  children, 
namely:  Robert  D.,  John,  Edwin,  Thomas,  Hugh, 
Josiah,  Ellen,  Louisa  and  Elizabeth.  The  eldest 
member  of  the  family  circle,  Robert  D.,  received 
a  fair  education  in  his  native  country  and  learned 
the  trade  of  a  blacksmith  under  his  father.  When 
twenty  years  of  age  he  began  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  his  home  neighborhood.  From  the  first 
he  showed  a  deep  consecration  of  spirit  and  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures.  Much  of 
his  preaching  was  done  gratuitously,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  earn  a  livelihood  as  a  blacksmith. 

A  voyage  of  six  weeks  and  three  daj's  brought 
Mr.  Price  to  America  in  1850.  Landing  in  New 
York  City  on  the  15th  of  September,  he  started 
at  once  for  the  west.  His  first  location  was  Cam- 
bria, Wisconsin,  and  for  two  years  he  worked  at 
his  trade  about  six  miles  from  that  city.  Dur- 
ing  the  two  following  years  he  had  charge  of  the 
Welsh  mission  at  Cambria,  after  which  he  super- 
intended a  similar  work  at  Dodgeville,  Wisconsin, 
and  from  there  in  1856  he  came  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  being  transferred  from  the  Wisconsin 
conference  to  that  of  Minnesota.  On  coming  to 
this  county  he  took  charge  of  the  South  Bend 
Welsh  mission  and  continued  to  preach  in  the 
county  until  1878,  when  he  resigned.  While  liv- 
ing at  Cambria,  Wisconsin,  he  there  married, 
April  7,  1853,  Miss  Ann  Roberts,  who  was  born 
in  the  shire  of  Caernarvon,  Wales,  March  4, 
1832,  and  in  1845  came  to  the  United  States 
with  her  parents,  John  and  Catharine  (Thomas) 
Roberts,  settling  in  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin. 
]\Irs.  Price  passed  from  earth  November  2,  1898, 
leaving  to  her  husband  and  children  the  mem- 
ory of  a  pure  life,  amiable  disposition,  affection- 
ate ministrations  to  loved  ones  and  a  self-sacri- 
ficing Christian  character.  Ten  children  had 
been  born  of   her  marriage,  namely :     John  R., 


540 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Josiah  W.,  Margaret  C,  Louisa  A.^  Edwin  C, 
Abraham  L.,  Jane  E.^  Thomas  A.^  David  A.  P. 
and  Lizzie  H.  Of  these  Margaret^  Jane  and 
Lizzie  are  deceased^  and  tlie  others  are  established 
in  lionies  oi;  their  own. 


PUGH,  JOHN  B.— In  studying 'the  lives  of 
the  pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county  we  find  a,  cer- 
tain similarity.  All  were  constrained  by  the  same 
lofty  purpose  to  secure  homes  for  themselves  and 
aid  their  children  in  securing  a  start  in  the  world. 
Alike  they  labored  in  storm  and  wind  and  snow, 
resolute  in  the  midst  of  adversity,  heroic  when 
confronted  by  danger.  Under  their  self-sacri- 
llcing  efforts  the  wilderness  was  made  to  bloom 
and  blossom  as  the  rose,  neat  houses  and  substan- 
tial barns,  with  the  equipment  of  a  modern  farm, 
broke  the  monotony  of  the  prairie  landscape,  and 
a  foundation  was  laid  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
present  generation.  Such  in  brief  was  the  life 
of  John  E.  Pugh,  who  was  a  pioneer  of  1855, 
in  this  county,  developed  a  valuable  farm,  and 
finally  removed  to  Mankato,  there  spending  his 
last  days  in  comfortable  retirement. 

Die  native  place  of  John  E.  Pugh  was  in  tht 
shire  of  Montgomery,  Wales,  where  he  was  born 
in  August  of  1831.  As  a  boy  he  lived  on  a  farm 
owned  by  his  parents,  who  were  prosperous  and 
honored  members  of  their  community.  At  the 
age  of  thirteen  yeard,  in  1844,  he  accompanied 
his  parents  to  the  United  vStates,  proceeded  direct 
to  Wisconsin,  and  settled  at  Watertown,  where 
he  attended  the  common  schools  whenever  possi- 
ble. Seeking  to  secure  a  farm  in  the  regions  where 
land  was  yet  to  be  secured  from  the  government, 
he  came  to  Minnesota  in  1855  and  settled  in 
Blue  Earth  county  where  he  pre-empted  a  quar- 
ter section.  Upon  this  tract  he  undertook  gen- 
eral farm  pursuits.  The  land  was  in  the  prim- 
eval state  of  nature.  The  entire  task  of  sub- 
duing the  soil  and  bringing  it  under  profitable 
cultivation  fell  upon  his  shoulders.  Working 
with  unremitting  zeal,  he  gradually  made  possi- 
ble the  cultivation  of  the  tract,  also  built  fences 
and  cross-fences,  and  erected  such  buildings  as 
were  needed  for  the  storage  of  the  crops  and  the 
.shelter  of  the  stock,  besides  building  a  neat  cot- 
tage for  the  family. 


The  marriage  of  John  E.  Pugh  took  place 
August  15,  1859,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Janes  Jones,  who  was  born  in  Pittsburgh,  Penn- 
sylvania, June  29, 1844,  being  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Eleanor  (Jones)  Jones,  natives  of  South 
Wales.  The  father,  who  was  a  shoemaker  by 
tiade,  crossed  the  ocean  with  the  family  in 
1838,  and  settled  at  Pittsburgh,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade  with  unfaltering  fidelity.  While 
still  a  young  man  he  died  in  Pittsburgh  in  1849, 
and  soon  afterward  his  wife  went  to  Ohio  to 
make  her  home  with  relatives;  her  death  occurred 
in  that  state  three  years  after  the  demise  of  her 
husband.  Mrs.  Pugh  attended  school  in  child- 
hood, but  her  early  marriage  took  her  from  the 
schoolroom  and  placed  her  at  the  head  of  a  home. 
Ten  children  were  born  of  her  marriage,  but  only 
five  are  now  living,  namely:  John,  David,  Kath- 
erine,  Harriet  and  Dora.  David  married  Miss 
Ida  Ma-yer  of  Mankato,  and  Dora  became  the  wife 
of  Charles  K.  Mayer,  a  twin  ■  brother  of  Ida 
Mayer. 

After  having  devoted  more  than  forty  years  to 
active  farm  pursuits  with  considerable  success, 
ifr.  Pugh  eventually  rented  his  farm  and  bought 
a  residence  in  ]\Iankato,  where  afterward  he  made 
his  home  until  his  death.  May  34,  1905.  His 
family  held  membership  in  the  Welsh  Pres- 
byterian church  and  maintained  a  deep  interest 
in  religious  movements.  All  through  life  he 
remembered  with  affection  his  childhood  home  in 
"Wales,  yet  he  was  a  true  and  loyal  American, 
and  never  desired  to  exchange  the  new  home  for 
the  old.  In  politics  he  voted-  with  the  Republi- 
can party.  The  only  official  position  which  he 
held  was  that  of  member  of  the  school  board,  in 
•which  capacity  he  served  with  efficiency  for  a 
number  of  years.  Educational  affairs  always 
aroused  his  interest  and  he  was  a  champion  of 
the  public  school  system,  which  he  believed  of 
vital  importance  to  the  well-being  of  our  country. 
As  a  result  of  his  industrious  life  his  widow  now 
enjoys  an  income  sufficient  for  her  needs,  and  his 
cljildren  received  the  educational  opportunities 
he  so  keenly  desired  for  them.  When  it  is  re- 
called that  he  was  orphaned  in  youth  and  had  no 
one  to  aid  him  in  his  struggle  for  a  livelihood, 
his   success    is    especially   praiseworthy. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


541 


PTJGH,  HON.  T.  M.— Although  the  demands 
of  extensive  husiness  interests  elsewhere  neces- 
sitated the  removal  of  Senator  Pugh  from  Blue 
Earth  count}-,  yet  he  retains  for  his  old  home  a 
feeling  of  aflfection  and  intimacy  caused  by  long 
residence  and  endearing  tics  of  blood  and  friend- 
ship. Nor  is  he  forgotten  by  his  old  associates; 
on  the  contrary,  no  name  is  more  often  mentioned 
among  old  settlers  than  his,  and  the  present  gen- 
eration of  boys  and  girls  are  often  interested  in 
tales  of  his  services  in  the  Indian  wars,  where  he 
courageously  defended  the  lives  and  properties  of 
the  frontier  farmers.  It  has  been  his  privilege 
to  witness  the  remarkable  agricultural  develop- 
ment of  Minnesota  and  to  contribute  to  the  same; 
furthermore,  he  has  had  the  honor  of  represent- 
ing his  district  in  the  house  and  senate,  where 
his  influence  always  has  been  given  to  bills  and 
measures  for  the  welfare  and  benefit  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

To  the  development  of  Minnesota  the  little 
country  of  Wales  has  contributed  of  its  brain 
and  brawn,  and  a  fair  proportion  of  the  men 
who  aided  in  the  early  progress  of  our  common- 
wealth came  from  that  rugged  and  mountainous 
land.  There,  in  the  shire  of  Montgomery,  oc- 
curred the  birth  of  T.  M.  Pugh  September  10, 
1831.  His  parents,  Hugh  and  Mary  (Dodges) 
Pugh,  were  natitves  of  Wales,  the  father  born  in 
1800,  the  mother  in  1803.  On  the  paternal 
side  the  ancestors  were  purely  Welsh,  while  on 
the  maternal  side  they  came  from  Scotland. 
Throughout  their  entire  lives  the  parents  re- 
mained in  Wales,  where  both  died.  All  of  their 
seven  children  have  passed  away  excepting  the 
subject  of  this  narrative.  He  was  reared  on  a 
farm  and  received  a  fair  Welsh  education.  Dur- 
ing 1849  he  took  passage  on  a  sailing  vessel  and 
after  a  voyage  of  five  weeks  landed  in  the  United 
States  in  New  York  harbor,  whence  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Watertown,  Wisconsin,  to  make  his 
home  with  an  uncle.  In  order  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  English  he  attended  school  for  a 
time  after  his  arrival. 

After  two  years  at  Watertown,  Mr.  Pugh  re- 
moved to  Dodgeville,  Wisconsin,  and  secured  em- 
ployment in  the  mines.  In  1855  he  came  to 
Minnesota  and  pre-empted  a  claim  of  govern- 
ment land  in  South  Bend  township,  Blue  Earth 


co-untj'^,  his  claim  lying  about  five  miles  south- 
west of  ilankato.  The  land  was  in  the  primeval 
condition  of  nature.  Xot  a  furrow  had  been 
turned  in  the  rich  soil.  Its  productive  capacity 
was  unknown.  By  dint  of  arduous  and  pro- 
tracted effort'  he  brought  the  land  under  cultiva- 
tion and  converted  it  into  one  of  the  finest  farms 
in  the  entire  county.  To  him  belongs  the  dis- 
tinction of  having  raised  the  first  crop  of  wheat 
in  the  entire  county,  and  this  crop  he  cut  with 
an  old-fashioned  scythe,  threshing  it  with  a  flail. 
Other  farm  work  of  a  pioneer  nature  was  done 
by  him  in  those  early  days.  As  machinery  began 
to  be  introduced  he  quickly  appreciated  its  use- 
fulness and  availed  himself  of  its  aid. 

The  marriage  of  T.  M.  Pugh  was  solemnized 
in  Blue  Earth  county  Jan.  30th,  1868,  and  united 
him  with  itiss  Ellen  Williams,  daughter  of 
Eobert  E.  and  Winifred  (Eoberts)  Williams,  of 
whom  mention  will  be  found  in  the  sketch  of 
William  E.  Williams  in  this  volume.  Mrs.  Pugh 
was  born  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  Feb.  15th,  1846, 
and  in  1855  came  to  IMinnesota  with  her  parents, 
settling  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Of  her  marriage 
there  are  two  sons,  Edward  Hugh  and  John 
Thomas,  both  of  whom  reside  in  Duluth,  ilinne- 
sota,  being  members  of  the  board  of  trade  of  that 
city  and  successful  grain-dealers. 

For  some  time  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Pugh 
made  his  home  on  the  farm  in  South  Bend  town- 
ship. During  185"',  after  the  massacre  at  Spirit 
Lake,  Iowa,  he  enlisted  in  the  ^Minnesota  state 
militia  and  engaged  in  active  service  in  subdu- 
ing the  savages.  During  what  is  known  as  the 
Sioux  massacre  in  1863  he  again  took  a  very 
active  part  in  quelling  the  red  men  and  aided 
in  bringing  to  iMankato  ten  of  the  Indians,  who 
were  later  hanged  for  their  outbreaks.  At  the 
close  of  his  service  in  the  war  he  was  appointed 
provost-marshal  and  continued  in  that  capacity 
during  the  balance  of  the  struggle  between  the 
north  and  south.  In  18T4  he  was  appointed 
receiver  of  the  land  office  at  Fargo,  North  Da- 
kota, and  continued  in  that  capacity  for  nine 
years,  serving  with  honor  to  himself  and  satis- 
faction to  the  general  public.  Meanwhile  he  con- 
tinued to  make  his  home  at  Fargo,  where  in 
1885  he  was  elected  to  represent  the  district  in 
the  legislature  of  Dakota  territory  and  took  part 


542 


BTOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


in  the  first  session  held  at  Bismarck.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  his  term  he  returned  to  Blue  Earth 
county  and  resumed  agricultural  affairs,  continu- 
ing on  the  farm  until  1894,  when  he  removed  to 
Duluth  in  order  to  engage  in  business  with  his 
sons  in  that  city. 

In  political  views  Mr.  Pugh  has  been  a  stanch 
Eepublican  ever  since  the  organization  of  that 
party  and  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  first  con- 
vention of  the  party  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Three 
years  after  his  removal  to  Duluth  he  was  elected 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  Minnesota  house 
of  representatives  and  in  1899  he  was  re-elected 
to  the  position,  in  which  he  served  for  four  j^ears 
altogether.  So  satisfactory  was  his  service  that 
in  1901  he  was  honored  with  election  to  the 
state  senate  and  in  1905  he  was  again  chosen  to 
represent  the  people  in  the  senate.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  add  that  his  service  has  been  emi- 
nently satisfactory  to  his  constitutents,  who  re- 
pose the  greatest  confidence  in  his  judgment  and 
have  found  by  long  experience  that  no  one  could 
be  more  loyal  to  the  people's  welfare  than  is 
Senator    Pugh. 


PUTEAH,  P.  J.— The  genealogy  of  the 
Putrah  family  shows  that  they  come  from 
French-Canadian  ancestry,  the  original  immi- 
grants to  America  having  come  from  France  in 
a  very  early  day  and  settled  among  the  French- 
speaking  colonies  of  Canada.  Joseph  and  Mar- 
garet (Parazcau)  Putrah  were  born  and  reared 
in  a  Canadian  province  and  both  descended  from 
prominent  families  of  that  country.  While  still 
young  in  years  they  crossed  into  ISTew  York  state 
and  while  living  on  a  farm  there  a  son,  P.  J., 
was  born  in  1853.  "When  this  son  was  three 
years  of  age  the  family  took  up  the  journey  to- 
ward the  frontier  and  settled  among  the  pioneers 
of  Wisconsin,  where  they  improved  and  developed 
a  farm.  Eventually  they  disposed  of  the  property 
there  and  in  1870  sought  a  home  still  further 
toward  the  frontier,  removing  to  Canton,  South 
Dakota,  where  Mrs.  Putrah  passed  away  in  1895. 
Since  her  death  Mr.  Putrah  has  continued  to 
make  his  home  in  Canton  and  now  is  in  the  en- 
joyment of  excellent  health,  notwithstanding  his 
eighty  useful  years. 


The  children  of  Joseph  Putrah  were  named  as 
follows:  Mary,  P.  J.,  George,  Ada,  Margaret 
and  Theresa.  All  are  still  living  with  the  ex- 
ception of  George.  The  son  whose  name  intro- 
duces this  article  had  meagre  opportunities  in 
boyhood  and  gained  his  education  almost  wholly 
from  self-culture  and  habits  of  close  observation. 
In  187G  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Lena  Eew,  daughter  of  Ira  and  Zilphia  (Harri- 
son) Eew,  natives  of  Allegany  county,  Few  York, 
and  pioneers  of  1866  in  Blue  Earth  county,  .set- 
tling in  Eapidan  township,  where  they  engaged 
in  farming  until  death.  Four  children  blessed 
the  union  of  P.  J.  and  Mrs.  Putrah,  namely: 
Grace,  who  was  taken  by  death  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  years;  Bert,  who  married  Margaret  Mc- 
Call  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  hardware  busi- 
ness at  Garden  City,  Blue  Earth  county;  Jessie, 
deceased;  and  Lida,  at  home. 

Coming  to  Blue  Earth  county  during  the  year 
1872  Mr.  Putrah  secured  work  as  a  farm  hand 
by  the  month  in  Eapidan  township  and  by  care- 
ful saving  of  his  wages  secured  a  start  in  the 
world.  After  purchasing  the  necessary  equip- 
ment he  engaged  in  digging  wells  and  for  six 
years  continued  in  that  business.  Eventually  he 
sold  out  and  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural 
pursuits,  which  have  since  occupied  his  time  and 
thought.  Since  1901  he  has  resided  on  a  farm 
of  one  hundred  and  ninety-one  and  one-half  acres 
lying  on  the  Blue  Earth  river  in  Eapidan  town- 
ship. The  acquisition  of  this  property  represents 
a  lifetime  of  toil  and  unremitting  industry,  and 
proves  him  to  be  a  man  of  thrift  and  economy. 
The  land  is  given  over  to  the  raising  of  crops 
suited  to  the  soil  and  locality.  Cattle  are  kept 
on  the  place,  also  some  fine  hogs  of  the  Poland- 
China  strain.  All  of  the  improvements,  with 
the  sole  exception  of  the  house,  have  been  placed 
there  by  the  present  owner,  who  has  devoted  con- 
stant thought  and  intelligent  attention  to  the  best 
cultivation  of  the  property  and  the  securing  of  the 
most  satisfactory  returns  from  his  investment. 
He  has  served  his  neighbors  in  the  offices  of 
school  director  and  path  master  and  in  politics 
has  been  stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepubli- 
can party.  Fraternally  he  is  connected  with 
Camp  No.  2198  at  Garden  City,  Modern  Wood- 
men of  America. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


:i43 


QUIGGLE,  C.  M.— The  history  of  the  Quiggle 
family  is  similar  to  that  of  many  other  colonial 
families  of  America  in  that  it  records  the  gradual 
transplanting  of  the  race  from  its  original  east- 
ern home  through  the  central  states  toward  the 
fertile  lands  of  the  vast  western  regions.  The 
Pennsylvania-Dutch  stock  that  formed  the  ances- 
try of  the  present  generation  possessed  the  fru- 
gality, industry  and  perseverance  necessary  to 
nation-builders.  In  an  early  day  the  family  re- 
moved lo  Ohio,  where  George  Quiggle  was  born 
March  3,  1819,  and  where  his  father  died  at  a 
ripe  old  age.  Lured  to  the  west  by  the  possi- 
bility of  securing  cheap  lands,  in  1853  George 
and  Cordelia  (Silliman)  Quiggle  removed  to  Wis- 
consin and  settled  in  Green  Lake  county,  where 
he  took  up  unimproved  lands.  In  the  spring  of 
1868  he  followed  the  westward  tide  of  emigra- 
tion and  settled  in  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota, 
where  he  bought  from  William  Seward  a  tract 
of  land  adjacent  to  Amboy,  twenty  acres  of  which 
is  now  in  the  corporate  limits  of  the  village. 
Agricultural  pursuits  engaged  his  attention  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  1903  at  the  age  of 
eighty-three  years.  He  was  a  progressive  citizen 
who  maintained  an  active  interest  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  township  and  was  a  strong  advo- 
cate of  the  building  of  the  railroad,  toward  which 
he  donated  a  right  of  way.  The  village  also 
received  his  encouraging  influence  and  he  gener- 
ously donated  ten  acres  to  the  town  site. 

Out  of  a  family  comprising  five  sons  and  one 
daughter  only  two  are  now  living,  namely:  Wal- 
lace, a  resident  of  Winnebago  City,  Faribault 
county;  and  C.  M.,  who  was  born  in  Trumbull 
county,  Ohio,  July  5,  1851,  received  his  early 
education  in  Wisconsin  and  later  attended  the 
schools  of  Blue  Earth  City,  Minnesota.  The  orig- 
inal homestead  is  now  his  property,  and  under 
his  supervision  every  detail  is  attended  to  with 
dispatch  and  energy.  A  substantial  modern  resi- 
dence adds  to  the  value  of  the  estate.  The  other 
buildings  are  well  adapted  to  their  varied  needs. 
The  entire  appearance  of  the  place  proves  the 
owner  to  be  a  man  of  orderly  spirit,  with  a  love 
for  neatness  and  thrift. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Quiggle  was  sol- 
emnized in  1876  and  united  him  with  Miss  May 
E,   Cross,   a  native   of  Wisconsinj   who   died   at 


Amboy  December  22,  1903.  Three  children  were 
born  of  that  union,  namely:  Mabel,  who  married 
Oscar  Robinson  and  I'ostdes  at  Amlioy;  Corde,  wife 
of  C.  M.  Cornell,  also  of  Amboy;  Wayne,  who  re- 
mains with  his  father;  and  Clayton,  deceased. 
Mrs.  May  Quiggle  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Jefferson  Cross  and  a  sister  of  D.  E.  Cross,  an 
influential  citizen  of  Amboy  and  the  present 
postmaster  of  the  village.  In  January  of  1906 
Mr.  Quiggle  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Effie  Reed, ,  a  native  of  Sterling  township.  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  her  father,  A.  B.  Reed,  was 
an  early  settler  and  an  honored  resident.  For 
years  Mr.  Quiggle  has  been  warmly  interested  in 
educational  work  and  at  this  writing  he  holds 
the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  school  board.  In 
fraternal  relations  he  is  a  Master  Mason  and  has 
passed  through  the  chairs  in  the  Amboy  lodge-, 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  One  of 
Mr.  Quiggle's  pleasures  is  in  travel,  and  he  has 
visited  many  sections  of  our  country,  going  as 
far  south  as  Texas,  but  in  his  journeys  he  has 
found  no  place  as  dear  to  him  as  the  old  family 
homestead  nor  any  state  possessing  greater  at- 
tractions   than    does    Minnesota. 


RASDALL,  DIWXE  F.— So  earnest  and 
painstaking  an  exponent  of  scientific  farming  and 
rational,  intelligent  country  life  as  Duane  F. 
Rasdall,  could  find  no  more  satisfying  opportu- 
nity for  the  exercise  of  his  ability  than  the  old 
Rasdall  farm  in  section  16,  McPherson  township, 
where  he  owned  two  Imndred  and  ninety-six  acres 
of  fine  land,  all  of  it  under  cultivation.  This 
farm,  a  part  of  the  old  Winnebago  Reservation,  is 
eloquent  with  reminders  of  a  tribe  of  Redmen 
now  but  sparcely  represented,  and  chief  of  these 
evidences  of  early  occupation  is  the  old  brick 
house  built  for  the-  Indians  by  the  United  States 
government.  The  efforts  of  the  late  owner  of  the 
property  are  distinctly  modern  in  character,  and 
the  old  and  new  shoulder  each  other  in  com- 
parative harmony  of  action.  Mr.  Rasdall  was 
engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-raising, 
and  he  was  past  master  of  the  science  which  has 
outstripped  the  slow  and  laborious  methods  of 
his  forefathers. 


544 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Born  in  Madison,  Wisconsin,  December  4. 
1846,  ilr,  Rasdall  was  the  son  of  Able  and  Lydia 
Ann  Rasdall,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  farmer 
and  millwright,  and  mention  of  whom  may  be 
found  in  the  sketch  of  M.  B.  Rasdall,  in  another 
part  of  this  work.  'Mr.  Rasdall  had  the  usual 
advantages  of  the  boys  of  his  time  and  place,  and 
while  working  hard  on  the  home  farm  in  the 
summer,  -ivelcomed  the  diversion  of  attending  the 
district  schools  during  the  leisure  of  the  winter. 
Came  to  Minnesota  in  1863.  April  19,  1868, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Alice  J.  Paley,  and 
of  the  union  there  are  two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters: Jessie,  wife  of  H.  Thielman;  Charles,  a 
farmer  in  ]\IcPherson  township ;  Grace,  wife  of 
Prank  Chase,  of  St.  Clair;  and  Mark,  engaged 
in  the  transfer  business  in  Montevideo.  Mr. 
Rasdall  passed  away   October   17,   1908. 

In  political  affiliations  Mr.  Rasdall  was  a  Dem- 
ocrat, and  among  other  offices  held  by  him  was 
that  of  chairman  of  the  town  board  for  eighteen 
years.  He  was  a  director  in  the  Farmers'  Pire 
Insurance  Company,  a  director  of  the  St.  Clair 
State  Bank,  and  was  otherwise  connected  with 
local  undertakings.  Religiously  he  was  connected 
with  the  Congregational  church.  He  was  ever 
ready  to  help  in  all  good  works,  and  has  ever 
held  out  a  helping  hand  to  those  whose  fortunes 
were  less  happily  placed  than  his  own. 


RASDALL,  MELVIN  B.— Reminiscences  of 
the  early  settlement  of  the  central  northwest 
cluster  thickly  around  the  name  of  Rasdall,  and 
through  the  efforts  of  those  who  now  maintain 
the  prestige  of  the  family  in  Minnesota,  will  as 
surely  be  regarded  by  posterity  as  importantly 
allied  with  the  present  era  of  progress.  The  gift 
of  successful  pioneering  seemed  a  special  preroga- 
tive of  Kentuckians  during  the  first  half  of  the 
last  century,  and  Able  Rasdall  was  no  exception 
to  the  rule.  The  lure  of  the  unsettled  lake  re- 
gion drew  him  hither  in  early  manhood,  and  he 
became  a  cabin  builder  in  Wisconsin  while  still 
tlie  wigwam  and  trail  were  predominating  feat- 
ures of  the  landscape.  He  passed  through  the 
Black  Hawk  war  as  a  captain,  and  he  built  the 
first  lodge  house  in  Madison  thus  becoming  the 
unconscious  civic  father  of  that  now  flourishing 


metropolis.  In  this  house  his  son,  Melvin  B. 
Rasdall,  was  born  November  13,  1848.  Mr.  Ras- 
dall, and  also  his  two  other  sons,  all  of  whom  are 
prominent  in  the  business  life  of  Blue  Earth 
county.  Mr.  Rasdall  also  erected  the  City  Hotel, 
of  Madison,  in  1849,  and  he  built  the  grist  mill 
twelve  miles  north  of  the  village,  where  he  met 
an  untimely  death  in  1856.  He  married  Lydia 
Pitcher,  a  native  of  'New  York  state,  and  who 
died  in  St.   Clair  this  state,  in  1882. 

A  varied  experience  has  projected  Melvin  S. 
Rasdall  among  the  prosperous  business  men  of 
St.  Clair.  He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools, 
and  subsequently  became  interested  in  the  print- 
ing business  which  he  continued  until  the  third 
year  of  the  Civil  war.  He  enlisted  in  1864  in 
Company  P,  First  Minnesota  Heavy  Artillery, 
under  Captain  Owens,  and  thereafter  did  garri- 
son duty  until  the  reestablishment  of  peace,  in 
1865.  For  the  following  five  years  he  was  vari- 
ously employed  as  a  wage  earner,  thus  paying  his 
way  through  the  Normal  School,  and  he  then 
engaged  in  general  merchandising  for  about  three 
vears.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  spent 
a  year  in  the  west,  and  in  1877  established  the 
drug  business  which,  on  and  off,  he  has  conducted 
ever  since.  He  is  variously  identified  with  local 
undertakings,  is  politically  a  Republican  and  has 
served  as  postmaster  several  years,  and  as  town- 
ship assessor  six  years.  He  is  fraternally  promi- 
nent and  popular,  and  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  which  he  is 
Past  Master,  and  the  Masons.  He  also  is  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 
Mr.  Rasdall  is  a  genial  and  approachable  gentle- 
man, thoroughly  conversant  with  the  drug  busi- 
ness, and  connected,  commercially  and  socially 
with  the  best  element  in  the  county. 


REYNOLDS,  CAPT.  IRA  B.— The  Reynolds 
family  became  established  in  America  some  time 
prior  to  the  Revolutionary  war,  the  original  im- 
migrant having  been  Silas  Reynolds  of  England, 
who  enlisted  on  the  side  of  his  adopted  country 
in  its  struggle  against  his  native  land.  George, 
a  son  of  this  Revolutionary  verteran,  .was  born  at 
Highgate,  Franklin  county,  Vermont,  August  15, 
1803,  and  married  Seraph  Pond,  a  native  of  Ver- 


IRA  IB.  IREYNOLDS. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


545 


mont,  born  in  1810.  The  latter's  mother  was  a 
member  of  the  well-known  Bateman  family  and 
her  father,  Ira  Pond,  was  one  of  twelve  brothers 
and  in  weight  w-ds  the  liglitest  of  them  all,  al- 
though he  tipped  the  scales  at  two  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds.  During  the  residence  of  George 
Reynolds  at  Canton,  St.  Lawrence  county,  New 
York,  his  son,  Ira  B.,  was  born  April  31,  1841. 
Pour  years  later  the  family  became  pioneers  of 
Wisconsin  and  settled  near  ilayville.  Dodge  coun- 
ty. At  the  age  of  eight  years  the  son  received 
his  first  educational  advantages,  being  then  sent 
to  a  school  held  in  an  old  log  cabin  that  burned 
down  before  the  term  had  been  completed.  Dur- 
ing 1850  a  cousin,  George  P.  Reynold.-;,  later  a 
minister  of  the  Wisconsin  conference  of  the 
ilethodist  Episcopal  denomination,  came  from 
Xew  York  and  began  to  teach  in  the  Sager  school 
house,  near  Mayville,  where  he  taught  for  a  num- 
ber of  winters.  In  addition,  at  the  close  of  the 
winter  term,  he  was  accustomed  to  open  a  select 
school,,  charging  $2  per  month  per  pupil,  and 
under  his  able  instruction  Ira  B.,  then  a  youth 
of  about  seventeen  years,  gained  an  excellent 
knowledge  of  the  common  branches. 

The  great  revival  that  swept  over  the  United 
States  during  18.57-.58  numbered  Ira  B.  Reynolds 
among  its  converts,  and  he  was  baptized  by  Rev. 
I.  W.  Bolton,  of  the  j\Iethodist  Episcopal  church, 
in  Lamberson  Creek,  Dodge  county,  July  4,  IS-^S; 
among  the  others  baptized  at  the  same  time  be- 
ing George  P.  Reynolds,  "Milo  Boyingtnn,  G.  W. 
Burcb,  and  the  Misses  Louisa  and  Adea  Reynold^. 
Prom  that  time  to  the  present  Mr.  Reynolds  has 
never  lost  his  conviction  of  conversion  or  his 
membership    in    that    denomination. 

Seven  days  after  the  first  call  for  volunteers 
made  by  President  Lincoln,  'Mt.  Reynolds,  then 
a  young  man  of  twenty  years,  enlisted  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Union,  and  at  Mayville,  Dodge  county, 
was  accepted  as  a  private  in  Company  E.  Third 
Wisconsin  Infantry,  with  which  be  remained  un- 
til the  spring  of  1864.  During  the  battle  of 
Chancellorsville,  ]\Iay  .S,  1863,  his  left  arm  was 
broken  at  the  wrist  and  an  operation  was  neces- 
sary for  the  removal  of  nine  pieces  of  bone  from 
the  arm.  He  was  sent  to  Chestnut  hill  hospital, 
and  N"ovember  1,  186.3,  was  transferred  to  the 
Si.\t3--ninth  Invalid  Corps,  under  Captain  Chand- 

35 


ler.  Afterward  he  was  assigned  to  Company  E, 
Nineteenth  Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  stationed  at 
Mnrtinville  barracks,  city  of  Wiisliington,  and 
he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  regiment.  It 
was  his  good  fortune  to  have  the  freedom  of  the 
city  and  to  attend  many  official  receptions  at  the 
White  House,  where  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  and  shaking  hands  with  President  Lin- 
coln. 

Receiving  from  ]\Iajor  Foster  permission  to  ap- 
pear before  General  Casey's  board,  in  the  spring 
of  1864  Mr.  Re3'nolds  was  examined  for  a  com- 
mission in  a  colored  regiment  and  was  given  a 
first-class  captain's  commission  and  assigned  to 
Company  I,  Porty-third  United  States  Colored 
Troops,  Camp  William  Penn,  Philadelphia,  com- 
manded by  Colonel  (afterward  General)  Lewis 
Wagner  for  a  time  and  later  by  Colonel  Yeomans. 
The  regiment  joined  General  Grant's  command 
and  accompanied  him  to  Petersburg  and  Rich- 
mond, later  Company  P  was  sent  to  guard  work- 
men engaged  in  rebuilding  a  bridge  between 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  that  had  been  burned 
by  the  Confederate  troops.  When  in  1865  Gen- 
eral Grant  made  his  last  move  to  capture  General 
Lee,  the  Porty-third  was  north  of  the  James 
river,  six  miles  from  Richmond.  On  the  morn- 
ing of  April  3,  they  marched  over  the  Confederate 
barracks  into  the  city,  the  lower  half  of  which 
was  burning,  with  the  sole  exception  of  Libby 
prison.  Following  General  Lee  in  his  hasty  re- 
treat, the  Portj'-third  captured  that  day  fifteen 
hundred  prisoners  and  thirty  pieces  of  cannon. 
On  the  4th  Captain  Reynolds  received  a  pass  to 
visit  Libby  and  found  the  prison  filled  with  Con- 
federates, who  were  being  fed  the  rations  they 
had  prepared  for  their  ■"Yankee"'  captives.  From 
there  the  captain  went  to  the  capital,  where  he 
procured  a  number  of  Confederate  documents 
that  he  still  has  in  his  possession,  some  of  these 
bearing  the  signatures  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  the 
other   Confederate  officials. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  war  the  Forty-third 
regiment  was  sent  to  the  southern  border.  It  had 
been  ascertained  that  the  Frencli  were  endeavor- 
ing to  establisli  a  government  in  Mexico.  Accord- 
ingly the  United  States  government  sent  General 
Sheridan  with  thirty  thousand  soldiers  to  the 
south  for  the  purpose  of  operating  as  necessary. 


546 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


The  Forty-third  was  stationed  at  Brownsville, 
Texas,  just  across  from  Matamoras,  Mexico,  and 
remained  there  until  being  mustered  out  of  the 
service  September  20,  1865.  While  the  regiment 
had  been  stationed  in  camp  at  Stafford  Court- 
house, Virginia,  in  1864,  Captain  Reynolds  pur- 
chased a  small  tract  of  timber  land  in  Minnesota. 
On  leaving  the  army  he  came  hither,  arriving 
on  the  20th  of  December,  1865,  and  found  his 
father,  mother  and  two  sisters  occupying  a  log 
house,  built  by  a  brother,  Alvin  P.,  in  1857,  lo- 
cated on  the  east  one  hundred  acres  of  the  south- 
east quarter  of  section  twenty-one,  township  one 
hundred   and   eight,   range  twenty-five  west. 

In  the  spring  of  1866  Captain  Reynolds  en- 
tered Lawrence  university  at  Appleton,  Wiscon- 
sin, with  the  intention  of  studying  for  the  Meth- 
odist ministry,  but  the  failure  of  his  eyesight 
obliged  him  to  discontinue  his  studies  and  seek 
an  outdoor  life.  Meanwhile  his  mother  had  been 
attacked  by  cancer  of  the  tongue  and  from  this 
she  died  in  February  of  1867.  On  the  11th  of 
July,  1867,  Captain  Reynolds  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Susan  Anderson,  at  Tivoli,  Blue 
Earth  count}',  and  their  first  ride  after  the  wed- 
ding ceremony  was  taken  in  a  lumber  wagon 
drawn  by  a  yoke  of  oxen.  After  his  marriage 
he  settled  upon  one  hundred  acres  in  the  town 
of  LeRay,  Blue  Earth  county,  and  there  he  made 
his  home  for  more  than  thirty-eight  years,  the 
only  change  meanwhile  being  the  removal  of  the 
little  log  cabin  to  the  substantial  frame  house. 
On  that  farm  two  sons  and  two  daughters  were 
born,  namely:  George  A.,  October  1,  1868;  Belle 
Reynolds  Charlesworth,  February  17,  1873;  Ar- 
thur A.,  April  8,  1879 ;  and  Daisy,  November  27, 
1886. 

Only  ten  acres  of  the  farm  had  been  cleared 
when  Captain  Reynolds  brought  his  bride  to  the 
home.  The  balance  was  in  heavy  timber.  Dur- 
ing his  long  residence  on  the  farm  he  cleared  the 
land,  cutting  wood  with  an  axe,  making  ties  for 
tlie  railroad,  splitting  rails  for  fences,  and  dig- 
'  ging  out  stumps.  When  the  ground  had  been 
thus  prepared,  almost  any  kind  of  crop  could  be 
raised,  for  the  soil  was  very  rich.  The  principal 
products  were  wheat,  barley,  oats,  rye,  peas,  corn, 
potatoes  and  all  kinds  of  root  crops.  The  small 
grain  was  cut  with  a  cradle.     The  grass  was  cut 


with  a  scythe  and  raked  by  hand.  Many  of  the 
young  wives  Joined  their  husbands  in  raking  the 
grain  into  bundles  for  binding.  Wheat  was 
threshed  with  a  flail  and  cleaned  by  the  wind, 
after  which  it  was  carried  many  miles  to  the 
mills  to  be  ground  into  flour.  With  later  years 
improved  machinery  was  introduced.  The 
cradle  was  replaced  by  the  dropper,  that  by  the 
self-rake,  next  came  the  harvester,  and  finally  the 
binder.  The  mowing  machine  took  the  place  of 
the  scythe  and  the  horse  rake  superseded  the 
hand  rake.  The  walking  plow  gave  way  to  the 
riding  plow,  and  on  every  hand  better  machinery 
came   into   general  use. 

All  of  these  changes  Captain  Reynolds  wit- 
nessed during  the  long  period  of  his  residence  on 
the  farm.  While  living  there  he  was  elected 
town  clerk  in  1867,  receiving  every  vote  polled 
in  the  town  (fifty-two  in  number).  In  addition 
he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  chairman  of 
the  LeRay  township  board,  and  member  of  the 
school  board  of  districts  fifty  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven.  In  May  of  1905  he  sold  the 
home  farm  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres  for 
$8,400,  and  removed  to  Eagle  Lake,  where  he 
owns  and  occupies  a  residence  surrounded  by  six 
acres  of  grounds.  His  first  presidential  vote  was 
cast  for  Abraham  Lincoln  for  the  second  term, 
and  he  has  voted  either  the  Republican  or  Prohi- 
bition ticket  ever  since.  At  the  time  that  Gen- 
eral Baker  ran  for  congress.  Captain  Reynolds 
was  nominated  by  the  Prohibition  party  for  con- 
gressman and  received  more  than  fourteen  hun- 
dred votes. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  Captain  Reynolds  to  con- 
trast the  comforts  and  prosperity  of  the  present 
with  the  privations  of  the  past,  and  no  one  re- 
joices more  than  he  in  the  development  of  the 
country.  During  the  early  part  of  the  sixties 
the  township  of  LeRay  was  a  wilderness.  A 
few  settlers  scattered  through  the  big  woods  were 
bravely  trying  to  earn  a  livelihood.  The  south 
two  miles  of  the  town  was  in  reservation  known 
as  the  Winnebago  agency.  The  Sioux  Indians 
were  roaming  at  will  through  the  woods  and  over 
the  wide  prairies  south  of  the  town.  Settlers, 
young  ami  old,  were  busily  engaged  in  digging 
gentian,  and  some  men  dug  from  forty  to  sixty 
pounds  a  day.     Captain  Reynolds  has  killed  as 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


547 


many  as  thirty-five  rattlesnakes  in  one-half  day 
while  mo\\'ing  grass  near  his  house,  but  at  the 
present  time  not  one  could  be  found  in  the  en- 
tire township.  Wild  game  was  plentiful  in  the 
woods.  Fish  aboimded  in  the  lakes.  Most  of 
Madison  lake,  all  of  Eagle,  Alice,  Indian  and 
;\Iud  lakes,  and  other  small  lakes,  were  in  LeEay 
township.  During  the  first  twenty  years  of  his 
residence  in  the  township  Captain  Eeynolds  aided 
in  building  its  seventy-two  miles  of  public  high- 
way and  in  opening  the  same  for  travel.  In 
1872-73  the  Winona  and  St.  Peter  railroad  was 
built  through  the  township,  coming  in  at  Smith's 
Mill,  Waseca  county,  and  going  out  at  Eagle 
Lake.  The  advent  of  the  railroad  started  a  new 
industry,  the  cutting  of  wood  and  ties  for  pur- 
chase by  the  company,  which  was  the  means  of 
clearing  the  entire  timber  from  the  land.  Fields 
of  wheat  and  corn  have  taken  the  place  of  the 
timber,  so  that  not  enough  timber  is  left  to  sup- 
ply the  actual  needs  of  the  fifteen  hundred  resi- 
dents of  the  town,  and  as  a  result,  where  for- 
merly wood  was  the  only  fuel,  now  many  of  the 
farmers  have  adopted  coal  as  their  principal  fuel. 
In  1866  Captain  I.  B.  Eeynolds  was  licensed 
afi  an  exborter  in  the  Methodist  Episeopal  church, 
and  later  given  a  local  preacher's  license  which 
he  has  held  ever  since. 


EEYNOLDS,  JOSEPH  E.— The  associate,  edi- 
tor of  the  ]\[ankato  Daily  Free  Press  was  born  in 
Lockport,  New  York,  Xovember  1,  1863,  and  has 
been  connected  with  newspaper  work  since  boy- 
hood years.  His.  father.  Professor  B.  M.  Eey- 
nolds, was  superintendent  of  some  of  the  most 
advanced  and  important  city  schools  in  ISTew 
York,  Illinois,  Wiscons'n  and  Minnesota,  and 
for  some  years  officiated  as  superintendent  of 
schools  of  Eice  county.  Through  all  of  his  ma- 
ture years  he  has  been  an  educator  and  his  work 
in  the  line  of  his  specialty  has  brought  him  into 
prominence. 

After  having  gained  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  newspaper  business  through  work  in  various 
offices,  in  1887,  Joseph  E.  Eeynolds  became  the 
telegraph  editor  of  the  Daily  Xcws  of  ilshland, 
Wisconsin.  The  following  year  he  bought  out 
the    Pioneer    of    Wadena,    Minnesota,    which    he 


published  until  1891,  and  then  sold  out  in  order 
to  accept  a  position  with  the  Fargo  Argus.  From 
1892  until  1896  he  was  connected  with  the  Great 
Falls  Leader,  during  which  period,  in  1894,  he 
was  elected  to  the  Montana  legislature.  In  May, 
of  1896,  he  came  to  Mankato,  and  was  engaged 
as  city  reporter  for  the  Daily  Eeview  until  the 
summer  of  1902,  since  which  time  he  has  been 
editorially  connected  with  the  Daily  Free  Press. 
While  living  in  Wisconsin  he  was  married  at 
Oshkosh,  in  ISS.'),  to  iliss  Alice  A.  Lewis,  and 
they  are  now  the  parents  of  two  children,  Wil- 
fred Denver  and  Marv  Grace. 


EOBB,  JOHX  B.— John  B.  Eobb,  local  man- 
ager of  the  ^lankato  branch  of  the  Creamery  Pack- 
age ;Manuf  acturing  Company,  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant industries  in  Blue  Earth  County,  has 
reached  his  position  of  responsibility  by  persistent 
and  intelligent  work  and  natural  ability,  both  ex- 
ecutive and  mechanical.  After  being  employed 
for  five  years  by  the  Mankato  Manufacturing 
Company,  in  the  fall  of  1882  he  became  general 
foreman  of  the  Creamery  Package  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  at  the  Yan  Brunt  Street  plant, 
Mankato,  and  has  since  continued  in  that  posi- 
tion, having  at  all  times  been  an  active  factor 
in  the  unusual  development  of  its  business  and 
the  extension  of  its  works.  He  has  ably  assisted, 
especially  in  all  the  details  of  removal  and  build- 
ing, and  the  general  establishment  of  the  new 
plant  in  West  Mankato,  which  began  operations 
January  21,  1907.  ITis  duties  include  not  only  a 
supervision  of  the  manufacture  of  the  tubs,  but 
the  operation  and  necessary  repairing  of  the  ma- 
chinery; in  fact,  he  is  in  general  charge  of  the 
practical  work  of  the  entire  establishment,  and 
what  this  means  may  be  inferred  from  these  facts 
concerning  the  plant. 

The  dimensions  of  the  warehouse  are  200x60 
feet;  factory,  100x40;  shed,  60x8;  dry  kiln, 
26x40,  and  engine  room,  26x30.  The  boiler  is 
of  one  hundred  horse  power  and  the  engine  of 
forty.  Altogether  the  plant  covers  nearly  a  city 
block,  and  the  daily  output  of  tubs  is  twenty-five 
hundred.  The  company  aims  to  have  from  seven- 
ty-five thousands  to  one  hundred  thousand  tubs 
on  hand  at  the  time  of  greatest  demand,  in  sum- 


548 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


mer,  which  accounts  for  the  large  warehouses  of 
the  plant;  notwithstanding  which  large  quantities 
of  the  packages  are  stored  in  Minneapolis  and 
Sioux   Falls. 


ROBEBTS,  EUGENE.— While  America  was 
in  the  colonial  period  of  its  history  the  Eoberts 
family  became  identified  with  the  pioneers  estab- 
lished along  the  bleak  shores  of  the  north  Atlan- 
tic and  from  that  time  forward  the  name  was 
honorably  associated  with  the  agricultural  de- 
velopment of  the  country.  Industrious  in  times 
of  peace,  they  were  no  less  active  during 
epochs  of  war  and  gave  true  patriots  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  colonies  during  the  Eevolutionary 
struggle.  Later  Shadrach  Eoberts,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  took  part  in  the  war  of  1813. 
Eive  of  his  brothers-in-law,  who  bore  the  family 
name  of  Hobling,  enlisted  during  the  first  war 
with  England  and  one  of  them  died  during  this 
war.  Many  years  after  the  period  of  his  service 
in  the  army  Shadrach  Eoberts  met  with  business 
reverses  in  ISTew  York  and  for  that  reason  sought 
to  start  anew  in  the  regions  further  west.  Ac- 
companied by  his  family  he  journeyed  westward, 
partly  traveling  by  wagon  and  partly  sailing  on 
the  great  lakes.  On  his  arrival  in  Wisconsin  he 
selected  a  location  and  took  up  the  difficult  task 
of  transforming  an  uncultivated  tract  into  a  pro- 
ductive farm.  Pioneer  work  filled  the  remaining 
years  of  his  life  and  eventually  he  passed  away 
on  the  place  which  owed  its  development  to  his 
unwearied  industry. 

Charles  Henry  Eoberts  was  born  in  Utica,  ISTew 
York,  and  was  the  son  of  Sharach  Eoberts. 
Coming  west  with  the  family  he  assisted  in  bring- 
ing a  Wisconsin  farm  under  cultivation.  While 
]\rinnesota  was  still  largely  in  the  primeval  con- 
dition of  nature  he  came  to  this  state  as  a  pio- 
neer and  secured  land  in  Mapleton  township. 
Blue  Earth  county.  Somewhat  later  he  took  up 
the  homestead  still  occupied  by  the  family.  Here 
he  spent  his  remaining  da3's  engaged  in  general 
farming  pursuits  and  winning  the  confidence  of 
acquaintances  through  his  superior  education,  rec- 
ognized ability  and  high  principles  of  honor.  At 
the  age  of  eiglity-two  year.'^,  in  1903,  he  passed 
from  the  scenes  of  his  activities,  since  which  time 


the  farm  has  remained  the  home  of  his  widow, 
formerly  Anna  Eliza  Louden,  and  a  native  of 
New  York. 

All  of  the  family  of  Charles  Henry  Roberts, 
comprising  ten  children,  are  still  living.  Ella 
married  George  Ackerman  and  makes  her  home 
in  Sterling  township.  Clara  is  the  wife  of  Fred- 
erick Ackerman  of  Sterling  township.  Augusta 
remains  on  the  old  homestead.  Mary  married 
Julius  Borchardt  and  lives  in  Lyra  township. 
AUie  E.,  now  Mrs.  Leslie  Cooper,  is  a  resident  of 
Vernon,  this  state.  Frederick  is  living  in  Ster- 
ling. Eugene,  whose  name  heads  this  narrative, 
was  born  in  Sterling  township,  in  1872,  and  re- 
mains at  the  old  homestead.  Mabel  married  Eoy 
Fale}',  a  steam  fitter,  and  lives  in  Duluth.  Bes- 
sie and  William  continue  with  their  mother  at 
the  old  home  farm.  The  children  were  educated 
in  district  schools  and  the  public  schools  of 
J\Iankato,  and  on  the  home  farm  were  trained 
to  habits  of  industry  and  usefulness.  In  social 
circles  they  are  honored  for  the  sterling  qualities 
of  heart  and  mind  that  win  and  retain  friends 
among  the  most  refined  people  of  any  commun- 
ity. The  homestead  gives  evidence  of  their  in- 
dustry, efficient  management  and  energy.  The 
residence  furnishes  them  with  a  comfortable 
home  provided  with  modern  appointments.  Gen- 
eral farming  operations  are  conducted  and  the 
returns  from  the  raising  of  crops  and  the  feed- 
ing of  stock  form  a  revenue  of  no  inconsider- 
able amount. 


ROBERTS,  HUMPHREY  J._Wherever  the 
Welsh  plant  their  standard  they  establish  a  church 
if  there  is  not  one  already  there.  So  when  the 
father  of  Humphrey  J.  Roberts  settled  in  Jud- 
son  Township  with  his  family  over  half  a  cen- 
tury ago  he  found  that  his  scattered  countrymen 
had  no  way  to  jointly  worship  and  soon  had  or- 
ganized the  first  Welsh  church  in  that  part  of 
Blue  Earth  County.  Both  he  and  his  brother 
(the  uncle  after  whom  Humphrey  J.  is  named) 
were  settlers  of  185.'),  and  were  among  the  first 
dozen  to  locate  in  the  to.wnship,  for  years  making 
it  their  prime  business  to  extend  a  cordial  and 
brotherly  welcome  to  all  new  comers.  They  were 
of  the  highest  type  of  pioneers,  for  they  not  only 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


549 


did  their  full  share  in  developing  the  material 
resources  of  their  section  but  also  gave  of  their 
strength  and  substance  to  further  the  cause  of 
morality  and  religion. 

Of  such  a  famil}'  Humphrey  J.  Eoberts  was 
born  in  Wales  on  the  24th  of  February,  1848^ 
the  son  of  Owen  and  Catherine  (Jones)  Eoberts, 
both  natives  of  Anglesey.  His  parents  came  to 
America  when  he  was  two  years  of  age,  first  mak- 
ing the  family  home  at  Bridgeport,  Ohio,  and 
later  removing  it  to  Mason  Citj-,  West  Virginia. 
In  1855  they  came  to  Minnesota,  pre-empting  a 
claim  in  what  is  now  section  32,  Judson  Town- 
ship, where  they  resided  for  the  balance  of  their 
lives.  The  mother  died  in  1890,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight  years,  the  father  surviving  her  until 
August  8,  1906,  when  he  too  passed  away,  aged 
eighty  years.  As  stated,  Owen  Eoberts  estab- 
lished the  first  Welsh  church  in  his  locality,  it 
being  at  his  home  on  section  5,  and  the  date 
July  11,  1858.  Services  were  first  held  there  and 
afterward  in  other  houses  of  the  neighborhood 
until  1865,  when  a  log  church  was  built,  the 
latter  being  used  until  the  erection  of  the  present 
structure  on  Section  6,  at  Judson,  in  1871.  This 
was  knoAvn  as  Jersalem  Calvinistic  Church,  and 
Eev.  William  M.  Jones  was  its  first  pastor.  Hum- 
phrey Jones,  the  maternal  uncle  of  Humphrey 
J.  Eoberts,  previously  mentioned,  settled  in  Jud- 
son Township  April  11,  1855. 

During  the  early  period  the  settlers  wore  much 
alarmed  over  threatened  Indian  raids,  and  upon 
one  occasion  the  Eoberts  family  was  obliged  to 
actually  vacate  their  farm  for  three  weeks,  turn- 
ing the  cattle  loose  notwithstanding  the  cer- 
tainty that  they  would  destroy  much  of  their 
crops.  In  the  family  of  eight  children  brought 
up  amid  such  God-fearing,  yet  hard  conditions, 
Humphrey  J.  was  the  second,  and,  besides  him- 
self, one  is  still  living — Henry  E.,  of  Lake  Crys- 
tal,   ilinnesota. 

As  a  boy  Mr.  Eoberts  attended  the  district 
schools  of  Judson  Township  and  the  Commer- 
cial College,  at  St.  Paul.  He  afterwards  engaged 
in  farming  and  after  reaching  his  majority  pur- 
chased a  farm  in  Butternut  Valley  Township, 
which  he  conducted  to  sucli  good  advantage  that  in 
1887,  he  became  the  owner  of  the  farm  which  his 
uncle  Humphrey   Jones   had  pre-empted  on  sec- 


tion 5,  Judson  Township.  To  the  latter  he  re- 
moved, cultivating  and  improving  it  until  1897, 
when,  having  acquired  a  competency,  he  retired  to 
enjoy  a  period  of  well  earned  leisure  and  rest 
in  Mankato. 

Since  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  J\Ir.  Eoberts 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Welsh  Calvinistic  Meth- 
odist Church,  and  even  before  that  he  had  passed 
through  a  brief  experience  as  a  soldier  of  the 
Civil  war,  in  1866  enlisting  as  a  scout  under 
Captain  Eobert  H.  Hughes.  The  second  day  out 
he  was  accidently  shot  through  the  arm  with  the 
bullet  from  a  revolver,  and  w-as  obliged  to  re- 
turn home.  While  a  resident  of  Judson  Town- 
ship he  was  honored  with  several  local  offices, 
serving  as  treasurer  of  the  School  Board  and 
Supervisor.  On  Xovember  3,  1876,  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Catherine  J.  Jones,  daughter  of 
Evan  E.  Jones,  and  they  have  become  the  parents 
of  nine  children,  four  of  whom  still  survive : 
^  aomi,  Catherine  Eleanor,  John  H.,  and  Evan  H. ; 
those  deceased  are  Gononony  0.,  who  died  in 
1896,  at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  Llewelyn  H., 
Euth;  Evan  E.,  and  Eichard  N.,  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Eoberts  is  a  man  of  practical 
ability  and  high  honor  and  the  family  represent 
the  substantial  pioneer  element  of  the  county, 
which  the  rising  generations  are  commencing  to 
respect  and  revere  more  deeply  as  it  is  gradually 
fading  into  the  past. 

EOBINTSOiS',  ANDEEW  S.— For  more  than  a 
quarter  of  a  century  Mr.  Eobinson  occupied  a 
farm  in  Pleasant  Mound  township  that  ranked 
among  the  finely-improved  estates  of  Blue  Earth 
county.  On  coming  to  the  township  in  1875  he 
purchased  land  on  section  thirty-five  and  here  he 
devoted  himself  assiduously  to  the  cultivation  of 
the  soil  and  the  making  of  needed  improvements 
that  would  enhance  the  permanent  value  of  the 
property.  A  fair  degree  of  success  rewarded  his 
painstaking  efforts.  As  the  years  passed  by  ■  he 
gained  an  increasing  reputation  for  sagacity,  keen 
perception,  wise  methods  in  rotating  crops  and  a 
profitable  knowledge  of  the  stock  business.  Eventu- 
ally he  retired  from  the  heavy  care.-  incident  to  farm 
work  and  removed  to  Amboy,  where  he  erected 
and  now  occupies  a  handsome  and  commodious 
residence  containing  modern  improvements. 


550 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


The  Eobinson  family  was  founded  in  this  coun- 
try by  Joseph  Eobinson,  who  came  from  Cork, 
Ireland,  in  early  life  and  settled  In  Pennsylvania, 
there  spending  the  balance  of  his  years.  His  son, 
Joseph,  was  born  in  Blair  county,  Pennsylvania, 
and  married  Jane,  daughter  of  William  McCaul- 
ley,  a  native  of  Scotland.  As  early  as  1856 
Joseph  and  Jane  Eobinson  brought  their  children 
to  Minnesota  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw  land 
in  Eice  county,  remaining  there  until  1863. 
During  that  year  they  removed  to  Faribault 
county  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Winnebago, 
where  the  father  died  in  1864  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
three.  In  his  family  there  were  nine  sons  and 
two  daughters,  and  seven  of  the  number  are  yet 
living,  the  fourth  in  order  of  birth  having  been 
Andrew  S.,  a  native  of  Punxsutawney,  Jefferson 
count)',  Pennsylvania,  born  August  5,  1842.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  years  he  accompanied  the 
family  to  Minnesota  and  here  his  sturdy,  youth- 
ful energy  was  useful  in  the  difficult  task  of  con- 
verting  raw   land   into   a   profitable   farm. 

From  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Eobin- 
son gave  his  sympathy  to  the  Union  cause.  Au- 
gust 13,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Sev- 
enth Minnesota  Infantry,  under  Colonel  Mar- 
shall. The  regiment  was  mustered  in  at  Fort 
Snelling  and  accompanied  General  Sibley  in  an 
expedition  after  the  Indians,  whom  they  pursued 
across  the  Missouri  river.  After  returning  from 
that  campaign  they  were  sent  to  the  south,  join- 
ing the  Sixteenth  Corps  under  General  A.  J. 
Smith  and  participating  in  an  engagement  at 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  which  was  their  first  ex- 
perience of  the  horrors  of  battle.  Their  second 
engagement  was  at  Tupelo,  ilississippi,  after 
ivhich  they  joined  the  Eed  river  expedition. 
Thence  they  went  into  the  Gulf  region  and  as- 
sisted in  the  capture  of  Spanish  Fort,  Mobile. 
Shortly  afterward  they  were  ordered  to  the  north 
and  at  Fort  Snelling  received  an  honorable  dis- 
charge August  15,  1865,  after  which  Mr.  Eobin- 
son immediately  returned  to  -his  home  and  re- 
sumed the  avocations  of  peace.  His  record  as  a 
soldier  is  one  of  which  he  may  well  be  proud,  and 
since  the  organization  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic .  he  has  maintained  a  deep  interest  in 
the  reunions  of  the  veterans,  among  whom  he  is 
popular  and  influential. 


After  having  remained  in  Faribault  county 
until  1875  Mr.  Eobinson  then  removed  to  Blue 
Earth  county  and  bought  the  farm  which  he  oc- 
cupied until  1903.  During  the  year  of  coming 
to  this  county  he  married  Sarah  Oliver,  a  sister 
of  George  G.  Oliver,  whose  sketch  appears  else- 
where in  this  volume.  Her  death  occurred  in 
1893  on  the  old  homestead.  The  present  wife  of 
Mr.  Eobinson,  whom  he  married  October  7,  1903, 
and  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Ella  Clough, 
was  born  in  New  Hampshire,  but  at  a  very  early 
age  accompanied  her  father  to  Wisconsin  and 
there  received  a  fair  education.  Later  she  came 
to  Minnesota,  where  slie  has  many  friends  among 
the.  people  of  the  community  and  shares  with  her 
husband   in  the  general  good-will. 


EOBINSON,  JOSEPH  H.— The  genealogy  of 
the  Eobinson  family  indicates  a  colonial  associa- 
tion with  the  history  of  America  and  shows  that 
those  of  the  name  have  possessed  energy,  thrift, 
high  principles  of  honor  and  the  pioneer  instincts 
that  lead  men  to  seek  homes  upon  the  frontier 
and  thus  become  the  vanguard  of  an  oncoming 
civilization.  Pennsylvania  was  the  former  home 
of  the  family  and  there  Joseph  H.  was  born  De- 
cember 37,  1847,  being  a  son  of  Andrew  and 
Mary  (Wait)  Eobinson.  The  father  was  a  native 
of  E[untingdon  county,  the  same  state,  and  for 
years  followed  general  farming  in  the  east,  but 
during  1851  he  journeyed  to  Illinois  and  took  up 
a  homestead.  Four  years  later  he  became  a  pio- 
neer of  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Eice  county, 
which  as  yet  had  few  settlers  and  no  improve- 
ments. The  last  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in 
the  home  of  his  son,  J.  H.,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained until  his  death  in  1885.  His  was  the 
life  of  the  frontiersman,  familiar  with  privations^ 
inured  to  hardships  and  content  to  receive  no 
other  reward  than  that  of  having  aided  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  northwest. 

The  opening  of  the  Civil  war  found  Joseph  H. 
Eobinson  eager  to  offer  his  services  to  the  Union, 
but  hindered'  by  his  youthful  years.  Septembeu 
8,  1864,  he  was  accepted'  as  a  member  of  the 
First  Minnesota  Heavy  Artillery  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  army  of  the  Cumberland.  The  reg- 
iment was  ordered  south  and  engaged  in  garri- 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


551 


son  duty  at  Chattanooga,  Tennessee.  At  the  ex- 
piration of  the  war  in  1865  he  received  an  hon- 
orable discharge  and  returned  to  the  Minnesota 
farm.  In  1879  he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  built  the  first  elevator  at  Vernon  Center, 
where  for  four  years  he  engaged  in  buying  wheat. 
Later  for  ten  years  he  owned  and  operated  a 
hotel  at  Vernon  Center,  but  eventually  he  traded 
the  hotel  for  a  farm  on  section  thirty-two,  Gar- 
den City  township,  and  gave  his  attention  to 
agricultural  pursuits  for  some  yeais.  For  eighr 
years  he  made  his  home  at  Lake  Crystal,  this 
county,  and  engaged  principally  at  the  carpen- 
ter's trade,  but  afterward  returned  to  farming. 

Upon  selling  his  farm  Mr.  Eobinson  removed 
to  Vernon  Center  in  1904  and  now  occupies  a 
pleasant  homestead  in  this  place.  For  two  years 
after  coming  here  he  gave  his  time  to  carpenter- 
ing, and  then  erected  a  flour  mill,  which  he  now 
conducts  in  partnership  with  L.  W.  Kimble. 
Considerable  wheat  is  raised  in  the  vicinity  of 
^'ernon  Center  and  thus  a  fair  trade  has  come 
to  the  partners  in  the  mill.  Every  effort  is 
made  to  satisfy  patrons  with  the  quality  of  the 
product  and  excellent  improvements  have  been 
made  in  the  plant  in  order  to  secure  the  best 
results.  In  1867  Mr.  Eobinson  married  Johanna 
L.  Eeed,  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Eacina 
(Cole)  Eeed,  natives  of  Wisconsin  and  pioneers 
of  1863  in  the  Blue  Earth  valley  and  Faribault 
county.  The  parents  are  both  deceased.  Three 
daughters  comprise  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eobinson,  of  whom  j\Iao,  a  school  teacher,  is  the 
only  one  remaining  at  home.  EfEie  married 
Eugene  Francis  and  lives  on  a  farm  in  Vernon 
Center  township.  Orpha  married  Ole  Bengtson, 
a  stone  mason  living  in  Vernon  Center.  The 
family  are  identified  with  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  Mr.  Eobinson  has  been  an  active 
Sunday  school  worker.  His  sympathies  are  with 
the  cause  of  prohibition,  but  in  party  matters  he 
has  voted  independently.  For  four  years  he  has 
served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  also  has  held  office 
of  chairman  of  the  town  board  and  has  been  a 
school  director  and  deeply  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  schools.  For  years  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic. 


EOBINSON,  JOHN.— Since  the  period  of  his 
army  service  during  the  Civil  war  the  life  of 
John  Eobinson  has  been  quietly  passed  in  agri- 
cultural labors  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Some  men 
love  excitement  and  change,  but  to  him  no  asso- 
ciations are  as  dear  as  those  of  the  past  and  he 
has  had  no  desire  to  leave  the  old  homestead 
where  forty  years  ago  he  and  his  wife,  in  the 
strength  of  early  life,  began  their  married  exist- 
ence. Though  possessed  of  means  sufficient  to 
maintain  him  in  retirement,  it  is  his  preference 
to  remain  on  the  same  farm  until  advancing 
years  render  further  manual  labor  impossible. 
The  homestead  comprises  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres  in  Pleasant  Mound  township  and  is  devoted 
to  the  raising  of  farm  produce  and  to  fine  breeds 
of  horses,  cattle  and  hogs,  in  which  lines  the 
owner  is  thoroughly  experienced. 

By  reference  to  the  sketch  of  Andrew  S.  Eob- 
inson on  another  page  of  this  volume  the  history 
of  the  family  will  be  found,  and  from  it  may 
be  learned  that  Joseph  Eobinson  came  from  Ire- 
land to  America  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  his  son  and  namesake  was  born  and  reared. 
The  younger  Joseph  removed  to  Minnesota  in 
1856  and  settled  in  Eice  county,  but  six  years 
later  he  removed  to  Faribault  county  and  settled 
on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Winnebago.  There  he 
died  in  1864  at  the  age  of  fifty-three  years.  In 
his  family  there  \\'ere  eleven  children,  of  whom 
the  fifth,  John,  was  born  at  Punxsutawney,  Jef- 
ferson county,  Pennsylvania,  May  5,  1844,  and 
at  the  age  of  twelve  years  accompanied  the  fam- 
ily to  ilinnesota.  The  schools  of  Eice  county 
afforded  him  fair  educational  advantages.  At  the 
age  of  twenty  years  he  offered  his  services  to  the 
cause  of  his  country.  During  December  of  1864 
he  enlisted  in  Company  H,  Second  Jlinnesota 
Cavalry,  under  Colonel  McClarrib,  and  was  mus- 
tered in  at  Fort  Snelling.  Being  ordered  west, 
the  regiment  joined  General  Sully  at  Fort  Eice 
on  the  Missouri  river.  A  short  time  afterward 
they  were  ordered  on  an  expedition  after  the  In- 
dians in  South  Dakota,  chasing  them  through  the 
Bad  Lands  and  engaging  in  several  skirmishes 
with  the  savages.  In  these  encounters  a  number 
of  the  men  of  the  regiment  were  killed.  Con- 
tinuing to  the  west,  they  crossed  the  Yellowstone 


552 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


river  and  the  ilissouri  river,  and  thence  went  to 
the  relief  of  Captain  Fisk  on  the  Milk  river. 
From  there  they  returned  by  way  of  Fort  Union 
to  Fort  Wads  worth,  where  they  remained  until 
the  spring  of  the  year,  meanwhile  guarding  the 
frontier.  During  the  summer  they  were  trans- 
ferred to  various  points  along  the  frontier  for 
guard  duty  and  in  the  spring  of  1866  they  were 
returned  to  Fort  Snelling,  where  they  were  hon- 
orably discharged  and  mustered  out  of  the  ser- 
vice. 

After  his  return  from  the  war  John  Robinson 
embarked  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  soon  chose 
a  helpmate,  his  marriage,  December  35,  1867, 
uniting  him  with  Deborah  Webster,  a  native  of 
McComb  county,  Michigan.  Her  father,  Al- 
phonso  Webster,  was  born  in  New  York  and  in 
early  manhood  moved  to  Michigan,  later  estab- 
lishing his  home  in  Rock  county,  Wisconsin,  and- 
from  there  removing  to  Minnesota.  After  one 
year  in  Rice  county  he  came  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  M'here  he  soon  won  many  warm  friends. 
Eventually  he  returned  to  Michigan  to  spend  his 
last  days.  Three  sons  blessed  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Robinson,  but  a  heavy  bereavement  fell 
upon  them  in  the  death  of  two,  Sumner  and 
Don.  The  youngest,  Luther,  is  a  progressive 
agriculturist  who  conducts  a  farm  in  Pleasant 
Mound  township. 


RODMAN,  JOHN  P.— The  genealogy  of  the 
Rodman  family  in  America  is  traced  back  to 
the  very  earliest  attempts  at  the  colonization  of 
the  countrj',  the  first  of  the  race  having  crossed 
the  Atlantic  ocean  as  early  as  1613  and  settled 
among  the  few  white  people  striving  to  plant  a 
home  amid  adverse  environments.  Their  former 
dwelling  place  had  been  in  England,  where  they 
enjoyed  a  prosperity  and  position  strangely  con- 
trasting with  their  lot  as  pioneers  of  the  new 
world.  It  is  said  that  they  brought  with  them 
from  their  old  English  home  a  clock  that  had 
long  told  the  time  from  its  place  in  the  hall  in 
their  mansion.  This  clock,  which  is  now  ticking 
away  the  hours  of  the  twentieth  century  in  the 
Mankato  residence  of  the  Rodman  family,  is  still 
an  accurate  time-piece  notwithstanding  its  great 


One  branch  of  the  Rodman  family  settled  in 
New  Jersey  and  there  John  P.  Rodman  was  bom 
in  1833,  while  later  the  schools  and  academies  of 
the  state  gave  him  fair  educational  opportunities. 
Upon  starting  out  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the 
world  he  came  to  Minnesota  in  1854  and  always 
afterward  continued  to  be  a  resident  of  that  state, 
where  he  built  up  a  large  commission  business 
and  won  many  warm  friends  among  his  associ- 
ates. Remaining  a  bachelor  until  1870,  he  then 
established  domestic  ties  by  his  marriage  to  Miss 
Abbie  Williams,  who  was  born  in  New  Jersey, 
the  daughter  of  Louis  and  Mary  (Pearson) 
Williams,  also  natives  of  that  state.  When  she 
was  two  years  of  age  her  father,  a  wealthy 
farmer,  passed  from  earth,  and  afterward  her 
mother,  who  was  a  member  of  a  very  influential 
family  of  Orange,  New  Jersey,  removed  to  the 
city  of  New  York,  there  residing  until  dea,th. 
Mrs.  Rodman  received  superior  educational  ad- 
vantages and  is  a  woman  of  intelligence,  ability 
and  qualities  of  heart  that  endear  her  to  all  ac- 
quaintances. After  the  death  of  her  husband, 
wi-dch  occurred  July  5,  1892,  she  moved  to  Man- 
kato, where  she  owns  a  cozy  home  at  No.  401 
Clark  street.  Her  elder  daughter,  Mary,  holds  a 
responsible  position  in  the  count)'  auditor's  office 
at  Mankato,  and  the  younger  daughter,  JMargaret, 
is  the  wife  of-  E.  C.  Willard,  who  conducts  a 
large  poultry  farm  here.  The  only  son,  George 
P.  Rodman,  who  is  one  of  the  most  popular  and 
prominent  young  men  of  Mankato,  holds  a  com- 
mission as  first  lieutenant  in  Company  H,  Sec- 
ond Regiment,  Minnesota  National  Guards,  while 
in  his  business  associations  he  is  chief  clerk  for 
Farmer  &  Pfau,  wholesale  dealers  in  knit  goods. 


ROMACK,  JOHN  R.— Continuously,  since 
1863,  John  R.  Romack  has  occupied  his 
present  farm  in  Blue  Earth  county.  This  prop- 
erty is  one  of  the  landmarks  of  the  township, 
and  is  justly  representative  of  the  methods  em- 
ployed by  the  scientific  and  well  equipped  farmer 
of  this  northern  country.  Mr.  Romack's  farm 
is  well  drained  and  fertile,  and  he  is  engaged  in 
the  line  of  farming  adapted  to  local  climatic  and 
general  conditions.  He  raises  a  good  grade  of 
stock,    the   usual    grains,    and    his   place   is    well 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


553 


supplied  with  fruit  and  other  trees,  also'  excellent 
buildings  and  fences. 

Born  in  Shelby  count)',  Ohio,  January  ;i7,  1839, 
Mr.  Eomack  is  one  of  the  six  children  of  John 
and  Xancy  (Eiehards)  Eomack,  both  of  whom 
died  in  the  state  of  Wisconsin.  Mr.  Eomack  left 
his  native  Ohio  in  185:),  intending  to  locate  per- 
manently in  Iowa,  but  after  a  two  year's  so- 
journ, came  to  Blue  Earth  county  arriving  Sep- 
tember 18,  1856.  He  at  once  took  up  a  claim,  re- 
mained on  it  until  1863,  and  in  1861  came  to 
his  present  farm.  With  him  to  the  north  came 
his  family,  of  whom  at  present  there  are  three 
living  of  his  six  children:  Mary,  wife  of  G.  E. 
Loomis,  of  Washington;  Ida,  now  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Moonej',  a  railroad  man  connected  with  the  Chi- 
cago, Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul  Eailroad;  and  Ira, 
a  farmer  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Mr.  Eomack  is 
a  pleasant  man  to  meet,  and  an  honorable  man  to 
deal  with.  He  is  the  friend  of  education  and 
progress,  and  is  a  promoter  of  all  that  advanced 
communities  regard  as  essential  to  health,  happi- 
ness and  prosperity. 


EOSEjSTBEEGEE,  EENST.— One  of  the  most 
widely  known  confectioners  in  the  Northwest, 
and  an  inventor  of  merit,  especially  in  connection 
with  his  business,  Jlr.  Eosenberger  is  of  German 
parentage,  but  born  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1857.  He  is  the  son  of  George  and  Chris- 
tina (Eose)  Eosenberger,  natives  of  Saxony,  who 
came  to  tlie  United  States  in  1848  and  located  in 
Chicago  in  the  following  year.  George  Eosen- 
berger was  a  mercl)ant  tailor  and  died  in  the 
western  metropolis  in  1886,  aged  seventy-six 
years,  his  wife  being  still  alive.  Of  their  family 
of  nine  children  Ernst  was  the  sixth  and,  besides 
him,  the  following  survive :  Emil,  who  resides 
in  South  Dakota;  Elizabeth,  wife  of  August 
Beckman,  living  in  Chicago,  and  jMinnie,  Mrs. 
G.  C.  Stockwell,  also  of  that  city.  Ernst  Eos- 
enberger attended  the  common  schools  of  Chi- 
cago, but  in  1871,  then  only  fourteen  years  of 
age,  was  apprenticed  to  M.  E.  Page  &  Company, 
wholesale  confectioners,  of  that  city,  and  re- 
mained with  them  for  seven  years.  During  the 
following  three  years  he  was  with  Frank  Field 
&    Company,    of    Chicago,    after    which    he    was 


connected  with  the  trade  in  various  cities  both 
east  and  west,  and  for  a  time  was  engaged  in 
business  for  himself  at  Big  Eapids,  Michigan.  In 
1888  he  went  to  St.  Stevens,  Xew  Brunswick, 
and,  after  several  other  changes  of  location  settled 
at  Mankato  in  1890. 

Upon  locating  in  this  city  he  organized  the 
firm  of  C.  A.  Everhart  &  Company,  wholesale 
confectioners,  the  business  being  afterward  sold 
to  L.  Patterson  ilercantile  Company,  after  which 
ilr.  Eosenberger  engaged  in  the  same  line  with 
John  C.  Noble,  under  the  name  of  Eosenberger 
&  Xoble,  their  establishment  being  on  Front 
street.  In  1875  F.  il.  Currier  purchased  Mr. 
Noble's  interest,  and  the  business  has  since  been 
successfully  conducted  as  Eosenberger  &  Currier, 
their  present  fine  plant  at  Xos.  801-.3  South 
Second  street  being  erected  in  18i)7. 

Mr.  Eosenberger  has  been  mostly  instrumental 
in  building  up  the  establishment  to  its  present 
magnitude,  as  he  is  not  only  a  fine  business  man, 
but  has  so  thoroughly  studied  his  line  from  the 
manufacturers'  standpoint  as  to  originate  several 
devices  the  facility  of  production  and  ensured 
greater  purity  of  the  output.  His  inventive  tal- 
ents have  also  been  applied  in  other  directions, 
as  he  has  invented  and  had  constructed,  under 
his  personal  supervision,  a  four-wheel  drive  auto- 
mobile, which  is  a  rival  of  any  other  on  the 
market.  The  correct  inference  is  that  Mr.  Eosen- 
berger is  a  man  of  remarkable  originality  and 
aggressiveness,  his  lousiness  methods  and  persona] 
actions  being,  morever,  aljnve  reproaeli.  His  wife 
to  whom  he  was  married  in  1881,  was  formerly 
Miss  Mar)  J.  Lnwery,  a  native  of  St.  Andrews, 
Canada. 


EUSS,  CHAELES  W.— Thorough  cultivation 
and  substantial  improvements  characterize  the 
Euss  homestead  on  section  twenty-nine.  Pleasant 
Mound  township,  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
Charles  W.  Euss  has  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits since  the  year  1892,  the  date  of  the  pur- 
chase of  the  property  by  him.  Two  hundred  and 
forty  acres  are  embraced  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  place.  Tlie  land  is  rolling  and  has  the  ad- 
vantages of  admitting  of  thorough  draining.  A 
portion  of  the  acreage  is  devoted  to  such  crops 


554 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


as  are  suited  to  the  soil  and  climate;  the  remain- 
der is  utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  horses,  hogs 
and  cattle.  The  farm  buildings  are  fully  pro- 
tected from  wintry  blizzards  by  means  of  a  grove 
on  the  north,  east  and  west,  these  trees  having 
been  planted  since  the  purchase  of  the  property 
by  the  present  owner.  The  residence  is  heated 
by  hot  air  and  has  an  excellent  system  of  water- 
works which  provides  running  water  and  bath. 
The  buildings  for  the  sheltex  of  stock  and  stor- 
age of  grain  are  substantial  and  erected  with 
a   view   to   convenience   and   durability. 

Meigs  county,  Ohio,  is  the  native  place  of 
Charles  W.  Euss,  and  May  10,  1857,  the  date  of 
his  birth,  his  parents  being  Herbert  and  Lucy 
(Comstock)  Euss,  natives  respectively  of  JSTew 
Hampshire  and  Vermont.  Very  shortly  after 
the  close  of  the  Civil  war,  in  which  he  had  served 
as  a  drummer,  Herbert  Euss  became  a  pioneer  of 
Minnesota  and  settled  on  a  raw  tract  of  land  in 
Dakota  county,  where  he  remained  for  a  number 
of  years.  Eventually  he  went  to  Missouri  with 
one  of  his  sons  and  remained  in  that  state  until 
he  died.  The  mother  resides  in  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty, making  her  home  with  J.  Huffman.  Of  their 
children  only  two  are  now  living.  The  eldest 
son,  Charles  W.,  accompanied  the  family  from 
Ohio  to  Minnesota  in  boyhood  and  attended  the 
schools  of  Dakota  county  until  he  had  obtained  a 
common  school  education,  after  which  he  began 
to  earn  his  own  livelihood  as  a  farmer.  Eru- 
gality  and  energy  gradually  brought  him  a  fair 
degree  of  success  and  enabled  him  eventually  to 
acquire  a  farm  of  his  own. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Euss  and  Miss  Eosetta 
Carter  was  solemnized  in  1880.  Five  children 
were  born  of  their  union.  The  eldest,  Guy,  is 
now  married  and  engaged  in  farming  for  him- 
self. The  others,  Eay,  Eoy,  Leo  and  Myrtle,  re- 
main at  the  old  homestead  with  their  parents. 
Mrs.  Euss  is  a  daughter  of  Eev.  E.  Carter,  for 
years  an  honored  resident  of  Pleasant  Mound 
township,  but  now  living  in  retirement  at  Edger- 
ton,  Pipestone  county,  Minnesota.  During  active 
years  he  engaged  in  the  ministry  of  the  Congre- 
gational church  and  accomplished  much  in  the 
spiritual  uplifting  of  his  community,  where  the 
influence  of  his  consecrated  life  and  earnest  ser- 
mons made  an  impress  for  good. 


EUSSELL,    MICHAEL    BOHAN.— The    life 
history  of  this  prosperous  farmer  of  Blue  Earth 
county  is  the  record  of  a  man  who,  deprived  of 
educational    advantages   in   youth   and   forced    at 
an  early  age  to  take  up  the  struggle  for  a  liveli- 
hood, in  spite  of  obstacles  accumulated  a  compe- 
tency, aided  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  and  has 
given  to  his   own   children  the   best  educational 
advantages  the- state  affords.     It  may  be  assumed 
that  such  a  man  must  possess  talents  of  no  com- 
mon order.     Unwearied  industry,  untiring  energy 
and  keen  sagacity  have  been  factors  in  his  suc- 
cess, added  to  which  was  the  courage  that  could 
not  be  daunted  by  the  perils  of  Indian  outbreaks 
and  the  other  vicissitudes  of  pioneer  days.    When 
the  family  settled  in  Ceresco  township  there  were 
few  neighbors.     The  Sioux  outbreaks,  which  had 
occurred  a  short  time  previous,  had  driven  away 
many  of  those  who  had  pre-empted  claims  in  this 
part  of  the  country.     Some  there  were,  however, 
who   determined   not   to   be   driven   away   by   the 
Indians  and  these  stood  their  ground,  defending 
home  and  property  as  best  they  could.     During 
the    day    they    carried   fire-arms   as    they   worked 
around  their  homes.     At  night  they   took  turns 
in   standing  guard   over  the   houses   and  stables. 
Horses  were  an  attractive  loot  for  the  bands  of 
marauding    redskins    and    many    a    pioneer    was 
sorely  inconvenienced  by  the    theft  of  his  t^ame. 
After  the  Indians  had  been  placed  on  their  res- 
ervations and  peace  returned  to  the  settlers,  new 
people    were    attracted    to    the    unclaimed    lands, 
schools    were    opened,    churches    established,    and 
the  privations  of  pioneer  existence  became  but  a 
memory   even  with  the   old   settlers. 

The  Eussell  family  came  to  this  country  from 
Ireland,  although  as  the  name  indicates  they  ale 
of  English  extraction.  The  ancestors  were  pro- 
Irish  in  sentiment  and  devoted  Eoman  Catholics, 
but  on  account  of  their  name  they  were  regarded 
with  some  distrust  by  their  fellow-countrymen. 
Francis  Tracy  Eussell  was  born  in  Ireland  and 
there  received  a  thorough  education,  after  which 
he  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  to  some  extent 
also  in  magisterial  work,  as  he  was  not  only  well 
educated  but  also  a  fine  penman.  When  a  young 
man  he  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  at 
Hartford,  Wisconsin,  where  he  met  and  mar- 
ried Anna  Bohan.     She  was  a  native  of  Ireland 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


and  in  her  ancestry  the  Irish  predominated,  al- 
though her  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Russell 
family  and  of  English  lineage. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  at  Hart- 
ford, Wisconsin,  Michael  Bohan  Russell  was  born 
September  13,  1849,  and  in  that  town  he  received 
the  rudiments  of  an  education.  In  1862  the  par- 
ents removed  to  Minnesota,  accompanied  by  their 
six  sons  and  two  daughters.  Later  two  sons  were 
born,  making  ten  children  in  the  family.  The 
first  school  in  Ceresco  township  was  taught  by 
the  oldest  son,  James,  now  a  resident  of  Michi- 
gan. The  second  son,  Michael  B.,  took  up  the 
burden  of  caring  for  the  farm,  as  the  father,  who 
was  never  robust,  at  that  time  was  in  ill  health. 
Under  these  circumstances-  he  had  no  opportunity 
to  attend  high  school  or  academy,  but  by  read- 
ing and  observation  he  has  acquired  a  broad 
knowledge  of  the  world.  Since  early  life  he  has 
lived  on  the  land  originally  purchased  by  his 
father;  the  brothers  and  sisters  have  moved 
away    and   now   own   homes   in    different    states. 

As  a  farmer  Mr.  Russell  met  with  really  re- 
markable success  and  accumulated  considerable 
wealth.  However,  with  a  generosity  characteris- 
tic of  the  man  he  assisted  younger  brothers  by 
loaning  them  money  and  signing  papers  for  them 
to  the  amount  of  $16,000,  all  of  which  he  lost 
owing  to  his  brothers'  failure  in  business  in  1905, 
the  failure  being  caused  by  nine  years  of  poor 
crops  in  the  Red  river  valley.  He  still  owns  a 
large  farm  and  some  timber  and  lumber  inter- 
ests in  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  During 
the  long  period  of  his  residence  in  Blue  Earth 
county  he  has  been  active  in  measures  for  the 
public  good.  At  different  times  he  secured  from 
the  state  legislature  $750  for  the  building  of  a 
bridge  across  Perch  creek.  From  1884  to  1892 
he  held  office  as  town  clerk.  For  eleven  years, 
beginning  in  1888  he  served  as  postmaster  at 
Ceresco.  During  his  service  as  town  clerk  he 
officiated  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for  four- 
teen years,  at  different  times,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Ceresco  school  board.  His  political  views 
are  Democratic,  yet  he  is  broader  than  any  party 
and  in  local  elections,  when  he  considers  the  Re- 
publican candidate  better  qualified  to  serve  the 
people  than  his  opponent,  he  does  not  hesitate  to 
give  his  allegiance  to  the  more  fitting  candidate 


irrespective  of  political  affiliations.  In  1887  he 
became  affiliated  with  the  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians,  of  which  he  is  yet  an  acti\e  member. 
Reared  in  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  he  always 
has  been  an  earnest  believer  in  its  doctrines  and 
a  supjjorter  of  its  charities. 

The  marriage  of  ilr.  Russell  was  solemnized  at 
St.  John's  Catholic  church  in  ilankato,  Minn., 
July  15,  1886,  and  united  him  with  Mary  E. 
DoUard,  who  was  a  graduate  of  the  Mankato 
Normal  school,  class  of  1819,  and  afterward 
taught  in  the  Mankato  public  schools  seven  years, 
until  her  marriage.  She  is  a  refined,  capable 
woman  and  has  given  her  husband  valuable  as- 
sistance in  all  his  business  affairs.  Her  father, 
Michael  DoUard,  served  in  the  Civil  war  from 
Wisconsin.  After  a  brief  service  he  was  honor- 
ably discharged  on  account  of  ill  health.  After- 
ward he  enlisted  from  Minnesota  and  remained 
in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was 
highly  respected  in  Blue  Earth  and  Faribault 
counties,  where  he  made  his  home  from  the  close 
of  the  Civil  war  until  his  death,  November  28, 
1894.  •  His  funeral  was  held  at  St.  John's  Catho- 
lic church,  Mankato,  under  the  auspices  of  Wil- 
kin Post,  of  which  he  was  an  honored  member. 
His  wife,  a  lady  of  refinement  and  charming 
hospitalit}',  had  many  friends  in  Mankato,  and 
their  three  daughters  were  teachers  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  that  city.  The  family  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Russell  comprises  the  following  children : 
Loretta  A.,  who  was  graduated  from  the  Man- 
kato High  School  in  1905  and  since  was  two 
years  assistant  editor  of  the  Minneapolis  Journal 
Junior,  and  is  now  a  Freshman  at  State  Uni- 
versity; Joseph  F.,  and  Thomas  P.,  who  are  at- 
tending Christian  Brothers  college  at  Minneapo- 
lis; M.  Cecilia,  who  is  attending  Sisters  Academy 
at  Minneapolis;  L.  Dollard  and  Catherine  E., 
who  are  with  their  parents  on  the  home  farm 
and  attend  the  district  school. 


SALISBURY,  ALilOX  J.— The  well-improved 
farm  owned  and  occupied  by  Mr.  Salisbury  is 
situated  on  section  nineteen,  Shelby  township, 
and  comprises  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
the  rich  soil  which  has  given  to  Blue  Earth 
county    its    wide    reputation    as    an    agricultural 


556 


BIOORAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


region.  Among  the  improvements  on  the  farm 
maj'  be  mentioned  the  neat  residence  and  large 
barns,  as  well  as  the  substantial  fences.  The 
land  is  adapted  to  the  raising  of  crops  of  all 
kinds  and  is  kept  under  thorough  cultivation. 
Fine  horses  are  raised,  also  Durham  cattle  and 
Poland-China  hogs,  and  the  owner  finds  that  his 
receipts  from  his  stock  swell  the  annual  revenues 
in  a  gratifying  degree.  Besides  the  home  farm, 
he  owns  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  on  section 
eighteen,  Shelby  township,  this  being  cultivated 
by  a  tenant.  Also,  adjacent  to  this  quarter  sec- 
tion, he  has  sixty  acres,  of  which  twenty  acres 
are  in  a  grove  of  oak,  walnut  and  red  elms. 

Born  near  Montreal,  Canada,  October  1,  1856, 
Almon  J.  Salisbury  is  a  son  of  Henry  E.  and 
Elsie  (Wallace)  Salisbury,  natives  of  the  same 
locality  as  himself,  and  a  grandson  of  Lawrence 
Salisbury,  descended  from  English  progenitors 
early  established  upon  the  Canadian  soil.  The 
great-grandfather,  Jasper  Salisbury,  spent  his  en- 
tire life  in  Canada.  During  early  years  Henry 
E.  Salisbury  learned  the  trades  of  carpenter, 
wheelwright  and  mechanic,  and  these  he  followed 
to  some  extent,  but  in  addition  he  has  been  ex- 
tensively interested  in  farming.  Coming  to  the 
States  in  1862,  he  spent  five  years  in  Wisconsin 
and  then  removed  to  Minnesota,  where  he  since 
has  made  his  home.  Though  now  seventy-four 
years  of  age,  he  enjoys  excellent  health  and  with 
the  excejjtion  of  the  loss  of  hearing  he  retains 
all  of  his  faculties  unimjoaired. 

The  eldest  in  the  family,  Almon  J.  Salisbury 
was  a  child  of  seven  years  when  the  family  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin,  and  five  years  later  he  ac- 
companied them  to  Minnesota,  where  from  1868 
to  1871  they  lived  in  Garden  City  township.  Blue 
Earth  county.  Thence  they  removed  to  Shelby 
township,  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  section  nine- 
teen. Here  he  attended  the  district  schools.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-one  he  started  out  to  earn  his 
own  way  in  the  world.  After  a  short  time  he 
bought  a  farm  in  Pleasant  Mound  township, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years.  Next  he  re- 
turned to  the  old  homestead  on  section  nineteen, 
puchased  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  com- 
prising the  estate,  and  has  since  placed  the  pro- 
perty under  cultivation  and  conducted  general 
farm  pursuits.     As  previously  stated,  he  has  been 


successful  in  stock  raising  and  has  devoted  con- 
siderable attention  to  this  department  of  agri- 
culture- Xovember  7,  1878,  he  married  Rebecca 
Stevens,  a  native  of  Canada.  Born  of  their 
union  are  three  children,  of  whom  the  son,  Ray 
E.,  is  engaged  in  farming  in  Shelby  township. 
The  daughters,  Eva  and  Edith,  are  with  their 
parents.  The  family  attend  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church  and  have  contributed  generously  to 
its  maintenance,  as  well  as  to  other  religious  and 
philanthropic  projects. 


SALISBURY,  FREEMAN  J.— The  agricul- 
tural interests  of  Shelby  township  have  a  capable 
representative  in  Freeman  J.  Salisbury,  who,  al- 
though not  a  native  of  Blue  Earth  county,  has 
spent  practically  his  entire  life  in  this  part  of 
the  country  and  has  a  wide  circle  of  friends 
among  the  farmers  of  his  locality.  His  father, 
George  AV.,  was  born  and  reared  in  New  York, 
and  during  early  manhood  sought  a  home  in  the 
northwest  with  its  bxoad  tracts  of  unsettled  and 
undeveloped  lands.  After  securing  a  homestead 
at  Easton,  Minnesota,  he  married  Millie  Arm- 
strong, a  native  of  the  region,  and  they  began  to 
keep  house  in  the  pioneer  style  common  to  the 
day  and  locality.  For  some  years  he  remained 
in  the  same  neighborhood.  Meanwhile  Nebraska 
was  being  opened  up  to  settlers  and  considerable 
emigration  was  turned  in  that  direction.  With 
others  he  joined  in  the  rush  to  the  new  region, 
but  conditions  there  were  not  wholly  to  his  liking 
and  in  1878  he  returned  by  ox-team  to  Eaton, 
Minnesota,  thence  soon  afterward  removing  to 
Pleasant  Mound  township  and  buying  land  near 
the  present  homestead.  About  1893  he  bought  the 
Stratton  farm  in  Shelby  township  and  here  he 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death 
in  the  spring  of  1897.  Possessing  high  prin- 
ciples of  honor,  fearless  in  the  defense  of  the 
right,  loyal  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  community, 
a  firm  believer  in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  of  Blue 
Earth  county,  and  true  to  every  duty  as  citizen, 
husband  and  father,  he  was  one  of  that  class 
of  men  whose  migration  to  ilinnesota  proved  so 
helpful  to  the  early  development  of  the  common- 
wealth. He  cared  little  for  office  and  nevef 
cherished  official  aspirations,  but  found  his  great- 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


ss'; 


est  happiness  among  friends  and  family,  and  pos- 
sessed a  home-loving  disposition. 

Among  the  six  children  of  George  W.  Salis- 
bury the  eldest,  Freeman  J.,  was  born  in  Valley 
county,  Nebraska,  July  11,  1877,  and  as  a  boy 
lived  on  a  farm  in  Shelby  township  and  attended 
the  neighboring  school.  After  taking  a  business 
course  at  Winnebago  City  he  was  emploj'ed  as  a 
bookkeeper  for  three  years.  Upon  the  decease 
of  his  father  he  returned  to  the  old  homestead 
and  has  since  then  successfully  managed  the 
farm.  February  21,  189.5,  he  married  Louise 
Latimer,  daughter  of  Daniel  Latimer  and  a 
granddaughter  of  Alexander  Latimer,  one  of  the 
very  earliest  settlers  of  Faribault  county,  as. well 
as  one  of  its  leading  citizens  and  a  man  of  in- 
domitable energy.  Two  daughters  were  born  to 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Salisbury.  Florence  alone  sur- 
vives, Hazel  having  died  in  childhood.  The 
home  farm  comprises-  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  all  of  which  is  under  cultivation,  yielding, 
under  the  skilled  management  of  the  occupant, 
an  excellent  return  for  its  care  and  tilling.  In 
addition  to  the  raising  of  the  usual  crops,  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  stock  business,  and  horses, 
cattle  and  hogs  of  the  finest  breeds  are  to  be 
found  on  the  estate. 


SALISBTJEY,  SPEFCEE  M.— A  typically 
progressive  and  enterprising  Twentieth  century 
farmer  is  found  in  Spencer  M.  Salisbury,  who 
not  only  is  a  land  owner  in  his  own  right,  but 
who  is  successfully  farming  the  property  of  his 
father,  Alfred  Salisl^urv,  in  section  21  and  28, 
Shelby  township.  Mr.  Salisbury  is  the  oldest  of 
his  father's  four  children,  and  his  birth  occurred 
in  Quebec  at  Sutton  Flats,  July  4,  1877.  Both  his 
father  and  mother,  the  latter  of  whom  was  in 
girlhood  Abbie  Squire,  were  natives  of  Quebec, 
Canada,  while  his  grandfather,  who  established 
the  family  in  the  north,  was  a  native  of  Con- 
necticut. The  elder  Salisbury  came  from  Canada 
to  Minnesota  in  the  early  days  and  since  then 
has  lived  both  on  his  farm  and  in  Mankato,  at 
present  spending  most  of  his  time  in  the  town. 

The  education  of  ilr.  Salisbury  was  acquired 
in  the  public  schools  of  Mankato  and  Amboy, 
and  he  remained  under  the  home  roof  until  1897, 


when  he  started  out  on  an  independent  farming 
venture  on  northwest  quarter  section  10,  Shelby 
township,  which  he  now  rents  to  a  tenant  and 
preferably  farms  his  father's  land.  The  paternal 
farm  consists  of  two  hundred  and  fortj'  acrea, 
and  both  farms  are  under  a  high  state  of  culti- 
-^alion.  Mr.  Salisbury  has  made  a  practical 
study  of  agriculture  and  stoclv-raising,  and  has  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  clicmistry  of  soils, 
the  best  methods  of  rotation,  and  the  quickest 
and  most  certain  ways  of  acliieving  results  from  a 
given  amount  of  land.  He  raises  Shorthorn  cat- 
tle, Poland  China  hogs,  and  a  good  grade  of 
working  horses,  also  chickens  and  other  fowl. 
The  farm  is  well  supplied  with  modern  machin- 
ery, barns  and  general  buildings,  and  is  kept 
with  admirable  regard  for  neatness  and  order. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Salisbury  and  Abbie 
Brush  occurred  July  4.  1898,  and  of  the  union 
there  are  two  children,  Lois  and  Lyle.  Too 
much  cannot  be  said  of  the  energy  and  resource 
which  characterize  the  career  of  ^Ir.  Salisbury, 
or  the  integrity  and  dependability  which  make 
him  a  valuable  friend  and  a  worthy  addition  to 
the  fundamental  element  of  the  community. 


SAXBOEN,  EDWIX  L.— The  agricultural  in- 
terests of  Blue  Earth  county  form  the  Ijulwark 
of  its  pi-()«]ierity  and  the  men  who  have  chai'gc 
of  the  same  deservedly  rank  among  the  most 
important  meml)ers  of  the  population,  their 
work  forming  the  nucleus  on  wliich  the  local 
development  is  l)asfd  and  the  foundation  on 
which  progressive  enterprises  are  built.  Of  all 
portions  of  the  county  none  is  more  prosperous 
than  Sterling  township  and  none  has  contrib- 
uted in  a  larger  degree  to  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  the  county;  that  such  an  end  has 
been  attained  and  such  prominence  secured  bv 
the  township  may  be  attributed  to  the  work 
of  the  farmers,  a  wliole-soulcd,  progressive,  self- 
reliant  and  independent  body  of  men,  whose 
labors  have  been  productive  of  good  to  all. 
Numbered  among  these  farmers  we  mention  the 
name  of  Edwin  L.  Sanborn,  secretary  of  the 
Sterling  Center  Creamery  Company  and  own- 
er of  the  homestead  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty    acres,    also    the    owner    of    a    farm    of 


558 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOKY. 


similar   size  situated   in   Pine  county,   this  state. 

More  than  one  hundred  years  have  come  and 
gone  since  the  Sanborn  family  became  associated 
with  the  village  of  Sanbornton,  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, which  still  bears  their  name  and  thus 
perpetuates  for  future  generations  the  story  of 
their    association    with    its    early    history. 

Wm.  Sanborn,  born  in  1632,  sailed  from  Eng- 
land March  9,  1633,  arrived  in  Boston,  June  3, 
1632;  Wm.  Sanborn,  born  in  1650,  lived  at 
Hampton;  Hon.  John  Sanborn,  born  Nov.  6, 
1680,  in  Hampton;  Jermiah  Sanborn,  Feb.  12, 
1703 ;  John  Sanborn,  born  in  Hampton,  Jan  25, 
1742,  served  in  Revolutionary  war;  John  San- 
born, boru  at  Bride  Hill,  Feb.  16, 1787 ;  John  San- 
born, born  at  Sanbornton,  April  18,  1815 ;  E.  L. 
Sanborn,  born  Feb.  16,  1867. 

John  Sanborn,  Jr.,  was  born  in  the  village  of 
Sanbornton,  New  Hampshire,  in  1815,  being  a 
son  of  John  Sanborn,  Sr.,  of  Bride's  Hill.  The 
family  were  well  situated  financially  and  thus  it 
became  possible  for  him  to  secure  better  advan- 
tages than  were  oflEered  to  most  young  men  of  his 
day  and  locality.  Upon  completing  the  studies 
oi  the  common  schools  he  took  a  college  course 
and  studied  medicine  but  did  not  graduate.  La- 
ter he  came  west  with  an  uncle,  passing  through 
Chicago  when  it  contained  only  three  frame 
houses  and  was  known  as  Fort  Dearborn.  Thence 
they  proceeded  across  the  state  of  Illinois  and  on 
to  Davenport,  Iowa.  Later  the  young  man  was 
married  at  Allen's  Grove  to  Julia  Burgoon,  a 
native  of  Sandusky,  Ohio.  After  his  marriage 
he  began  housekeeping  near  Dubuque  and  con- 
tinued on  the  same  place  until  1855,  when  he 
came  to  ^Minnesota  and  took  up  land  four  miles 
ctist  of  Faribault,  Eice  county.  The  country 
was  then  in  the  infancy  of  its  agricultural  devel- 
opment. The  nearest  markets  were  far  distant, 
improvements  were  conspicuous  only  by  their 
absence,  and  the  crude  conditions  of  the  frontier 
jsrevailed ;  however,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
was  an  open-handed,  generous-hearted  hospitality 
that'  gi"aced  the  giver  and  cheered  the  recipient, 
giving  to  the  pioneer  era  a  charm  which  later 
civilizations  miss.  During  March,  of  1865, 
John  Sanborn,  Jr.,  came  to  Blue  Earth  county 
and  bought  land  in  Sterling  township,  where 
he  spent  his  remaining  years.     Of   a  quiet,   re- 


tiring disposition,  he  took  no  part  in  public 
affairs,  and  at  no  time  sought  official  honors,  yet 
was  always  to  be  depended  upon  to  discharge 
every  duty  falling  upon  patriotic  men. 

Ten  children  comprised  the  family  of  John 
Sanborn,  Jr.,  and  four  of  these  still  survive,  three 
remaining  in  Minnesota,  and  one  residing  in 
Iowa.  The  youngest,  Edwin  L.,  was  born  where 
he  how  resides  February  16,  1867,  and  received 
jiis  primary  education  in  district  schools,  after- 
ward taking  a  course  of  study  in  the  Minnesota 
State  Normal  School  at  Mankato,  June  23, 
1903,  he  married  Maude  Goff,  a  native  of  Wis- 
consin and  a  daughter  of  Victor  Goff,  concern- 
ing whom  mention  is  made  under  the  heading 
ol  John  Goff  elsewhere  in  this  volume.  Besides 
engaging  in  the  raising  of  grain  for  the  market, 
Mr.  Sanborn  raises  feed  for  his  stock  and  de- 
votes considerable  attention  to  the  care  of  his  ■ 
dairy  herd  comprising  grade  stock  sired  by  a 
full-blooded  Durham.  While  the  management 
of  his  farm  and  property  interests  gives  him 
little  leisure  for  outside  matters,  3-et  he  keeps 
posted  concerning  all  national  issues,  is  thor- 
oughly informed  in  regard  to  the  problems  af- 
fecting our  country's  prosperity,  and  maintains 
a  keen  interest  in  all  matters  of  public  impor- 
tance. Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the 
blue  lodge  of  Masons.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  rendered  service  as  justice  of  the  peace  and 
in  addition  he  has  served  with  efficiency  and 
faithfulness   in    the   office    of   si-hool   treasurer. 


SAULPAITGH,  THOIMAS.— Consistent  and 
steady  devotion  to  duty  characterized  the  entire 
active  life  of  Thomas  Saulpaugh,  who  during  the 
course  of  a  long  and  remarkably  successful  busi- 
ness career  won  and  retained  the  friendship  of 
a  host  of  acquaintances  brought  within  the  sphere 
of  his  influence  through  the  diversified  activities 
of  his  extensive  interests.  Equally  familiar  with 
many  j)ortions  of  the  United  States,  the  course 
of  his  business  affairs  took  him  to .  the  south  at 
an  early  age  and  later  he  became  a  contractor 
for  •  the  stone  work  on  railways  throughout  the 
north  and  west.  Few  men  were  more  conversant 
with  the  entire  country  than  he;  its  possibilities 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


559 


were  to  him  an  open  book,  and  he  saw,  as  he 
traveled  through  undeveloped  regions,  many  an 
attractive  spot  awaiting  the  hand  of  labor  and 
capital  for  its  ultimate  development.  When 
death  brought  to  an  end  his  sterling  activities  of 
mind  and  body,  he  left  behind  him,  as  monuments 
of  his  skill,  a  large  number  of  completed  sub- 
structure contracts  and  skilled  stone  work,  placing 
him  among  the  leading  men  in  that  industry  in 
his  era. 

Milford,  Otsego  county.  New  York,  was  the 
native  home  of  Thomas  Saulpaugh,  and  April 
7,  1822,  the  date  of  his  birth.  At  an  early  age 
he  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  trade  of  stone- 
cutter, which  he  followed  as  a  journeyman.  At 
the  age  of  thirty  years  he  went  to  Tennessee  and 
became  interested  in  railroad  contracting.  In 
1856  he  removed  to  Illinois  and  settled  in  Eock 
Island,  where  for  twenty-five  years  he  engaged  in 
railroad  contracting  under  the  firm  title  of  Eey- 
nolds,  Saulpaugh  &  Co.,  his  partner  being  E.  P. 
Eeynolds.  In  1S81  he  removed  to  Minneapolis 
and  started  the  business  of  T.  Saulpaugh  &  Co., 
his  partners  being  his  only  son,  Clarence  H.,  and 
John  Crubaugh.  The  necessities  of  his  business 
demanding  a  large  amount  of  stone,  he  was  con- 
stantly searching  for  localities  having  deposits 
in  paying  quantities,  and  in  this  way  he  was 
first  attracted  to  Mankato.  For  some  years  his 
firm  bought  heavily  of  the  Mankato  stone.  Mean- 
while he  was  busily  engaged  in  filling  railroad 
contracts  in  the  northwest.  Those  years  wit- 
nessed the  completion  of  contracts  for  bridge 
substructures  at  Bismarck,  North  Dakota,  and 
Minneapolis,  (for  the  Northern  Pacific  Com- 
pany,) Blair,  Nebraska,  and  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
(for  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Eailroad)  : 
Omaha,  Nebraska  (for  the  Union- Pacific)  ;  Ne- 
braska City  and  Plattsmouth,  Nebraska,  (for  the 
Burlington  road.) 

From  the  year  1888  until  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred May  9,  1893,  Mr.  Saulpaugh  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Mankato,  where  he  erected  soon  after 
his  arrival  a  hotel  that  was  conceded  to  be  the 
largest  and  best  equipped  building  of  its  kind 
in  southern  Minnesota.  The  formal  opening  of 
this  hotel,  which  occurred  November  fi,  1899,  was 
the  occasion  of  a  large  and  elegant  reception  ten- 
dered by  the  city  in  honor  of  the  occasion.     The 


hotel  is  still  owned  and  conducted  in  the  family 
name  and  formed  a  portion  of  the  estate  inherited 
by  the  only  son,  C.  H.,  who  is  a  leading  resident 
of  Mankato.  During  his  early  life  Thomas  Saul- 
paugh formed  the  acquaintance  of  Eliza  C.  Vin- 
ton, whom  he  married  at  Fultonville,  New  York, 
December  16,  1850,  and  who  died  December  31, 
1893,  a  few  months  before  the  demise  of  Mr. 
Saulpaugh.  The  latter  was  regarded  as  a  saga- 
cious business  man,  a  public-spirited  citizen  and 
a  warm-hearted  friend,  and  he  was  honored  by 
all  the  people  of  ^Mankato.  On  more  than  one 
occasion  he  was  tendered  ofl^ers  of  official  trusts, 
but  these  he  declined,  with  the  sole  exception  of 
serving  as  a  member  of  the  hoard  of  aldermen 
of  Mankato  in  1891-92;  with  that  exception  he 
declined  public  positions,  the  nature  of  his  busi- 
ness being  such  that  its  duties  interfered  with 
the  discharge  of  political  and  official  responsibili- 
ties. 

SCHABFEE,  FEANK  M.— The  lineage  of 
this  prosperous  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  county 
if;  traced  to  a  long  line  of  Teutonic  ancestry  and 
he  himself  is  of  German  nativit)',  having  been 
born  in  Baden,  November  30,  1844,  but  from 
the  age  of  eight  years  he  has  made  his  home 
in  the  United  States  and  thus  has  become  thor- 
oughly American  in  his  sympathies  and  senti- 
m.ents.  His  parents,  George  A.,  and  Margaret 
(Hofl)  Schaefer,  were  natives  of  Baden  the 
former  born  November  28,  1803,  and  the  lat- 
ter, August  10,  1809.  Beared  in  their  native 
country,  they  there  married  and  established  a 
home,  remaining  in  the  Fatherland  until  1853. 
Upon  crossing  the  ocean  to  America  they  landed 
at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  and  from  there 
traveled  by  boat  up  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio 
rivers,  landing  at  Cincinnati.  The  location  did 
not  suit  them  and  they  soon  proceeded  to  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  where  the  father  secured  employment 
at  his  trade  of  blacksmithing.  Two  j-ears  later 
the  family  proceeded  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in 
St.  Paul,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade.  The  year 
1856,  which  brought  so  many  pioneers  to  south- 
ern Minnesota  found  the  family  in  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  the  father  pre-empted  a  claim  and 
took  up  lands  on  sections  thirty  and  thirty-one, 
Lime  township. 


560 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


The  most  arduous  and  self-sacrificing  efforts 
were  necessary  in  order  to  transform  the  harren 
tract  into  a  fertile  farm.  Every  privation  was 
endured;  the  greatest  hardships  were  met,  and 
the  family  in  their  lonely  eal)in  home  learned 
many  lessons  of  self-denial  and  self-reliance.  In 
tlie  end  well-deserved  success  rewarded  their 
efforts.  The  wild  land  was  '^i-oken  and  brought 
under  cultivation,  a  neat  house  replaced  the  orig- 
inal cabin,  substantial  barns  were  Ijuilt,  and 
the  homestead  took  on  the  aspect  of  prosperity 
and  plenty.  Here  the  father  passed  away  Sep- 
tember 18,  1884,  and  here,  too,  September  11, 
1887,  the  life  of  the  mother  came  to  an  end. 
There  were  six  children^ in  tJie  family  and  all 
of  them  now  reside  in  ilankato  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Frank  M.,  vrho  follows  farm  pursuits. 

The  members  of  the  family  are  as  follows : 
Theresa,  widow  of  John  P.  Sanger;  Margaret, 
the  widow  of  William  J.  Hoerr;  Anna,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Nicholas  Weis;  Catherine,  wife  of 
Stewart  ilartin ;  Prank  M. ;  and  Mary,  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick Dittmer.  A  resident  of  Blue  Earth  county 
ever  since  h.e  was  t^velve  years  of  age,  Frank 
]\I.  Sehaefer  received  a  fair  English  education 
in  the  schools  of  this  county  and  since  attain- 
ing manhood  he  has  followed  farm  pursuits.  In 
this  county,  February  9,  1874,  he  married  Mary 
B.  Kern,  who  was  born  in  LaCrosse,  Wisconsin, 
Xovember  24,  1856,  being  a  daughter  of  John 
and  Susan  Kern,  natives  of  Germany,  the  father 
born  December  37,  1830,  and  the  mother  March 
G,  1827.  During  early  life  the  parents  came  to 
tlie  United  States  and  settled  in  Wisconsin, 
where  they  resided  at  La  Crosse  until  1857, 
and  then  moved  to  Xicollet  county,  Minnesota, 
later  coming  to  Blue'  Earth  county.  Eventually 
in  1886,  they  removed  to  Oregon,  where  the 
mother  died  March  5,  1900,  and  the  father, 
March  1,  1905.  They  were  the  parents  of  five 
children,  namely:  Marv  B.,  Mrs.  Sehaefer; 
George,  now  living  in  Alaska ;  John,  who 
resides  in  Wyoming;  Carrie,  Mrs.  Charles  P. 
Klock,  of  Illinois;  and  Joseph,  who  resides  in 
JTankato  township,  Blue  Earth  county. 

Acquiring  the  old  family  homestead  through 
purchase  Mr.  Sehaefer  remained  there  until 
1898,  when  he  bought  and  removed  to  his  pres- 
ent   farm    of    two    hundred    acreiB    on    sections 


thirty-two  and  thirty-three.  Lime  township  one- 
quarter  of  a  mile  north  of  jMankato  Junction. 
The  homestead  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  in 
the  entire  county,  occupying  a  location  on  one 
of  the  best  roads  leading  to  Mankato.  The  land 
is  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation.  Its  appear- 
ance and  productiveness  indicates  the  thrift 
and  energy  of  the  owner.  In  addition  to  this 
place,  he  owned  and  presented  to  a  son  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  of  good  land.  In  his 
family  there  are  nine  children,  namely :  Rosie, 
married  to  Philip  Borgmeier,  and  residing  in 
lame  township.  Blue  Earth  county;  William  F., 
Frank  M.,  Theresa,  Ottilia,  Mary,  Agnes,  Bertha, 
and  Cyril  H.  The  family  are  earnest  members 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  church.  Politically  Mr. 
Sehaefer  believes  in  Democratic  principles  and 
votes  that  ticket  in  national  elections,  but  in 
local  matters  he  supports  the  best  men  regard- 
less of  party  ties. 


SCHAUB,  ARTHUR.— The  gentleman  whose 
name  heads  this  sketch  is  among  the  best  known 
and  most  popular  (lermans  of  Blue  Earth  county 
— rather  a  German-American  of  intense  and  deep- 
rooted  Democratic  principles,  who  is  a  politi- 
cian because  he  believes  class  and  industrial  in- 
equalities may  best  be  agitated  and  corrected 
through  the  machinery  of  politics  than  in  any 
other  way.  For  several  years  he  has  also  been 
a  large  factor  in  the  work  and  progress  of  the 
"Deutsche  Land-und-Heim-Cesellschaft,"  whose 
office  is  in  ilankato  and  of  which  he  is  now 
Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

A  native  of  LeRay  Township,  this  county,  ]\Ir. 
Schaub  was  born  of  German  parentage,  October 
20,  1873,  being  the  son  of  Kasimir  and  Magda- 
lena  (Kasper)  Schaub,  natives  of  Baden,  who 
came  to  the  locality  named  in  1868.  The  -father 
died  in  1899,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years, 
and  his  wife  passed  away  at  Mankato  October 
26,  1906,  when  se\'enty-four  years  of  age.  They 
were  the  parents  of  seven  children,  of  whom 
Arthur  \\'as  the  youngest. 

Mr.  Schaub  obtained  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town- 
ship and  the  parochial  schools  of  Mankato,  and 
finally,    in    1892,   graduated   from   the    Cassisius 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


561 


College  of  Buffalo,  Few  York.  His  next  intellec- 
tual training  was  as  a  law  student  in  the  office 
of  C.  L.  Benedict,  of  Mankato,  and  in  1895  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Minnesota  bar,  continuing 
in  general  practice  until,  The  Deutsche 
Land-und-Heim-Gesellschaft  was  organized  and 
he  was  elected  its  secretary.  In  1904  it  was 
incorporated  and  he  became  secretary  and  treas- 
urer. Mr.  Schaub's  influence  as  a  democrat  may 
be  inferred  from  the  facts  that  in  1896  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  office  force  of  the  State 
Central  Committee;  was  Chairman  of  the  Demo- 
cratic County  Committee  from  1898  to  1900,  and 
was  also  acting  during  the  latter  period  as  Secre- 
tary of  the   Congressional   Committee. 

On-  May  14,  1901,  Mr.  Schaub  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Miss  Annie  M.  Groschans  of  Le 
Sueur,  Minnesota.  His  religious  connection  is 
with  the  St.  Peter  and  Paul's  Church,  and  he  is 
a  member  of  the  following  organizations :  P.  0. 
E.,  Leidertafel  and  Commercial  Club.  Altogether 
he  is  a  man  of  popularity  and  substantial  charac- 
ter, whose  worthy  ambition  to  be  an  inspiring 
and  uplifting  force  in  the  community  has  been 
fully  realized. 


SCHERER,  ARCHIBALD  H.— Noteworthy 
among  the  business  institutions  of  Mankato  is 
the  establishment  owned  and  conducted  by  the 
Scherer-Dackins  Carriage  Company,  the  partners 
in  the  firm  being  A.  H.  Scherer  and  John  F. 
Backing.  The  headquarters  of  the  firm  at  Nob. 
423-425  South  Second  street,  are  fitted  out  with 
a  complete  line  of  agricultural  implements  and 
vehicles  of  all  descriptions.  The  business  was 
formerly  owned  by  H.  P.  Jensen,  but  was  pur- 
chased by  the  present  company  in  1904,  and  now 
is  equipped  with  a  complete  plant  for  putting 
or  rubber  tires.  A  specialty  also  is  made  of  re- 
pairing, painting  and  carriage  trimming.  With 
men  of  recognized  energy  at  the  head  of  the  busi- 
ness, it  has  naturally  enjoyed  a  steady  growth 
and  receives  the  patronage  of  a  large  propor- 
tion of  those  in  search  of  any  of  the  varied  ar- 
ticles of  agricultural  equipment  kept  in  stock. 

The  city  of  Mankato  is  Mr.  Scherer's  native 
place,  and  here  he  was  born  June  38,  1870,  being 

86 


a  son  of  Luther  and  Katherine  (Correll)  Scherer, 
natives  respectively  of  Pennsylvania  and  Indiana. 
During  the  '60s,  while  Minnesota  was  yet  an 
undeveloped  frontier  region,  the  father  left  the 
east  and  established  himself  among  the  pioneer 
merchants  of  Mankato.  After  a  time  he  took 
up  land  in  South  Bend  township,  Blue  Earth 
county,  and  from  the  raw  tract  evolved  an  im- 
proved farm.  Subsequently  he  ovraed  and  oc- 
cupied a  farm  in  Lincoln  township,  but  at  this 
writing  he  is  a  resident  of  Lake  Crystal,  Blue 
Earth  County.  The  branch  of  family  which  he 
represents  come  from  the  south,  having  been 
planted  in  North  Carolina  after  emigration  to 
America. 

In  the  family  of  Luther  Scherer  there  were  six 
children,  but  one  died  at  an  early  age.  Those  now 
living  are  as  follows :  Ida,  who  is  Mrs.  Or- 
rin  Cole :  John  E.,  a  resident  of  Yellow  Medicine 
county,  this  state ;  Frank,  who  is  living  in  Garden 
City  township.  Blue  Earth  county;  Oscar  A., 
of  Mankato;  and  Archibald  H.,  the  youngest  of 
the  family  circle. 

The  last  named  received  a  fair  education  in  the 
public  schools  and  commercial  college,  and  while 
still  quite  young  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  bookkeeping  and  kindred  office  work.  For 
a  time  he  was  employed  in  Minneapolis,  later  in 
St.  Paul,  after  which  he  gave  up  bookkeeping 
and  removed  to  a  farm  in  Yellow  Medicine  coun- 
ty, this  state,  where  he  conducted  agricultural 
pursuits  for  four  years.  At  the  expiration  of 
that  time  he  took  up  the  implement  and  carriage 
business  in  Mankato,  where  since  1904,  he  has 
become  known  and  respected  for  the  possession 
of  sterling  traits  of  head  and  heart.  The  com- 
fortable home  which  he  has  established  is  pre- 
sided over  by  Mrs.  Scherer,  formerly  Jennie 
M.  Dackins,  whom  he  married  January  26,  1896, 
and  who  is  a  daughter  of  David  Dackins  of  Man- 
kato. Three  children  comprise  their  family, 
Harold  D.,  Catherine  M.  and  Bessie.  The  only 
fraternal  organization  with  which  Mr.  Scherer 
holds  membership  is  the  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  His  attention  has  been  given  to 
business  affairs  to  the  exclusion  of  politics  and 
fraternities,  yet  he  is  interested  in  all  such 
movements  and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  enter- 
prising business  men  of  his  city. 


562 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


SCHEEEE,  GEOEGB  W.— Ko  occupation 
in  which  manlcind  is  engaged  has  a  more  direct 
bearing  upon  the  well  being  of  the  community 
than  the  laundry  business.  As  now  conducted 
in  the  model  enterprises  of  the  land  opportunity 
is  afforded  for  a  degree  of  excellence  in  work- 
manship approaching  the  artistic,  as  well  as  for 
the  observance  of  sanitary  laws  which  of  neces- 
sity are  based  upon  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
scientific  principles.  Dealing  with  an  absolute 
human  necessity,  the  man  who  complies  with 
latter  day  demands  in  this  line  of  work  is  as- 
sured of  a  steady  and  dependable  trade,  and  is 
filling  a  nitch  of  large  and  unquestioned  useful- 
ness. It  is  to  this  need  that  George  W.  Scherer 
subscribes  in  his  business  life,  and  as  owner  and 
proprietor  of  the  Star  Steam  Laundry,  at  120 
and  122  Hickory  street,  is  maintaining  a  stand- 
ard which  places  him  above  the  fear  of  competi- 
tion in  the  city  of  Mankato. 

The  ambition  of  Mr.  Scherer  has  been  many 
sided  and  has  embraced  a  variety  of  occupations, 
all  of  them  practical  and  enlarging.  His  birth 
occurred  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  February  37,  1863, 
that  city  being  the  temporary  makeshift  of  his 
parents,  Peter  and  Amelia  (Pfau)  Scherer,  whd 
were  natives  of  Ohio,  and  who,  because  of  the 
Indian  outbreak  in  Minnesota  in  1863,  were 
obliged  to  flee  from  New  TTlm,  Brown  county,  to  a 
place  of  safety.  Peter  Scherer  established  a  mer- 
cantile business  in  ISTew  IJlm  in  1857,  and  re- 
mained one  of  the  successful  and  substantial  men 
of  the  town  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1900, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-seven  years.  Besides  George 
W.,  who  was  his  second  oldest  child,  he  had  six 
others,  all  of  whom  are  living.  George,  his 
mother  and  brother  returned  to  Few  Ulm  the 
spring  following  the  Indian  outbreak,  and  he 
subsequently  attended  the  local  schools,  eventu- 
ally graduating  from  the  Mankato  State  For- 
mal school  in  the  class  of  1881.  Por  some  time 
he  taught  mathematics  in  the  Few  Ulm  graded 
schools,  and  in  1886  established  the  Mankato 
Weekly  Post,  which  he  conducted  for  five  years. 

In  1892  Mr.  Scherer  was  elected  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  on  the  Eepublican  ticket, 
and  was  re-elected  two  terms  in  succession,  serv- 
ing in  all  six  3^ears.  His  administration  of  the 
educational  affairs  of  the  county  met  with  a  high 


degree  of  approval,  and  demonstrated  the  popular 
trend  towards  practical  and  useful  education. 
After  serving  as  superintendent  of  schools  Mr. 
Scherer  conducted  an  insurance  and  real-estate 
business  in  Mankato  and  Blue  Earth  county,  and 
in  1902  bought  the  Star  Steam  Laundry,  which 
he  since  has  improved  and  enlarged  to  meet  a 
growing  demand.  The  plant  is  equipped  with, 
modern  labor  saving  machinery,  although  much 
of  the  work  if  of  the  higher  grade  done  by  hand. 
The  laundry  is  a  well  lighted  and  well  ventilated 
structure,  and  employes  are  shown  every  courtesy 
and  consideration  consistent  with  the  proper  ful- 
fillment of  their  duties.  Twenty  people  are  re- 
quired in  the  different  departments,  and  addition- 
al help  is  added  during  the  extra  work  of  the 
summer  months. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Scherer  and  Minnie  Man- 
derfeld  occurred  in  1887,  and  of  the  union  there 
are  three  children:  Allie,  Waldemar  and  George 
Jr.  Mr.  Scherer  is  socially  popular,  and  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  America 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  being 
past  grand  master  in  the  latter  lodge.  He  also 
is  a  member  of  the  Mankato  Commercial  club. 
He  is  a  man  of  keen  intelligence,  mental  grasp 
and  depth,  and  thoroughly  practical  and  usable 
ideals.  His  identification  with  Mankato  has 
established  a  many  sided  claim  upon  its  history 
and  appreciation,  and  has  conserved  to  its  com- 
mercial,   educational   and   ethical   development. 


SHEEBE,  MAFASSEH.— The  genealogical 
records  of  the  Sherer  family  show  that  during 
the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  they  be- 
came identified  with  American  history,  Solomon 
Sherer  having  emigrated  at  that  time  from  Ger- 
many to  the  United  States.  With  his  wife,  who 
likewise  was  born  and  reared  in  Germany  and 
who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Maria  Gidding, 
he  settled  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  where  their 
son,  Manasseh,  was  born  Fovember  4,  1837. 
Two  years  later  they  removed  to  Indiana  and 
settled  near  Lafayette,  where  they  remained  on 
a  farm  for  nine  years.  Following  the  tide  of 
emigration  toward  the  west  they  crossed  the 
Mississippi  into  Iowa,  where  they  took  up  a  tract 
of  raw  land   and   experienced   all  the  hardships 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


563 


incident  to  existence  upon  the  frontier.  Eventu- 
ally the  father  removed  to  Missouri,  where  he 
(lied  December  13,  1902,  at  a  very  advanced  age. 
The  wife  and  mother  had  died  December  7, 
1858,  m.any  years  before  her  husband's   demise. 

During  the  boyhood  years  of  Manasseh  Sherer 
educational  privileges  were  few  and  schools  few 
in  number  and  inferior  in  quality.  Primarily 
educated  in  Indiana,  he  later  attended  school  in 
Iowa,  and  availed  himself  of  every  opportunity 
for  increasing  his  fund  of  laiowledge.  Habits 
of  observation  and  self-culture  have  been  im- 
portant factors  in  his  acquisition  of  a  broad  fund 
of  information.  As  early  as  1856,  he  became 
a  pioneer  of  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  whither  as  yet  few  white  men  had 
come.  Selecting  a  quarter  section  he  secured 
the  same  by  pre-emption  and  from  the  raw 
land  he  has  evolved  a  farm  of  whose  improv- 
ments  and  fertility  he  has  every  reason  to  be 
proud.  In  the  early  period  of  his  residence 
in  this  county  he  suffered  from  the  depredations 
of  the  Indians  and  remembers  the  excitement 
they  aroused  at  the  time  of  the  ISTew  Ulm  mass- 
acre which  brought  to  the  pioneers  a  realization  of 
the  imminent  peril  in  which  they  stood.  The 
trials  incident  to  life  in  a  new  coiintry  brought 
the  pioneers  into  the  deepest  sympathy  with  one 
another,  and  there  prevailed  among  them  a  spirit 
of  hospitality  and  fellowship  which  the  higher 
civilization  of  the  present  cannot  equal. 

While  following  farm  pursuits  during  the 
summer  months  Mr.  Sherer  frequently  taught 
school  in  the  winter,  and  in  this  way  he  earned 
the  means  used  in  the  payment  of  his  land. 
Through  all  of  his  active  life  he  has  main- 
tained an  interest  in  political  affairs,  keeps 
posted  on  subjects  of  national  importance  and 
supports  the  men  and  measures  championed  by 
the  Eepublican  party.  In  religious  faith  he  wor- 
ships with  the  United  Brethren  denomination. 
By  his  marriage,  which  occurred  January  29, 
1854,  he  was  united  with  Mary  Jane  Scott,  a 
native  of  Virginia  and  a  member  of  an  old  fam- 
ily of  that  commonwealth.  Fifteen  children  were 
born  of  their  union.  Eight  daughters  and  one 
son  are  now  living,  namely:  Euanna,  who  mar- 
ried W.  F.  Miller  and  lives  in  Cottonwood 
county,  Minnesota;  Phoebe,  Mrs.  P.  H.  McCarty; 


Matilda  P.,  who  is  the  wife  of  Eev.  John  Gimp- 
son,  now  of  Gibson  City,  Illinois;  Maria,  Mrs. 
T.  C.  Trater,  residing  in  San  Francisco,  Cali- 
fornia; and  S.  W.,  a  farmer  on  the  old  home- 
stead; Estella  vho  married  John  Addleman; 
l^ora,  Mrs.  David  E.  Davis;  May,  Mrs.  Herbert 
Gillman;  and  Edith,  Mrs.  G.  B.  Gillman,  all 
residents  of  Blue  Earth  county. 


SCHLESSELMAK,  M.  D.,  J.  T.— Thor- 
ough theoretical  training  in  a  well-equipped 
m.edical  institution,  followed  by  practical  ex- 
perience gained  in  hospital  work  and  under 
skilled  surgeons,  has  qualified  Dr.  Schlesselman 
for  the  successful  practice  of  his  profession, 
and  we  find  him  in  charge  of  a  large  clientele 
at  Good  Thunder,  where  his  time  and  atten- 
tion are  closely  given  to  the  labors  of  a 
skilled  practitioner.  Such  is  his  popularity 
that  he  has  little  leisure,  especially  in  those 
seasons  of  the  year  when  disease  is  lurking  in 
its  insidious  forms  among  the  inhabitants. 
In  the  diagnosis  of  disease  and  in  the  treat- 
ment of  intricate  eases  he  has  proved  skillful 
and  has  gained  a  reputation  extending  through- 
out  this   part    of   the    county. 

Born  in  Eejmolds,  White  county,  Indiana, 
January  21,  1877,  Dr.  Schlesselman  is  a  son 
of  Eev.  Henry  and  Christine  (ISTiedenberger) 
Schlesselman,  natives  respectively  of  Germany 
and  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  During  early  life 
the  father  became  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Lu- 
theran church,  where  his  self-sacrificing  la- 
bors and  consecrated  spirit  brought  him  the 
esteem  of  parishioners.  The  son  was  given 
such  advantages  as  the  common  schools  and 
later  was  sent  to  the  Concordia  college  at  Fort 
Wayne,  Indiana,  where  he  took  the  complete 
course  of  study,  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1893.  During  the  autumn  of  the  same  year 
he  matriculated  in  the  Cleveland  University  of 
]\redicine  and  Surgery  and  remained  a  student 
in  the  institution  until  the  completion  of  the 
regular  courses  of  lectures,  graduating  in  1897 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  The 
following  year  he  spent  as  an  interne  in  a 
hospital  at   Cleveland,  after  which  he  added  to 


564 


BTOGEAPHTCAL  HISTORY. 


his  practical  professional  knowledge  through 
work  with  skilled  physicians.  In  1898  enlisted 
in  the  hospital  corps  of  the  U.  S.  A.  and  serv- 
ed in  the  3rd  Division  Hospital  during  the 
Spanish  war.  The  year  1899,  found  him  loca- 
ted at  Good  Thunder,  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  now  owns  a  comfortable  residence  and 
has  established  a  permanent:  and  profitable 
practice. 

It  was  not  until  some  years  after  he  became 
a  resident  of  Blue  Earth  county  that  Dr. 
Schlesselman  established  domestic  ties.  His 
marriage  was  solemnized  September  3,  1904, 
and  united  him  with  Miss  Elsie  Darge,  daugh- 
ter of  Herman  and  Amalia  (Graf)  Darge, 
early  settlers  and  prosperous  farmers  of  this 
county.  The  doctor  and  his  wife  are  the 
parents  of  a  son,  Harold.  In  religion  thev  are 
identified  with  the  Evangelical  Lutheran 
church,  to  the  maintenance  of  which  "the  Doc- 
tor has  been  a  regular  and  generous  contrib- 
utor. While  devoting  his  time  closely  to  pro- 
fessional details,  he  has  not  held  himself 
aloof  from  other  matters;  on  the  other  hand, 
he  has  been  in  close  sympathy  with  movements 
for  the  welfare  of  the  general  public  and  for 
the  upbuilding  of  the  community  with  whose 
ii'terests  his   own  life  is  now   closely  associated. 

SCHMIDT,  EDWAED.— The  fact  that  ample 
opportunities  are  offered  to  young  men  by  the 
fine  farming  lands  of  Blue  Earth  county  is 
evinced  in  the  growing  prosperity  of  those  who 
have  adopted  the  occupation  of  agriculture  and 
settled  in  this  part  of  Minnesota.  The  sons  of 
our  pioneers  are  worthily  walking  in  the  foot- 
steps of  their  progenitors,  and  while  happily  they 
are  not  forced  to  undergo  the  privations  common 
to  the  previous  generation  they  are  proving  never- 
theless to  possess  traits  of  self-reliance,  energy, 
thrift  and  prudence  that  were  notable  posses- 
sions of  the  pioneer  temperament.  The  farm  which 
he  now  cultivates  was  the  birthplace  of  Edward 
Schmidt  and  February  6,  1866,  the  date  of  his 
birth.  The  well  improved  tract  of  ninety  acres 
lies  on  section  twenty-six,  Lime  township,  and 
in  its  neat  and  well-kept  aspect  bears  a  mute 
but  eloquent  testimony  to  the  energy  of  the 
owner. 


As  the  name  indicates,  the  Schmidt  family 
comes  from  Germany.  Charles  Schmidt  was  bom 
in  Prussia  March  11,  1826,  and  received  a  fair 
education  in  the  German  schools.  During  the 
year  1857,  he  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United 
States  and  at  once  proceeded  to  the  frontier  re- 
gions of  the  northwestj  settling  in  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  he  made  his  home  until  his  death, 
March  7,  1S98.  After  coming  to  this  country. he 
married  Wilhelmina  Eeiche,  who  was  born  in 
Saxony,  August  15,  1826,  and  in  1861  immi- 
grated to  America,  proceeding  direct  to  Min- 
nesota, where  on  the  5th  of  July,  same  year,  she 
became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Schmidt.  Shortly  after- 
ward they  took  up  a  tract  of  unimproved  land  in 
Lime  township.  A  dense  forest  covered  the 
tract  and  no  improvements  had  been  made.  Under 
the  judicious  labors  of  Charles  Schmidt  the 
place  was  transformed  into  one  of  the  best  farms 
in  the  township,  being  considered  at  this  writing 
a  desirable  homestead  and  productive  property. 
The  widowed  mother  still  remains  at  the  old 
home  with  her  youngest  child,  Edward.  Her 
other  children  are  Minnie  and  Herman,  resi- 
dents of  the  country. 

Eeared  to  a  knowledge  of  agricultural  pur- 
suits, Edward  Schmidt  always  has  followed  the 
occupation  of  farming,  and  is  considered  one  of 
the  progressive  young  farmers  of  the  township. 
His  education  was  secured  in  the  district  schools 
and  has  been  supplemented  by  extensive  reading 
and  habits  of  close  observation.  Since  leaving 
school  he  has  maintained  a  constant  interest  in 
educational  affairs  and.  since  1890  he  has  served 
as  clerk  of  scliool  district  ISTb.  45,  in  which  capac- 
ity he  has  proved  painstaking  and  efficient. 
Since  attaining  his  majority  he  has  been  a  stanch 
advocate  of  the  Eepublican  party  and  has  never 
failed  to  cast  his  ballot  for  its  candidates  in  the 
general  elections,  but  personally  he  has  no  politi- 
cal aspirations,  preferring  to  devote  his  atten- 
tion exclusively  to  the  details  connected  with  his 
estate. 

SCHMIDT,  OSCAE  W.— Comparatively  few 
of  the  men  in  whose  hands  rest  the  business 
enterprises  of  Mankato  are  native  born  citizens 
of  the  place  where  they  now  reside;  among  these 
few  mention  belongs  to  Oscar  W.  Schmidt,  who 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


565 


was  born  in  this  city  March  13,  1865,  and  now 
conducts  one  of  the  substantial  induetries  of  the 
town. .  While  yet  a  boy  he  learned  the  trade  of  a 
harnessmaker  under  the  skilled  supervision  of  his 
father,  and  this  occupation  he  selected  for  his 
life  work,  pursuing  the  same  as  a  journeyman 
iu  various  places,  but  eventually  returning  to  his 
native  city  and  associating  himself  with  his 
father  in  the  conduct  of  the  latter's  shop  under 
the  firm  title  of  G.  Schmidt  &  Son.'  Upon  the 
death  of  the  senior  member  of  the  firm  the  son 
succeeded  to  the  business,  which  he  has  since 
conducted  upon  a  larger  scale  than  before.  To 
accommodate  the  growing  trade  an  addition  has 
been  erected  to  the  shop  at  No.  236  South  Front 
street,  and  saddlery  has  been  added  to  the  mak- 
ing of  harness.  Altogether  the  store  is  said  to 
be  the  most  complete  retail  establishment  of  its 
kind  in  the  southern  part  of  the  state. 

As  early  as  the  year  1854,  Gottlieb  Schmidt 
came  to  the  then  small  hamlet  of  Mankato.  A 
native  of  Saxony,  Germany,  he  had  learned  the 
ti-ade  of  harness-maker  in  early  life  and  was  pro- 
ficient at  the  calling,  being  recognized  as  a  skilled 
workman.  After  a  brief  sojourn  in  Manlcato 
he  proceeded  to  St.  Paul,  but  soon  returned 
to  Blue  Earth  county  and  in  1860,  took  up  a 
claim  in  Mankato  township.  As  the  country 
began  to  be  settled  by  permanent  residents  a  need 
for  a  harness-maker  became  apparent  and  there- 
upon he  resumed  work  at  his  trade,  beginning 
upon  a  very  small  scale,  but  gradually  increas- 
ing the  business  as  demands  upon  his  workman- 
ship grew  more  numerous.  Living  the  life 
of  a  quiet,  peaceable  citizen;  busy  workman  and 
genial  friend,  he  passed  his  years  in  contented 
industry,  and  at  the  age  of  seventy,  in  1896, 
was  called  to  his  final  rest.  His  widow,  who  sur- 
vives him,  was  Ida  Schmidt,  a  native  of  Wiscon- 
sin. Of  their  two  sons.  Otto  died  in  1880, 
at  the  age  of  twelve. 

Educated  in  the  grammar  and  high  schools  of 
Mankato,  Oscar  W.  Sehmitt,  was  given  the  fair 
ieducational  advantages  which  the  increasing 
prosperity  of  his  father  rendered  possible.  On 
leaving  school  he  secured  employment  in  the 
Citizens'  National  Bank  as  an  office  boy  and 
later  became  collection  clerk.  Through  an  ap- 
prenticeship covering  three  years  he  had  gained 


a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  trade  of  harness- 
maker  and  his  knowledge  was  supplemented  by 
practical  work  in  various  towns,  after  which  he 
located  permanently  in  Mankato  in  1888,  and 
since  then  has  devoted  his  attention  to  the  busi- 
ness established  by  his  father.  Meanwhile  he  has 
become  interested  in  other  avenues  of  business 
and  civic  activity  and  is  known  as  a  progressive 
citizen,  ready  to  co-operate  with  movements 
for  the  general  welfare.  The  Citizens'  Telephone 
Company  is  one  of  the  concerns  which  he  aided 
ii!  organizing  and  helped  to  place  upon  a  sub- 
stantial basis.  Other  enterprises,  including  the 
Standard  brewery,  have  received  his  practical 
aid.  In  1887,  he  was  united  in.  marriage  with 
Miss  Catherine  Manderfeld,  daughter  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Joseph  Manderfeld,  of  Mankato,  and  they 
are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Harold  W.  Active 
in  fraternal  organizations,  Mr.  Schmidt  holds 
membership  with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  both  the  local  lodge  and  encampment; 
Eoyal  Arcanum,  of  which  he  officiated  as  regent 
and  treasurer  for  ten  years;  and  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks,  in  which  he  has  been  a 
trustee  for  two  terms. 


SCHMITT,  HARBISON  L.— The  senior 
member  of  the  law  firm  of  H.  L.  &  J.  W.  Sehmitt, 
the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  article,  is 
s  forcible  illustration  of  the  value  of  concen- 
trated effort  in  the  development  of  character 
and  the  establishment  of  a  high  professional  repu- 
tation. A  native  of  Iowa,  born  at  Waverly,  Oc- 
tober 15,  1866,  Harrison  L.  Sehmitt  is  the  son 
of  Rev.  John  H.  and  Maria  C.  (Lipp.)  Sehmitt,  the 
former  being  a  Pennsylvania  German  and  the 
latter  a  daughter  of  the  Fatlierland.  The  father 
was  a  clergyman  of  the  German  Evangelical  Asso- 
ciation and  was  a  pioneer  of  his  calling  in  the 
State  of  Minnesota,  faithfully  and  ably  laboring 
in  his  holy  field  until  called  away  by  death  in 
February,  1888,  at  the  age  of  fifty-eight  years. 
I-lis  wife  and  the  mother  of  his  seven  children 
(of  whom  Harrison  L.  was  the  second)  is  still 
living,  a  venerable  and  honored  figure  of  the  earlj 
days. 

H.  L.  Sehmitt  was  educated  in  the  public 
and  high   schools   of   Mankato,   graduating   from 


566 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


the  latter  in  1888,  and  afterward  having  a  suc- 
cessful experience  of  several  years  as  a  teacher  in 
Blue  Earth  county  and  elsewhere.  Fortunatelj 
his  choice  of  a  profession  and  his  ability  to  rise 
in  it  were,  in  line,  and  after  a  regular  course  in 
law  he  graduated  from  the  Northwestern  Uni- 
versity of  Chicago  in  the  class  of  1893,  earning 
his  degree  LL;  B.  In  July  of  that  year  he 
settled  in  Mankato  and  his  practice  has  since 
brought  him  botli  financial  rewards, and  an  honor- 
able reputation,  for  straightforward  and  meritci- 
ious  professional  work.  In  1900  lie  formed  a 
partnership  with  his  youngest  brother,  John  W. 
Schmitt  which  now  handles  much  of  the  im- 
portant legal  business  of  this  section  of  the 
country.  Both  are  members  of  the  State  Bar 
Association  and  have  never  allowed  their  ener- 
gies and  abilities  to  be  diverted  from,  the  prose- 
cution of.  the  legitimate  business  connected  with 
tlieir    profession. 

On  August  13,  1894,  Harrison  L.  Schmitt  was 
married  to  Miss  Esther  M.  Grannis,  of  Man- 
kato, and  they  have  had  four  children,  Harrison 
A.,  Helen  K.,  Pauline  A.,  and  an  infant  daugh- 
ter. 

John  W.  Schmitt,  junior  partner  of  the  firm  of 
II.  L.  &  J.  W.  Schmitt,  leading  attorneys  of 
Mankato,  was  bom  in  Paynesville,  Minnesota, 
August  12,  ,1875,  received  his  early  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Mankato  and  gradu- 
ated from  the  City  High  school  in  the  class  of 
'96.  After  teaching  in  Mankato  for  a  time,  in 
1898,  he  entered  the  University  of  Minnesota, 
v/herein  he  completed  the  law  course  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  class  of  1900,  entitling  him  to  the 
degree  of  .LL.  B.  Since  that  year,  as  stated 
he  has  been  in  partnership  with  his  brother.  In 
April,  ]907,  was  appointed  City  Attorney  of  Man- 
kato, Minnesota  and  is  now  acting  as  such.  Mr. 
Schmitt  wa,s  married  July  22,  1905,  to  Miss 
Laura  Elizabetli,  daughter  of  Hon.  John 
E.    Beatty,    of    Mankato. 


SCHULTE,  HENEY.— The  earliest  recollec- 
tions of  Henry  Schulte  cluster  around  the  pio- 
neer scenes  of  Blue  Earth  county,  whither  his 
parents  came  from  Missouri  during  his  infancy, 
bringing    with    them    no    capital    except    strong 


hearts  and  willings  hands.  The  frontier  en- 
vironment was  familiar  to  his  childhood  years, 
and  he  has  been  an  interested  participant  in  the 
changes  wrought  in  the  agricultural  domain  of 
the  county  during  the  passing  years.  The  only 
aid  which  he  had  upon  starting  out  for  himself 
was  the  gift  from  his  father  of  forty  acres  of 
wild  wood  land,  the  same  being  given  him  ia 
recognition  of  his  self-sacrificing  efforts  to  as- 
sist his  parents  during  his  youth.;  from  that  be- 
ginning he  has  evolved  his  present  homestead  in 
lime  township. 

The  family  record  shows  that  Peter  Schulte 
was  born  in  Prussia  in  1817,  and  came  to  the 
United  States  in  1847,  settling  near  St.  Charles, 
Missouri,  where  he  secured  employment  at  $4 
per  month  and  board.  Later  he  was  given  more 
satisfactory  wages.  Some  time  after  his  ar- 
rival he  married  Clara  Eakler,  who  as  a  young 
girl  had  come  from  Germany,  to  America  with 
her  parents  and  had  settled  near  St.  Charles. 
After  their  marriage  they  settled  on  a  farm  in 
St.  Charles  county,  where  their  son,  Henry,  was 
born  February  17,  1853.  From  there  in  Oc- 
tober of  1853,  they  removed  to  Minnesota  and 
took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  in>  Lime  tovraship, 
Blue  Earth  county,  where  afterward  they  la- 
bored arduously  in  the  building  up  of  a  produc- 
tive property.  The  father  died  at  the  old  home- 
stead December  2,  1893,  and  the  mother  passed 
away  September  13,  1904,  they  were  the  parents 
of  ten  children,  of  whom  the  following  survive: 
Henry,  Frank,  George  and  August;  Christena, 
wife  of  Nicholas  Bruels,  of  Eenville  county, 
Minnesota;  Mary,  who  married  Henry  Heinz- 
man  of  Blue  Earth  county;  and  Elizabeth,  who 
married  Frank  Hagen,  of  Eenville  county,  this 
state. 

The  eldest  member  of  the  family  now  living  is 
Henry  Schulte,  who  was  reared  on  the  homt.' 
farm  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  always  has 
followed  agricultural  pursuits  in  this  locality. 
November  12,  1874,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Elizabeth  Borgmeier,  who  died  March  l!>, 
1879. 

Of  that  union  four  children  were  born,  namely: 
Theresa  M.,  who  is  the  wife  of  William  Baum- 
gardner  and  lives  in  Eenville  county,  this  state; 
George    P.,    who   makes    his    home    in    Lamoure 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


567 


ecunty,  North  Dakota;  Eosie  M.,  who  married 
John  Pihale,  of  Mankato;  and  Joseph,  who  died 
in  infancy.  The  second  marriage  of  Mr.  Schulte 
v,as  solemnized  September  6,  1881,  and  united 
him  with  Mrs.  Mary  Hilgers,  widow  of  the  late 
Bartholomew  Hilgers,  and  a  daughter  of  Mat- 
thias and  Christina  Boemer,  pioneers  of  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  family  came  to  the  United 
Slates  from  Germany,  where  Mrs.  Mary  Schulte 
was  born  April  17,  1852.  Four  children  were 
born  of  her  union  with  Mr.  Hilgers,  namely : 
Bosie,  deceased;  Albert,  Jacob  and  Gertrude. 
The  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schulte  was  blessed 
with  four  children,  Peter  P.,  Helena  M.,  Leo 
H.  and  Wendell  J.,  all  of  whom  are  still  under 
the  parental  roof.  The  family  are  identified 
with  the  Eoman  Catholic  church  and  have  a  host 
of  friends  among  the  people  of  their  community. 
For  several  years  Mr.  Schulte  held  office  as  su- 
pervisor of  Lime  township  and  during  that  per- 
iod he  favored  movements  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  here,  while  at  the  same  time  he  was  ever 
mindful  of  the  interests  of  the  tax-payers.  For 
five  years  or  more  he  has  served  as  treasurer  of 
the  township.  In  addition  he  has  been  clerk  of 
the  school  board  for  nine  years  and  meanwhile 
has  accomplished  much  to  promote  the  welfare 
of    the   schools. 

'  SCHUMACHEE,  GUSTAVE.— Having  passed 
his  entire  life  upon  the  farm  where  he  now 
lives  Mr.  Schumacher  is  familiar  with  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  soil  and  understands  the  meth- 
ods of  treatment  which  will  bring  the  largest  re- 
turns from  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  Memory 
carries  him  back  to  the  environment  of  child- 
hood, to  the'  primitive  home,  the  pioneer  sur- 
roundings, the  lack  of  comforts,  the  necessity 
for  constant  drudgery  and  the  many  depriva- 
tions incident  to  frontier  existence;  with  those 
conditions  he  contracts  those  of  the  present  day, 
and  realizes  that  the  labor  of  years  has,  not  been 
without  its  reward.  Neat  buildings  bring  com- 
fort to  the  family,  shelter  to  the  stock  and  ade- 
quate facilities  for  the  storage  of  grain.  Fences 
divide  the  land  into  fields  of  convenient  size. 
The  heavy  growth  of  timber  has  been  replaced 
by  crops  that  yearly  yield  a  golden  harvest  to  the 
careful  tiller  of  the  soil. 


To  this  farm  lying  on  section  twenty-seven. 
Lime  township,  came  Mathias  Schumacher  in 
May  of  1854,  and  here  he  labored  assiduously 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  Jilarch  1, 1901.  A 
native  of  Germany,  born  April  25,  1826,  he  came 
to  the  United  States  in  early  life  and  settled  in 
the  east.  October  23,  1852,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  with  the  widow  of  David  Knechler,  nee 
Anna  Mary  Eberhart.  Mrs.  Schumacher  was 
born  in  Germany  August  11,  1824,  and  grew  to 
womanhood  in  Germany,  where  November  25, 
1845,  she  became  the  wife  of  David  Knechler,  who 
died  in  November  of  1850.  Three  children  were 
born  of  that  union,  but  all  are  deceased.  June 
2,  1851,  Mrs.  Knechler  took  passage  on  a  ship 
bound  for  the  United  States  and  after  a  tedious 
voyage  of  eighty  days  she  landed  in  New  York 
City,  whence  she  traveled  across  the  country  to 
Buffalo,  New  York.  In  that  city  she  married 
the  following  year.  From  there  in  May  of  1854 
she  accompanied  her  husband  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  Minnesota,  and  settled  on  the  land  out 
of  which  was  developed  a  finely  improved  farm, 
since  her  home. 

During  the  Civil  war  Mathias  Schumacher  of- 
fered his  services  to  his  adopted  country,  enlist- 
ing in  the  Union  army  November  20,  1862,  and 
remaining  at  the  front  until  he  received  an  hon- 
orable discharge,  November  28,  1863.  Afterward 
he  followed  farm  pursuits  uninterruptedly  until 
his  death  and  since  then  his  widow  has  remained 
at  the  old  homestead.  They  were  the  parents 
of  seven  children.  The  eldest,  Hattie,  was  born 
April  25,  1855.  Frederick  was  born  September 
1,  1856,  and  died  April  15,  1863.  Louisa  was 
born  June  21,  1858,  and  died  April  8,  1863. 
Caroline  was  born  March  5,  1860,  and  died  April 
27,  1863.  Edward  was  born  May  3,  1863;  Gus- 
tavo, July  20,  1866;  and  Ernst,  July  6,  1871. 
Gustave  Schumacher  was  reared  on  the  home 
farm  and  received  a  common  school  education. 
He  was  married  in  this  county,  April  11,  1893, 
to  Mary  Hummer,  who  was  born  in  i>ricollet 
county,  Minnesota,  August  15,  1876.  Her  par- 
ents, Michael  and  Theresa  (Wagner)  Hummer, 
removed  to  Blue  Earth  county  about  1882  and  at 
present  make  their  home  in  Lime  township.  The 
union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schumacher  was  blessed 
with  two  children,  namely:    Hattie  T.,  born  July 


568 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


8,  1894;  and  Ida  T.,  February  24,  1896.  The 
family  are  respected  wherever  known  and  Mr. 
Schumacher  has  a  reputation  among  his  acquaint- 
ances as  an  up-to-date  agriculturist. 


SCHWAN,  PEANK  EGBERT.— Mr.  Schwan 
is  first  of  all  a  farmer,  and  his  long  and  success- 
ful association  with  the  agricultural  and  stock- 
raising  interests  of  the  township,  entitle  him  to 
foremost  rank  among  its  thrifty  and  enlightened 
upbuilders. 

Born  in  Lyra  township  July  23,  1866,  Mr. 
Schwan  is  a  son  of  August  Schwan,  farmers  by 
occupation,  and  the  former  of  whom  was  a  sol- 
dier in  the  Civil  war.  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools.  June  1,  1892,  he  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Emma  L.  Mertesdorf,  of  Vernon 
Center,  and  one  child  has  been  born  of  the  union, 
Juanita  Nellie  Schwan. 


SCHWAEZ,  JOHN  E.— Coming  to  Blue  Earth 
county  with  his  parents  when  he  was  a  child 
of  six  years,  Mr.  Schwarz  has  since  been  iden- 
tified with  this  part  of  the  state.  Here  he 
gained  his  education  in  the  country  schools.  Here 
he  learned  the  rudiments  of  agriculture  under  the 
supervision  of  his  father,  and  upon  attaining 
man's  estate  here  it  was  that  he  started  out  for 
himself  as  a  member  of  the  farming  community. 
About  1893  he  became  a  resident  of  Vernon  Cen- 
ter township  and  settled  on  the  farm  he  still 
owns  and  operates,  the  tract  comprising  one 
hundred  and  seventy-five  acres,  all  under  the 
plow  and  improved  with  substantial  buildings 
erected  by  the  present  owner.  An  adequate  sys- 
tem of  fencing  adds  to  the  value  and  the  appear- 
ance of  the  property,  while  the  crops  are  aided 
by  thorough  ditching. 

Near  the  village  of  Princeton,  G-reen  Lake  coun- 
ty, Wisconsin,  John  E.  Schwarz  was  born  March 
9,  1862,  being  a  son  of  John  and  Louise  (Jos- 
ter)  Schwarz,  natives  of  Prussia,  Germany,  and 
emigrants  to  Wisconsin  during  the  year  1858. 
For  eight  years  they  remained  on  a  farm  in 
Green  Lake  county,  after  which  they  came  to 
Minnesota  and  took  up  a  claim  in  Olmsted  coun- 
ty.    The   year    1868   witnessed   their   arrival   in 


Blue  Earth  county,  where  they  settled  on  wild 
land  in  Ceresco  township  and  took  up  the  task 
of  earning  a  livelihood  from  the  untried  soil. 
Many  hardships  awaited  their  patient  efEorts.  By 
degrees  the  land  was  brought  under  cultivation 
and  willing  hands  aided  in  gleaning  the  goodly 
harvests.  There  were  ten  children  in  the  family, 
John  E.,  being  the  third  in  order  of  birth.  It 
was  impossible  to  give  the  children  many  advan- 
tages, but  they  were  sent  to  the  district  schools 
during  the  winter  months  and  by  careful  home 
training  were  prepared  for  the  responsibilities  of 
the  work  a  day  world.  The  father  died  in 
1892,  and  is  survived  by  his  wife,  who  makes 
her  home  in  Amboy  at  this  writing. 

The  marriage  of  John  E.  Schwarz  took  place 
in  1894  and  united  him  with  Mary  Boeck,  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  and  Anna  (Weinkopf)  Boeck. 
The  parents  were  born  and  reared  in  Prussia  and 
came  to  the  United  States  at  the  same  time  with 
the  Schwarz  family.  For  twenty  years  or  more 
Mr.  Boeck  followed  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith 
at  Pleasant  Mound  and  he  still  lives  in  an  ad- 
joining township,  but  is  now  practically  retired 
from  business  cares.  In  religion  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schwarz  are  identified  with  the  Lutheran  church 
and  in  that  faith  they  are  rearing  their  four  chil- 
dren, Lena,  Herbert,  Celia  and  Ella.  The  home 
farm  is  utilized  for  the  raising  of  such  crops  as 
are  suited  to  the  soil  and  climate,  and  excellent 
results  have  attended  the  efEorts  of  Mr.  Schwarz 
in  general  farming.  Stock-raising  forms  a  no- 
ticeable feature  of  his  work,  and  he  makes  a 
specialty  of  Poland- China  hogs  and  a  good  grade 
of  cattle.  In  politics  he  always  gives  his  ballot 
to  the  Eepublican  party  and  has  been  interested 
in  local  affairs,  although  never  displaying  any 
trace  of  partisanship  in  his  opinions.  For  four 
years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  town  board 
and  at  this  writing  he  holds  the  office  of  assessor 
of  Vernon  Center  township. 


SCHWEITZEE,  JOHN.— The  passing  years 
have  brought  their  eventful  changes  in  Blue 
Earth  county  since  Mr.  Schweitzer  came  hither 
from  the  old  world.  Hamlets  have  developed 
into  villages  of  fair  size,  farms  have  been  im- 
proved, emigration  has  been  attracted  by  reason 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


569 


of  low  prices  of  land  and  the  fertile  soil^  and  the 
early  settlers  have  shared  in  the  general  and  ris- 
ing prosperity.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Mr. 
Schweitzer  to  arrive  in  the  county  at  a  time  when 
conditions  were  ripe  for  investment  and  he  was 
thus  enabled  to  place- his  small  capital  in  a  judi- 
cious manner.  For  success  he  was  further  equip- 
ped with  an  excellent  German  education  and  a 
fair  knowledge  of  business  methods.  Aided  by 
these  qualifications  he  has  risen  to  a  position  of 
importance  in  Mapleton  and  has  become  a  prop- 
erty owner,  dealer  in  real  estate  and  prominent 
business  man. 

No  member  of  the  Schweitzer  family  excepting 
John  ever  came  to  the  United  States  and  he  was 
twenty-six  years  of  age  when,  in  1873,  he  bade 
farewell  to  friends  and  relatives  in  his  native 
Prussia  and  turned  his  face  toward  the  setting 
sun.  After  landing  in  Kew  York  he  proceeded 
direct  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Mapleton, 
which  remains  his  home  at  the  present  time. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  he  secured  employment  in 
a  drug  store.  In  a  short  time  he  purchased  the 
business,  which  he  has  conducted  ever  since  and 
which  is  the  only  store  of  its  kind  in  the  village. 
A  number  of  times  there  have  been  drug  stores 
started  in  the  town,  but  each  was  compelled  to 
close  out  in  a  short  time,  for  the  business  had 
been  practically  absorbed  by  Mr.  Schweitzer  ■  and 
his  patrons  invariably  remained  loyal  to  him. 
The  substantial  building  occupied  by  his  stock 
of  goods  is  owned  by  himself  and  in  addition  he 
owns  the  postoflEice  building  and  has  other  town 
property,  the  same  representing  a  valuation  of 
considerable  importance. 

When  Mr.  Schweitzer  came  to  the  United 
States  he  was  a  single  man,  but  soon  he  estab- 
lished  a  home  of  his  own.  October  17,  1876,  he 
married  Eose  Pagenkopf,  a  daughter  of  Charles 
Pagenkopt,  who  came  to  America  from  Germany 
in  young  manhood  and  settled  on  a  farm  in  Wis- 
consin. Several  years  later  he  bought  a  farm  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  near  Mapleton, 
remaining  there  until  his  death.  The  family 
name  of  his  wife  was  Kleinholt.  Six  children 
came  to  bless  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Schweitzer:  Charles,  who  married  Ada  Sever- 
son;  Theo,  who  is  employed  as  a  drug  clerk  at 
Dickinson,    North    Dakota;    Flora,    who    married 


Edward  Ulrich,  proprietor  of  a  general  store  at 
Good  Thunder,  Blue  Earth  county;  Peter,  who 
married  Cora  Schimmele;  Julia,  wife  of  William 
Ulrich;  and  Kosalia.  No  one  appreciates  the 
value  of  a  good  education  more  than  does  Mr. 
Schweitzer  and  he  endeavored  to  give  his  chil- 
dren the  best  advantages  his  means  rendered 
possible,  so  that  they  might  be  qualified  for  the 
responsibilities  of  life.  His  interest  in  educa- 
tional matters  led  him  to  fill  the  office  of  school 
director  for  fifteen  years.  For  a  long  period 
he  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  village  board. 
Since  becoming  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
he  has  voted  with  the  Democratic  party  believing 
thoroughly  in  the  principles  for  \\-hich  it  stands. 
Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with  the  Yeo- 
men. Movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  village 
receive  his  stanch  support  and  he  always  has  been 
found  on  the  side  of  projects  calculated  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare. 


SELLERS,  C.  L.— The  development  of  elec- 
tricity from  a  scientific  as  well  as  a  business 
standpoint  has  opened  up  for  young  men  fields 
of  activity  unknown  to  former  generations  and 
among  those  to  avail  themselves  of  this  oppor- 
tunity thus  presented  we  mention  the  name  of 
C.  L.  Sellers,  who  since  1898,  has  filled  the  posi- 
tion of  city  electrician  of  Mapleton.  While  he 
lacked  the  advantages  of  technical  training  and 
did  not  enjoy  collegiate  advantages  during  his 
jouth,  he  possessed  native  ability  and  by  un- 
aided efforts  acquired  a  knowledge  of  electricity 
superior  to  that  secured  by  many  men  of  fine 
educations  but  lesser  natural  gifts.  To  him  elec- 
ti'icity  always  has  presented  a  fascinating  as- 
pect. Its  mysteries  have  attracted  him  and  its 
problems  have  aroused  his  keenest  interest. 

The  entire  life  of  Mr.  Sellers  has  been  passed 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  where  he  was  born  No- 
vember 4,  1868,  being  a  son  of  William  A.  and 
Sarah  (Gammon)  Sellers.  The  father  was  born 
in  Nova  Scotia  in  1831,  and  in  early  life  became 
familiar  with  the  stern  and  rock-bound  coast  of 
his  native  peninsula.  Its  opportunities  for  earn- 
ing a  livelihood  were  so  meagre  that  he  was  led 
to  migrate  to  the  United  States.  For  some  years 
he  made  his  home  in  Chippewa  county,  Wiscon- 


570 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


sin,  and  during  a  part  of  his  time  there  he  en- 
gaged in  conducting  a  hotel.  During  the  year 
18G8  he  brought  his  family  to  Blue  Earth  county, 
iJinnesota  and  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  in 
Decoria  township,  where  for  years  he  led  the 
quiet,  busy  and  frugal  life  of  the  pioneer  farmer. 
Upon  retiring  from  farm  cares  he  removed  to 
liapleton  in  1901,  and  in  this  village  he  passed 
away  in  1904,  two  years  after  the  demise  of  his 
wife.  They  were  the  parents  of  eleven  children, 
eight  of  whom  are  yet  living. 

Upon  completing  the  studies  of  the  common 
schools  C.  L.  Sellers  took  a  course  in  the  Man- 
kato  Business  College  and  there  gained  a  thor- 
ough knowledge  of  commercial  bookkeeping.  Aft- 
erward he  engaged  in  farming  in  Beauford  town- 
sJiip,  Blue  Earth  county,  and  he  still  owns  an 
interest  in  a  farm  in  Decoria  township,  but 
as  previously  stated  for  ten  years  he  has  given 
his  attention  especially  to  electrical  work.  In 
1900,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Stella 
Bowen,  daughter  of  Leroy  and  Marion  (Gilbert) 
Bowen,  natives  of  New  York  state,  but  pioneers 
01  Blue  Earth  county,  where  they  still  make  their 
home  in  Decoria  township.  The  children  of 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sellers  are  as  follows:  Lyle, 
Lorena  and  Burnell.  Ever  since  attaining  his 
majority  Mr.  Sellers  has.  given  his  ballot  to  the 
candidates  and  principles  of  the  Eepublican  party 
and  has  been  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the 
same.  Formerly  he  was  a  member  of  the 
town  board  of  Beauford  township  and  since  mov- 
ing into  Mapleton  he  has  served  as  a  member 
of  the  town  council.  Various  fraternities  have 
received  his  allegiance,  among  these  being  Ma- 
pleton Lodge  No.  128,  A.  P.  &  A.  M.,  also  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  the  Yeoman  and 
the  Mutual  Benefit  Association. 


SEPPMAN,  LOUIS.— The  changes  that  one- 
half  century  has  wrought  in  the  appearance  of 
Blue  Earth  county  are  brought  vividly  to  the 
mind  of  Mr.  Seppman  as  he  recalls  conditions 
during  the  '50s  when  he  arrived  in  Minnesota  in 
search  of  a  location.  Few  white  men  as  yet  had 
cast  their  lots  with  the  earliest  settlers  scat- 
tered through  the  forests  or  dispersed  upon  the 
unbroken    prairies.       On    every    hand    primeval 


nature  was  unadorned  by  arts  or  handiwork  of 
man.  The  bleak  winds  of  winter  blew  over 
a  region  whose  habitations  were  few  and  whose 
future  prosperity  only  an  optimist  could  discern. 
Indians  roamed  through  the  trackless  woods  and 
appaled  the  "pale-face"  by  their  dances  of  death. 
Erom  that  condition  to  the  environment  of  the 
twentieth  century  there  is  a  startling  transforma- 
tion, attributable  to  the  steady  courage  and  per- 
sistent efforts  of  the  honored  pioneers. 

Westphalia,  Germany,  is  the  native  province 
of  Louis  Seppman,  and  October  31,  1835,  the 
date  of  his  birth.  His  father,  Henry,  who  was 
a  stone-mason  by  trade,  died  in  Germany,  in  1880 
while  the  mother,  Elizabeth,  still  makes  her  home 
in  that  country,  where  her  ancestors  had  lived 
and  labored  as  far  back  as  the  records-  can  be 
traced.  At  an  early  age  Louis  Seppman  re- 
solved to  seek  a  livelihood  in  America,  and  with 
this  purpose  in  view  he  set  sail  for  the  new  world 
in  the  fall  of  1852,  arriving  in  New  York  City 
on  New  Year's  day  of  1853.  Prior  to  emigra- 
tion he  had  learned  the  trade  of  a  stone  mason 
and  this  occupation  he  followed  for  three  years 
in  Pennsylvania.  Leaving  the  east  he  sought 
a  home  in  Minnesota  and  arrived  in  Blue  Earth 
county  May  1,  1857.  It  was  possible  for  him  to 
secure  immediate  employment  at  his  trade  and 
thus  be  earned  a  fair  livelihood  from  the  first. 
With  the  savings  of  years  of  assiduous  effort 
he  invested  in  land,  acquiring  a  farm  of  fou^; 
hundred  and  fifteen  acres,  and  since  then  he  has 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  His  farm  lies 
on  section  eighteen  of  South  Bend  township, 
and  is  located  on  the  rural  route  No.  three,  from 
Lake  Crystal.  In  an  early  day  he  built  a  circu- 
lar stone  mill,  which  was  one  of  the  first  flour 
mills  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  brought  the  trade 
of  farmers  from  a  distance  of  thirty  miles. 

In  national  politics  Mr.  Seppman  votes  with 
the  Democratic  party;  in  county  affairs  he  sup- 
ports the  men  whom  he  considers  best  qualified 
for  official  responsibilities.  For  a  considerable 
period  he  served  as  township  assessor  and  for 
eight  years  was  honored  with  the  chairmanship 
of  the  board.  Eeared  in  the  faith  of  the  Ger- 
man Lutheran  denomination  he  always  has 
given  his  allegiance  to  its  doctrines  and  has 
maintained  a  deep  interest  in  religious  activites. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


5V1 


For  some  time  after  coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
he  remained  a  bachelor,  but  eventually  established 
domestic  ties,'^  being  united  July  5,  1866,  with 
Augusta  Miller,  a  native  of  Pommern,  Germany, 
but  from  girlhood  a  resident  of  Minnesota.  Thir- 
teen children  were  born  of  their  union,  and  nine 
ol  these  are  still  living,  namely :  Herman,  who 
if-  engaged  in  farming  at  the  old  homestead; 
Henry,  a  farmer  of  Blue  Earth  county;  Anna, 
who  is  married  and  lives  on  a  farm  in  this 
county;  Mary,  Mrs.  John  LeDuc;  Charles  and 
Albert,  who  follow  agricultural  pursuits  in  this 
county;  Clara  and  Emma  who  reside  with  their 
parents;  and  Alfred,  who  also  remains  at  home. 

SEVEESON,  OLE  T.— The  native  sons  of 
Norway  contribute  very  materially  to  the  agri- 
cultural success  of  Blue  Earth  county,  and  their 
farms  invariably  reflect  the  order,  thrift  and  in- 
dustry which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  Scan- 
dinavian commonwealth.  No  people  adapt  them- 
selves more  readily  to  the  radical  changes  en- 
countered on  this  side  of  the  water,  or  develop 
greater  patriotism  and  public  spiritedness.  Ole 
T.  Severson  spent  the  first  twelve  years  of  his 
life  among  the  splendid  mountains  of  Norway, 
where  he  was  born  May  6,  1844,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  six  children  of  Severt  and  Anna  Bertha 
(Hoverson)  Severson,  to  embark  with  their  par- 
ents in  a  sailing  vessel  during  the  summer  of 
1858,  and  after  about  six  weeks  of  storm  and 
calm  arrived  in  New  York  harbor,  whence  they 
came  to  Vernon  county,  Wisconsin.  Here  the 
older  Severson  bought  a  farm,  where  his  wife 
died  in  1866,  and  where  he  himself  died  in  1890, 
having  made  this  his  home  for  thirty-eight  years. 

Educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Norway  and 
Wisconsin,  Ole  T.  Severson  followed  the  family 
fortunes  until  1872,  when  he  came  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  settling  on  the  farm  which  now  is  his 
home.  Erom  a  crude  and  uncultivated  state  he 
has  developed  it  into  a  fine  and  paying  prop- 
ei'ty,  containing  one  hundred  and  ninety-four 
acres,  and  practically  all  of  it  under  cultivation. 
He  raises  general  produce  and  stock,  and  has 
a  comfortable  residence,  and  well  constructed 
barns.  His  fences  and  place  generally  is  kept  in 
good  repair,  and  he  is  painstakingly  mindful  of 
details,   an   essential   of   successful   farming. 


As  encouragement  in  his  upward  struggle  Mr. 
Severson  married  Tawnete  Sofie  Nelson  on 
March  24,  IS'iO,  and  has  an  interesting  family,  a 
part  of  which  is  self  supporting  and  remote  from 
the  family  roof,  while  his  two  3'oungest  children, 
Carrie  and  Oscar,  are  still  at  home.  His  older 
children,  Albert  and  Joseph,  have  business  inter- 
ests of  their  own,  the  former  being  a  general 
merchant,  in  Fairfax,  South  Dakota,  and  the 
latter  a  farmer  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Severson  is  a 
Republican  in  national  politics,  and  locally  votes 
for  the  best  man.  In  religion  he  is  a  Lutheran. 
His  experience  has  included  service  in  the  Civil 
war  as  a  soldier  in  Company  B,  Fiftieth  Wis- 
consin Volunteer  Infantry. 


SHONTS,  WILLIAM  H.— Industry  and  in- 
tegrity are  the  corner-stones  of  individual  ana 
national  success  and  prosperity.  Without  them 
they  labor  in  vain  who  strive  for  honor  among 
men  and  the  esteem  of  associates.  With  their 
aid  the  humblest  will  become  respected  in  the 
circle  where  chance  or  destiny  has  placed  him. 
Among  those  fl'ho,  solely  through  energy  and 
integrity,  lia\e  risen  to  positions  of  esteem  in 
neighborhood  circles  we  mention  the  name  of 
William  H.  Shouts,  who  has  been  a  resident  of 
Blue  Earth  county  from  early  childhood  and 
has  become  familiar  with  the  soil,  climate  and 
possibilities  of  the  region.  General  farming  is 
his  chosen  work  and  his  specialties  are  Poland- 
China  hogs,  Norman  horses  and  shorthorn  cat- 
tle. 

The  lineage  of  the  Shonts  family  is  traced 
tu  England  where  Joshua  Shonts  was  born  and 
reared,  and  where  he  married  a  descendant  of 
Welsh  ancestry.  On  coming  to  America  they 
became  interested  in  farm  pursuits.  During  the 
'50s  they  settled  in  Wisconsin,  where  they  re- 
mained for  seven  years,  coming  to  Minnesota 
in  1863,  and  spending  six  months  in  Vernon 
township.  Blue  Earth  county.  Meanwhile  they 
had  purchased  a  farm  in  Shelby  township  and 
thither  they  moved,  remaining  there  until  1876, 
when  the  property  was  sold.  The  next  purchase 
comprised  an  unimproved  tract  on  section  seven, 
Pleasant  Mound  township,  where  Mr.  Shonts 
remained    until    his    death,    January    15,    1901. 


572 


BIOGKAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


.For  almost  forty  years  he  lived  in  Blue  Earth 
county  and  his  friends  here  were  as  numerous 
as  his  acquaintances. 

William  H.  Shonts  was  born  in  Baltimore, 
i\[aryland,  April  5,  1851,  and  spent  the  days 
of  childhood  in  Baltimore,  ^\aEconsin,  and 
lUinnesota.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  con- 
tinued on  the  homestead  where  now  he  has  a  fine 
farm  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  -with  five 
acres  of  timber.  During  the  year  1877  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Nellie  Phillips, 
v.'ho  was  born  in  Canada.,  but  at  an  early  age 
came  to  Minnesota,  her  father  becoming  a  re- 
spected citizen  and  prominent  farmer  of  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
his  death.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shonts  attend  the  Chris- 
tian church  and  are  in  hearty  accord  with  all 
movements  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity.  Es- 
pecially are  they  in  sympathy  with  measures 
for  the  growth  of  their  own  community  and  the 
development  of  its  large  resources.  Of  their 
children  one  died  in  infancy  and  another,  Percy, 
at  the  age  of  nine  years.  The  eldest  son,  George, 
is  now  employed  in  Minneapolis.  The  other  sons 
are  at  home  and  are  named  as  follows :  Lewis, 
Bert,  Eoy,  Frank  and   Charles. 


SMITH,  BENJAMIK  D.— Ever  since  the  ter- 
ritorial days  of  Minnesota  the  Smith  family  has 
bten  identified  with  its  history  and  develop- 
ment. The  first  of  the  family  to  seek  a  home  in 
what  then  was  considered  the  far  Northwest,  was 
Colonel  Benjamin  P.  Smith  who  came  from 
Ohio,  and  thenceforward  contributed  by  personal 
self-sacrifice  to  the  growth  of  his  new  home.  The 
next  generation  was  represented  by  John  S. 
Smith,  a  native  of  Ohio,  who  died  in  Mankato 
March  5,  1906,  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  years. 
Coming  to  this  state  prior  to  its  admission  into 
the  Union,  he  and  his  wife  Mary  P.  (Dayton) 
Smith,  were  making  their  home  at  Vernon  Cen- 
ter, Blue  Earth  county  at  the  time  of  the  Sioux 
Indian  outbreak  in  1862,  and  the  danger  became 
too  great  that  they,  with  the  other  settlers,  fled 
from  the  vicinity  to  Owatonna,  this  state.  They 
then  removed  to  Martinsburg,  Ohio,  returning 
four  years  later  to  Minnesota. 


During  the  residence  of  John  S.  and  Mary 
Smith  at  Vernon  Center  their  son,  Benjamin  D., 
was  born  May  27,  1860,  and  he  was  two  years 
old  when  the  family  returned  to  Ohio.  Coming 
to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1866,  they  lived  in  the 
village  of  Garden  City  four  years,  then  com- 
menced farming  in  Eapidan.  He  was  sent  to 
the  common  schools,  and  in  1880,  graduated  from 
the  Mankato  State  Normal  school.  In  early 
manhood'  he  himself  engaged  in  school  teaching, 
then  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law,  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  Minnesota  in  December, 
1883  at  Mankato,  where  since  he  has  made  his 
home.  While  engaged  in  a  general  practice  of 
law,  in  1886,  he  was  elected  county  attorney  of 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  re-elected  two  years 
later,  filling  -the  responsible  office  with  recog- 
nized ability.  For  years  he  has  been  a  leading 
local  worker  in  the  Eepublican  party,  of  whose 
county  committee  he  has  been  chairman,  and 
from  1892  until  1894,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
state  central  committee,  having  served  also  as 
a  member  of  the  state  executive  committee  of 
Eepublican  clubs. 

In  his  marriage,  which  occurred  September  15, 
1892,  Mr.  Smith  was  united  with  Alice  W.  Ayres, 
of  Oakham,  Massachusetts.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  two  children,  namely:  Winfield  Ayres, 
bom  October  19,  1893;  and  Minnie  Francisca, 
September  4,  1895.  The  Commercial  Club  of 
Mankato  has  the  name  of  Mr.  Smith  on  its 
membership  roll.  Interested  in  fraternities,  he 
long  has  been  one  of  the  most  prominent  mem- 
bers of  the  Modem  Woodmen  of  America  and-  has 
officiated  as  chairman  of  the  beneficiary  commit- 
tee of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Eoyal  Neigh- 
bors of  America,  in  addition  to  which  he  has 
for  many  years  been  affiliated  with  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  the  Benevolent 
Protective  Order  of  Elks  and  the  Ancient  Order 
of .  United  Workmen. 

Any  mention  of  Mr.  Smith  would  be  incom- 
plete without  reference  to  his  association  with  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America.  In  September, 
1888,  he  became  a  charter  member  of  Blue  Earth 
Camp  No.  730,  in  which  he  served  for  three  terms 
as  first  venerable  counsel.  In  1888,  he  was  elected 
delegate  to  the  Des  Moines  head  camp.  Two 
years  later  he  attended  a  special  meeting  of  the 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


573 


head  camp  in  the  same  city,  and  was  a  mem- 
bei  of  the  committee  of  three  from  each  state 
by  whom  the  resolutions  there  adopted  were 
drawn.  During  1890,  he  served  as  a  delegate  to 
the  Springfield  session  of  the  head  camp;  later 
was  delegate-at-large  for  Minnesota  to  the  Oma- 
ha head  camp;  delegate-at-large  for  this  state 
at  the  Madison  head  camp,  where  he  was  chosen 
head  adviser;  (the  office  corresponding  to  vice- 
president)  and  in  July  of  1895,  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  Head 
Camp  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  resigna- 
tion of  J.  G.  Johnson,  to  become  general  attor- 
ney. At  the  Dubuque  head  camp  he  was  again 
chosen  a  director,  later  re-elected  at  Kansas 
City  in  1899,  and  at  St.  Paul,  in  1901.  In  July 
1903,  he  was  honored  with  the  office  of  general 
attorney,  in  which  responsible  and  influential 
position  he  since  has  rendered  services  charac- 
terized by  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  law,  keen 
sagacity,  unerring  tact  and  wise   discrimination. 


SMITH,  CHAELES  H.— The  natives  of 
Pennsylvania  have  constituted  a  very  consider- 
able part  of  the  agricultural  timber  of  Blue  Earth 
county  since  the  foundation  of  its  written  his- 
tory, and  to  no  class  of  men  does  the  prosperity 
of  the  present  more  definitely  point.  Eepre- 
sentative  of  the  Quaker  state  recruits  is  Charles 
H.  Smith,  the  owner  of  a  farm  in  this  county, 
and  member  of  a  family  known  in  the  pioneer 
annals  of  both  Pennsylvania  and  Minnesota.  Mr. 
Smith  is  one  of  the  ten  children  of  Charles  and 
Elizabeth  (Smyth)  Smith,  natives  of  Ireland, 
and  who  came  to  the  United  States  in  a  sailing 
vessel  in  1843.  Settling  in  eastern  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  elder  Smith  engaged  in  farming  and 
also  worked  in  an  iron  foundry,  and  during  his 
eight  year's  sojourn  in  the  state  his  son,  Charles 
H.,  was  born  in  1853.  Impelled  by  the  promise 
of  the  northwest,  Mr.  Smith  brought  his  family 
to  Milwaukee,  and  a  year  later  settled  on  a  farm 
twenty  miles  out  in  the  country.  Upon  coming 
to  Blue  Earth  county  in  the  early  day,  he  bought 
the  farm  which  since  has  remained  in  the  posses- 
sion of  his  son,  Charles  H.  The  father  died  in 
this  county  June  10,  1898,  and  his  wife  survived 
him  until  March  23,   1892.     He  was  a  Demo- 


crat  in    political    faith,    and    in    religion   was    a 
Eoman  Catholic. 

Charles  H.  Smith  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools  of  Wisconsin,  and  is  a  farmer  by  both 
training  and  inclination.  He  has  a  fine  place, 
devoted  to  general  farming  and  stock,  and  which 
nets  him  a  comfortable  annual  income.  In  1891 
he  renounced  bachelorhood  and  married  Maria 
T.  Dooley,  a  native  of  Wisconsin,  and  whose 
father,  a  native  born  Irishman,  hale  and  hearty, 
and  eight-eight  years  young,  lives  with  her  on 
the  Smith  farm.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  are  the 
parents  of  two  children,  Eaymond,  aged  fourteen 
years,  and  Margaret  aged  thirteen  years.  Mr. 
Smith  follows  in  the  political  and  religious  foot- 
. steps  of  his  father,  and  in  all  ways  is  a  desirable 
and  helpful  citizen  and  farmer. 


SMITH,  WALTEE  WYMAN.— -The  greatest 
praise  is  merited  by  those  men  who,  working  their 
way  up  from  poverty  and  obscurity,  without 
means  to  aid  in  the  securing  of  an  education 
and  without  the  prestige  of  influential  friends, 
nevertheless  have  risen  to  positions  of  influence 
in  their  communities  and  have  won  a  large  de- 
gree of  success  in  spite  of  hardships  to  be  over- 
come and  obstacles  to  be  surmounted.  While 
still  a  young  man,  with  the  future  and  all  of  its 
possibilities  before  him,  Walter  Wyman  Smith 
already  has  gained  a  degree  of  success  by  no 
means  to  be  regarded  as  insignificant.  The 
familv  from  which  he  descended  has  been  honored 
i')  New  Endand  ever  since  the  colonial  period 
of  our  country's  history,  but  they  had  little 
of  this  world's  goods  and  it  was  necessary  for 
him  to  put  forth  the  most  strenuous  exertions 
in  order  to  obtain  for  himself  the  education  which 
he  desired.  That  he  was  successful  in  his  efforts 
i'  evidenced  hv  his  high  standinc;  as  an  attorney 
ill  Mankato  where  he  has  ensaged  in  practice 
ever  since  the   close   of  his  university  studies. 

Born  at  Trempealeau,  Wisconsin,  January  4, 
18G9,  Walter  Wyman  Smith  was  next  to  the 
eldest  among  eight  children,  five  of  whom  are 
still  living-.  His  parents,  Eben  C.  and  Emily 
C.  (Wyman)  Smith,  natives  of  Vermont.  The 
latter  moved  with  her  parents  to  Wisconsin  in 
1853,  and  the  former  moved  to'  Hillsboro,  Wis- 


574 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


consin  in  1866  where  he  taught  school.  During 
his  residence  in  the  west  he  made  a  tour  of  in- 
spection through  several  states,  looking  for  a 
school  and  a  favorable  place  to  settle.  With 
that  object  in  view  he  walked  from  Eochester  to 
Xew  Ulm,  Minnesota,  and  later  proceeded  to 
Cameron,  Missouri,  but  the  results  were  not  fa- 
vorable, and  at  the  time  of  the  great  Chicago 
fire  he  returned  to  Vermont,  settled  on  a  farm, 
and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  His  death 
occurred  in  that  state  at  sixty-four  years  of  age, 
and  his  widow  is  still  living  in  the  old  home 
neighborhood. 

After  having  completed  the  studies  of  district 
school,  Walter  Wyman  Smith  entered  St.  Johns- 
bury  academy,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in 
1889.  Later  he  became  a  student  in  Dart- 
mouth college  and  completed  the  classical  course 
in  that  famous  old  institution  with  the  class  of 
1893.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  he 
sought  a  home  in  the  west.  In  the  fall  of  1893, 
he  began  to  teach  school  in  Minnesota.  For  two 
years  he  served  as  principle  of  the  high  school 
at  Slayton,  Murray  county,  and  for  one  year  he 
held  the  principalship  of  the  Melrose  high  school. 
With  the  money  earned  through  teaching  he 
was  enabled  to  pay  his  expenses  in  the  University 
of  Minnesota,  where  he  took  the  regular  law 
course,  graduating  with  the  class  of  1900.  While 
in  that  institution  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Kent  literary  society,  and  at  Dartmouth  he  was 
a  member  of  the  fraternity.  Phi  Delta  Theta. 
Upon  graduating  from  the  University  of  Minne- 
sota law  school  was  admitted  to  practice  his  pro- 
fession, on  motion  of  Dean  Pattce,  and  he  at  once 
came  to  Mankato  and  formed  a  partnership  with 
Jay  H.  Long  under  the  firm  title  of  Long  & 
Smith.  One  year  later  the  partnership  was  dis- 
solved and  since  then  he  has  practiced  alone, 
having  his  office  at  present  in  the  new  ISTational 
Citizens'  bank  building. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Smith  occurred  June 
20,  1905,  and  united  him  with  Kithrj-n  A.  Sav- 
age, daughter  of  J.  T,  Savage  of  Larrabee, 
Icwa.  Prior  to  her  marriage  Mrs.  Smith  fol- 
lowed the  teacher's  profession  with  gratifying 
success.  Through  her  mother  she  traces  her  an- 
cestry to  Chief-Justice  Chase  and  President 
Madison.  In  religion  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.   Smith 


are  identified  with  the  First  Congregational 
church  of  Mankato,  in  which  he  has  held  the 
oSice  of  treasurer  for  five  years  and  to  which 
he  has  contributed  as  his  means  permitted.  Num- 
erous fraternal  organizations  have  his  name  en- 
rolled as  a  member,  among  them  being  the 
Modern  Woodmen  of  America  and  the  Modern 
Brotherhood  of  America,  in  which  latter  or- 
ganization he  has  been  an  office-holder.  It  has 
been  his  custom  at  national  elections  to  vote 
the  Eepublican  ticket,  but  his  sympathies  have 
been  with  the  Prohibition  movement  and  he  fa- 
vors plans  looking  toward  the  abolition  of  the 
indiscriminate  sale  of  intoxicants.  In  all  mat- 
ters calculated  to  promote  the  prosperity  of  his 
town  and  the  welfare  of  his  state  he  maintains 
an  earnest  interest  and  to  such  he  gives  his  firm 
support. 


SNOW,  JOHN  E.— Of  late  years  photogi-aphy 
has  lifted  from  the  mechanical,  into  the  fine  arts, 
for,  although  the  primary  processes  are  chemical 
and  scientific,  and  depend  for  their  performance 
upon  mechanical  means,  modern  photography  dif- 
fers from  that  of  the  earlier  days  in  that  artis- 
tic taste,  and  even  genius,  has  stamped  it  as 
a  fertile  field  for  the  display  of  originality 
of  a  high  order.  The  successful  conduct  of  a 
business  in  this  line  also  calls  for  adaptability, 
unfailing  courtesy  and  enterprise;  so  that  the 
field  is  well  calculated  to  invite  men  and  women 
of   culture   and   strong   character. 

John  E.  Snow  of  Mankato,  has  made  a  sub- 
stantial place  for  himself  in  this  artistic  business, 
his  fine  taste  and  business  judgment  having 
brought  him  a  profitable  patronage  among  the 
educated  and  cultured  people  of  the  city.  He  is 
a  Canadian,  bom  August  15,  1868,  in  the  pro- 
vince of  New  Brunswick,  and  is  the  son  of 
Eufus  and  Caroline  (Nevers)  Snow.  His  par- 
ents, who  were  also  natives  of  the  province  men- 
tioned, passed  over  the  line  into  Maine,  thence  to 
Wisconsin  in  1883,  and  subsequently  resided  in 
Creorgia  and  Tennessee.  Most  of  his  father's 
life  has  been  devoted  to  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, but  the  later  years  in  Tennessee  have  been 
given  to  agricultural  pursuits.  Four  children 
have  been  born  into  the  family:  Horace  H.,  who 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Dl.^ 


ii  a  resident  of  Areola,  Illinois,  Hannah,  widow 
of  Daniel  Chamberlain,  of  Menominee,  Wiscon- 
sin; John  E. ;  and  Carrie,  deceased,  formerly  the 
■wife  of  William  Norris. 

Mr.  Snow  received  not  only  a  thorough  train- 
ing in  the  public  schools,  but  pursued  courses  in 
the  State  Normal  and  Business  College  of  Dixon, 
Illinois.  His  first  practical  experience  in  the 
working  world  was  as  assistant  superintendent  of 
a  lumber  company  in  Northern  Wisconsin,  his 
identification  with  photography  commencing  in 
1885,  when  he  associated  himself  with  his  bro- 
ther, H.  H.,  at  Zumbrota,  Minnesota.  Follojv- 
ing  his  profession,  he  then  traveled  for  a  time 
tlirough  Illinois  and  Kentucky,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  was  employed  by  his  brother  in  the 
management  of  a  gallery  at  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa. 
After  being  thus  engaged  for  three  years,  he 
reiurned  to  Zumbrota,  later  locating  in  Mankato 
and  buying  the  gallery  of  S.  E.  Blake.  With  the 
rapid  increase  of  his  business,  Mr.  Snow  was 
obliged  to  increase  his  accommodations,  and  re- 
moved to  his  present  spacious  and  finely  ap- 
pointed parlors  at  No.  313  South  Front  street. 
He  was  president  for  two  years  of  the  North- 
western Photographers'  Association. 

Mr.  Snow  is  widely  known  both  because  of  his 
prominence  as  a  photographer  and  on  account 
cf  his  leadership  in  several  of  the  fraternities. 
He  has  filled  all  the  chairs  in  the  order,  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America,  was  State  President  of 
the  Equitable  Fraternal  Union  and  is  an  active 
member  of  the  United  Order  of  Foresters,  B. 
P.  0.  E.,  and  E.  A.  lodges.  His  marriage  to 
Miss  Margaret  Hower,  of  Fort  Dodge,  Iowa, 
occurred  February  13,  1893,  and  they  have  one 
child,  Cecil  J.,  born  May  27th,  1893. 


SOWERS,  THEODORE.— This  honored  pio- 
neer of  Blue  Earth  county  came  to  Mankato 
as  early  as  the  year  1855,  and  for  some  time 
followed  the  trade  of  a  carpenter  in  the 
then  small  village.  After  five  years  he  relin- 
quished work  at  his  trade  in  order  that  he 
might  take  up  a  claim  and  begin  the  im- 
provement of  a  farm.  Ever  since  1860,  he 
has  made  his  home  on  the  same  land  in  Ver- 
non  Center   township.     Meanwhile  he   has  wit- 


nessed many  changes.  The  surrounding  coun- 
try has  been  brought  under  cultivation,  new 
modes  of  farming  have  been  adopted,  labor-sav- 
ing machinery  has  been  introduced,  hamlets 
Iiave  grown  into  prosperous  towns,  and  farm- 
ers have  enjoyed  a  share  of  the  general  suc- 
cess. 

Born  in  Fayette  count]',  Pennsylvania,  May 
13,  1838,  Theodore  Sowers  is  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam A.  and  Sarah  (Stein)  Sowers,  also  na- 
tives of  the  Keystone  state.  The  father  was 
born  at  Germantown,  in  1801,  and  after 
gi  owing  to  manhood  he  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness of  buying  and  selling  horses,  also  con- 
ducted general  farm  pursuits,  and  bought  and 
sold  sheep,  driving  his  flocks  from  Washing- 
ton and  Fayette  counties  to  the  eastern  part 
of  Pennsylvania,  where  they  readily  sold  at 
fair  prices.  During  1841,  he  removed  further 
v.est  with  his  family  and  took  up  timber  land 
in  Miami  county,  Indiana,  where  he  developed 
a  tract  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres.  In 
Miami  county  he  remained  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  1885.  His  wife  had  passed 
away  one  year  after  the  removal  of  the  family  to 
Indiana. 

After  having  assisted  his  father  on  the  home 
farm  until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
T];eodore  Sowers  started  out  to  earn  his  own 
Avay  in  the  world  and  for  fourteen  years  he 
cDgaged  in  carpentering  in  Wabash  county, 
Indiana.  From  there  he  came  to  Minnesota, 
in  1855,  and  secured  work  as  a  carpenter  in 
Mankato,  but  five  years  later  he  came  to  Ver- 
non Center  townsliip,  where  by  industry  and 
unremitting  application  he  has  become  the 
owner  of  two  huntlred  and  eighty  acres  of 
land,  all  under  cultivation,  divided  by  sub- 
stantial fences  into  fields  of  convenient  size, 
drained  by  means  of  a  thorough  system  of 
ditching,  and  improved  with  good  buildings, 
including  a  substantial  house  erected  in  1890. 
All  of  the  property  has  been  secured  by  tlie 
owner's   untiring  efforts. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Sowers  was  solemnized 
in  1859,  and  united  him  with  Margaret  Schu- 
ler,  daughter  of  Robert  Schuler,  a  native  of 
Lycoming  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  pioneer 
of  1837,  in  Wabash  county,  Indiana.     With  his 


576 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


viie  and  family  he  settled  on  a  tract  of  raw 
land  in  Wabasli  county,  where  he  took  up  the 
ttisk  of  improving  a  farm  and  earning  a  liveli- 
hood on  the  frontier.  Later,  when  driving 
back  to  his  old  Pennsylvania  home,  he  was 
killed  by  a  runaway  horse.  By  precept  and 
example  Mr.  Sowers  has  given  his  influence 
to  the  cause  of  prohibition,  and  in  religion 
he  has  been  an  exemplary  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  giving  to  its  missionary 
enterprises  and  aiding  other  worthy  movements 
as  his  means  permit.  Of  his  marriage  five 
children  were  born,  namely:  Adra,  who  mar- 
ried John  P.  Kendall,  a  farmer  in  an  adjoin- 
ing county;  William  A.,  who  operates  and  lives 
on  land  adjoining  the  old  family  homestead; 
EfEie,  deceased;  Madge,  who  married  Eev.  T. 
Ross  Paden,  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian 
denomination,  now  residing  at  Allegheny, 
Pennsylvania;  and  Robert,  who  married  Mamie 
Townsend  and  makes  his  home  on  a  farm  ad- 
joining  the  property  owned  by  his  father. 


SPAULDIIsrG,  CHARLES  GUY.— Were  a 
stranger  to  inquire  concerning  the  prominent 
men  of  the  village  of  Mapleton,  at  the  head  of 
the  list  would  appear  the  name  of  Mr.  Spaulding, 
who  has  been  identified  with  the  history  of  the 
place  through  a  long  period  of  years  and  in  ad- 
dition to  building  up  extensive  business  interests 
has  been  the  incumbent  of  many  offices  of  trust 
and  responsibility.  The  position  lie  now  holds, 
that  of  postmaster  came  to  him  by  appointment 
under  the  McKinley  administration  in  1901, 
and  in  1905  he  was  again  appointed  to  the  office 
under  President  Roosevelt.  The  appointment  is 
a  fitting  recognition  of  his  constant  and  valuable 
services  in  the  interests  of  the  Republican  party, 
whose  principles  he  has  upheld  and  whose  lo- 
cal success  he  has  fostered  by  his  fine  business 
ability  and  wise  judgment. 

Of  eastern  birth  and  parentage,  Mr.  Spauld- 
ing was  born  in  Lancaster,  Coos  county,  ISTew 
Hampshire,  October  6,  1836,  being  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel  F.  and  Luev  M.  (Cole)  Spaulding,  natives  re- 
spectively of  New  York  and  ISTew  Hampshire. 
The  paternal  grandfather,  Phineas  Spaulding, 
was    a   native   of  Massachusetts   and   traced   his 


lineage  to  old  colonial  stock.  The  years  of 
active  life  were  spent  by  Samuel  F.  Spaulding 
in  Few  Hampshire,  where  he  accumulated  a  com- 
petency. During  1870,  he  removed  to  Iowa,  pur- 
chased farm  lands,  and  superintended  his  proper- 
ty, although  practically  living  in  retirement.  Af- 
ter his  death,  which  occurred  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one,  his  wido-w  remained  in  Iowa,  where 
she  passed  away  at  the  age  'of  ninety-three  years. 
Of  her  ten  children  six  are  still  living,  the  sixth 
in  order  of  birth  being  Charles  Guy,  of  Maple- 
ton,  who  received  his  education  in  E"ew  Hamp- 
shire schools  and  started  out  in  the  world  for 
himself  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  For  eighteen 
months  he  remained  in  Illinois.  During  the 
spring  of  1863  he  went  to  Minneapolis,  and  two 
and  one-half  years  later  he  removed  to  Faribault 
county,  Minnesota. 

Coming  to  Mapleton  in  1874,  Mr.  Spaulding 
immediately  -erected  the  first  elevator  in  the  vil- 
lage and  bought  the  first  load  of  grain  ever  sold 
here.  The  original  building  still  stands,  a  sub- 
stantial structure  notwithstanding  its  long  use. 
During  1896,  he  erected  a  second  elevator  with 
a  capacity  of  twenty  thousand  bushels,  but  this 
he  has  rented  to  other  parties  since  1904.  During 
the  long  period  that  he  engasjed  in  the  buying  of 
grain,  he  formed  many  warm  friendships  with 
farmers  of  the  township,  who  found  him  to  be  re- 
liable, accurate  and  painstaking.  The  building 
of  the  elevator  brought  many  people  to  town 
with  their  grain  and  thus  increased  the  trade 
generally,  so  that  he  proved  of  the  utmost  assist- 
ance in  the  early  commercial  development  of 
the  place.  The  biiying  of  grain  by  no  means  rep- 
resented the  limit  of  his  activities.  The  creamery 
business  while  still  in  its  infancy  found  in  him 
an  enthusiastic  advocate.  As  early  as  1885,  he 
built  the  first  creamery  in  Blue  Earth  county, 
there  being:  at  the  time  only  three  other  cream- 
eries in  this  section  of  the  state.  The  creamery 
was  located  at  Mapleton  and  for  nine  yoar«  he 
gave  it  his  personal  supervision  as  manager.  Along 
another  line  he  proved  helpful  to  the  early  de- 
velopment of  Mapleton,  and  that  was  through 
the  establishment  of  what  was  practically  the  first 
implement  store  in  the  town.  In  this  business  he 
continues  to  the  present  time,  having  a  large 
warehouse  near  the  depot,  and  representing  for 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


577 


the  past  twenty  years  the  International  Harvester 
Company  in  the  sale  of  their  binders,  reapers, 
mowers  and  rakes. 

During  Augaist,  of  ISTS,  ilr.  Spaulding  was 
united  in  marriage  with  DL4ight  E.  Berry,  a  na- 
tive of  Wisconsin,  and  a  daughter  of  J.  S.  and 
Mary  E.  Berry.  Their  children  are  Marietta 
E.,  Charles  G.,  Lncia  E„  E.  C,  and  Arthur  M. 
It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  for  forty  3'ears  Mr. 
Spaulding  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
Ten  years  of  this  service  \\-as  in  Grapeland  dis- 
trict and, thirty  years  in  ^fapleton,  where  for  fif- 
teen years  he  officiated  as  president  of  the  board. 
His  association  with  tlie  scliools  has  been  produc- 
tive of  an  advancement  in  the  standard  of  educa- 
tion, the  introduction  of  improved  text-books,  the 
transforming  of  bare  school  rooms  into  attractive 
aj;d  comfortably  furnished  houses,  and  the  rais- 
ing of  the  standard  of  scholarship  set  for  teach- 
ers and  student.  During  the  service  of  ilr. 
spaulding  as  mayor  of  ]\lapleton  for  some  five 
terms  he  proved  a  capable  executive  and  the  coun- 
cil also  had  the  benefit  of  his  impartial  judg- 
ment for  ten  years.  In  addition  he  was  twice 
honored  by  election  to  the  Minnesota  state 
legislature,  where  he  served  in  1883-84  and 
1885-86.  During  this  time  he  was  the  author 
of  the  first  dairy  and  food  law  enacted  in  the 
state  and  also  aided  in  the  passage  of  other 
important  bills.  Attending-  all  of  the  county 
conventions  of  the  Eepublican  party,  he  fre- 
quently has  been  chosen  cliairman  of  such  meet- 
ings, also  has  been  chairman  of  the  loral  commit- 
tee and  has  been  present  at  numerous  state 
conventions  of  the  partv.  Tlie  only  fraternal  or- 
ganization with  which  he  has  ideiilified  himself 
is  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  became  a  char- 
ter member  of  the  blue  lodae  at  IMapleton  and 
since  then  has  been  active  in  upholding  and  ex- 
emplifying the  lofty  principles  of  brotherhood 
and  philanthropy  for  whicli  the  order  stands. 


SPECK,  EOBEET.— Noticeable  among  the 
large  farms  of  Blue  Earth  county  is  the  tract  in 
Lyra  township  that  is  owned  and  operated  by 
Eobert  Speck,  who  has  resided  upon  the  place 
ever  since  1873,  and  meanwhile  has  brought 
the  land  under  cultivation,  maintained  the  fer- 


tility of  the  soil  by  a  careful  rotation  of  crops, 
added  to  his  holdings  from  time  to  time  and 
put  up  buildings  as  needed  and  desired.  As  a 
result  of  his  unaided  exertions  he  now  owns 
three  hundred  and  ninety-six  acres  in  one 
body.  Of  this  large  homestead  three  hundred 
acres  are  under  the  plow,  the  balance*  being 
utilized  for  the  pasturage  of  the  shorthorn  cat- 
tle and  Poland-China  hogs  kept  on  the  farm. 
A  special  feature  of  the  place  is  the  dairy  in- 
dustry, the  returns  from  which  form  a  valu- 
able addition  to  the  owner's  annual  income. 

Born  in  Germany,  August  29,  1855,  Eobert 
Speck  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Sophia  (Peale) 
Speck,  the  former  still  living  in  Germany, 
and  the  latter  deceased  in  that  country.  There 
were  seven  children  in  the  family,  namely: 
Max,  Eichard,  Robert,  (Henry  deceased) ,  Ida 
(deceased),  Betty  and  Margaret.  Pour  of  the 
survivors  remain  in  Germany,  Eobert  having 
been  the  only  member  of  the  family  to  seek 
a  home  in  the  new  world.  It  was  in  1871 
that  he  crossed  the  ocean  and  immediately 
after  landing  he  proceeded  to  Minnesota, 
where  he  spent  two  years  in  Nicollet  county, 
coming  from  there  in  1873,  to  Blue  Earth 
county  and  settling  on  the  farm  he  now  owns. 

The  marriage  of  Eobert  Speck,  in  1881, 
united  him  with  Miss  Amelia  Peale,  daughter 
of  Charles  and  Fredericka  Peale,  natives  of 
Prussia,  but  pioneers  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
Siiimesota,  and  for  years  active  farmers  of  this 
region.  ^Irs.  Peale  is  deceased,  but  Mr.  Peale 
is  still  living  and  makes  his  home  in  this 
county.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Speck 
consists  of  two  sons,  Paul  and  Hammond,  both 
at  home.  Parents  and  sons  attend  the  Luth- 
eran church  and  maintain  n  warm  interest  in  its 
missionary  enterprises.  Politically  Islr.  Speck 
has  been  a  stanch  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
party  and  on  that  ticket  was  elected  to  mem- 
bership on  the  town  board,  where  he  rendered 
efficient  service. 


SPEAGUE,  WESLEY  D.— Tlie  pro.rronitors 
of  the  Sprague  family  in  Amei'ica  were  three 
l)rothers  who  crossed  the  ocean  during  the  colon- 
ial period  of  our  country's  history,  and  thence- 


578 


BIOGEArmCAL  HISTOEY. 


forward  labored  to  promote  the  development  of 
the  primeval  vs^ilderness.  From  ISTew  England 
tliev  followed  the  tide  of  emigration  toward  the 
west.  H.  S.,  son  of  Briar  Sprague,  was  born 
in  Essex  county,  New  York,  and  remained  there 
until  death,  meanwhile  following  the  lumber  busi- 
ness and  agricultural  pursuits.  His  marriage 
united  him  with  Lenora,  daughter  of  Captain 
Elisha  Stanton,  a  captain  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
a  participant  in  the  memorable  battle  of  Platts- 
burg.  The  genealogy  of  the  Stanton  family  in 
this  country  extends  back  to  the  colonial  epoch. 

The  family  of  H.  S.  Sprague  consisted  of  seven 
sons  and  five  daughters  of  whom  seven  are  now 
(1907)  living.  The  eighth  child  was  Wesley  D., 
born  at  Moriah,  Essex  county,  New  York,  Febru- 
ary 13,  1844,  and  reared  at  the  old  homestead  in 
the  Adriondack  region.  Nothing  of  moment 
occurred  in  his  early  life  until  the  outbreak  of 
the  Civil  war,  v/hen  the  hitherto  peaceful  current 
of  his  days  was  brought  to  an  end.  October  14, 
1861,  he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Ninety-Sixth 
New  York  Infantry,  under  Colonel  James  Frair- 
man,  and  was  mustered  into  service  at  Platts- 
burg.  New  York.  From  there  the  men  were  sent 
further  south  to  serve  under  General  McClellan. 
Their  first  sight  of  actual  warfare  was  at  York- 
town  and  Williamsburg,  after  which  they  were 
participants  in  the  battles  of  Fair  Oaks,  Long 
Bridge  Jones'  Ford,  Malvern  Hill,  Charles  City 
Cross-roads,  Blackwater,  Kinston,  Whitehall, 
Goldsborough,  Swift  Creek,  Little  Wa.shington, 
Foster's  Mills,  Gardner's  Bridge,  Petersburg, 
Drury's  Bluff,  Cold  Harbor,  Fort  Harrison,  Fair 
Oaks,  and  the  campaign  resulting  in  the  fall  of 
Eichmond. 

On  enlisting  in  the  Union  army  ]\[r.  Sprague 
had  entered  for  three  3"ears  or  until  the  close  of 
the  war.  In  December  of  1863,  he  was  dis- 
charged by  reason  of  his  re-enlistment  as  a 
veteran  volunteer.  July  1,  1864,  he  was  promoted 
to  be  a  corporal,  and  July  10,  1865,  he  received  a 
further  promotion,  being  commissioned  Sergeant. 
During  November  of  the  same  year  he  was  com- 
missioned quartermaster  sergeant  of  the  regiment 
and  continued  in  that  capacity  until  he  received 
an  honorable  discharge  February  6,  1866,  after 
a  service  of  four  years  and  four  months.  Dur- 
ing that  long  period  he  was  incapacitated  for  ser- 


vice owing  to  sickness  in  1862,  about  ten  weeks, 
after  which  he  was  continually  with  his  regiment. 
At  the  time  of  his  enlistment  he  was  seventeen, 
a  year  younger  than  the  age  stipulated.  At  the 
time  of  his  re-enlistment  the  papers  describe 
him  as  twenty  years  of  age,  five  feet,  eleven  and 
one-half  inches  in  height,  with  fair  complexion, 
blue  eyes,  light  hair;  and  by  occupation  a  farm- 
er. It  might  also  have  been  stated  that  he  was 
broad  of  shoulder,  full  of  chest,  strong  in  limb 
and   firm  of  jaw. 

In  the  battle  of  Fort  Harrison,  September  28, 
1864,  there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
men  who  made  the  charge  on  the  fort.  Of  these 
one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  were  killed  or  re- 
moved wounded  from  the  field.  Colonel  Stephen 
JMoffitt  of  the  regiment  said  of  sergeant  Sprague: 
"He  was  a  good  soldier,  always  ready  to  do  his 
duty.  On  one  occasion  when  several  color 
bearers  were  shot  down.  Sergeant  Sprague  sprang 
forward  and  voluntarily  took  the  colors  and 
served  in  that  capacity  for  one  year,  or  until  he 
was  promoted."  Ever  since  the  close  of  the  war 
Mr.  Sprague  has  maintained  the  warmest  in- 
terest in  army  affairs  and  has  been  active  in 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic.  It  has  been 
his  custom,  whenever  possible  to  attend  the  na- 
tional encampment  and  renew  his  associations 
with  the  few  remaining  members  of  his  com- 
pany. 

r'pon  the  close  of  his  term  of  service  in  the 
army  Mr.  Sprague  returned  to  Essex  county. 
New  York,  and  remained  there  until  March  of 
1870.  At  tliat  time  he  removed  to  Minnesota 
and  settled  near  Mapleton,  Blue  Earth  county, 
where,  he  engaged  in  farming  continuously  until 
1903,  and  then  sold  his  farm,  moving  into  the 
village  of  Mapleton,  where  he  resides  in  prac- 
tical retirement.  His  modern  residence  with  its 
pleasant  surroundings  forms  a  comfortable  and 
attracj:ive  home,  but  his  children  have  mostly 
scattered  to  other  points  and  are  filling  places 
of  usefulness  in  the  world.  For  many  years  he 
has  been  blessed  by  the  companionship  of  an 
estimable  wife,  to  whose  helpful  spirit  and  noble 
character  he  owes  not  a  little  of  his  success.  Prior 
to  their  marriage  July  3,  1866,  she  was  Eose  D. 
Eichardson,  and  was  bom  in  Clinton,  New  York, 
being  a  daughter  of  A.   C.  Richardson,  of  that 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


579 


county.  Of  the  children  born  to  their  union 
one  (lied  in  infanc-v  unnamed  and  Grant  A., 
also  is  deceased.  Hiram  A.  resides  at  Windom, 
this  state;  .SugJc  L.  makes  her  home  with  her 
parents;  ITarrv  L. ;  diaries  0.  carries  on  farm 
pursuits  at  Windom,  this  state;  John  H.  is 
engaged  in  the  land  business  at  Fairmont,  this 
state;  ;N"ellie  A.  married  E.  Wishert  and  resides 
in  LeSueur  countj^,  Minnesota;  and  Eussell  E. 
is  living  in  South  Dakota.  In  fraternal  relations 
ijr.  Sprague  is  a  master  Jlason  and  a  member  of 
the  Mutual  Benefit  Association.  Enterprises  for 
the  benefit  of  his  home  city  receive  his  sagacious 
assistance,  and  he  has  been  particularly  helpful 
in  establishing  on  a  firm  basis  for  future  growth 
a  number  of  progressive  municipal  and  commer- 
cial projects,  notably  the  First  National  Bank, 
upon  whose  directorate  he  has  been  a  prominent 
member  for  some  vears. 


STEEL,  DE.  EDWIN"  D.— "He  died  that  he 
might  save  others;  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of 
suffering  humanity." 

The  above  might  he  placed  as  a  fitting  tribute 
upon  the  grave  of  the  late  Dr.  Edwin  D.  Steel, 
of  Mankato,  who  passed  from  the  scenes  of  his 
self-sacrificing  life .  on  the  21st  of  September, 
1905,  at  the  untimely  age  of  forty-three  years — ■ 
at  an  age,  when,  through  his  professional  ability, 
and  his  earnest  and  kindly  acts  as  a  man,  he 
geenied  at  last  in  a  position  to  be  able  to  ease 
his  burdens  of  life  and  calmly  enjoy  the  good 
will  of  his  fellows.  But  such  were  not  the  de- 
crees of  Providence;  for  the  martyr  received  his 
reward  otherwise,  and  passed  to  the  mansions  of 
his  Father. 

Dr.  Steel,  whose  death  caused  such  profound 
regret  and  deep  sorrow,  was  the  son  of  ilr.  and 
Mrs.  David  Steel,  and  was  born  in  Belgrade, 
Nicollet  county,  Minnesota,  on  the  14th  of  June, 
1862.  His  father  first  located  in  Lime  township. 
Blue  Earth  county,  settling  there  before  the  In- 
dian uprising  of  1862,  but  afterward  fixing  his 
home  in  Nicollet  county,  where  he  passed  the  last 
years  of  his  life.  The  son,  Edwin  D.,  attended 
the  country  schools  of  the  latter  county  during 
his  boyhood  daj-s,  afterward  becoming  a  pupil  at 
Mankato    and    when   a   young   man   finished    the 


regular  course  at  the  State  Normal  School,  grad- 
uating from  the  latter  in  June,  1889.  His  help- 
ful and  sympathetic  nature  however,  had  always 
inclined  him  toward  the  practice  of  medicine  and 
he  decided  to  follow  his  natural  bent,  toward 
which  end  he  entered  the  medical  department  of 
the  State  University  and,  after  completing  a 
four  years'  course  therein  returned  to  Mankato. 

At  the  first  of  his  practice  Dr.  Steele  was  in 
partnership  with  Dr.  J.  W.  Andrews,  this  asso- 
ciation continuing  nearly  three  years,  when,  by 
mutual  consent,  it  was  terminated.  Afterward, 
u.ntil  his  death,  he  faithfully  and  successfully 
prosecuted  his  professional  labors  alone.  His 
skill  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  was  pronounced, 
but  not  more  so  than  his  gentle,  sympathetic, 
hopeful,  inspiring  and  uplifting  influence  in  the 
sick  room;  and  this  essential  combination  of  the 
ideal  practitioner  made  him  one  of  the  most 
popular,  beloved,  prosperous  and  incessant 
workers  in  the  profession  of  Southern  Minnesota. 
At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  president  of  the 
Blue  Earth  County  Medical  Society  and  for  years 
liad  l)ccn  secretary  of  the  Minnesota  Valley  Medi- 
cal Association.  In  his  religious  belief  he  was  an 
Episcopalian  and  a  communicant  of  the  St, 
John's  church. 

On  the  18th  of  July,  1903,  Dr.  Steele  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Irma  Prengel,  daugh- 
ter of  ^Ir.  and  ^Irs.  T.  F.  Prengel,  formerly  of 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  and  their  one  child  is 
IMarcclla  Eecd  Steel.  Of  the  paternal  family 
three  brothers  survive  the  Doctor — L.  B.  Steel, 
of  Belgrade,  who  resides  on  the  old  home  farm ; 
John  Steel,  of  Decoria,  Minnesota,  and  IST.  M. 
Steel,  of  Mankato.  The  deceased  was  well  knovni 
in  fraternal  circles,  being  a  member  of  the  Elks, 
Knights  of  Pythias,  A.  0.  TT.  W.,  Modern  Wood- 
men of  the  World,  Knights  of  Maccabees  and 
Eoyal  Xeighhors.  Notwithstanding  his  wide  ac- 
quaintance and  popularity,  he  was  intensely  do- 
mestic in  his  tastes  and  devoted  to  his  wife  and 
child. 


STEPHENS.  .ALBERT  M.— About  the  time 
of  the  arriv.il  of  the  Taylor  colony  in  Minne- 
sota there  came  to  tliis  state  from  Iowa  a  young 
farmer  in   search   of  cheap    and   desirable   lands, 


580 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


a  search  that  resulted  in  the  securing  of  a  tract 
of  unimproved  land  in  Shelby  township  and 
gave  to  Mr.  Stephens  his  first  association  with  the 
agricultural  affairs  of  Blue  Earth  county.  From 
that  time  to  the  present  he  has  been  the  owner 
of  the  same  property,  but  during  1903,  he  re- 
tired from  the  personal  management  of  the  es- 
tate and  came  to  Amboy,  where  he  owns  and 
occupies  a  pleasant  cottage  in  the  west  part 
of  the  village.  Though  retired  from  heavj'  la- 
bors he  still  maintains  a  deep  interest  in  lo- 
cal affairs  and  by  thoughtful  reading  has 
l-.opt  posted  concerning  national  problems.  For 
the  past  twenty-six  years  he  has  held  office 
a?  justice  of  the  peace,  and  meanwhile  has  filled 
other  local  positions   of  trust  and  responsibility. 

The  family  record  shows  that  James  Stephens 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  removed  to  New  York 
and  later  went  into  Pennsylvania,  where  he  trans- 
formed a  tract  of  timber  land  into  a  valuable 
farm,  remaining  there  until  his  death  at  the  age 
of  eighty-four  years.  While  he  made  his  home  at 
Cooperstown,  New  York,  his  son  Alfred  was  born 
there,  and  the  latter  in  early  manhood  took  up 
land  adjacent  to  the  homestead  in  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  remained  until  the  age  of  eighty-four 
years,  when  he  was  called  to  enternal  rest. 
Ris  marriage  united  him  with  Melissa  Sumner, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts.  Her  father,  Jabez 
Sumner,  was  born  in  the  old  Bay  state  and  sensed 
in  the  Revolutionary  war  with  honors. 

Among  the  ten  children  of  Alfred  Stephens 
only  four  are  now  living.  The  only  surviving 
son,  Albert  M.,  was  born  in  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  November  16,  1830,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two  years  he  started  out  in  the 
world  to  earn  his  own  way.  For  a  time  he  held 
a  clerkship  in  'a  store "  in  New  York  state,  but 
the  work  was  not  congenial.  In  1854,  he  started 
for  the  then  unknown  regions  of  the  Mississippi 
valley.  After  a  sojourn  of  a  few  months  in 
Illinois,  he  pushed  on  further  west  and  settled 
iu  Iowa,  in  1855,  but  the  next  year  he  made 
another  move,  this  time  in  Minnesota,  where  he 
took  up  a  claim  out  of  which  he  has  evolved 
a  valuable  farm.  When  he  came  to  this  county 
he  was  a  bachelor,  but  a  few  years  later  he  es- 
tablished a  home.  In  April  of  1861,  he  married 
Angeline  Tiffany,  a  member  of  the  family  whose 


most  distinguished  representatives  are  the  jew- 
elers and  diamond  merchants  of  that  name  in 
New  York  City.  Born  in  Susquehanna  county, 
Pennsylvania,  she  came  in  the  spring  of  1859, 
to  Minnesota,  with  her  father,  Virgil  Tiffany, 
who  for  years  carried  on  a  hotel  at  Shelbyville. 
Of  her  marriage  to  Mr.  Stephens  there  were  the 
following  children :  Charles  and  Frederick,  de- 
ceased; William  and  May,  both  of  whom  now 
living  in  North  Dakota ;  and  Mina,  deceased. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stephens  are  fond  of  read- 
ing and  devote  much  of  their  time  to  a  persual 
of  current  literature.  In  religion  she  is  identi- 
fied with  the  Christian  church  and  has  been  one 
of  the  most  active  workers  in  the  Ladies'  Aid 
Society.  The  family  of  which  she  is  a  member 
belongs  to  patriotic  lineage.  Both  maternal  and 
paternal  ancestors  took  part  in  the  Eevolu- 
tionary  struggle  and  her  grandfather  enlisted 
in  the  war  of  1812,  in  which  through  daring, 
patriotic  valor  and  knowledge  of  military  tactics 
he  rose  to  the  rank  of  colonel,  and  as  such  served 
until   honorably    discharged   at   the   close   of   the 


STEWAET,  WILLIAM  E.— It  has  been  pos- 
sible, by  a  course  of  frugality  and  by  the  exercise 
of  will  power;  for  hundreds  of  young  men  to 
overcome  the  obstacles  confronting  them  in  youth 
and  to  attain  a  satisfactory  degree  of  success. 
I'he  standing  of  Mr.  Stewart  as  a  popular  and 
progressive  business  man  proves  what  it  is  with- 
in the  power  of  young  men  to  accomplish.  Handi- 
capped by  the  death  of  his  father,  the  poverty 
of  the  family  and  the  difficulty  of  securing  an 
education  he  nevertheless  discharged  every  duty 
toward  his  mother  and  the  other  children,  and  at 
the  same  time  was  able  to  advance  his  own  in- 
terests ixntil  he  has  gained  an  education  and  start- 
ec:    in   business    with    every    prospect    of   success. 

On  a  farm  near  St.  Clair,  Blue  Earth  county, 
Minnesota,  William  E.  Stewart  was  born  Febru- 
ary 10,  1868,  being  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah 
F.  (Peabody)  Stewart,  who  descended  from  Mas- 
sachusetts ancestry  and  came  from  Wisconsin  to 
Minnesota  in  1866.  The  father  entered  a  claim 
in  Blue  Earth  county,  but  relinquished  the  land 
on  his  removal  to  Faribault  county.     Later  he 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


581 


l-turned  to  this  county  and  settled  on  the  farm 
fbere  he  died  in  1884,  at  the  age  of  fifty-four 
j-eais.  His  widow  survived  him  for  a  long  per- 
iod, dying  in  1899,  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven. 
There  were  four  children  born  to  their  union, 
namely:  William  E. ;  Bub}',  wife  of  James  David- 
son, of  Janesville,  Wisconsin;  Bert  W.,  also  of 
Janesville,  that  state;  and  Charles,  living  in 
Everett,  Washington. 

On  account  of  the  lack  of  means  from  which 
the  family  suffered,  William  E.  Stewart  was  put 
out  on  a  farm  to  work  at  the  age  of  nine  3ears 
rtud  remained  iintil  fourteen,  meanwhile  receiving 
$6  j)er  month  during  the  summer  season,  while 
in  the  winter  months  he  was  given  the  privilege 
of  attending  school  and  vi'orking  for  his  board. 
The  deep  snows  and  rigorous  climate  caused  his 
attendance  at  school  to  be  a  matter  of  discom- 
fort and  even  of  suffering,  for  he  was  illy  clad, 
using  his  wages  to  aid  the  family  rather  than  to 
clothe  himself.  However,  a  determined  spirit 
is  not  easily  daunted,  and  with  the  optimism 
of  youth  he  labored  and  learned,  eventualty,  by 
Ihe  utmost  self-denial,  being  able  to  secure  the 
advantages    of    training    in    the    Mankato    State 

gformal  School  and  the  Mankato  Commercial 
College.  Meanwhile  he  worked  at  such  occupa- 
tions as  would  aid  him  in  defraying  the  expenses 
of  an  education,  and  was  employed  at  farming, 
market  gardening,   and  brick  making. 

As  traveling  sales  agent  for  the  J.  I.  Case 
Threshing  Machine  Company  since  1901,  Mr. 
Stewart  has  proved  his  suitability  to  the  position. 
The  company  recog-nized  his  efficiency  by  making 

l^im  manager  of  the  ^Mankato  branch,  and  "in 
1905,  he  became  manager  of  the  southern  district 
of  Minnesota,  in  which  capacity  he  has  rendered 
excellent  service  and  made  a  creditable  record. 
He  is  sole  proprietor  of  the  Mankato  Brick 
and  Tile  Company's  plant  at  j\Iankato,  a  small 
business  giving  employment  to  sixteen  men  and 
three  boys.  In  politics  he  is  a  republican  and 
has  served  as  a  delegate  to  the  state  convention 
of  his  party.  A  resident  of  North  Mankato, 
ho  has  filled  the  office  of  ^'illage  treasurer  and 
has  been   an   alderman   for   two    or   more   years. 

fraternally   he   holds   membership   with   the   Ma- 

'■^ons,  Eoyal  Arcanum,  Elks,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  Modern  Woodmen  of  Ameri- 


I 


ca.  December  1,  1898,  he  was  united  in  marriage 
with  Miss  Lulu  S.  Wells,  daughter  of  Wallace 
and  Helen  (Cole)  Wells,  of  Lake  Crystal,  Blue 
Earth  county.  They  are  the  parents  of  thi'eo 
sons,  Xelson  Wells,  John  Peabody  and  James 
Cole. 


STEATTOX,  ALFIIED  G.— There  are  few 
portions  of  Minnesota  that  enjoy  a  wider  repu- 
tation for  agricultural  pre-eminence  than  does 
Blue  Earth  county  and  it  has  been  the  good 
fortune  of  Mr.  Stratton  to  acquire  by  inheri- 
tance and  purchase  a  considerable  area  of  ex- 
cellent farming  land.  His  total  possessions 
aggregate  four  hundred  and  thirteen  acres, 
of  which  one  hundred  acres  lie  in  Vernon 
Center  township  and  the  balance,  including 
his  residence,  in  Eapidan  township  near  the 
village  of  Good  Thunder.  General  farm  pro- 
ducts are  raised,  and  in  stock  he  has  a  goodly 
number  of  shorthorn  cattle,  Poland-China  hogs 
and  Clydesdale  horses.  Interested  in  horti- 
culture, he  has  devoted  considerable  attention 
to  experimenting  ■with  apples  in  oi'der  to  dis- 
cover the  varieties  best  adapted  to  tlie  climate, 
and  he  now  has  a  fine  orchard  of  six  acres  in 
bearing.  In  addition  he  has  a  vineyard  of  one 
and  one-half  acres  of  grapes  suited  to  this 
part  of  the  country,  and  he  also  has  some  fine 
varieties  of  raspberries  and  strawberries  on 
his  place. 

Born  in  Dodge  county,  Wisconsin,  Xovem- 
ber  19,  18-58,  Alfred  G.  Stratton  i.<  a  son  oi 
James  and  Martha  (Taft)  Stratton,  natives 
of  Vermont,  but  in  early  life  residents  of  Ohio 
and  later  pioneers  of  Wisconsin,  thence  reiuov- 
in^-  to  Blue  Earth  county,  IMinnesota,  where 
they  remained  until  death.  In  all  the  places 
where  they  made  their  home  they  devoted 
themselves  entirely  to  farming.  Of  their  nine 
children  only  four  are  living,  Alfred  G.,  be- 
ing the  youngest  of  these.  AVhen  he  was  thir- 
teen years  of  age  he  inherited  the  farm  where 
he  now  lives,  but  his  success  was  not  due  whol- 
ly to  inheritance,  for  he  possesses  onerpy,  in- 
telligence and  sagacity  that  would  have  brought 
him  a  fair  degree  of  success  under  all  circum- 
stances. 


582 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


The  marriage  of  Mr.  Straiton  in  1882, 
united  him  with  Jliss  Minnie  Enmrill,  daugh- 
ter of  Solon  and  Eosina  (DcWolf)  Eumrill, 
natives  of  A'ermont  and  pioneers  of  Minne- 
sota. Their  advent  inio  this  state  occurred 
prior  to  the  Indian  troubles.  At  first  they 
mfide  their  home  in  SLerling  townsliip,  Blue 
Earth  county,  and  here  Mr,-.  Stratton  was 
born    and    reared. 

Mrs.  Eumrill  is  still  living  and  makes  licr 
home  with  a  married  daughter  near  Spokane, 
Washington.  The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Stratton  consist  of  the  following  named  child- 
ren :  Grace,  Sidney,  Bert,  George,  Edward, 
Claude,  Glenn,  Allen,  William,  Eoy,  Thomas, 
Bessie  and  Wallace.  In  fraternal  relations 
Mr.  Stratton  holds  membership  with  the  Mo- 
dern Woodmen  of  America  at  Eapidan.  Poli- 
tically he  supports  Republican  principles.  In 
addition  to  the  office  of  school  director,  which 
he  filled  for  six  years,  and  has  proved  an  im- 
partial,   able    and   trustworthy    official. 


STEONG,  GEORGE  D.— Early  in  the  colon- 
ial history  of  our  country  the  Strong  family  im- 
migrated hither  and  settled  in  New  England, 
where  ever  since  the  name  has  been  represented 
by  people  of  recognized  worth  of  character  and 
irreproachable  integrity.  The  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily now  under  consideration  became  transplanted 
into  New  York  during  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  the  founder  of  the  race  in  the 
Empire  state  having  been  Dwight  C,  a  native 
of  Massachusetts  and  a  son  of  Hugh  Strong,  a 
lifelong  resident  of  the  old  Bay  State.  While 
living  at  Lowell  Dwight  C.  Strong  married  Eme- 
tine Mason  Bill,  a  native  of  Vermont,  her  father. 
Dyer  Bill,  having  been  born  and  reared  in  that 
state,  where  members  of  the  family  yet  reside. 
After  the  family  had  removed  from  Massachus- 
etts to  New  York  and  settled  at  PayettevillSj 
Onondaga  county,  a  son  was  born  December  1, 
1848,  to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  George. 
When  the  latter  was  eighteen  months  old  the 
father  died,  leaving  the  widow  with  four  sons. 
He  had  been  engaged  in  the  buying  and  selling 
of  teazles  and  cloth  and  had  laid  the  foundation 
of  a  business  which,  had  he  survived,  undoubtedly 


would  have  brought  a  competency  to  the  family. 

Some  time  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Strong  his 
widow  became  the  wife  of  Warren  White  and 
they  removed  to  the  northwest  in  the  spring  of 
18G5,  settling  in  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota, 
where  Mr.  White  took  up  land  in  Sterling  town- 
ship and  ever  since  has  been  identified  with  the 
agricultural  development  of  this  region.  While 
the  family  made  their  home  in  York  state  the 
Son,  George  D.,  was  sent  to  district  schools,  where 
he  acquired  a  common  school  education.  Prom 
there  he  accompanied  his  step-father  to  Minne- 
sota and  secured  employment  on  the  farm  of 
William  Lattimer  in  Winnebago  county.  The 
careful  saving  of  his  wages  enabled  him  to  secure 
a  start  in  agricultural  affairs  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation   of    his    present    prosperity. 

The  marriage  of  George  D.  Strong  and  Ida 
May  Franklyn  was  solemnized  May  16,  1875. 
Mrs.  Strong  was  born  in  Waushara  county,  Wis- 
consin, and  was  one  of  seven  children,  of  whom 
three  now  survive,  her  brother  being  William 
Pranklyn  of  Eapidan,  Blue  Earth  county,  her 
sister  is  Mrs.  Alice  Eenyolds.  The  father,  John 
A.  Franklyn,  was  a  native  of  Herkimer  county, 
New  York,  whither  his  father.  Mason  Franklyn, 
had  removed  from  New  England.  The  mother 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Martha  A.  Valentine 
and  was  also  a  native  of  Herkimer  county.  As 
early  as  1855  the  parents  became  pioneers  of  Wis- 
consin, where  they  engaged  in  developing  a  farm 
out  of  a  raw  tract  of  uncultivated  land.  From 
that  state  in  1867  they  removed  to  Minnesota 
and  settled  in  Sterling  township.  Blue  Earth 
county,  where  they  developed  a  productive  farm. 

Immediately  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Strong 
operated  a  rented  farm  in  Sterling  township,  but 
in  a  short  time  he  removed  to  Amboy  and  be- 
came grain-buyer  for  Peavey  &  Co.,  whose  in- 
terests he  represented  in  the  village  for  twelve 
years.  At  the  expiration  of  that  period  he  pur- 
chased a  farm  one  half  mile  from  Amboy  and  for 
four  years  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  on 
that  land.  On  selling  the  property  he  bought  a 
farm  two  and  one  half  miles  south,  where  he  re- 
mained for  four  years,  and  then  sold  at  a  fair 
price.  The  following  four  years  were  devoted 
to  the  livery  business,  but  eventually  he  traded 
the  business  to  Kinney  Brothers  for  one  hundred 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


583 


and  sixty  acres  two  miles  west  of  Amboy.  On 
this  place  he  now  resides.  The  land  is  crossed 
.by  the  Blue  Earth  river  and  is  under  a  fair  state 
of  cultivation.  liaiubletonian  horses  of  a  line 
strain,  Durham  cattle  and  blooded  Poland-China 
hogs  are  specialties  of  the  owner,  and  in  each 
he  is  recognized  as  an  expert  judge  and  an  au- 
thorit)'.  An  apple  orchard  provides  the  family 
with  an  abundance  of  apples  of  the  varieties 
best  adapted  to  the  climate.  Other  improve- 
ments include  a  substantial  barn,  a  neat  resi- 
dence with  modern  conveniences  and  other  build- 
ings needed  on  a  farm.  A  neat  grove  serves  as 
a  protection  for  the  buildings  from  the  storms 
of  winter. 

During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Amboy 
Mr.  Strong  served  as  a  member  of  the  city  coun- 
cil for  two  terms,  and  in  addition  he  was  engaged 
as  bailiff  in  court  in  Mankato  for  several  terms. 
Fraternally  he  is  identified  with  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows  and  the  Mutual  Benefit 
Association,  in  the  latter  of  which  he  officiated 
as  secretary  for  many  years.  In  religion  he  is 
not  a  member  of  any  denomination,  but  contrib- 
utes to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  with 
which  Mrs.  Strong  is  actively  associated.  Edu- 
cational movements  and  philanthropic  enterprises 
receive  his  encouraging  assistance  and  practical 
sympathy,  and  he  especially  favors  those  projects 
having  for  their  aim  the  permanent  welfare  of 
the  agricultural  interests  of  the  county. 


SWENSON,  AXDEEW.— The  name  of  this 
well  known  resident  of  Mankato  indicates  his  an- 
cestry. Many  generations  of  the  family  lived 
and  died  in  Sweden,  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
the  race  should  possess  the  rugged  characters 
born  of  contact  with  the  stern  and  rock-bound 
shores  of  their  native  land.  The  opportunities 
afforded  by  the  United  States,  where  the  soil  was 
less  rocky  and  the  land  more  fertile  than  that  of 
the  home  country,  caused  Peter  Swenson  in  1854 
to  cross  the  ocean  and  start  anew  amid  the  un- 
familiar surroundings  of  a  land  far-distant  from 
his  own.  Coming  to  Minnesota  and  taking  up 
raw  land  in  Carver  county,  he  gave  his  attention 
to  the  difficult  task  of  transforming  an  unproduc- 
tive tract  into  a  fertile  farm.    The  balance  of  his 


life  was  quietly  passed  in  the  daily  round  of 
agricultural  duties,  and  his  death  occurred  in 
18-38  at  the  age  of  fifty-one  years.  During  the 
brief  period  of  his  residence  in  Minnesota  he 
won  the  respect  of  acquaintances  by  his  manly 
character  and  industrious  life.  SomB  time  after 
his  death  his  widow,  Hannah,  came  to  Blue 
Earth  county,  and  here  she  passed  away  in  1890 
at  the  age  of  seventy-eight  years. 

Of  the  children  of  Peter  and  Hannah  Swen- 
son the  following  are  now  living:  Andrew, 
Swen,  Peter,  Betty  (Mrs.  Charles  Frederick), 
and  Mathias.  Those  deceased  are  as  follows : 
Swan,  who  was  drowned  at  Shakopee,  Scott 
county,  this  state;  Christina;  Anna;  and  Nels, 
the  first-born  of  the  chUdren,  who  died  in  Lin- 
coln township  in  1905.  The  second  of  the  child- 
ren was  Andrew,  born  in  Sweden,  December  27, 
1834,  and  twenty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of 
emigrating  to  the  United  States.  After  a  brief 
sojourn  in  Illinois  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
settled  in  Carver  county,  where  he  engaged  in 
farm  pursuits  until  1865.  Meanwhile  the  Civil 
war  had  come  on,  and  in  July  of  1864  he  became 
a  volunteer  in  Company  H,  Fourth  Minnesota 
Infantry.  Accompanying  his  regiment  to  the 
front,  he  took  part  in  the  battles  of  Altoona, 
Georgia,  and  Kingston,  North  Carolina,  and  ac- 
companied General  Sherman  in  the  memorable 
march  to  the  sea.  For  two  months  sickness  kept 
him  confined  in  a  4iospital  at  Chattanooga,  but 
with  that  exception  he  remained  with  his  regi- 
ment until  hostilities  ended. 

Eeturning  to  Carver  county,  Mr.  Swenson 
made  arrangements  to  remove  to  Blue  Earth 
county,  whither  he  came  with  two  others  in  1865 
and  took  up  a  homestead  in  Lincoln  township. 
Until  1901  he  remained  on  the  same  farm.  Dur- 
ing that  long  period  a  wonderful  transformation 
was  wrought  in  the  appearance  of  the  farm.  Sub- 
stantial buildings  were  erected  as  the  need  arose 
for  their  use.  Fields  were  subdivided  by  excel- 
lent fencing,  a  proper  rotation  of  crops  brought 
profitable  returns  for  care  and  cultivation  of  the 
land,  and  each  year  saw  the  granaries  filled  with 
the  products  of  the  owner's  wise  management 
and  constant  toil.  Eventually  he  reached  a  posi- 
tion where  the  need  for  continued  application  no 
longer  existed,  and  thereupon  he  bought  a  cum- 


584 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


fortable  home  in  Mankato  and  retired  from  ac- 
tive duties. 

Always  interested  in  securing  good  schools, 
Mr.  Swenson  served  with  fidelity  as  a  member  of 
the  school  board  from  its  organization  until  his 
removal  from  the  farm  in  1901,  being  its  clerk 
for  twenty-one  years.  For  a  time  he  ofEiciated  as 
a  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  also  held 
office  as  town  clerk  and  for  twelve  years  filled 
the  position  of  township  assessor.  As  Justice  of 
the  peace  he  proved  to  be  the  possessor  of  con- 
siderable knowledge  of  the  law,  and  his  decis- 
ions were  always  characterized  by  impartiality 
and  wise  judgment.  During  the  session  of  1883-84 
he  held  the  position  of  sergeant-at-arms  of 
the  state  legislature.  In  politics  he  has  been 
stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  Republican  principles 
ever  since  he  became  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  and  had  grasped  the  fundamental  dif- 
ferences between  the  two  leading  parties.  In  re- 
ligion, a  Baptist,  he-  has  been  deacon  of  his 
church  and  for  some  years  served  as  secretary  of 
the  Sunday  school. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Swenson  took  place 
in  1859  and  united  him  with  Miss  Clara  Erick- 
son,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Briekson.  When  only 
twenty-five  years  of  age  this  •  estimable  woman 
was  taken  from  her  home,  in  August,  1867,  leav- 
ing three  children,  namely:  James,  now  living 
at  Lake  Crystal,  Blue  Earth  county;  Alice,  Mrs. 
George  Kimball,  x>t  Mankato;  and  Samuel  T., 
now  living  in  Butte,  Montana.  The  present  wife 
of  Mr.  Swenson  was  Miss  Carrie  Granlund, 
daughter  of  Andrew  and  Irene  Granlund,  natives 
of  Sweden,  and  emigrants  to  Carver  county,  Min- 
nesota, during  the  year  1855.  For  a  time  Mr, 
Granlund  made  his  home  in  that  county  and  en- 
gaged in  preaching,  but  later  he  removed  to 
Lincoln  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  most  influential  men  of  the 
township,  he  later  moved  to  Lake  Crystal  where 
he  still  lives,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty-six  years. 
His  wife  had  passed  away  in  1876  at  the  age 
of  fifty-four.  The  children  of  Andrew  and  Car- 
rie Swenson  are  named  as  follows :  Charlotte 
B.,  wife  of  Ellsworth  Acres,  of  Lake  Crystal; 
Lorinda  A.,  who  is  engaged  in  missionary  work 
in  St.  Paul,  Minnesota;  Oscar  E.,  now  living  at 
Bode,    Humboldt    county,    Iowa;    Kora    L.,    and 


Clara  L.,  who  reside  with  their  parents  in  Man- 
kato; Mabel  E.  and  Loren  A.,  who  are  engaged 
in  educational  work  in  this  county. 


TABATT,  EDWARD  M.— The  family  repre- 
sented by  this  progressive  farmer  of  Blue  Earth 
county  was  established  in  the  United  States  by 
his  father,  John,  a  native  of  Hermansdorf,  Ger- 
many, and  an  emigrant  of  March,  1872.  After  a 
brief  visit  in  Wisconsin  he  came  to  Minnesota  and 
settled  in  Blue  Earth  count}',  where  he  took  up 
land  in  Pleasant  j\Iound  township  section  ten. 
For  years  he  devoted  himself  to  agricultural 
pursuits  with  unwearied  energy,  but  after  a 
long  and  successful  afsoeiation  with  farm  work 
lu'  retired  in  1898  and  removed  to  Amboy,  re- 
siding there  until  his  deatb,  which  occurred 
August  19,  1906.  By  his  juarriage  to  Wilhehnina 
Deptke  he  had  nine  children,  all  but  one  of 
whom  are  still  living.  The  youngest,  Leonara, 
occupies  the  old  homestead  of  two  hundred  acres 
ijuproved  with  a  neat  residence,  substantial  barns 
and  a  grove  that  affords  excellent  protection 
from  the  storms  of  winter.  In  1898  Leonard 
married  Minnie  Winkoff,  who  was  born  and 
reared  in  Blue  Earth  county,  being  a  daughter 
01  Christopher  Winkoff,  a  pioneer  of  Pleasant 
i\Iound  township.  Leonard  and  his  wife  have 
two  daughters,  Irene  and  A'erona.  Fredrick,  who 
was  the  oldest,  emigrated  with  his  father  in  1872, 
owns  a  one  hundred  and  sixty  acre  farm  in 
Pleasant  ilound  township,  well  improved.  John, 
fl'ho  was  the  second  son,  married  Emma  Schwanz, 
October  13,  1895,  lived  on  a  farm  in  Pleasant 
Mound  township  which  he  owned,  but  was  obliged 
oji  account  of  his  health  to  retire  and  he  moved 
to  Amboy,  where  he  was  sick  for  twelve  years 
and  died  October  12th,  1908.  The  eighth  among 
tlie  children  comprising  the  family  circle  was  Ed- 
ward, born  April  23,  1872,  and  reared  in  his  na- 
tive township  of  Pleasant  j\Iound.  Primarily 
educated  in  the  country  schools,  he  later  attend- 
ed the  liigh  school  at  Worthington,  Minnesota, 
and  since  leaving  school  he  has  been  a  reader  of 
cnrrent  newspapers  and  periodicals,  thus  ac- 
quiring a  broad  fund  of  valuable  information. 
October  18,  1894,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with 
Miss  Mary  Zellmer,  who  was  born  in  Wisconsin, 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


585 


coming  from  there  in  lS7'-i,  to  Minnesota^  and 
settling  in  Pleasant  Mound  township^  this  county, 
where  her  father,  ^Villiam  Zellmer,  became  a 
successful  farmer.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  ]\[rs. 
Tabatt  are  Agnes,  Prieabert  and  Edna. 

Through  a  course  of  energy  and  perseverance 
Mr.  Tabatt  has  improved  one  of  the  best  farms 
of  his  locality,  the  same  comprising  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  under  cultivation.  The  land 
iri  rolling  and  affords  a  natural  drainage,  which 
is  a  feature  of  importance  in  wet  seasons.  On 
the  farm  may  be  seen  horses,  cattle  and  hogs  of 
the  best  breeds,  for  stock-raising  is  an  important 
adjunct  of  farming  in  the  estimation  of  Mr. 
Tabatt.  The  condition  of  the  buildings  be- 
speak his  careful  attention.  The  barns  are  large 
and  well  adapted  to  their  varied  purposes,  and  the 
residence  is  modern  in  its  equipment.  The  grounds 
and  buildings  are  sheltered  by  a  grove  planted  by 
tlie  owner  with  a  view  to  protection  from  the 
blizzards  of  winter.  In  all  of  his  work  Mr.  Ta- 
batt is  progressive  and  practical,  and  he  is 
highly  regarded  throughout  the  county,  occupy- 
ing a  position  among  the  most  enterprising  farm- 
ers and  patriotic  citizens  of  his  community. 


TAYLOE,  BENJAMIN.— In  the  ability  and 
character  of  its  native-born  sons  the  state  of 
Minnesota  vies  with  all  other  commonwealths. 
As  we  glance  over  the  names  of  young  men  who 
are  coming  to  the  front  in  the  professions,  in 
business  enterprises  and  in  agricultural  affairs, 
we  find  many  of  them  to  be  the  sons  of  pioneers 
who  made  the  family  name  an  honored  one  in 
years  gone  by.  Growing  to  manhood  amid 
the  scenes  of  birth  and  childhood,  they  have  be- 
come familiar  with  the  possibilities  and  oppor- 
tunities afforded  in  this  region  and  have  been 
ready  to  grasp  every  chance  for  securing  a  foot- 
hold along  the  line  of  their  varied  specialties. 
Such  might  be  given  as  an  epitome  of  the  life 
of  Benjamin  Taylor,  one  of  the  rising  young 
lawyers  of  Mankato  and  the  son  of  an  honored 
pioneer,  now  deceased,  who  formerly  held  a 
prominent  place  in  the  flouring  interests  of 
Minneapolis. 

The  identification  of  the  family  with  the 
history    of    Minnesota    dates    from    1868,    when 


Benjamin  Taylor,  Sr.,  a  descendant  of  English 
ancestry  and  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  sought  a 
home  in  the  midst  of  the  undeveloped  opportu- 
nities of  the  northwest.  A  miller  by  trade,  he 
soon  rose  to  a  position  of  influence  in  the  mill- 
ing interests  of  Minneapolis,  ^\•here  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Taylor  Brothers  he  founded  an 
industry  that  at  a  later  date  was  owned  by  the 
Pillsbury  interests.  At  the  time  of  his  death  in 
1887  he  was  sixty-two  years  of  age.  During 
early  manhood  he  had  married  Hannah  Mon- 
aghan,  who  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  traced 
her  lineage  to  English  and  Irish  progenitors; 
her  death  occurred  in  1906  at  the  age  of  seventy 
years. 

Among  the  seven  children  comprising  the 
family  of  Benjamin  Taylor,  Sr.  the  fifth  in  or- 
der of  birth  was  given  the  name  of  the  father 
and  was  born  in  the  city  of  Minneapolis  De- 
cember 11,  1871.  Primarily  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  city  the  education 
there  secured  was  supplemented  by  broader 
studies  in  large  institutions  of  learning.  Prom 
an  early  age  it  had  been  his  desire  to  enter 
upon  the  practice  of  law  and  with  that  object 
in  view  he  took  a  course  of  study  in  the  law  de- 
partment of  the  University  of  Minnesota,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1895.  During  the 
same  year  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the 
courts  of  the  state  and  immediately  came  to 
Mankato,  where  he  formed  a  law  partnership 
with  George  IT.  Fletcher,  son  of  one  of  the  most 
influential  men  of  the  city.  Since  the  dissolu- 
tion of  this  partnership  in  1899  Mr.  Taylor  has 
engaged  in.  practice  alone,  and  now  has  his  office 
in  the  Odd  Fellows  block.  Both  by  native  gifts 
and  educational  advantages  he  is  equipped  for 
the  successful  practice  of  his  profession  and  al- 
ready has  won  recognition  as  a  skilled  counseloi- 
and  sagacioiis  attorney.  While  building  up  a 
growdng  practice  he  has  become  identifled  with 
local  politics  as  a  stanch  Eepublican  and  has 
served  as  chairman  of  the  city  committee  of  the 
party,  besides  taking  a  warm  interest  in  the 
political  affairs  of  the  state  and  the  larger  prob- 
lems affecting  the  prosperity  of  the  nation.  Since 
coming  to  Mankato  he  has  established  domestic 
ties,  his  marriage  June  12,  1901,  uniting  him 
wath  one  of  the  popular  young  ladies  of  the  city. 


586 


BIOaRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Miss  Lucy  Pope,  daughter  of  the  late  General 
E.  M.  Pope,  who  for  years  wielded  a  large  in- 
fluence in  the  Democratic  political  affairs  of  ilin- 
nesota  and  held  official  honors  under  one  of  the 
governors  of  the  state. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Taylor  hfs  been  born  one 
child,  Virginia  Pope  Taylor,  born  February 
17th,    1907. 


TAYLOE,  BE^STJAMIX  F.— The  prestige  of 
the  Taylor  family  in  Sterling  township  is  ma- 
terially strengthened  through  the  general  farm- 
ing and  stoclc-raising  efforts  of  Benjamin  Taylor, 
vrho  was  born  in  the  township,  on  the  old  Tay- 
loi'  place,  October  20,  1870,  and  who  has  known 
nc  other  home  during  his  thirty-eight  years  of 
existence. 

Educated  principally  in  the  district  schools, 
and  through  the  application  of  later  years,  Mr. 
Taylor  has  learned  much  from  observation,  and 
has  the  practical  grasp  of  men  reared  in  the 
hard  sphere  of  agricultural  experience.  His  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  evidences  the  labor  of 
two  generations  of  workers,  and  is  most  com- 
plete in  both  its  home  and  general  equipment. 
Stock  raising  is  the  preferred  specialty  of  the 
owner,  and  large  numbers  of  Norman  horses, 
Hereford  cattle,  and  Poland-China  hogs  attain 
maturity  under  the  most  favorable  of  conditioub. 
On  the  farm  are  several  flowing  wells. 

In  1896  Mr.  Taylor  became  a  Benedict,  marry- 
ing Ellis  Herman,  daughter  of  -John  Herman, 
an  old  and  respected  settler  of  ilapleton  town- 
ship. Politically  Mr.  Taylor  is  identified  with 
the  Eepublican  party,  and  has  held  many  offices 
v.'ithin  the  gift  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  includ- 
ing that  of  supervisor  for  several  years,  and 
member  of  the  board  of  education.  He  is  a 
well  informed  and  agreeable  gentleman,  encour- 
aging practical  progress,  and  identifying  himself 
with  the  principle  local  efforts  to  improve  the 
moral,  intellectual  and  commercial  growth  of  the 
township. 

TAYLOE,  CHAELES  T.— There  is  nothing 
of  the  dreamer  or  visionary  in  the  makeup  of 
the  present  mayor  of  Mankato.  He  is  a  man 
who  sees   things  as  they   are,   and  as  they  must 


be  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  a  prac- 
tical age  and  a  progressive  people.  In  doing 
^\'ell  the  Ai'ork  of  today,  ho  knows  that  he  is 
laying  firm  foundations  for  the  civic  prosperity 
of  the  future,  and  at  the  same  time  he  is  con- 
firming the  truism  that  few  things  are  impos- 
sible to  the  persevering,  invincible  and  deter- 
mined American  citizen.  Mr.  Taylor  was  elected 
chief  magistrate  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in 
1903,  and  succeeded  himself  to  the  same  office 
in  the  election  of  1905,  Avith  a  gratifying  ma- 
jority of  votes.  Four  years  as  alderman  of  the 
third  ward  had  thoroughly  familiarized  him  with 
the  needs  and  possibilities  of  the  community, 
and  his  larger  responsibility  has  afforded  in- 
creasing scope  for  the  elaboration  and  realization 
of  existing  municipal  ideals.  Conservative  and 
moderate  reform  lias  been  the  keynote  of  his  ad- 
ministration, and  not  the  least  of  his  efforts  has 
been  to  awaken  the  somewhat  sluggish  interesi 
in  such  important  essentials  as  sanitation,  pav- 
ing and  education.  Each  department  under  his 
jurisdiction  has  profited  by  the  same  concentra- 
tion of  resource,  and  upon  the  principle  that 
gunnery  to  be  the  most  effective  must  play  con- 
tinually upon  the  same  point.  There  is  noted 
a  judicious  disbursement  of  available  funds,  and 
a  considerable  lowering  of  the  municipal  debt. 
Also  improvement  in  the  efficiency  and  morale 
of  the  police  and  fire  service,  in  the  regulation 
and  enforcement  of  taxation,  and  the  lessening 
of  vice,  crime  and  sickness.  Altogether,  Man- 
kato is  to  be  congratulated  upon  having  honored 
so  purposeful,  strong  and  honest  a  chief  execu- 
tive. 

Born  in  Bed  Wing,  Minnesota,  December 
2,  1860,  Charles  T.  Taylor  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
and  Ellen  (McCormick)  Taylor,  the  former  a 
native  of  County  Sligo,  Ireland,  and  the  latter 
born  in  St.  John's  Few  Brunswick.  Thomas 
Taylor  reached  Bed  Wing,  this  state,  in  the  early 
'50's,  and  died  in  Mankato  February  13,  1906, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-nine  years.  He  is  survived 
b}'  his  wife.  He  was  reared  on  a  farm,  became 
a  contractor  in  later  life,  and  eventually  re- 
turned to  the  outdoor  occupation  of  his  youth. 
His  capacity  for  public  service  was  reqo'gnized  in 
his  election  to  the  office  of  school  treasurer,  and 
justice  of  the  peace  of  North  Mankato  village. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HiSTOlfY. 


587 


Charles  T.  Taylor  was  educated  in  the  great 
field  of  human  equality,  the  public  schools,  and 
inaugurated  his  independent  career  by  learning 
the  implement  business  in  Xorth '  Dakota.  In 
1890  began  his  honorable  and  useful  connection 
with  Mankato,  and  his  assumption  of  control 
of  the  farm  implement,  hardware  and  coal  busi- 
ntss  purchased  of  E.  I.  P.  Staede,  which  he  has 
conducted  with  gratifying  results  at  112  East 
Main  street.  In  1893  Mr.  Taylor  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Mary  White,  of  Bottineau,  Xorth 
Dakota,  and  of  the  union  there  is  a  daughter, 
Lucy  M.,  and  a  son,  Clarence  T.  Mr.  Taylor 
is  markedly  social  in  his  tendencies,  and  is  iden- 
tified with  the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  Knights  of  Columbus  and  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Democratic  Central  Committee,  and  has  been 
very  active  politically  for  several  years.  He  is 
a  man  of  firm  convictions  and  definite  purpose, 
and  remains  unswerved  in  the  midst  of  many 
contending  factions.  To  know  him  is  to  know  a 
high  minded,  genial,  disinterested  and  approach- 
able   gentleman. 


TAYLOE,  THE  FAMILY.— The  genealogical 
records  show  that  the  Taylor  ancestry  was  of  hon- 
ored Scotch  origin.  As  far  back  as  the  history  can 
be  traced  their  representatives  are  shown  to  be 
men  and  women  possessing  the  sterling  traits 
that  have  made  the  Scots  famous  the  world  over. 
Nearly  a  century  has  passed  since  John  Taylor 
and  Margaret  Baird  were  united  in  marriage  in 
tlieir  native  parish  in  Scotland,  the  date  of  their 
union  having  been  August  IG,  1864.  To  their 
]iiarriage  were  born  five  sons  and  four  daughters. 
The  second  son,  Robert,  was  born  October  13, 
1819,  grew  to  manhood  in  his  native  land,  mean- 
while learning  from  his  parents  lessons  of  in- 
tegrity, energy,  persevei'ance  and  L'rugality  that 
proved  of  inestimable  value  to  him  tlirough  all 
of  his  busy  later  years.  While  still  living  in 
Scotland  he  was  united  in  marriage,  March  10, 
1842,  with  Margaret  Gentles,  who  accompanied 
liim  on  the  long  and  arduous  voyage  to  the  new 
world.  They  became  the  parents  of  five  children, 
but  an  epidemic  caused  the  death  of  several  of 
the  children,  and  about  the  same  time,   (in  May 


ol  1852)  the  wife  and  mother  died  in  La  Crosse, 
Wisconsin.  Of  the  children  there  is  only  one 
survivor,  Joim,  the  eldest  S(m,  who  makes  liis 
home  in  Lyra  township.  Blue  Eartii  couuty, 
^Minnesota,  and  for  years  has  cngiiged  in  agri- 
cultural  pursuits. 

After  the  death  of  so  many  of  his  family 
Piobert  Taylor  returnel  to  Kew  York.  While 
there  he  attended  a  meeting  called  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing  a  colony  of  emigrants  for  the 
west.  During  the  course  of  the  meeting  he  made 
several  remarks  which  displayed  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  western  region,  their  soil  and  the  possi- 
bilities they  ofEered  to  men  of  energy.  His 
statements  brought  him  into  general  notice  and 
resulted  in  his  selection  as  advance  agent  of  the 
colony  to  select  a  suitable  location.  With  that 
purpose  in  view  he  traveled  tlirough  the  new 
and  unsettled  regions  of  Minnesota,  the  result 
being  that  May  11,  1856,  the  colony  arrived  at 
Mapleton  and  began  their  identification  with  the 
agricultural  interests  of  Blue  Earth  county  which 
has  been  helpful  to  the  permanent  development 
of  the  county  and  fortunate  for  the  colonists 
from  a  financial  standpoint.  As  tlie  head  of  this 
colony,  Eobert  Taylor  is  given  a  moi'e  extended 
mention  in  liistory  than  would  be  expected  in 
these  lines  of  genealogy.  Suffice  it  to  say  here, 
in  relation  to  his  life  in  Blue  Earth  county,  that 
lie  was  honored  wherever  known  as  a  man  of 
the  highest  integrity  and  keenest  sense  of  honor 
and  when  he  passed  to  his  eternal  rest,  it  was 
regarded  as  a  general  loss  by  the  people  of  the 
county. 

In  New  York  City,  Xovember  7,  1854,  Ro- 
liert  Taylor  married  Janet  Gentles,  a  sister  of 
his  first  wife,  and  a  woman  of  exceptional  abil- 
ity and  amiable  disposition.  Born  in  Scotland, 
January  23,  1833,  she  did  not  have  any  con- 
siderable advantages  in  girlhood,  but  has  al- 
waj's  been  a  lover  of  the  choicest  reading  and 
is  60  well  informed  that  conversation  with 
her  is  helpful  as  well  as  interesting.  Xow  that 
the  active  work  of  life  is  over  with  her,  she 
spends  the  greater  part  of  her  time  with  her 
books  and  papers  and  maintains  a  keen  interest 
in  the  activities  of  the  world.  She  is  the  honored 
mother  of  a  large  family,  six  sons  and  two 
daughters    having   blessed   her   union.      Of   these 


588 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


Eobert,  the  fourth,  son,  died  March  29,  1893. 
James  S.  is  a  merchant  at  ilapleton  and 
stands  high  throughout  all  this  region.  T.  B. 
itf  known  throughout  Southern  Minnesota  as 
a.  breeder  of  registered  shorthorns.  In  addition 
to  his  agricultural  activities  he  acts  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Mapleton  State  Bank.  Prominent 
as  a  citizen,  he  has  served  as  mayor  and 
alderman  several  terms  and  has  become  known 
as  a  man  whose  word  is  as  good  as  his  bond. 
William  W.j  an  extensive  farmer  of  Sterling 
township  has  two  sons  and  three  daughters, 
and  holds  a  high  place  in  his  township.  Ben- 
jamin P.  owns  the  old  homestead  on  the 
M'aple  river;  a  man  of  great  energy,  he  has 
been  prominent  in  educational  work  in  his 
district  and  also  has  been  active  at  Eepublican 
caucuses  and  conventions.  One  of  the  daugh- 
ters, Nellie  S.,  married  William  Morrow,  a  re- 
tired farmer  of  considerable  wealth.  The  other 
daughter,  Jessie  A.,  who  has  considerable  prop- 
erty, is  a  widow  with  a  son,  Eobert.  The  family 
have  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  the  old  home- 
stead and  have  added  to  the  prestige  of  the 
family  name  by  their  business  honor,  moral 
lives,  energetic  temperaments  and  eterling 
worth    of    character. 


TAYLOE,  T.  B.— While  the  arid,  sombre  and 
accuracy  compelling  methods  of  banking  have 
changed  but  little  with  the  passing  centuries,  the 
popular  conception  of  the  bank  president  has  un- 
dergone a  marked  metamorphosis.  Pomierly 
relegated  in  the  minds  of  the  depositing  public 
to  the  greatest  conservatism  of  thought  and  ac- 
tion in  his  youth,  and  in  maturity  to  the  fireside, 
pew  and  whist  table,  today  there  seems  no  in- 
congruity in  the  association  of  financial  strength 
and  dependability  with  vigorous  participation  in 
politics,  general  business,  sportsmanship  and  so- 
cial prominence.  Neither  is  length  of  years  or 
experience  required  for  the  establishing  -jf  popu- 
lar confidence — the  greatest  asset  of  the  success- 
ful banker,  for  the  rapid  acquiring  of  reputa- 
tion and  financial  momentum  is  one  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  this  stage  of  the  world's  prog- 
ress. Proof  of  this  truism  exists  in  all  progres- 
sive  communities,   and   in   Mapleton   a   compara- 


tively young  bank  president  is  found  in  T.  B. 
Taylor,  the  monetary  head  of  the  Mapleton  State 
Bank. 

Mr.  Taylor  suljscribcs  to  the  advanced  con- 
ception of  the  men  of  his  calling.  He  is  wide 
awake,  many  sided,  resourceful  and  extremely 
public  spirited.  An  evolution  of  the  farm,  he 
spent  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  his  life  in 
Sterling  and  Mapleton  township,  Blue  Earth 
count}',  Minnesota,  where  his  birth  occurred 
April  11,  1860.  After  his  marriage,  April  16, 
1885,  to  Phoebe,  daughter  of  B.  B.  and  Susan 
Cornell,  formerly  of  Mapleton,  and  now  of 
Newberg,  Oregon,  he  located  in  the  town  of  Ma- 
pleton, and  since  has  been  a  moving  factor  in 
various  grooves  of  activity.  For  a  time  Mr. 
Taylor  was  identified  with  a  large  stock  com- 
pany, and  thereafter  became  the  partner  of  Mat 
Olson,  of  Wells,  this  state,  with  whom  he  con- 
tinued to  conduct  a  large  stock-raising  and  pur- 
chasing business  until  1900.  Since  then  he  has 
carried  on  the  enterprise  alone,  and  now  is  do- 
ing an  annual  business  of  about  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  His  part  in  developing  the 
live  stock  interests  of  this  part  of  the  state  has 
been  and  still  is  an  enormous  and  far  reaching 
one,  winning  him  an  enviable  reputation  as  a 
maintainer  of  the  highest  possible  stockraising 
standards.  For  the  furtherance  of  his  business 
he  owns  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
adjoining  Mapleton  on  the  west,  a  highly  de- 
veloped property,  having  large  feed-raising  and 
storing  facilities. 

Mr.  Taylor's  identification  with  the  Mapleton 
State  Bank  began  several  years  ago,  and  he  has 
been  president  of  the  institution  for  the  past 
three  years.  The  bank  is  capitalized  for  $15,000 
and  is  in  a  flourishing  condition,  enlisting  the 
confidence  and  support  of  the  most  exacting  ele- 
ment in  the  community.  Politically  Mr.  Tayloi' 
is  professedly  independent,  with  strong  leanings 
towards  the  Eepubhcan  party  in  national  affairs. 
Many  political  honors  have  been  conferred  upon 
him  by  his  fellow  townsmen,  and  his  local  stand- 
ing was  never  more  emphatically  manifest  than 
during  his  two  elections  as  mayor  of  Mapleton, 
he  having  no  opposition  in  the  first  instance, 
and  in  the  second  he  received  every  vote.  He 
also  served   as   alderman   several   terms,   and  has 


BIOGBAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


589 


been  a  member  of  the  library  board  for  several 
years.  The  town  has  no  more  enthusiastic  fra- 
temalist,  or  one  who  more  keenly  appreciates  the 
many  advantages  which  accrue  from  member- 
ship with  the  Masons.  He  is  connected  with 
the  Blue  Lodge,  and  largely  was  instrumental  in 
securing  the  erection  and  furnishing  of  the  pres- 
ent lodge  rooms.  He  is  at  the  present  time 
W.    M. 

The  Scotch  settlers  and  institutions  of  Blue 
Earth  county  have  found  in  Mr.  Taylor  a  practi- 
cal and  telpful  friend.  Particularly  has  he  labored 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  Maple  Eiver  Burns 
Club,  to  the  presidency  of  which  he  succeeded 
upon  the  retirement  from  office  of  the  first  presi- 
dent, James  Ellis,  eight  years  ago.  The  Burns 
Club  maintains  the  original  purpose  of  its  or- 
ganization, celebrates  yearly  the  anniversity  of 
the  famous  poet,  and  has  done  much  to  estab- 
lish a  local  understanding  and  appreciation  of 
his  place  among  the  great  human  singers  of  the 
world.  Commendable  interest  and  enthusiasm 
centers  around  the  Heather  Curling  Club,  of 
which  Mr.  Taylor  is  president.  The  association 
is  an  incorporated  one,  and  is  noted  for  holding 
its  own  with  the  other  curling  clubs  of  the 
state.  The  rink  used  by  the  curlers  was  insti- 
gated principally  by  the  president,  and  he,  as 
well  as  the  club  as  a  whole  hold  numerous  medals 
and  trophies  of  the  game.  Too  much  cannot  be 
said  in  praise  of  the  sane  and  successful  business 
career  of  Mr.  Taylor,  or  of  his  attitude  towards 
societly,  literature  and  the  healthful  pursuits  of 
living.  His  career  has  broadened  ])erceptibly  the 
channels  of  human  brotherhood,  and  his  liealth, 
well  trained  mind  and  vital  interest  in  affairs 
promises  much  for  the  future  welfare  of  the 
community. 


TAYLOE,  WILLIAM  W.— The  high  standard 
of  agricultural  practice  attributed  to  Blue  Earth 
county  owes  its  existence  largely  to  the  intellec- 
tual and  manual  contribution  of  such  many 
sided  and  experienced  men  as  William  W.  Tay- 
lor who  not  only  profits  by  the  teachings  of  an 
earlier  generation  of  agriculturists,  to  which 
belonged  his  father,  but  who  has  improved  there- 
on by  reason  of  excellent  educational  and  gen- 


eral advantages  at  the  disposal  of  the  young  men 
who  have  come  upon  the  scene  since  tlie  Civil 
war.  Mr.  Taylor  was  born  in  Sterling  town- 
ship September  23,  1S6T,  received  his  prelim- 
inary working  training  on  the  old  Taylor  home- 
stead, and  was  educated  in  the  country  school?, 
the  Mapleton  high-school  and  the  State  Normal 
University. 

The  marriage  of  'SLr.  Taylor  and  Emma  Daly, 
occurred  October  10,  189fi.  and  was  the  occas- 
ion of  his  removal  from  the  old  farm  to  his 
present  home,  which  formerly  \\as  the  Jacob 
Conrad  property.  His  father-in-law,  W.  G. 
Daly  was  an  earlv  settler  of  Blue  Earth  county, 
and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war.  ^Ir.  and  Mrs. 
Taylor  are  the  parents  of  five  children,  Cleo 
N.,  Leona  J.,  Vivian  P..  William  Guv.  and 
Lisle  Eobert.  Mr.  Taylor  is  the  owner  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-one  acres  in  one  body,  be- 
sides two  lake  lots,  and  is  engag-ed  in  general 
farming  and  stock  raising,  making  a  specialty 
of  Norman  horses  and  Poland-Ciiina  hogs.  He 
has  a  fine  modern  residence,  equipped  with  hot 
air  heating  apparatus,  hot  and  cold  water,  and 
all  conveniences  possible  to  acquire  remote  from 
the  cities.  He  is  a  great  admirer  of  good  stnck, 
and  thoroughly  kind  and  humane  in  his  treat- 
ment of  the  same,  providing  them  with  warm 
shelter,  the  best  of  food,  and  the  best  of  care 
under  all  circumstances.  He  is  a  thorough  stu- 
dent of  advanced  fanning  and  stock  raising 
methods,  keeps  posted  upon  current  events  of 
the  day,  and  is  particularly  broad  and 
tolerant  in  his  views  of  life. 

Of  Scotch  ancosirv.  'Mr.  Tavlor  lielps  to  keep 
alive  in  the  New  World  the  customs  and  tra- 
ditions of  the  mother  country  of  bis  earlv  sires, 
h(M'ng  a  member  of  the  Thistle  Club,  and  an  ac- 
tive participant  in  its  curling  matches  and  bon- 
spiels.  The  annual  celebration  of  the  birthday 
of  Eobert  Burns,  finds  him  ever  ready  to  do 
homage  to  the  beloved  poet  of  humanity,  and  he 
is  also  an  attendant  at  the  old  settler's  picnics 
and  meetings.  Fraternallv  he  is  a  memlier  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Ee- 
bfkahs.  Modern  Woodmen  of  .Vmerica  and  the 
Fraternal  Union.  He  is  popular  and  higlilv  es- 
teemed, and  one  of  the  community's  most  broad 
minded  and  enlightened  farmers. 


590 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


THEW,  J.  H.— Coming  to  Blue  Earth  county 
at  the  age  of  twenty-eight  some  years  after  the 
close  of  his  honorable  and  active  service  in  the 
Union  army  during  the  Civil  war,  Mr.  Thew  at 
once  identified  him, self  with  the  agricultural  in- 
terests of  Vernon  Center  township,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  present  he  has  been  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  movements  for  the  permanent  up- 
building of  his  community.  When  he  acquired 
land  in  the  township  he  found  himself  the  pos- 
sessor of  property  needing  the  most  careful  cul- 
tivatiotf  in  order  to  secure  profitable  returns.  In 
order  to  render  possible  the  raising  of  crops  dur- 
ing wet  seasons  it  was  also  necessary  for  him 
to  undertake  considerable  ditching,  besides  which 
he  built  fences,  erected  a  neat  house  and  sub- 
stantial farm  buildings.  Eventually  he  sold  this 
farm  of  two  hundred  acres  and  in  1904  moved 
to  what  is  known  as  Old  Vernon,  where  he 
Ijought  a  homestead  of  two  acres  and  since  then 
has  lived  practically  retired  from  agricultural 
pursuits. 

Born  at  Plattsburg,  New  York,  July  9,  1840, 
J.  H.  Thew  is  a  son  of  the  late  Gilbert  and 
Jane  (White)  Thew,  natives  of  New  York  state. 
The  mother  was  born  in  1817  and  died  in  1873; 
the  father  was  bom  in  1820  and  attained  the 
age  of  eighty  years.  During  1856  the  family 
removed  from  the  east  to  the  frontier  of  Wiscon- 
sin, settling  in  Juneau  county, '  where  the 
ft'.ther  followed  the  blacksmith's  trade.  In  1869 
he  came  to  Blue  Earth  county,  whither  his  son 
had  preceded  him  by  one  year.  Buying  a  small 
tract  of  land  in  Vernon  Center  township,  he 
engaged  in  farming  and  also  had  a  blacksmith 
shop  on  the  land.  Upon  retiring  from  active 
labors  he  made  his  home  with  his  sons  until  he 
died. 

When  the  Civil  war  broke  out  J.  H.  Thew  was 
living  in  Wisconsin.  Shortly  afterward  he  of- 
fered his  services  to  the  Union  and  was  accept- 
ed as  a  member  of  tire  Tenth  Wisconsin  Light 
Artillery,  army  of  the  west,  with  which  he  served 
about  three  and  one-half  years,  until  the  close 
of  the  war.  Altogether  he  took  part  in  sixty- 
tiiree  engagements,  among  these  being  all  the 
skirmisher;  and  battles  during  Sherman's  march 
to  the  sea,  and  the  General  Kilpatrick  raid 
around  Atlanta,  which  lasted  for  five  days  and 


nights,  with  a  rest  of  only  t^o  hours  during  that 
time.  He  was  also  present  at  Corinth,  Missis- 
sippi, at  Stone  river  and  in  man}-  other  encounters 
with  the  Confederates.  In  the  battle  of  luka 
Springs,  Mississippi,  he  received  an  accidental 
wound  from  his  own  side  of  the  field,  but  with 
that  exception  he  was   fortunate  in  escaping  in- 

Upon  being  honorably  discharged  at  the  close 
of  the  war  Mr.  Thew  returned  to  his  home 
and  in  1867  he  man ied  ■  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Eliza  (Turner)  Green wood^^  natives 
of  Maine.  For  many  years  ilr.  Greenwood  fol- 
lowed the  carpenter's  trade  and  also  engaged  in 
farming  in  Adams  county,  Wisconsin,  where  both 
he  and  his  wife  died.  Six  children  were  born  to 
the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thew,  but  two  daugh- 
ters, Laura  M.  and  Clara  A.,  have  been  removed 
from  the  home  by  death.  The  eldest  son,  George 
S.,  occupies  a  farm  in  Vernon  Center  township 
near  his  father's  home.  The  second  son,  M.  T., 
resides  in  Mankato.  The  youngest  son,  Daniel 
H.,  is  a  farmer  of  Vernon  Center  township.  The 
only  surviving  daughter,  Eliza,  .  married  E.  P. 
Eobinson  and  resides  in  Old  Vernon.  Ever 
since  the  Civil  war  Mr.  Thew  has  been  stanch 
in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican  party  and 
has  been  interested  in  the  activities  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic.  Among  the 
offices  which  he  has  held  may  be  mentioned 
those  of  county  supervisor,  school  director  and 
member  of  the  board  of  township  trustees,  in 
all  of  which  positions  he  proved  to  be  efficient 
and  public-spirited.  In  religion  he  is  identified 
with   the   Methodist    Episcopal    church. 


THOMAS,  PEANK  G.— While  the  business  in- 
terests of  Mankato  are  largely  in  the  hands  of 
men  of  long  experience,  there  is  nevertheless  a 
goodly  proportion  of  the  younger  element  no- 
ticeable in  commercial  circles,  and  these  are  the 
men  who  in  future  years  will  bear  the  respon- 
sibilities of  the  city's  business  progress  and  civic 
growth.  Prominent  in  the  latter  class  we  "find 
the  name  of  Prank  G.  Thomas,  who  represents 
that  type  of  enterprising,  progressive  and  keen- 
witted business  man  so  necessary  to  the  permanent 
prosperity  of  any  town.     The  story  of  his  brief 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOT^Y. 


591 


life  is  the  story  of  opportunities  carefully  im- 
proved, self-reliance  developed  by  an  independent 
spirit  and  success  achieved  in  the  line  of  a 
chosen    pursuit. 

Born  in  Menominee,  Michigan,  Feb.  27,  1875, 
Frank  G.  Thomas  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Mar- 
tha (Levar)  Thomas,  natives  of  Maine,  vcho 
came  to  the  northwest  almost  one-half  century 
ago.  The  father  followed  the  occupation  of  a 
stationary  engineer  throughout  much  of  his  ac- 
tive life  and  since  1889  has  made  his  home  in 
Mankato.  The  genealogy  of  the  family  shows 
that  their  ancestors  came  from  England  and 
Scotland.  Out  of  a  family  of  ten  children, 
Frank  G.  Thomas  was  the  eldest,  and  he  re- 
ceived a  fair  education  in  the  grammar  and  high 
school  of  Mankato.  After  leaving  school  he 
became  an  employ  in  the  drug  store  owned  by 
Br.  P.  FoUman,  under  whom  he  made  a  care- 
ful study  of  pharmacy,  and  became  so  well 
versed  in  the  science  that  he  was  enabled  to  pass 
a  highly  creditable  examination  before  the  board 
of  state  examiners  in  1898.  Returning  to  his 
position  with  Dr.  Follman,  he  remained  in  that 
store  until  1905,  meanwhile  carefully  saving 
his  earnings  for  the  purpose  of  investing  them 
in  a  business  of  his  own.  July  13,  1905,  he 
opened  a  drug  store  at  No.  Ill  Xorth  Front 
street,  where  he  has  a  model  and  up-to-date 
establishment,  provided  with  every  equipment 
necessary  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the 
business. 

The  cozy  home  which  Mr.  Thomas  has  estab- 
lished in  Mankato  is  presided  over  by  his  wife 
who  was  Jennie  E.,  daughter  of  Patrick  Madi- 
gan,  of  this  city.  Desiring  to  aid  to  the  extent 
of  his  ability  in  movements  for  the  development 
of  his  home  town,  Mr.  Thomas  .has  allied  him- 
self with  the  Commercial  Club  as  offering  the 
best  means  for  aiding  public-spirited  projects. 
In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen.  Among 
the  people  of  the  town  he  ranks  as  an  enter- 
prising young  man,  one  who  merits  success  by 
reason  of  his  enterprise,  business  acumen  and 
industrious    character. 

THOMAS,  JOHN  E.— Within  the  peaceful 
borders  of  the  shire  of  Montgomery,  Wales,  suc- 


cessive generations  of  the  Thomas  family  lived 
.and  labored  and  there  they  were  laid  to  rest  as 
one  by  one  they  passed  from  the  scenes  of 
earth.  Among  the  first  to  establish  this  branch 
of  the  family  in  America  was  Eii'hard  J.,  the 
son  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Thomas,  who  immi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1848  and  set- 
tled at  Eaeine,  Wisconsin.  He  was  born  April 
3,  1826,  at  Cumj'-dail,  Manafon,  ]\rontgomery- 
shire,  and  was  a  young  man  of  rugged  health, 
great  education  and  an  exxcellent  knowledge  of 
the  milling  business,  which  he  followed  in  this 
country  for  eighteen  years.  ]\rarch  31,  1853,  at 
Eacine  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  Bax- 
ter, and  a  native  of  Llanfaircaerinion,  ilont- 
gomeryshire,  Wales,  born  August  31,  1830. 

Coming  to  Minnesota  in  18G3,  Eichard  J. 
Thomas  settled  at  South  Bend  and  embarked 
in  mercantile  pursuits  with  a  brother-in-law, 
\A'.  W.  Davis.  During  August  of  1865  they 
came  to  Mankato  and  opened  a  grneery.  A  few 
years  later  j\rr.  Thomas  bought  his  partner's  in- 
terest and  continued  the  business  until  18S3, 
meanwhile  establisliing  a  large  trade  tliroughout 
the  city.  At  his  death,  whicli  occurred  April  25, 
1891,  he  left  his  wife  and  thi'cp  children,  John 
E.,  Elizabeth  and  Jennie,  to  mourn  tlie  loss  of  a 
devoted  husband  and  father.  Like  many  other 
members  of  his  family,  he  jiossesscd  musical 
ability  of  an  high  order.  While  living  in  Wis- 
consin he  was  a  member  of  the  famous  Cambrian 
quartet  led  ))y  Professor  John  P.  .Tones,  and 
later,  for  more  than  twenty  years,  he  led  the 
choir  of  the  First  Prcsliyterian  church  of  ilan- 
kato.  Frequently  he  won  prizes  at  musical  con- 
tests both  as  a  singer  and  as  a  composer.  Peace- 
able, upright  and  kind-hearted,  he  was  esteemed 
by   all. 

During  the  residence  of  the  family  at  Eacine, 
^Visconsin,  John  E.  Thomas  was  l)orn  April  20. 
1853.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  he  accompanied 
his  parents  from  his  native  city  in  ^linnesota 
and  settled  with  them  at  .South  Bend,  thence 
coming  to  Manlvato  in  1865  and  attending  the 
schools  of  this  city  until  he  had  acquired  a  fair 
common-school  education.  For  five  years  he 
clerked  in  his  father's  grocery.  During  the  year 
1875   he   entered   upon   his   banking   experiences 


592 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


wliich  have  led,  through  successive  promotions, 
to  his  present  position  of  influence  in  the  finan- 
cial circles  of  Sfankato.  First  as  bookkeeper  foi* 
the  Citizens  National  Bank  of  ]\rankato  he  re- 
laained  until  January-,  1884,  when  he  went  to 
Minneapolis  and  for  two  years  was  engaged  as 
bookkeeper  and  teller  in  the  Nicollet  Xational 
Bank.  At  the  expiration  of  that  time  he  re- 
turned to  Mankato  and  effected  the  organization 
01  the  Mankato  Xational  Bank,  capitalized  at 
$100,000,  he  being  chosen  the  cashier  of  the  new 
concern.  On  its  reorganization  as  the  ]\[ankato 
State  Bank,  capital  stock  $50,000,  he  was  con- 
tinued in  the  position  of  cashier,  which  he  holds 
al'    the   present   writing. 

In  addition  to  his  banking  business,  Mr. 
Thomas  has  other  interests  and  has  been  a  con- 
stant contributor  to  movements  for  the  benefit 
of  the  city.  Through  his  membership  in  the 
Commercial  Club  he  has  striven  to  promote  the 
business  growth  of  the  city  and  has  given 
staunch  allegiance  to  progressive  plans.  As  a 
director  in  the  Citizens'  Telephone  Company,  he 
has  been  identified  with  an  important  local  en- 
terprise that  has  proved  helpful  to  the  city's  ad- 
vancement. In  fraternal  relations  he  holds  mem- 
bership with  the  lodge  and  chapter  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  also  is  identified  with  and  treasurer 
of  the  Knights  of  P3-thias,  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks  and  Order  of  Eagles.  The  family 
talent  for  music  has  been  his  inheritance,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
tlie   choir  of  the   First  Presbyterian   church. 


Mr.  Thomas  spent  his  early  years  as  is  usual 
with  farmer  boys  in  New  England,  obtaining  a 
fair  education  at  the  district  school  and  working 
hard  on  the  home  place.  Unlike  agriculurists 
of  the  west  the  Yankee  farmer  has  seldom  enough 
land  to  "go  'round  to  the  boys,"  and  it  is  the 
rule  for  the  latter  to  leave  home  early  and  assume 
some  form  of  clerical  employment.  Percival  fol- 
lowed the  rule,  leaving  the  home  farm  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  and,  for  a  number  of  years,  clerk- 
ing at  various  stores  in  Charleston  and  Newport, 
Vermont.  Pie  then  ventured  into  North  Dakota 
for  a  year,  returned  to  his  native  state  where  he 
remained  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  finally  in 
1885,  located  at  Minneapolis  and  became  a  per- 
manent resident   of  Minnesota. 

Prom  1885  to  1890  Mr.  Thomas  busied  himself 
at  Minneapolis  at  various  mercantile  pursuits,  and 
for  the  succeeding  six  years  represented  whole- 
sale houses  throughout  the  state,  by  these  exper- 
iences getting  a  thorough  insight  into  both  re- 
tail and  wholesale  methods.  In  1896  he  assumed 
the  management  of  the  Mankato  Fruit  Commis- 
sion compan}^,  and  the  qualifications  mentioned 
have  made  him  especially  valuable  in  his  man- 
agerial   capacity. 

Mr.  Thomas  is  a  member  of  the  Mankato 
Commercial  Club,  and  belongs  to  the  A.  P.  & 
A.  M.  and  the  Eo3-al  Arcanum.  He  was  married 
April  19,  1894,  to  Miss  Margaret  B.  Parker  of 
^linneapolis,  ilinnesota,  and  they  have  one  child, 
Hortense  Adelaide 


THOMAS,  PERCIVAL  S.— Percival  S. 
Thomas,  manager  of  the  Mankato  Fruit  Commis- 
sion company  for  many  years  is  a  Vermont  man 
of  energy,  sound  judgment  and  long  business  ex- 
perience. He  was  born  in  the  Green  Mountain 
State  in  the  year  18()2,  the  son  of  Amos  and 
Nancy  (Kenyon)  Thomas,  both  natives  of  New 
England,  wlio  as  thrifty  farmer  folk,  spent  the 
years  of  their  maturity  in  Vermont.  The  mother 
])assed  away  at  the  untimely  age  'of  forty-five 
years,  dying  in  18G-2,  while  the  father  lived  until 
1888,  or  into  his  sixty-fourth  year.  Five  of 
their  seven  children  are  still  living,  Percival  S. 
being  the  youngest  of  the  family. 


THOMPSON,  HENRY  OSBORN.— Judging 
from  the  many  sided  results  thus  far  accom- 
plished the  key  note  of  the  life  of  Henry  Osborn 
Thompson  is  emphatic  and  sustained  usefulness 
and  practically.  Himself  trained  in  the  hard 
school  of  practical  experience,  Mr.  Thompson 
comes  honestly  by  his  grit  and  determination,  for 
beliind  him  are  ancestors  inured  to  the  perils 
and  privations  of  pioneership,  men  who,  without 
hesitation  or  backward  glance  dared  the  perils 
01  the  wilderness,  and  wrought  out  of  little  ma- 
terial and  under  the  most  terrible  of  hardships 
the  character  and  success  which  lies  at  the  foun- 
dation   of    this    commonwealth. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


593 


Born  in  a  log  house,  December  16,  1847,  in 
riartland,  Waukesha  county,  Wisconsin,  Decem- 
ber 16,  1847,  Mr.  Thompson  is  a  son  of  John 
Crozier  and  Esther  Thompson,  the  former  a 
farmer  by  occupation  who  moved  from  Wiscon- 
sin to  Garden  City,  Minn.,  June  1,  1855,  where 
he  died  Nov.  20,  1908,  at  the  age  of  84  years,  6 
months  and  4  days.  William  E.  Thompson,  grand- 
father of  Henry  Osborn,  was  born  in  New  York 
state  of  Irish  parents,  and  married  Anna  Brown 
an  eastern  woman  of  American  birth  and  parent- 
age, and  came  also  to  Blue  Earth  county  in  1855. 
At  thai  time  the  Indian  trail  still  was  a  fea- 
ture of  the  Minnesota  landscape,  the  wigwam 
was  the  prevailing  style  of  architecture,  and 
when  the  settlers  went  to  bed  at  night  they 
never  knew  what  danger  lurked  in  their  midst, 
whether  from  prowling  wolves  or  that  more  in- 
telligent and  wily  menace,  the  hostile  Indian. 
At  best  the  life  of  the  pioneer  was  one  of  un- 
told hardship,  and  this  family  had  their  share 
in  taming  the  wilderness  and  establishing  civi- 
lized conditions. 

Mr.  Thompson  received  a  common  school  edu- 
cation, and,  reared  to  that  occupation,  eventually 
fallowed  farming  on  his  own  responsibility  for; 
more  than  thirty  years  in  Ceresco  township,  this 
county.  He  also  has  been  interested  in  several 
business  undertakings,  among  them  cheese  manu- 
facturing, for  which  he  built  a  factory  and  oper- 
ated the  same  for  two  years.  For  six  years  he 
carried  the  United  States  mail  from  Ceresco, 
P.  0.  in  Ceresco  township  to  the  village  of 
Vernon  Center,  and  back.  In  1900  he  was 
elected  a  director  in  the  Shelby  Farmers'  Mu- 
tual Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  elected  secre- 
tary of  the  same  in  1905,  a  position  which  he 
still  maintains.  In  1901,  he  was  elected  treas- 
urer of  the  Willow  Creek  Telephone  Company, 
and  holds  the  position  at  the  present  time. 

^Fr.  Thompson  is  emphatically  a  Bryan  Demo- 
crat. He  has  held  several  local  offices,  and  in 
1890,  was  elected  chairman  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors. In  1906  he  was  a  candidate  for  repre- 
sentative in  the  state  Legislature  and  in  an 
overwhelmingly  Eepublican  county  was  defeated 
by  only  ninety  votes.  In  1890  and  1900  he  was, 
census  enumerator.  Fraternally  he  is  connected 
with  the  Modern  Brotherhood  of  America,  having 

38 


Joined  the  same  in  1896.  With  his  family  he 
finds  a  religious  home  in  the  Christian  church. 
At  Eapidan,  this  state,  November  26,  1874, 
Mr.  Thompson  was  united  in  marriage  to  Hat- 
net  A.  Eew,  a  graduate  of  the  State  Normal 
School  at  Mankato,  class  of  1871,  and  who  sub- 
sequently engaged  in  educational  work  in  the 
public  schools  of  Minnesota  and  Iowa  for  three 
years.  To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Thompson  have  been 
born  three  children :  Ealph  Henry,  Lulu  C, 
and  Eay  E.  Ealph  Henry  married  Marion 
Jamieson,  October  20,  1906,  and  Eay  E.  mar- 
ried Alice  Myrtle  Mills  January  24,  1908. 


THOMPSON,  JOHN  C— So  many  have  come 
and  gone  since  the  advent  of  Mr.  Thompson  in 
Minnesota,  that,  to  recall  the  days  of  his  boy- 
hood in  the  east,  is  like  reading  a  page  from  a 
half-forgotten  biography.  When  he  was  a  lad 
■ailroads  had  not  girdled  the  continent,  the  ships 
)f  commerce  had  not  yet  borne  our  flag  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  the  vast  and  fer- 
tile region  west  of  the  Mississippi  was  yet  scarce- 
ly trod  by  the  foot  of  white  man;  and  the  pos- 
sibilities of  our  country  were  unrealized.  The 
state  of  New  York,  which  so  long  has  boasted  its 
greatness  as  the  empire  state  of  our  Union,  was 
still  primarily  an  agricultural  region,  in  which 
manufacturing  enterprises  had  not  been  estab- 
lished. Schools  were  few  and  Mr.  Thompson, 
who  was  born  in  that  state  in  1824,  found  that 
text  books  of  that  day  were  few  in  number  and 
crude  in  quality.  His  school  days  were  passed  at 
Salem,  Washington  county,  which  was  the  home 
of  his  parents,  William  E.  and  Anna  Desire 
(Brown)  Thompson,  the  former  of  whom  was  a 
mechanic  by  trade.  Several  generations  of  the 
family  resided  in  New  York,  having  drifted  there 
from  New  England  during  the  early  days. 

Upon  starting  out  in  the  world  for  himself 
John  C.  Thompson  was  attracted  by  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  great  unknown  northwest  and  he 
was  influenced  to  cast  his  fortunes  in  with  the 
frontier  region  of  Minnesota,  whither  he  came  in 
1855,  settling  in  Blue  Earth  county.  Shortly 
after  his  arrival  he  took  up  a  quarter  section  of 
-government  land  and  immediately  began  the^ 
arduous    task   of   placing   the   tract   under    culti- 


594 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


vation,  turning  the  first  furrows  in  the  sod  and 
erecting  the  first  set  of  buildings  on  the  farm. 
Here  he  lived  and  labored  for  many  years  with 
varying  success.  At  times  fortune  favored  his 
undaunted  efforts,  but  there  were  other  seasons 
when  he  suffered  reverses  and  endured  mis- 
fortunes. Finally  he  retired  from  agricultural 
pursuits  in  1903  and  removed  to  Garden  City. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Thompson  took  place 
in  1847  and  united  him  with  Esther  Derby,  who 
died  some  years  afterv^ard,  leaving  two  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Afterward  he  was  united  with 
Olive  Nicholson  who  was  born  in  Essex  county, 
ISTew  York,  1829,  and  by  whom  he  has  five  daugh- 
ters and  three  sons,  namely:  Emma,  Mary,  Nel- 
lie, Alpha  and  Olive;  Miles,  Henry,  Myron.  Nel- 
lie and  Miles  are  deceased.  All  of  the  children  are 
married  and  happily  established  in  homes  of  their 
own.  The  family  hold  membership  in  the  Christian 
church  and  always  have  been  generous  contribu- 
tors to  religious  and  educational  movements, 
believing  that  the  permanent  prosperity  of  any 
region  depends  upon  the  moral  worth  of  its  citi- 
zens. Politically  Mr.  Thompson  voted  with  the 
Democratic  party  ever  since  he  attained  his  ma- 
jority, and  more  than  once  he  was  chosen,  to  oc- 
cupy positions  of  responsibility  within  the  gift 
of  the  people  of  his  township,  all  of  which  posi- 
tions he  filled  with  fidelity  and  accuracy.  Devo- 
tion to  the  welfare  of  township  and  county  was 
apparent  through  all  the  long  period  of  his  resi- 
dence here.  As  a  citizen  he  was  upright,  pat- 
riotic and  honorable,  and  in  all  of  his  relations 
with  his  fellowmen  he  proved  himself  to  be 
worthy  of  their  confidence  and  esteem.  Mr. 
Thompson  died  at  the  home  of  his  daughter, 
Olive  Thurston,  Nov.  20,  1908  of  heart  failure. 


THOMPSON,  JAMES  R.— Through  an  offi- 
cial connection  with  the  county  of  Blue  Earth 
extending  from  the  year  1890  to  the  present 
time,  Mr.  Thompson  has  been  influential  in  pro- 
moting the  material  welfare  of  this  locality  and 
has  been  especially  helpful  along  the  lines  of 
surveying  and  engineering,  in  both  of  which  he 
is  recognized  as  an  expert.  In  1890  he  was 
chosen  to  occupy  the  office  of  county  surveyor 
and    continued   in  that  capacity  for  four  years. 


During  1897  his  talents  received  merited  recog- 
liition  through  his  selection  as  city  engineer  of 
Mankato,  which  position  he  filled  satisfactorily 
to  all,  and  during  that  time  many  improvements 
of  an  important  nature  have  been  made.  In 
all  of  the  work  which  he  superintends  skill  and 
thoroughness  are  apparent.  Working  in  a  quiet, 
painstaking  manner,  he  achieves  results  that 
prove  him  to  be  a  thorough  and  progressive  en- 
gineer, and  fis  such  he  has  won  general  recogni- 
tion. 

Tracing  the  history  of  the  Thompson  family, 
■\vc  find  them  descendants  of  New  England  an- 
cestry.. As  early  as  1855-56  two  brothers,  David 
and  William  R.  Thompson,  settled  on  the  Wat- 
onwan in  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota.  There 
were  three  sons  in  the  family  of  William  R., 
namely :  John  C.  and  William,  of  Yernon 
towriship;  and  George,  who  removed  ■  to  the 
state  of  Washington.  David  had  two  sons, 
namely:  Edward,  who  in  1854  settled  in  Gar- 
den City  and  became  one  of  the  very  earliest 
pioneers  of  that  town;  and  James  G.,  a  native 
of  New  York,  and  after  1856  a  reside !it  of  Blue 
Earth  county,  Minnesota.  The  last  named, 
James  G.,  enlisted  at  the  opening  of  the  Civil 
war  as  a  member  of  Company  E,  Ninth  Min- 
nesota Infantry.  During  the  progress  of  the 
vrar  he  was  commissioned  captain  in  the  Sixty- 
eighth  United  States  Colored  Infantry,  and  later 
became  major  of  that  regiment.  Returning  to 
Minnesota  at  the  close  of  the  war,  he  later  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  state  legislature,  in 
which  he  served  for  one  term.  For  six  and  one- 
half  years  he  officiated  as  collector  of  customs 
at  Bottineau,  North  Dakota,  and  for  four  years 
he  held  office  as  auditor  of  the  county  of  the 
same  name.  At  the  expiration  of  his  official 
labors  he  returned  to  Mankato,  and  May  26, 
1899,  his  death  occurred  in  this  city. 

During  the  residence  of  James  G.  and  Erances 
Thompson  at  Garden  City,  Minnesota,  their  son, 
Jsmes  R.,  was  born  March  3,  1860.  His  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  various  places  where 
the  family  lived  and  in  1882  he  was  graduated 
from  the  Mankato  high  school,  after  which  he 
took  up  the  study  of  civil  engineering.  For 
three  years  he  was  employed  in  railroad  con- 
struction work,  and  since  then  he  has  been  en- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


595 


gaged  in  liis  work  as  a.  county  officer  for  the 
'  greater  part  of  the  time.  Official  honors  liave 
come  to  him  hy  reason  of  his  fitness  for  such 
work,  rather  than  as  a  recompense  for  political 
activity.  Indeed,  he  has  taken  no  part  whatever 
in  politics  aside  from  voting  the  Democratic 
ticket  in  national  elections.  In  many  offices  he 
;  believes  that  less  attention  should  be  given  to 
si-  the  opinions  of  the  candidate  concerning  tariff, 
the  currency  issue,  the  trusts,  etc.,  and  more  at- 
tention should  be  given  to  his  personal  qualifi- 
cations, his  integrity-,  intelligence  and  fidelity  to 
duty.  Fraternally  he  holds  membership  with 
the  Masons,  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
and  Eoyal  Arcanum.  October  30,  1889,  he  was 
united  in  marriage  with  ISTellie  J.,  daughter  of 
Hon.  Lysander  Cook,  a  man  of  considerable 
pi'ominence  in  Lyra  township.  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty. They  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  James 
Lysander  Thompson. 


THUESTOX,  FEAXK.— For  more  than  fifty 
years  the  Thurston  family  has  been  identified 
with  the  history  of  Blue  Earth  coimty.  Coming 
here  during  the  year  185G,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 
Eufus  Thurston  to  experience  all  the  hardships 
incident  to  frontier  e.xistence.  Indians  were 
rumerous  and  at  times  outbreaks  from  them 
threw  the  settlements  into  deadly  danger.  Their 
depredations  continued  for  some  years  and  until 
they  were  finally  removed  by  the  government 
til  points  more  remote  from  the  white  settlers. 
There  were  other  dangers  besides  those  from 
savages.  The  climate  was  severe  and  the  win- 
ters long  and  trying.  Often  the  stock  was  lost 
in  storms  and  the  farmer  found  himself  cut  off 
from  all  communication  with-  the  outside  world 
for  weeks  and  even  months  at  a  time.  Flour  and 
other  necessities  were  hauled  from  long  dis- 
tances. The  log  cabins  weie  illy  equipped  to  carry 
a  family  in  comfort  through  the  long  winter 
months,  nor  were  the  prnvi-ions  for  the  stock 
any  more  satisfactory. 

The  log  cabin  occupied  by  the  family  stood  in 
Ceresco  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  and  here 
Frank  Thurston  was  born  October  10,  1856,  a 
few  months  after  his  parents,  Eufus  and  Esther 
(Sharratt)    Thurston,   had    settled    on    the    land. 


The  father  was  born  in  Licking  county,  Ohio, 
and  diTring  early  life  engaged  in  farming  in 
Winnebago  county,  Wisconsin,  but  in  the  spring 
of  1856,  arrived  in  Mankato,  Minnesota,  where  he 
remained  for  two  weeks  while  seeking  for  a 
suitable  homestead.  During  June,  he  brought 
his  wife  to  the  tract  which  ever  since  has  re- 
mained in  the  possession  of  the  family.  In  1857 
he  was  obliged  to  take  his  family  back  to  Man- 
kato where  some  three  or  four  families  lived  in 
the  school  house  during  the  Spirit  Lake  mas- 
sacre, and  to  remain  until  the  Indians  ceased  their 
depredations,  and  his  losses  were  heavy  through 
the  stealing  of  clothing,  groceries  and  stock  by 
the  red  men.  Countless  hardships  were  endured 
by  him  and  his  wife  in  their  effort  to  build  up 
a  home  and  rear  their  children  in  the  midst  of 
such  dangers  as  threatened  them  from  the  In- 
dians, besides  the  usual  laborious  tasks  incident 
to  frontier  existence.  He  always  felt  that  he 
should  have  been  paid  something  for  the  heavy 
loss  he  sustained  at  the  time  of  the  New  IJlm 
Massacre  in  1862.  It  was  his  privilege  to  be 
spared  to  rejoice  in  the  higher  civilization  that 
came  in  later  days  and  when  he  died  Sep- 
tember 12.  1896,  he  left  to  his  descendants  the 
memory  of  a  pioneer  life  bravely  lived  and  count- 
less   obstacles    valiantly    surmounted. 

The  labor  of  clearing  and  improving  a  large 
tract  of  raw  land  left  Eufus  Thurston  little 
leisure  for  participation  in  public  affairs  and  he 
held  no  official  positions  except  that  of  treasurer 
cf  Ceresco  township.  After  the  organization  of 
the  Eepublican  party  he  always  voted  that 
ticket.  In  his  family  there  were  three  children, 
of  whom  the  second  son,  Sherman,  is  now  living 
in  Garden  City  township,  he  married  Nellie 
Thompson  who  bore  him  one  son,  but  she  died 
when  the  boy  was  hut  seven  years  old ;  he  then 
married  Ollie  Thompson,  a  sister  of  Nellie: 
they  were  daughters  of  Mr.  and  Mr=.  J.  C. 
Thompson  of  Ceresco,  by  the  last  marriage  there 
were  five  children.  The  youngest  child  and  only 
daughter,  Mae,  married  C.  C.  Francis,  a  farmer 
of  Ceresco  township  and  the  present  town  clerk. 
The  widowed  mother  is  still  living,  loved  and 
honored  hy  all.  and  her  home  is  with  her  son, 
Frank,  on  the  farm  where  she  came  as  a 
young  wife  more  than  fifty  years  ago.    The  estate 


596 


BTOGEAPHICAL  HTSTOEY. 


comprises  six  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  of 
which  four  hundred  and  fiftj'  acres  are  under 
cultivation,  while  the  balance  is  in  pasturage  and 
in  timber.  All  of  the  improvements  have  been 
made  by  the  Thurston  family.  Poland-China 
hogs  and  Oxford  sheep  are  specialties  of  the 
present  owner,  who  has  met  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess in  raising  the  same,  while  at  the  same  time 
he  also  is  an  experienced  general  farmer.  Like 
his  father,  he  votes  the  Republican  ticket  and  like 
him  he  has  served  as  and  is  now  township  treas- 
urer. In  religious  belief  he  is  identified  with  the 
Christian  church  and  has  been  a  generous  con- 
tributor to  the  missionary  movements  and  gen- 
eral   maintenance    of    that    organization. 

TINKCOM,  JAMES  EAY.— For  more  than 
half  a  century  a  resident  of  Mankato,  James 
P-  Tinkcom,  the  veteran  druggist,  real  estate 
dealer  and  all-round  good  citizen,  finds  him- 
self more  firmly  fixed  in  the  confidence  and  af- 
fection of  its  people  than  when  he  came  to  the 
place  as  an  energetic  able  young  New  Yorker  with 
most  of  his  life  lying  in  the  unknown  future. 
Whatever  his  individual  opinion  as  to  the  out- 
come, if  his  relatives  and  many  friends  could 
have  him  live  it  again  they  would  not  have  it 
different,  as  it  has  been  filled  with  good  and 
useful  works  prompted  by  the  ambitions  of  the 
nonnal  man,  by  the  faithful  forehandedness  of 
the  ideal  American  of  family,  and  by  the  higher 
spirit  of  Christian  helpfulness,  charity  and  up- 
lifting grace.  Such  men  make  the  United  States 
what  it  is — a  nation  whose  inspiring  messages  to 
the  world  also  carry  with  them  the  weight  of 
piactical   achievement. 

Mr.  Tinkcom  is  a  son  of  the  Empire  State, 
born  at  Mayville,  January  29,  1821,  the  son  of 
Hezekiah  and  Anna  (Sprague)  Tinkcom,  his 
father  being  proprietor  of  a  hoted  there  for 
many  years,  as  well  as  Sheriff  of  Chautauqua 
County  and  altogether  a  citizen  of  weight  and 
honor  in  the  public  affairs  of  his  locality.  The 
boy  was  industrious  and  studious,  and  after  re- 
ceiving an  academic  education,  seemed  destined 
for  a  professional  career.  In  1841,  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine,  but  although  he  was  a  student 
for  two  years  he  never  engaged  in  practice.  His 
investigations    in    the    field    of   materia    medica, 


however,  induced  him  to  venture  into  the  manu- 
facture of  medicines  for  a  short  time,  then  he 
kept  his  father's  hotel  for  a  brief  period  and 
for  five  years  before  coming  to  Mankato  was 
engaged  in  the  grocery  business. 

Arriving  at  Mankato  on  the  10th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1856,  Mr.  Tinkcom  was  so  taken  with  the 
beauty  and  promise  of  the  place  that  he  decided 
to  look  no  further  for  a  western  location.  After 
purchasing  some  property  he  returned  to  his  home 
i:i  May^alle,  closed  up  his  affairs  there  and  in 
the  following  spring,  with  his  wife,  commenced 
hi?  long  and  honorable  life  in  his  adopted  town. 
At  first  he  formed  a  partnership  in  the  general 
merchandising  business  with  A.  E.  Hawley,  a 
New  York  acquaintance,  and  they  erected  a 
store  on  the  lot  now  occupied  by  the  L.  Patter- 
son wholesale  house,  and  under  the  firm  name 
of  A.  F.  Hawley  &  Company  they  conducted  the 
enterprise  until  1861.  In  the  spring  of  that 
year  the  partnership  was  dissolved,  and  Mr. 
Tinkcom  entered  the  drug  business,  to  which  his 
early  studies  and  natural  disposition  especially 
adapted  him,  his  thorough  knowledge,  courtesy 
and  ability  bringing  to  him  so  large  a  trade  that 
he  was  soon  proprietor  of  two  prosperous  stores, 
one  was  in  charge  of  Jason  E.  Wickersham.  He 
had  the  foresight  to  invest  his  business  profits 
in  real  estate,  and  in  1873,  laid  out  an  addi- 
tion on  the  south  side  of  Mankato.  Since  1863, 
in  fact,  he  has  devoted  his  entire  attention  to 
his  large  real  estate  interests,  that  is,  in  the  field 
of  business,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  public 
and  religious  affairs.  He  is  an  old-time  Demo- 
crat and  has  well  served  the  people  of  Mankato 
for  one  term  as  City  Treasurer.  In  religion 
hr  is  a  firm  believer  in  Episcopalianism  and 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  local  church. 

Married  on  the  2d  of  May,  1851,  to  Miss  Laura 
A,  Davis,  at  Sugar  Grove,  Pennsylvania,  Mr. 
Tinkcom  was  blessed  with  a  happy  married  life 
whose  span  even  passed  the  limits  of  the  golden 
anniversary,  his  wife  leaving  him  in  1904,  at 
the  venerable  age  of  seventy-four.  They  were  the 
parents  of  one  child  Mary  L.,  wife  of  0.  G. 
Lundberg,  and  herself  the  mother  of  Auglde 
Estella.  Mr.  Tinkcom  has  one  sister  of  the 
five  children  in  his  family,  Mary  by  name  and 
a  resident  of  Conneautville,   Pennsylvania. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


597 


TKAVEBSE,  C.  W.— Lifelong  residence  in 
Vernon  Center  township,  attendance  at  its  schools 
and  acquaintance  among  its  leading  citizens,  have 
endeared  to  Mr.  Traverse  this  portion  of  Blue 
Earth  count}-.  While  he  is  yet  a  young  man  he 
already  has  won  a  distinctive  position  among  the 
farmers  of  the  township  and  displays  wise  judg- 
ment as  well  as  energy  in  the  management  of  his 
quarter  section  farm.  Care  and  cultivation  have 
been  bestowed  upon  the  tract,  all  of  which  is 
under  the  plow  and  divided  by  fences  into  fields 
of  convenient  size.  The  crops  are  such  as  suit 
the  soil  and  latitude,  and  in  addition  to  general 
farming  the  owner  gives  some  attention  to  the 
raising  of  shorthorn  cattle  and  Poland-China 
hogs,  in  which  he  has  been  successful. 

Born  in  Vernon  Center  township  July  22, 
1877,  C.  W.  Traverse  is  the  only  surviving  son 
of  Thomas  J.  and  Margaret  M.  (Hinton)  Tra- 
verse. There  were  eleven  children  in  the  family, 
but  all  are  deceased  except  C.  W.  and  three  sis- 
ters, namely:  Eva,  who  married  George  Blair; 
Jane,  Mrs.  Arthur  Edgerton;  and  Julia,  who  is 
the  wife  of  Walter  Fleming.  The  father  was 
born  at  Ogdensburg,  New  York,  in  1837,  and 
upon  starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the 
world  sought  a  home  in  the  northwest,  where  he 
bought  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Vernon  Center 
township  as  early  as  1861:.  Diligent  industry  re- 
sulted in  the  improving  of  the  land  and  the 
placing  of  various  important  improvements  on 
the  property,  and  here  he  remained  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1906.  Politically  he  al- 
ways voted  with  the  Eepublican  party.  While 
Qot  solicitous  for  office  he  consented  to  fill  a 
number  of  local  positions  of  trust.  Loyal  to  the 
welfare  of  the  county,  he  was  helpful  in  promot- 
ing movements  for  the  benefit  of  the  pioneers 
and  under  every  circumstance  proved  himself  to 
be  courageous,  resolute  and  public-spirited.  After 
the  brutal  murder  of  the  Jewett  family  by  In- 
dians he  joined  the  whites  in  pursuit  of  the 
savages,  whom  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  assist- 
ing to  capture. 

The  marriage  of  C.  W.  Traverse  and  Libbie  M. 
Thompson  was  solemnized  in  September,  1902,  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  the  bride  being  a  daughter 
of  J.  G.  and  Elizabeth  Thompson,  prominent 
and    honored    old    settlers    of    the    county.    Two 


children,  Margaret  and  Eoyal,  bless  the  union 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Traverse  and  brighten  their 
home  with  their  cheerful  presence.  The  mother 
of  Mr.  Traverse  also  makes  her  home  with  them 
and  the  evening  of  her  life  is  brightened  by  their 
affectionate  ministrations.  The  home  of  the  fam- 
ily attracts  many  visitors  from  among  their  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  and  a  hospitable  welcome  awaits 
all.  For  years  Mr.  Traverse  has  been  active  in 
the  work  of  the  Christian  charch  and  a  contribu- 
tor to  its  maintenance,  as  well  as  to  other  worthy 
movements  for  the  well-being  of  the  community. 


TEUB,  JAY  W.— The  lineage  of  the  True 
family  is  traced  back  to  colonial  patriots  of  New 
England.  One  of  the  ancestors  enlisted  at  the 
opening  of  the  Eevolutionary  war  and  endured 
all  the  hardships  of  that  memorable  struggle,  re- 
maining at  the  front  until  the  colonies  had 
gained  their  final  victory.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  settled  on  a  farm  at  Centre  Harbor,  New 
Hampshire.  Two  generations  lived  on  that  old 
homestead.  There  Charles  0.  True,  a  grandson 
of  the  Eevolutionary  hero,  was  born  and  reared. 
At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  he  enlisted,  bui 
was  rejected  on  account  of  poor  health.  How- 
ever, in  1862  he  was  accepted  as  a  soldier  and 
remained  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  re- 
bellion. During  early  manhood  he  was  employed 
in  the  Baldwin  locomotive  works,  but  after  186y 
he  engaged  in  farm  pursuits  in  Minnesota.  His 
wife,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  A. 
Page,  was  a  descendant,  both  on  the  paternal 
side  and  through  the  maternal  side  (the  Cam- 
bridge family),  of  Welsh  and  English  progenitors 
identified  with  the  early  settlement  of  New 
England. 

Jay  W.  True  was  born  at  Lowell,  Massachus- 
sets,  February  7,  1867,  and  was  two  years  of  age 
when  the  family  came  to  Minnesota.  After 
studying  in  the  country  schools  and  Winnebago 
high  school,  he  entered  the  Mankato  normal 
school,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1891; 
Soon  afterward  he  took  up  civil  engineering  in 
a  special  course,  but  owing  to  poor  health  was 
obliged  to  relinquish  hope  of  entering  that  pro- 
fession. From  childhood  he  was  fond  of  country 
life    and    enjoyed    spending    his    vacations    from 


598 


BIOGRAPHICAL.  HISTOEY. 


school  upon  the  farm,  engaged  in  duties  devolv- 
ing on  an  agriculturist.  While  in  the  normal 
school  he  was  business  manger  of  a  school  pub- 
lication and  in  this  capacity  obtained  a  business 
acquaintance  with  the  Free  Press  Printing  Com- 
pany of  Mankato.  When  obliged  to  abandon 
civil  engineering,  he  secured  a  position  in  the 
business  department  of  the  Free  Press  Printing 
Company.  Under  the  postmaster,  W.  W.  P.  Mc- 
Connell,  he  was  appointed  assistant  postmaster 
of  Mankato,  and  filled  the  position  until  the 
change  of  administration  in  1894.  For  a  time 
he  engaged  in  the  retail  grocery  business,  after 
which  he  embarked  in  the.  printing  and  box 
making  business,  and  later  was  connected  with 
Brown,  Tracy  &  Sperry,  manufacturing  printers, 
■  of  St.  Paul.  January  1,  1896,  he  returned  to 
the  Free  Press  Printing  Company's  office  and 
for  six  years  worked  constantly  to  build  up  the 
manufacturing  department  of  the  business.  In 
1902  he  and  M.  D.  Fritz  and  F.  W.  Hunt  each 
purchased  a  one-third  interest  in  the  newspaper 
and  manufacturing  business  of  the  Free  Press 
Printing  Company,  which  since  they  have  con- 
ducted with  gratifying  success. 

Although  reared  a  Democrat,  Mr.  True  was 
not  in  sympathy  with  the  theories  advanced  by 
William  J.  Bryan  concerning  a  silver  standard, 
and  he  is  now  an  ardent  admirer  and  supporter 
of  the  Eoosevelt  administration.  When  twenty- 
one  years  of  age  he  joined  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  since  then  he  has  become 
identified  with  the  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 
ica, United  Order  of  Foresters  and  Modern 
Brotherhood  of  America,  also  in  1905  became 
a  member  of  the  camp  of  Elks  at  Mankato.  His 
early  religious  training  and  associations  were 
with  the  Universalists,  but  as  this  denomination 
has  no  house  of  worship  in  Mankato,  his  family 
attend' the  Presbyterian  church.  July  13,  1892, 
he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Miss  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Bottomley,  of  Nashville,  Minnesota,  the 
daughter  of  an  English  family  who  after  a  num- 
ber of  years  in  New  England  came  to  Minne- 
sota and  engaged  in  farming.  Her  father,  Seth 
Bottomley,  was  one  of  the  best-known  advocates 
of  farmers'  interests  in  the  northwest  and  was 
a  writer  of  no  small  ability  on  political  and  farm 
topics  for  the  agricultural  .papers   of  this  state. 


ULRICH,  WILLIAM  A.— The  commercial 
activities  of  Blue  Earth  county  have  a  well- 
known  and  resourceful  representative  in  the  per- 
son of  William  A.  Ulrich,  a  native-born  son  of 
Minnesota  and  one  of  the  rising  young  men  of 
his  county.  The  family  of  which  he  is  a  mem- 
ber belongs  to  German  stock,  his  father,  Julius, 
and  grandfather,  Gottlieb  Ulrich,  haviag  been 
natives  of  Germany.  As  early  as  1853  the  lat- 
ter crossed  the  ocean  to  the  new  world  and  pro- 
ceeded westward  until  he  had  arrived  in  Wiscon- 
sin, where  he  secured  a  tract  of  raw  land  and 
embarked  in  the  tedious  task  of  transforming 
the  same  into  a  fertile  farm.  For  years  he  lived 
in  that  state,  industriously  following  his  chosen 
occupation.  During  the  year  1871  he  moved  to 
Minnesota  and  secured  land  near  Waseca  and 
Janesville,  where  again  he  engaged  in  the  toil- 
some labor  of  building  up  a  good  farm.  Early 
iu  the  '90s  he  came  to  Amboy,  Blue  Earth 
county,   and  here  made  his  home  until  death. 

On  the  home  farm  near  Janesville,  Waseca 
county,  Minnesota,  William  A.  Ulrich  was  born 
in  1875,  and  there  be  passed  the  uneventful 
years  of  boyhood,  alternating  attendance  at 
school  in  winter  with  work  on  the  farm  in  sum- 
mer. After  leaving  school  he  gave  his  entire 
attention  to  farm  work  for  some  time,  but  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years  he  went  into  the 
village  of  Janesville  and  engaged  as  clerk  in  a 
store  for  seven  months.  From  that  village  he 
came  to  Willow  Creek,  Blue  Earth  county,  where 
he  clerked  in  the  general  store  of  his  cousin  for 
iwo  years  and  three  months.  Meanwhile  the 
cousin  purchased  a  store  at  Lewisville,  Minne- 
sota, and  Mr.  Ulrich  was  sent  to  that  place  to 
assume  the  management  of  the  business,  in 
which  he  bought  an  interest  at  the  expiration  of 
four  months  as  manager.  Two  years  later  the 
store  was  sold  and  he  returned  to  Willow  Creek, 
where  he  bought  his  cousin's  store  and  has  since 
conducted  the  business.  The  trade  extends  for 
miles  in  all  directions  and  by  fair  treatment  he 
has  made  friends  of  his  customers.  The  stock 
includes  merchandise,  groceries,  hardware,  and 
the  various  additional  items  to  be  found  in  a 
first-class    country    store. 

At  the  age  of  about  thirty  years  Mr.  Ulrich 
established    domestic    ties.      His    marriage    oc- 


ADOLPH   J.  VEIGEL. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


599 


curred  June  14,  1905,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Emma  Ludtke,  who  was  born  in  Pleasant  Mound 
township,  Blue  Earth  county,  being  a  daughter 
of  Amel  Ludtke,  one  of  the  industrious  farmers 
of  the  locality.  During  the  period  of  his  resi- 
dtnce  in  Lewisville  Mr.  Ulrich  was  a  member  of 
the  village  council  and  also  served  as  a  notary 
public.  Since  his  return  to  Willow  Cieek  he  has 
acted  as  treasurer  of  Pleasant  ilound  township 
and  has  evinced  a  warm  interest  in  town  affairs,, 
being  a  leading  local  worker  in  the  Eepublican 
party  and  a  member  of  the  county  central  com- 
mittee. Progressive  citizenship  and  devotion  to 
the  welfare  of  the  town  have  won  for  him  the 
confidence  of  the  people  and  have  contributed  to 
his   well-deserved   success. 


ULEICH,  WILLIAM  P.— Conspicuous  among 
the  improved  farms  of  Eapidan  township  is  the 
homestead  of  William  F.  Ulrich,  who  owns  One 
hundred  and  ninety  acres,  all  of  which  is  under 
cultivation  excepting  ten  acres.  When  he  ac- 
quired the  property  no  attempt  had  been  made 
at  improvement  and  the  present  thrifty  condi- 
tion of  the  estate  proves  his  judgment  and  en  ■ 
i.'igy  as  a  farmer.  The  wild  land  has  been 
transformed  into  fertile  acres  under  his  intelli- 
gent oversight.  All  of  the  trees  on  the  place 
have  been  set  out  (since  he  came  here  and  other 
improvements  have  been  made  conducive  both 
to  beauty  and  to  comfort.  Barns  furnish  facili- 
ties for  the  storage  of  grain  and  the  shelter  of 
stock,  of  which  latter  he  owns  some  fine  Short- 
horn cattle  and  Poland-China  hogs.  All  of  his 
property  has  been  accumulated  by  hard  work  and 
furnishes  conclusive  proof  as  to  his  ability  and 
sagacity. 

Born  in  Prussia  October  36,  1852,  William 
P.  Ulrich  was  fourteen  years  of  age  when  in 
1866  he  crossed  the  ocean  with  his  parents, 
Charles  F;  and  Dora  (Moore)  Ulrich,  natives  of 
Germany.  Immediately  after  landing  they  pro- 
ceeded westward  across  the  country  until  they  ar- 
rived in  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  where 
the  father  took  up  a  tract  of  raw  land  in  Eapi- 
dan township.  The  property  is  now  owned  by 
a  son,  Charles  Jr.  While  living  in  the  old  country 
the  father  had   followed   the  blacksmith's   trade. 


hut  after  coming  to  the  United  States  he  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  until  his  death  at 
the  old  home.  Of  his  family  of  eight  children 
all  bu^-  two  are  still  living,  the  youngest  being 
William  F.,  who  received  a  fair  German  and 
English  education  and  is  a  well-informed  man. 
While  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  attend 
school  regularly  after  he  came  to  the  Uunited  States 
he  possessed  habits  of  study  and  close  observation 
and  in  that  way  acquired  considerable  knowledge 
of  the  most  valuable  kind.  Thoroughly  under- 
standing the  soil  of  the  county  he  knows  how  to 
secure  from  its  cultivation  the  largest  returns  and 
by  experience  he  has  become  a  skilled  farmer. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Ulrich  took  place  during 
the  year  1875  and  united  him  with  Miss  Lena 
Wingen,  member  of  a  pioneer  family  concerning 
whom  mention  is  made  in  the  sketch  of  A.  J. 
Wingen.  Three  sons  comprise  their  family. 
William  and  Edward  operate  a  general  store  at 
Good  Thunder.  Jacob,  the  youngest,  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  Mankato  Business  College.  The 
principles  advocated  by  the  Democratic  party 
have  received  the  stanch  support  of  Mr.  Ulrich 
ever  since  he  attained  his  majority  and  he  may 
always  be  relied  upon  to  support  party  mead- 
ures.  While  not  solicitous  of  official  honors,  he 
consented  to  fill  the  position  of  roadmaster  and 
in  that  capacity  accomplished  much  toward  im- 
proving the  highways  of  his  township.  Giving- 
liis  attention  closely  to  farm  pursuits,  he  has 
not  had  leisure  for  participation  in  public  af- 
fairs or  in  fraternities  and  does  not  hold  mem- 
bership in  any  social  or  fraternal  organization. 


VEIGEL,  ADOLPH  J.— The  postmaster  of 
Mankato  is  a  native  of  the  county  where  he  now 
resides  and  was  born  near  Indian  Lake  on  No- 
vember 30,  1872,  being  a  son  of  Charles  and 
Susan  (Lentz)  Veigel,  natives  of  Germany.  Dur- 
ing the  pioneer  history  of  Minnesota,  the  parents 
became  residents  of  the  state,  where  they  grew 
to  maturity  and  were  married.  As  early  as 
1855,  the  father  came  to  Blue  Earth  county  and 
took  up  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
in  Mankato  township,  where  from  a  raw  tract  of 
land  he  developed  an  improved  farm.  To  se- 
cure such  a  home,  many  privations  were  encoun- 


600 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


tered  and  bravely  endured.  In  addition  to  meet- 
ing all  the  hardships  incident  to  building  up  a 
homestead  in  a  new  region,  he  suffered  the  hard- 
ships of  war,  being  for  three  years  a  soldier  in 
the  Civil  war.  Before  old  age  had  come  to  him 
he  had  won  a  fair  degree  of  agricultural  suc- 
cess and  ranked  among  the  prosperous  men  of 
his  township.  He  died  in  1899  at  the  age  of 
sixty-three  years.  Surviving  him  are  his  widow 
and  their  four  children,  the  latter  being  named 
as  follows :  Walter  E.,  who  is  employed  as 
United  States  surveyor  and  city  engineer  of 
Dickinson,  Stark  county.  North  Dakota;  Adel- 
bert  L.,  a  farmer  of  Mankato  township  residing 
on  the  old  homestead,  and  also  filling  the  posi- 
tion of  manager  of  the  Mankato  Dairy  Associa- 
tion; Amanda  V.,  wife  of  P.  D.  McKellar, 
county  auditor  of  Jackson  county,  this  state; 
and  Adolph  J.,  of  Mankato. 

A.  J.  Veigel,  after  completing  his  studies  in 
the  public  schools,  attended  the  Mankato  Normal 
School,  graduating  from  the  advanced  course  in 
1893,  and  also  the  Mankato  Commercial  Col- 
lege. He  taught  school  in  Otter  Tail  county, 
Minnesota,  and  on  his  return  to  Blue  Earth 
county  secured  a  position  as  traveling  salesman 
for  the  Mankato  Free  Press.  June  1,  1898,  un- 
der Postmaster  L.  P.  Hunt,  he  was  appointed 
assistant  postmaster  of  Mankato,  and  afterward 
continued  in  the  same  position  with  C.  L.  Bene- 
dict, his  retention  under  the  two  administrations 
proving  conclusively  his  intelligence,  ability,  and 
fitness  for  the  position.  He  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Mankato  by  President  Eoosevelt  and 
took  charge  of  the  office  on  March  17,  1907. 
Stanch  in  his  allegiance  to  the  Eepublican  party, 
he  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  national  and 
state  politics  and  wields  considerable  influence 
in  local  affairs  of  that  character.  October  10, 
1898,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Mary  A. 
McGivney  of  Mankato,  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Catherine  McGivney.  He  is  an  active  worker  in 
the  Mankato  Commercial  Club.  Fraternally  he 
belongs  to  the  Independent  Order  of.  Odd  Fel- 
lows, the  Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
and  the  Eoyal  Arcanum,  in  which  latter  he  has 
been  prominently  associated  with  Mankato  Coun- 
cil No.  1520,  and  at  this  writing  officiates  as  its 
Eegent. 


VEANIZAN,  PD^REE  L.— After  a  long  ill- 
ness bravely  borne,  and  at  the  end  of  a  life  in 
which  were  blended  practical  business  achieve- 
ments and  more  than  average  travel  and  adven- 
ture, Pierre  L.  Vranizan  passed  from^  the  ken  of 
the  people  of  Mankato,  many  of  whom  had 
known  him  intimately  and  well  as  a  promoter  of 
the  commercial,  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
v\- elf  are  of  the  community.  Mr.  Vranizan  intro- 
duced in  his  adopted  city  human  elements  singu- 
larly interesting,  alert  and  adaptive,  which, 
doubtless  came  of  association  with  many  parts 
and  peoples  of  the  world.  His  very  origin  sug- 
gested a  multiplicity  of  characteristics  more  or 
less  picturesque  and  unusual,  for  he  was  born  in 
the  Island  of  Cittavechio,  Dalmation,  on  the 
west  coast  of  the  Adriatic  sea,  November  3, 
1839,  and  his  formative  period  was  spent  among 
the  wanders  from  many  climes  who  persue  their 
diversified  occupations  in  this  particular  part  of 
the   Austrian   empire. 

From  the  ships  which  came  and  went  cease- 
lessly, bringing  news  of  the  possibilities  of  other 
parts  of  the  world,  Mr.  Vranizan  gained  that 
noble  unrest  which  resulted  in  his  uprooting 
himself  from  his  native  island  in  1859,  and  with 
all  the  enthusiasm  and  faith  of  a  lad  of  twenty, 
he  started  upon  a,  tour  of  -adventure,  visiting 
many  parts  of  Europe  and  Asia,  and  finally  ar- 
riving in  London,  England,  where  seemed  to  be 
centered  the  well  worn  avenues  to  all  the  nooks 
of  the  world.  In  his  quest  for  adventure  he  was 
inspired  by  still  another  motive,  that  of  escaping 
conscription  duty  in  Italy,  as  the  army  of  that 
country  occupied  Dalmatia  at  that  time,  and 
was  forcing  all  able  bodied  sons  of  the  land  into 
ihe  service.  At  the  port  of  London  he  took 
passage  to  Auckland,  New  Zealand,  and  on 
board  ship  met  his  future  bride,  Anna  Dabner, 
Avith  whom  he  was  united  in  marriage  August 
16,  1866,  in  the  quaint  city  of  Auckland. 

In  April,  1873,  Mr.  Vranizan  left  Auckland 
on  the  United  States  steamer,  Nebraska,  and  the 
following  June  arrived  at  the  port  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Journeying  eastward  to  La  Crosse,  Wis- 
consin, he  engaged  in  business  until  1876,  in 
which  year  he  moved  to  Eochester,  Minnesota, 
ten  years  later  locating  in  Mankato,  which  re- 
mained his  headquarters  for  the  balance  of  his 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


601 


life.  Por  fourteen  years  he  engaged  as  a  com- 
mercial traveler,  but  finally  retired  from  active 
life,  his  industry  and  thrift  having  insured  him 
against  the  emergencies  of  the  future.  Two 
years  before  his  death  he  retraced  his  steps 
around  the  viforld,  visiting  his  birthplace  among 
the  still  unchanged  conditions  of  the  Adriatic, 
and  for  a  time  sojourning  with  his  brother  in 
New  Zealand,  a  miner  by  occupation,  and  who 
at  one  time  visited  in  Mankato.  He  journeyed 
also  to  London,  England,  renewing  his  acquain- 
tance with  landmarks  with  which  he  had  fa- 
miliarized himself  at  the  beginning  of  his  wan- 
derings, and  while  in  the  foggy  paradise  of  the 
English  contracted  the  illness  which  weakened 
his  system,  and  directly  led  to  his  regretted 
transition.  He  is  survived  by  his  wife  and  one 
.  of  his  three  daughters,  Mrs.  W.  G.  Hoerr. 
Miss  Pauline  Vranizan  and  Mrs.  Grove  E.  John- 
son are  the  two  deceased  daughters  of  the  house- 
hold. 

Eminently  social  in  his  inclinations,  Mr. 
Vranizan  was  a  member  for  many  years  of  the 
Masons,  and  had  attained  the  rank  of  Knights 
Templar.  He  was  a  valuable  addition  to  the 
lodges,  having  a  splendid  memory,  and  diversi- 
fied social  attainments.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
interesting  conversationalists  in  the  city,  and  his 
accounts  of  the  peoples  and  incidents  in  other 
lands  always-  was  entertaining  and  informing. 
He  was  a  man  whom  to  know  was  to  respect  and 
admire,  and  his  life  and  character  might  well 
serve  as  an  inspiration  to  the  forceful,  inquiring 
younger  generation. 


WAENEE,  AMOS.— No  contradiction  will  be 
given  the  statement  that  the  present  prosperity 
of  Blue  Earth  county  may  be  attributed  primarily 
to  the  self-sacrificing  efforts  of  pioneers.  Every- 
where it  is  recognized  that  such  is  the  bare  state- 
ment of  an  established  fact.  A  noteworthy  position 
among  the  pioneers  of  Garden  City  township  is 
held  by  Amos  Warner,  who  as  early  as  1856 
brought  his  young  wife  to  Minnesota  and  settled 
in  the  locality  whose  development  he  has  since 
witnessed  and  whose  progress  he  has  fostered. 
Contrasting  the  past  with  the  present,  he  recalls 
that  Indians  were  numerous  in  those  far-distant 


days  and  often  bands  of  hostile  savages  would 
bring  peril  to  the  little  frontier  settlement.  The 
few  white  settlers  were  bound  together  by  the 
ties  of  common  danger  and  a  common  ambition 
and  friendships  were  formed  that  naught  but 
death  could  sever. 

While  more  than  fifty  years  of  the  life  of  Amos 
Warner  have  been  passed  in  Minnesota,  he  is 
of  eastern  birth  and  parentage,  and  was  born 
in  1822  in  Chenango  county,  New  York,  his 
birth  occurring  five  days  after  the  death  of  his 
father,  Ephriam  Warner,  a  native  of  Massachu- 
setts and  a  farmer  by  occupation.  The  mother 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Sarah  Hill  and  was 
born  and  reared  in  New  York.  The  scarcity  of 
schools  and  the  poverty  of  the  family,  made  it 
impossible  for  Mr.  Warner  to  receive  first-class 
educational  advantages,  but  he  availed  himself 
to  the  utmost  of  the  meagre  opportunities  offered. 
Upon  starting  out  to  make  his  own  way  in  the  world 
he  was  led  to  the  then  frontier  in  search  of 
cheap  lands.  His  first  experience  was  in  Indi- 
ana, where  he  remained  from  1811  to  1846.  Next 
he  removed  to  Iowa,  and  two  years  later  estab- 
lished himself  among  the  pioneers  of  Wisconsin, 
where  he  remained  until  his  removal  to  Minne- 
sota. During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Wis* 
consin  he  was  united  in  marriage  in  1854  with 
Aurelia  Dilley  of  that  state.  They  are  the  par- 
ents of  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  one  daught- 
er is  married  and  lives  in  Minneapolis  and  the 
other  is  a  widow  and  lives  with  her  parents.  The 
sons  reside  respectively  in  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul 
and  Duluth,  where  they  occupy  responsible  posi- 
tions  and   possess   many   friends. 

Prom  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  j\lr.  Warner  has  been  in  sympathy  with  its 
tenets  and  a  voter  for  its  candidates.  While 
making  his  home  in  Wisconsin  he  was  chosen  to 
occupy  a  number  of  important  local  positions  and 
these  he  filled  with  faithfulness  and  efficiency. 
Since  coming  to  ^Minnesota  he  has  ably  repre- 
sented his  township  as  a  member  of  the  county 
board  of  supervisors  and  also  has  officiated  in 
the  capacity  of  township  treasurer,  to  both  of 
which  positions  he  was  elected  on  the  Republi- 
can ticket.  Years  ago  he  and  his  wife  identified 
themselves  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  ever  since  then  they  have  been  contributors 


602 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


to  its  missioDary  enterprises  and  faithful  to  its 
doctrines.  In  the  twilight  of  their  busy  years 
they  are  surrounded  by  the  esteem  of  friends, 
the  devotion  of  children  and  the  coniidence  of 
associates.  In  their  neat  and  quiet  country  home 
they  welcome  their  many  friends  and  frequently 
tliey  entertain  them  by  thrilling  narratives  of 
their  experiences  with  Indians  and  their  constant 
danger  from  the  depredations  of  the  red  man. 


WAENEE,  M.  D.,  CHAELES  P.— During  the 
long  period  of  his  residence  in  Mankato,  Dr. 
Warner  has  been  a  leader  in  all  movements  for 
securing  the  permanent  progress  and  prosperity 
of  the  place.  Not  alone  in  his  profession,  in 
which  he  long  has  been  recognized  as  skilled  and 
painstaking,  but  along  all  lines  of  important  ac- 
tivity he  has  been  an  influential  local  factor,  con- 
tributing of  time,  influence,  judgment  and  means 
to  the  furtherance  of  progressive  projects.  As 
an  instance  of  his  far-seeing  judgment,  it  may 
be  mentioned  that  he  was  an  ardent  worker  in 
the  plan  for  the  purchase  of  .Sibley  park  by  the 
city.  There  are  few  spots  in  Minnesota  more 
beautiful  than  this  picturesque  tract  of  seventy 
acres  and  its  ownership  by  the  city  renders  a 
convenience  for  the  citizens  to  enjoy  delightful 
days  near  home  during  the  summer  months.  An 
admirer  of  attractive  scenery,  the  doctor  has  en- 
joyed with  particular  pleasure  the  landscape  en- 
vironment of  Blue  Earth  county,  with  its  thirty 
or  more  lakes  and  its  five  rivers  rendered  beauti- 
ful by  high  bluffs,  sharp  curves  and  wooded 
islands.  Indeed,  in  our  own  midst  are  the  beau- 
ties of  land  and  water  that  many  seek  in  other 
climes  in  vain. 

Of  eastern  birth  and  parentage.  Dr.  Warner 
was  born  at  Covington,  Genesee  county.  New 
York,  August  30,  1832,  being  a  son  of  Dr.  Eben 
Warner,  who  for  twenty  years  practiced  medicine 
at '  Covington  and  for  years  of  his  later  life  held 
rank  among  the  successful  physicians  of  Nunda, 
New  York.  The  education  of  Charles  F. 
Warner  was  begun  in  local  schools  and  continued 
in  the  Wesleyan  seminary  at  Lima,  New  York, 
after  which  he  took  up  medical  studies  in  his 
father's  ofEice.  Upon  the  death  of  his  father  in 
1852   he  matriculated  in  Jefferson  Medical   col- 


lege, of  Philadelphia,  where  he  took  the  com- 
plete course  of  lectures  and  was  graduated  in 
March,  1854.  Eeturning  to  Nunda,  he  took  up 
the  practice  of  his  profession  and  soon  rose  to 
a  position  of  prominence  as  a  rising  young  physi- 
cian. At  the  opening  of  the  Civil  war  he  offered 
his  services  to  the  Union  and  was  accepted,  be- 
coming first  assistant  surgeon  of  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Thirty-sixth  New  York  Infantry.  Later 
he  was  commissioned  surgeon  of  the  Pifty-eighth 
New  York  National   Guard. 

Discontinuing  his  practice  at  Nunda,  New 
York,  Dr.  Warner  closed  out  his  interests  there 
in  1869  and  removed  to  Minnesota,  opening  an 
office  at  Mankato,  where  he  has  continued  in  ac- 
tive practice  up  to  the  present  time.  Por  two 
terms  he  held  office  as  county  physician,  and  for 
about  twelve  years  he  was  city  health  officer. 
Upon  the  founding  of  the  Minnesota  Valley 
Medical  Association  he  was  a  prime  worker,  he 
was  honored  with  the  office  of  president  in  1882. 
Prom  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  retained  a 
warm  interest  in  the  society.  Por  twenty-four 
years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  and  since  1893  he  has  affil- 
iated with  the  International  Eailway  Surgeons' 
Association.  Besides  his  regular  practice  he  has 
acted  since  1882  as  local  surgeon  for  the 'Chicago, 
Milwaukee  &  St.  Paul,  the  Chicago-Northwestern, 
and  the  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  &  Omaha 
Eailroads. 

Immediately  after  leaving  the  medical  college 
and  entering  upon  professional  life.  Dr.  Warner 
established  a  home  of  his  own,  being  united 
with  Miss  Esther  S.  Town,  of  Nunda,  New  York. 
Three  children  came  to  bless  their  union,  and  two 
of  these  lived  to  mature  years,  namely:  Clayton 
E.,  who  died  in  February,  1901;  and  Mrs. 
Lillaette  W.  Baker.  Aside  from  his  prominence 
professionally.  Dr.  Warner  has  been  active  in 
civic  affairs  and  has  served  his  fellow  citizens  in 
various  capacities.  In  1873  he  was  elected  an 
alderman  and  was  honored  by  being  chosen  presi- 
dent of  the  common  council.  Not  the  least  im- 
portant acts  of  his  civic  life  was  his  identification 
with  the  securing  of  waterworks  for  the  city,  a 
needed  improvement  that  has  contributed  much 
to  the  growth  and  health  of  the  city.  At  on€ 
time  he  was  president  of  the  Mankato  Driving 


DR.  C.  F.   WARNER. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


603 


Park  Association.  The  fact  that  he  was  in- 
fluenced to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  people  of 
Mankato  many  years  ago  is  to  be  regarded  as  a 
fortunate  happening  for  the  city,  for  the  citizen- 
ship of  a  progressive,  public-spirited  man  is  of 
unquestioned  value  in  securing  to  any  city  its 
most  substantial  progress  and  permanent  devel- 
opment. 


WARREN,  M.  B.— More  than  one-half  cen- 
tury has  passed  since  Mr.  Warren  sought  a  home 
amid  the  primeval  surroundings  of  Blue  Earth 
county  and  began  the  arduous  task  of  developing 
a  tract  of  raw  land  into  a  profitable  estata. 
Through  all  of  the  period  that  his  since  elapsed 
he  has  made  his  home  in  Vernon  Center  town- 
ship and  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  untiJ 
advancing  years  and  the  accumulation  of  a 
competency  rendered  further  efforts  undesirable 
and  unneeded.  Looking  back  over  the  past  fifty 
years  he  sees  the  wonderful  transformation 
wrought  by  the  pioneers.  Indians  were  numerous 
in  the  early  period  of  his  residence  here  and 
more  than  once  his  life  and  property  were  im- 
periled by  their  depredations.  Pie  witnessed  the 
execution  of  the  38  Sioux  Indians.  White  settlers 
were  few,  but  these  few  were  bound  together  by 
ties  of  a  common  ambition  and  a  common  peril. 
New  settlers  were  given  a  hearty  welcome  and 
hospitality  was  a  part  of  the  creed  of  the  pioneer. 

Born  in  New  York  state  in  1826,  M.  B. 
Warren  is  a  son  of  Sylvanus  and  Betsy  (Fair- 
child)  Warren,  natives  respectively  of  New  York 
and  Vermont.  The  father  was  by  occupation  a 
farmer  and  in  search  of  new  land  he  removed 
from  the  east  to  Michigan,  two  years  later  going 
to  Wisconsin  but  later  returning  to  ilichigan, 
where  he  and  his  wife  remained  until  their 
death.  Fourteen  children  comprised  their  family,- 
of  whom  the  survivors  are  Harriet,  Marshall, 
and  M.  B.  The  last-named  grew  to  manhood 
on  the  home  farm  and  early  learned  lessons  of 
self-reliance  and  patient  industry.  The  family 
being  poor  and  the  children  numerous,  he  took 
up  the  burden  of  self-support  at  an  age  when 
most  boys  are  attending  school.  During  1851 
he  married  Sarah  J.,  daughter  of  John  and  Lu- 
cinda    (Brooks)    Nicholson,  natives   of   Ohio   and 


farmers  by  occupation.  Her  mother  died  in  Wis- 
consin and  her  father  passed  his  last  days  in 
Blue  Earth  county. 

The  identification  of  Mr.  \\'arren  with  the 
agricultural  development  of  Vernon  Center  town- 
ship dates  from  the  year  1857,  when  he  took 
up  land  here  and  began  to  till  the  soil.  At 
this  writing  he  owns  sixty  acres  of  land,  forty 
acres  of  the  tract  lying  within  the  corporate 
limits  of  Vernon  Center  village.  All  that  he  has 
came  through  his  unaided  afforts.  No  one  as- 
sisted him  to  secure  a  start  in  life  and  he  did 
not  even  possess  the  advantage  of  a  good  edu- 
cation; in  spite  of  such  handicaps  he  attained 
a  competency  and  became  a  farmer  of  consider- 
able influence  in  his  township.  Of  recent  years 
he  has  been  retired  from  active  labors  and  has 
turned  over  to  others  the  management  of  his 
land.  His  tastes  have  rendered  him  averse  to 
official  positions  and  he  has  refused  all  offices 
except  such  as  are  connected  with  the  schools. 
However,  he  has  never  failed  to  keep  posted  con- 
cerning the  issues  before  our  countr}-  and  has 
been  stanchly  loyal  to  his  county  and  common- 
wealth. In  early  manhood  he  voted  with  the 
Prohibitionists,  and  he  still  is  in  hearty  sym- 
pathy with  the  movement  for  the  suppression  of 
the   liquor    traffic. 

The  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Warren  con- 
sists of  six  living  children,  and  two,  Alice  and 
Grace,  are  deceased.  The  eldest  son,  Ira  E., 
operates  a  farm  in  Vernon  Center  township. 
The  second  son,  Edward,  is  proprietor  of  a  store 
at  Vernon  Center.  Willis  received  an  excellent 
education,  studied  theology,  became  a  minister 
in  the  Congregational  denomination  and  at  this 
writing  makes  his  home  at  Lake  City.  The 
youngest  son,  Carlos,  is  engaged  in  farming  the 
old  homestead.  Ada  is  living  at  Clear  Lake, 
South  Dakota,  and  Sadie  married  Edward  Barnes, 
who  is  interested  in  farming  and  also  carries  on 
mercantile  pursuits   at  Vernon   Center. 


WEBSTER,  M.  D.,  I.  DANIEL.— At  an  early 
period  in  the  colonization  of  America  the  Web- 
ster and  King  families  became  identiflcd  with 
the  settlement  of  Lancaster  county,  and,  being 
stanch  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  they 


604 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


organized  a  congregation  of  that  sect  in  their 
new  home.  Later  generations  were  prominent 
in  the  development  of  the  county  and  in  the 
growth  of  the  churcli.  The  two  families  be- 
came connected  through  the  marriage  of  I. 
Daniel  Webster^  Sv.,  and  Phoebe  Eing,  both  of 
M'hom  were  born  and  reared  in  Lancaster  county, 
and  settled  after  marriage  upon  a  farm  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  birthplace.  When  the  Civil 
wax  began  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  and 
rose  to  the  command  of  his  company.  During 
the  closing  year  of  the  war  he  died  at  the  age 
of  thirty-three.  A  few  years  afterward  the 
widowed  mother  removed  to  Minneapolis  and 
ill  1869,  settled  at  Mankato,  where  ehe  passed 
away  in  November,  1883,  at  the  age  of  forty- 
nine  years.  Of  her  three  children  the  youngest, 
his  father's  namesake,  alone  survives.  He  was 
born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  Decem- 
ber 12,  1865,  and  was  four  years  of  age  when 
his  mother  brought  him  to  Mankato.  After  her 
death  he  returned  to  the  county  of  his  birth 
and  spent  one  year  in  college  preparatory  work, 
after  which  he  matriculated  in  Swathmore  col- 
lege. Completing  the  course  of  study  in  the 
spring  of  1887,  he  then  traveled  in  Europe 
for  a  few  months,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year  returned  to  America,  entered  the  medical 
department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  was  graduated  in  1890,  winning  the  first 
prize  for  surgical  dressing  at  the  time  of  his 
graduation.  While  in  college  he  made  a  record 
in  athletics  and  won  the  amateur  championship 
in  running  high  jump. 

After  a  year's  work  as  interne  in  a  hospi- 
tal and  a  few  months  in  post-graduate  work, 
during  the  fall  of  1891,  Dr.  Webster  returned 
to  his  childhood's  home,  Mankato,  where  he 
since  won  a  high  position  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon.  May  10,  1893,  he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage with  Miss  Anna  Mary  Jackson,  who  was 
born  at  Gwynedd,  Pennsylvania,  being  a  daugh- 
ter of  Howard  M.  Jenkins,  editor  of  the  Friend's 
Intelligencer  and  Journal,  of  Philadelphia.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Webster  are  earnest  members  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  and  in  that  faith  they  axe 
training  their  children,  Dorothea,  Agnes,  Eliza- 
beth, Allan  King  and  Phillip  Jenkins.  The 
doctor's    fraternal    connections    include   member- 


ship in  the  Knights  of  Pythis,  Benevolent  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks  and  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  While  he  has  to  a  large  degree 
limited  his  attention  to  the  care  of  his  large 
practice,  this  has  not  caused  him  to  lose  sight 
of  his  duties  as  a  citizen.  Measures  fox  the 
general  welfare  receive  his  hearty  co-operation. 
When  a  company  was  organized  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  telephone  system,  in  Mankato, 
he  gave  his  enthusiastic  support  to  the  plan 
and  has  since  served  as  a  director  of  the  com- 
pany owning  the  system.  The  Citizens  Bank  of 
Mankato  also  numbers  him  among  its  directors. 
As  a  silent  partner  he  has  membership  in  the 
S.  D.  Worlis  Company  and  the  Works-Evarts 
Lumber  Company.  All  through  the  years  of 
his  residence  here  he  has  been  a  champion  of 
educational,  religious  and  commercial  move- 
ments, believing  each  to  be  essential  in  the  up- 
building of  an  ideal  city  and  a  contented  citi- 
zenship. 


WERGES,  KASPER  H.— The  establishment 
of  the  Werges  family  in  the  United  States  had 
its  origin  in  the  emigration  in  1848  of  Frederick 
AV.  Werges,  a  native  of  Hanover,  and  of  ancient 
Teutonic  ancestry.  Prior  to  his  emigration  he 
had  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  shoe- 
maker's trade  while  serving  as  an  apprentice, 
and  this  occupation  he  followed  fon  a  time  in 
the  new  world.  After  having  spent  two  years 
in  St.  Louis,  in  1850  he  removed  to  Cincinnati, 
and  in  1852  became  a  pioneer  of  Iowa,  whence, 
in  1857,  he  came  to  Minnesota,  settling  in  Sib- 
ley county.  With  two  other  families  he  settled 
in  Kelso  township  twelve  miles  from  their  near- 
est neighbors.  Privations  and  haxdships  fell  to 
his  lot,  but  eventually  he  won  a  fair  degree  of 
success.  On  his  farm  there  was  a  rich  black 
loam  with  a  clay  subsoil,  practically  the  same 
a.s  in  Blue  Eaith  county,  and  a  soil  of  such 
depth  and  rich  quality  enabled  him  to  produce 
crops  of  considerable  magnitude  as  well  as  fine 
quality.  After  a  long  period  on  the  farm,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  witnessed  the  development 
of  the  country  and  the  improving  of  valuable 
farms,  he  sold  his  place,  and  in  January  of  190(5' 
he  passed  away  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


605 


and  nine  months.  By  his  marriage  to  Catherine 
Marting,  a  native  of  Hanover,  Germany,  he  had 
four  eons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom  are 
happily  married  and  established  in  homes  of 
their  own. 

The  eldest  of  the  family,  Kasper  H.,  was  born 
ir  Clayton  county,  Iowa,  May  19,  1856,  and 
from  his  earliest  recollections  has  been  familiar 
with  agricultural  life  in  Minnesota,  where  he 
first  attended  country  schools  and  then  for  a 
year  was  a  pupil  at  St.  Peter.  Leaving  the  old 
homestead  in  1874,  he  took  up  the  trade  of  a 
carpenter  and  soon  began  to  follow  the  same 
with  such  industry  and  application  that  he  rose 
to  be  a  contractor  and  builder,  and  took  con- 
tracts for  many  buildings  at  Gaylord,  Minnesota, 
his  home  town.  Meanwhile  he  also  became  in- 
terested with  a  partner  in  the  furniture  business. 
During  1889  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  fur- 
niture establishment  and  accepted  a  position  as 
a'gent  at  Gaylord  for  the  lumber  firm  of  N"elson 
Tenney  &  Co.,  of  Minneapolis.  The  following 
year  he  came  to  Amboy  in  the  interests  of  the 
same  firm,  for  whom  he  opened  and  conducted  a 
yard.  When  the  firm  sold  out  to  the  C.  L. 
Coleman  Lumber  Company  in  1895,  he  was  re- 
tained in  the  same  position,  which  he  has  since 
filled  satisfactorily  to  all  concerned,  having 
built  up  an  extensive  and  important  business  in 
the  town.  His  yard  has  a  frontage  of  sixty-six 
feet,  with  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  space  is  under 
roof.  Building  material  of  all  kinds  is  handled, 
also  cement,  tile,  stone,  ladders  and  fuel. 

On  Christmas  day  of  1880  Mr.  Werges  was 
united  in  marriage  with  Minnie  K.  Mansfield, 
a  native  of  Germany,  and  a  danghter  of  Martin 
Mansfield,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Dryden  town- 
ship, Sibley  county,  this  state.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  sons,  namely:  W.  H.,  now  in 
the  employ  of  the  Northwestern  Railroad  Com- 
pany; and  Martin  H.,  who  remains  with  his 
parents  and  is  a  student  in  local  schools.  In 
addition  to  his  extensive  lumber-yard  interests, 
Mr.  Werges  has  other  business  association  of  an 
important  character,  including  the  agency  for 
the  Hartford  Fire  Insurance  Company  and  the 
Phoenix  of  Brooklyn.  With  Charles  W.  Cham- 
berlain as  a  partner,  he  has  engaged  extensively 


in  taking  contracts  for  cement  sidewalks,  for 
foundations  of  fai-m  buildings,  cement  floors  in 
stables,  and  indeed  cement  work  of  every  de- 
scription and  for  the  varied  uses  to  which  it  is 
so  admirably  adapted. 

The  recognized  business  ability  of  Mr.  Werges 
has  led  to  his  selection  to  fill  the  important  of- 
fice of  president  of  the  village  council,  while 
his  deep  interest  in  the  securing  of  good  schools 
has  influenced  him  to  accept  ofliice  on  the  school 
board,  of  which  he  is  president  at  this  writing. 
The  schools  of  Amboy  owe  much  to  his  intelli- 
g(.nt  oversight  and  wise  supervision.  In  frater- 
nal relations  he  is  associated  with  the  Modern 
Woodmen  of  America  as  clerk  for  Linden  Camp 
No.  2330;  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows, having  passed  the  chairs  in  the  Amboy 
lodge,  of  which  he  is  now  financial  secretary, 
also  past  chief  patriarch ;  and  the  Ancient  Or- 
der of  United  Workmen,  of  which  during  his 
association  with  Shelby  lodge  he  acted  as  finan- 
cial   secretary. 


WHEELEE,  ALMON  L.— The  above  named 
gentleman  has  just  cause  to  take  pride  in  the 
work  of  his  hands,  for  through  his  industry,  per- 
sistency and  good  business  judgment  Mankato 
has  been  generally  benefited,  and  he  has  the 
special  satisfaction  of  seeing  in  the  construction 
of  some  of  its  finest  buildings  the  honest  and 
attractive  output  of  his  brick  manufacturing 
plant.  He  was  trained  in  the  business  and  the 
industry  '"Irom  the  ground  up,"  or  in  his  case  the 
saying  might  be  paraphrased,  "from  the  ground 
down."  With  limited  opportunities  for  acquir- 
ing an  education,  or  advancement  of  any  kind, 
he  came  to  Mankato  forty  years  ago,  with  just 
two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  his  pocket,  but 
with  determination  in  his  eye,  he  has  since  be- 
come one  of  the  most  prosperous  brick  manufac- 
turers in  Southern  Minnesota,  and  a  most  hon- 
ored citizen  of  his  adopted  city. 

Mr.  Wheeler  comes  of  Englisli  ancestry  on  the 
paternal  side  and  of  Scotch  on  the  maternal,  his 
birthplace  being  Stockbridge,  Wisconsin,  and  the 
day,  January  30,  1851.  The  son  of  Samuel  F. 
and  Alice  C.  ( Dudley )  Wheeler,  his  parents  were 
natives   of   Massachusetts,   who  removed   to  that 


606 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Wisconsin  town  a  few  years  after  their  marriage, 
pre-empted  land,  returned  to  Massachusetts  for 
twelve  years,  and  then  made  the  Badger  state 
their  home  for  seven  years  before  coming  to  Min- 
nesota. For  twenty  years  the  family  resided  in 
McLeod  and  Meeker  counties,  Minnesota,  after 
which  the  parents  migrated  still  further  west  to 
Oregon,  where  they  still  live — the  father,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-two,  and  the  mother,  aged  eighty. 

Almon  L.  Wheeler  is  the  second  in  a  family  of 
nine  children,  six  boys  and  three  girls.  When 
he  was  a  lad  in  Wisconsin  he  learned  the  art  of 
brick  making,  and  was  superintendent  of  several 
plants  before  he  located  at  Mankato.  In  1887 
he  first  established  an  independent  business  by 
purchasing  twenty-six  acres  of  land  in  N"orth 
Mankato  from  Dr.  Lewis,  and  opening  a  brick 
yard  in  partnership  with  Oscar  E.  Bennett,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Wheeler  &  Bennett.  This  con- 
nection has  since  continued  and  the  enterprise  has 
developed  to  large  proportions.  The  twenty-six 
acres  mentioned  now  embraces  a  portion  of  the 
village  of  ^STorth  Mankato,  where  Mr.  Wheeler 
has  not  only  erected  his  own  fine  brick  residence, 
but  attractive  homes  for  others.  He  has  the 
honor  of  building  the  first  house  in  the  village  of 
liorth  Mankato,  which  is  still  well  preserved  and 
occupied.  Many  public  buildings 'of  the  city  of 
Mankato  also  contain  evidences  of  the  fine  out- 
put of  his  firm,  which  has  also  established  a 
plant  at  Wrenshall,  Minnesota,  with  an  annual 
capacity  of  siz  million  brick.  Personally  Mr. 
Wheeler  is  the  owner  of  six  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  of  land  in  Northern  Minnesota,  and  is  in 
every  respect  esteemed  an  enterprising,  substan- 
tial and  honorable  member  of  the  community. 

In  1873  Mr.  Wheeler  was  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Maria  Cook,  daughter  of  Andrew  C.  and 
Phelje  (Belcher)  Cook  and  granddaughter  of  the 
late  Ex-Governor  Belcher,  an  old  and  well  known 
resident  of  N"ew  Jersey.  Outside  of  his  domestic 
and  social  family  circles,  he  is  quite  active  in  his 
fraternal  relations,  having  filled  all  the  chairs 
in  tlie  I.  0.  0.  P.  lodge  and  being  identified  with 
the  B.  P.  0.  E.  He  is  also  active  in  the  work 
of  the  Commercial  Club,  whose  aims  are  both  sO'- 
cial  and  toward  the  development  of  the  business 
and  industrial  progress  of  Mankato. 


WHITE,  PRANK  W.— An  influential  position 
among  the  business  industries  of  Amboy  is  held 
by  the  firm  of  White  .fe  Dredge,  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  which  has  been  a  resident  of  Blue  Earth 
county  since  a  lad  of  nine  years.  Long  exper- 
ience in  the  lumber  business  qualifies  him  for 
the  management  of  such  interests,  for  he  has 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  prices,  values 
and  materials,  and  is  competent  to  buy  and  sell 
with  sagacity  and  keen  intelligence.  In  earlier 
years  he  carried  on  business  with  A.  E.  Salis- 
bury, now  of  Mankato,  but  at  the  expiration  of 
seven  years  he  purchased  his  partner's  interest 
in  the  business.  Since  then  he  has  had  John 
H.  Dredge  as  a  partner,  and  the  firm  has  car- 
ried a  complete  line  of  building  material,  stone, 
lime,  cement,  wood,  coal,  -^voven  fire  fencing  and 
tile. 

The  White  family  descends  from  old  colonial 
ancestry,  John  White,  a  lifelong  resident  of  New 
York  state,  was  the  father  of  Warren  White, 
who  was  bom  at  Fort  Edward,  Washington 
county.  New  York,  and  in  1865  became  a  pio- 
neer of  Minnesota,  settling  on  a  tract  of  unim- 
proved land  in  Sterling  township,  Blue  Earth 
county.  During  the  more  than  forty  years  that 
since  have  elapsed  he  has  been  identified  with 
tJie  agricultural  development  of  the  township 
and,  although  now  eighty-four  years  of  age,  his 
interest  in  public  affairs  has  not  diminished  nor 
has  his  progressive  spirit  waned.  By  his  mar- 
riage to  Emetine  Bill,  a  native  of  Vermont,  he 
became  the  father  of  five  children,  of  whom 
Prank  W.  was  fourth  in  order  of  birth,  and  was 
born  in  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1856.  At  the  age  of  nine  years  he  came 
with  the  family  to  Sterling  township,  where  for 
a  few  years  he  attended  the  country  schools,  and 
later  engaged  in  teaching  school. 

Upon  starting  out  to  earn  an  independent 
livelihood  after  he  left  the  schoolroom,  Mr. 
White  engaged  in  the  threshing  business,  and 
tlien  bought  land  in  Sterling  township.  Some- 
what later  he  formed  a  partnership  with  John 
Moore  at  Amboy,  but  at  the  expiration  of  a  year 
he  sold  out  and  returned  to  Sterling  township. 
Twelve  months  passed  in  agricultural  work,  af- 
ter which  he  again  came  to  Amboy,  where  ever 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


607 


since  he  has  been  interested  in  the  buying  and 
selling  of  lumber  and  kindred  lines.  In  June 
of  1886  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Sarah 
E.  Blair,  ■nho  was  born  in  Delavan  township, 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Blair,  one  of  the  honored  members  of  the  Tay- 
lor colony  of  1856.  Born  of  their  union  are 
three  children,  Edna  F.,  Agnes  E.  and  Franlc 
L.,  who  are  being  given  the  best  advantages  that 
the  schools  of  Amboy  afford  and  under  the  judi- 
cious training  of  their  parents  are  being  quali- 
fied for  positions  of  honor  and  usefulness. 

In  every  respect  ]\[r.  White  has  proved  him- 
self a  progressive  citizen.  The  prosperity  of 
his  town  is  of  •\'ital  interest  to  him.  Its  indus- 
tries receive  his  encouraging  support,  its  pro- 
gressive merchants  have  his  co-operation,  and 
its  schools  and  churches  have  never  lacked  his 
hearty  sympath}-.  In  various  capacities,  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board  and  of  the  town- 
ship board,  he  has  accomplished  much  of  im- 
portance  to  the  well-being  of  his  community, 
and  by  all  who  know  him  the  testimony  is  that 
he  has  done  his  full  duty  as  a  citizen.  Some 
years  ago  he  aided  in  promoting  the  Amboy 
State  Bank  and  acted  as  president  of  the  in- 
stitution, which  since  has  been  merged  into  the 
Minnesota  State  Bank.  Keen  and  discriminat- 
ing in  financial  matters,  cautious  in  investriients, 
wise  in  counsel  and  aggressive  in  action,  he  may 
be  classed  among  those  substantial  men  of  com- 
merce to  whose  enterprise  the  business  develop- 
ment of  the  county  may  be  attributed. 


WIDELL,  GENEEAL  GUSTAF.— The  op- 
portunities which  the  northwest  affords  to  young 
men  of  energy  of  purpose  and  determination  of 
character  find  a  fitting  illustration  in  the  life 
and  achievements  of  General  Widell,  a  successful 
business  man  of  Mankato.  Born  at  Lidkoping, 
Sweden,  April  38,  1862,  he  was  a  youth  of 
twenty  years  when  he  sought  the  advantages  of 
the  new  world  and  settled  in  the  northwest. 
Since  then  he  has  been  identified  with  the  his- 
tory of  Mankato.  Coming  here  without  means 
and  friends,  he  accepted  any  work  that  was  of- 
fered and  for  two  years  received  the  wages  of 
a  day  laborer.     While  satisfied  with  the  work  as 


a  stepping  stone  to  better  things,  he  was  too 
ambitious  to  be  content  with  the  situation,  and 
we  find  him  in  1884  working  in  the  McMullen 
quarry,  where  he  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
business.  While  many  of  the  laborers  emploj'ed 
there  took  little  or  no  interest  in  their  work,  he 
strove  to  become  skilled  and  aspired  to  acquire 
a  knowledge  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  conduct 
a  business  of  his  own  with  success.  During  1886 
his  brother  Fred  started  in  the  stone  quarry  busi- 
ness and  chose  Gustaf  as  his  foreman,  later  pro- 
moting him  to  be  superintendent  and  finally,  in 
1894,  rewarding  him  for  his  application  by  mak- 
ing him  a  partner  in  the  business. 

On  the  death  of  the  brother  in  1895  Gustaf 
Widell  became  the  sole  owner  of  the  quarry  and 
since  then  he  has  continued  the  business  giving 
employment  to  several  hundred  men  every  year 
and  securing  many  contracts  for  railway  bridge 
substructures  in  southern  ^linnesota,  Nebraska, 
the  northern  part  of  Iowa  and  South  Dakota.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  the  importance 
of  the  business.  Many  families  are  comfortably 
supported  by  the  excellent  wages  paid  to  the 
skilled  workmen,  and  more  than  one  young  man 
has  received  as  an  employe  of  the  business  his 
first  start  on  the  road  to  independence.  Due 
credit  should  be  given  to  Gustaf  and  Fred  Widell, 
whose  business  acumen  renders  possible  a  busi- 
ness of  sucli  magnitude  and  whose  rise  from  the 
position  of  day  laborers  proved  them  to  possess 
sterling  worth  of  character. 

The  marriage  of  Gustaf  Widell  took  place 
September  21,  188G,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Clara  E.,  daughter  of  Lewis  S.  Burt,  of  Lime 
township.  They  are  the  parents  of  five  children, 
Nellie  M.,  Carrie  May,  Eleanor  C,  Inez  E.,  and 
Lewis  G.  Politically  a  Eepublican,  Mr.  Widell 
has  served  as  a  member  of  the  common  council 
of  Mankato  and  has  been  a  delegate  to  the 
national  convention  of  the  party.  In  1900  he 
was  appointed  on  the  staff  of  the  governor  with 
the  rank  of  colonel.  Three  years  later  he  was 
promoted  to  be  brigadier-general,  and  until  1907 
he  served  as  inspector-general.  For  eight  years 
he  officiated  as  a  director  of  the  Citizens  National 
Bank  and  upon  the  organization  of  the  library 
board  of  trustees  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the 
same.     The  Commercial  Club  also  has  received 


608 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


the  benefit  of  his  Iveen  intelligence  and  civic 
pride.  Fraternally  he  has  been  prominent  in 
various  organizations,  and  is  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  Ravelins  Post,  G.  A.  E.,  in  Minneapolis. 
The  Knights  of  Pythias,  Benevolent  Protective 
Order  of  Elks,  Ancient  Order  of  United  Work- 
men, Boyal  Arcanum  and  Degree  of  Honor,  num- 
ber him  among  their  members,  and  he  has  been 
especially  influential  in  Masonry.  The  highest 
honor  that  can  be  conferred  by  the  Masons  in 
Minnesota  came  to  him  January  34,  1907,  when 
in  the  city  of  St.  Paul  he  was  elected  grand 
master  of  the  grand  lodge,  and  this  position  he 
now  fills  with  distinction  and  efficiency. 


WEIDENHEFT,  HENRY  C— The  early 
years  in  the  life  of  this  well-known  business 
man  of  Good  Thunder  were  passed  in  Prussia, 
Germany,  ii-here  he  was  born  December  14, 
1837,  and  ^vhere  he  received  an  excellent  edu- 
cation in  his  native  language.  Following  a  cus- 
tom that  was  common  to  the  country  he  was 
taken  from  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years  in 
order  that  he  might  be  apprenticed  to  a  trade 
and  during  tlie  ensuing  years  he  labored  dili- 
gently to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  shoe-making. 
While  still  quite  young  he  lost  his  father  and 
mother  by  death  and  therefore  was  obliged  to 
earn  his  own  livelihood  at  a  time  when  most 
boys  are  care-free.  The  experience  was  trying, 
yet  a  degree  of  self-reliance  was  thus  developed 
that  otherwise  might  not  have  become  interwoven 
in  his  character. 

After  having  worked  as  a  journeyman  in  the 
old  country  for  a  number  of  years,  in  1868 
Mr.  Weidenheft  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  Uni- 
ted States  and  settled  in  Wisconsin,  there  fol- 
lowing his  trade  for  a  time  and  also  gaining 
some  experience  as  a  farmer.  Three  years  were 
spent  in  Wisconsin,  from  which  state  he  came 
to  Blue  Earth  county,  Minnesota,  in  1871,  and 
settled  in  Good  Thunder,  Lyra  Township,  where 
ever  since  he  has  made  his  home.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  he  opened  a  shop  for  the  manufacture 
and  repair  of  shoes  and  soon  became  known 
for  skilled  work  in  his  specialty.  During  1888, 
he  became  the  proprietor  of  a  general  shoe  store, 
which  from  the  first  proved  a  successful  venture. 


For  a  long  period  he  had  sole  charge  of  the 
business,  but  in  1907  his  sons,  Gustavo  A.  and 
Otto  J.,  assumed  the  management  of  the  business, 
with  which  they  had  acquired  a  thorough  famili- 
arity through  years  of  practical  work  and  careful 
training. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  Weidenheft  took  place  in 
1865,  in  Germany,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Ida  Heft,  a  native  of  that  country.  They  are 
the  parents  of  nine  children,  namely:  Lena, 
who  married  F.  C.  Darge,  a  farmer  by  occupa- 
tion and  a  mason  by  trade;  Otto  J.,  who  married 
Mary  Euwald;  Herman;  Martha,  wife  of  Rev. 
F.  Pasche,  of  Webster,  South  Dakota;  Gustave 
A.,  who  married  Otteile  Otjen  and  owns  one-half 
interest  in  the  shoe  store;  Mrs.  Ida  Zemke  and 
Mrs.  Clara  Otjen,  both  of  whom  married  minis- 
ters, the  former  living  at  Fairmont,  Minnesota; 
Elsie,  wife  of  Frederick  Bruscke;  and  Anna,  who 
is  employed  as  a  clerk  in  the  shoe  store  operated 
by  her  brothers.  Since  his  retirement  from  busi- 
ness Mr.  Weidenheft  has  superintended  his  farm 
of  thirty-six  and  one-half  acres  in  Lyra  township 
and  also  has  devoted  considerable  time  to  the 
supervision  of  the  residence  he  has  erected  in 
the  village.  In  religion  he  always  has  remained 
faithful  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Lutheran  faith, 
in  which  he  was  reared  and  to  which  he  has 
been  a  liberal  contributor.  After  coming  to  the 
United  States  he  affiliated  with  the  Eepublicans 
for  a  time,  but  more  recently  he  has  been  stanch 
in  his  advocacy  of  Democratic  principles  and  has 
cast  his  ballot  for  the  men  and  measures  of  the 
last  named  party. 


WIGLBY,  WILLIAM  W.— Nearly  fifty  years 
have  come  and  gone  since  Mr.  Wigley  was  born 
in  the  township  of  Judson  and  through  all  of  his 
life  he  has  remained  a  resident  of  Blue  Earth 
county,  attending  its  schools ,  in  boyhood  years, 
taking  up  the  duties  of  patriotic  citizenship  with 
the  advent  of  manhood,  laboring  to  promote  its 
agricultural  prosperity  and  proving  himself  to 
be  loyal  in  every  respect  to  its  material,  edu- 
cational and  moral  welfare.  Around  his  early 
years  there  cluster  memories  of  the  struggles  in- 
cident to  a  pioneer  existence,  while  in  his  later 
days  it  has  been  his  happy  privilege  to  witness 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


609 


the  increasing  prosperity  of  the  people,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  comforts  connected  with  the  high- 
est civilization,  the  building  of  substantial  schools 
and  churches,  and  the  improving  of  valuable 
farms,  in  all  of  which  work  he  has  been  a  per- 
manent factor. 

During  the  year  1857  there  came  to  the  United 
States  Eichard^'and  Marry  (Williams)  Wigley, 
natives  of  Wales  and  descendants  of  ancient 
families  of  that  country.  A  year  after  crossing 
the  ocean  they  settled  in  Minnesota,  where  they 
endured  all  the  vicissitudes  incident  to  frontier 
life  and  the  building  up  of  a  homestead  from 
the  primeval  soil.  Indians  were  numerous  in 
those  days  and  more  than  once  the  family  were 
in  the  greatest  peril  from  attack  by  the  savages. 
Hunger,  too,  was  an  enemy  that  often  invaded 
their  cabin  on  the  frontier,  and  during  one  year 
they  had  little  for  their  table  besides  corn  bread 
and  the  game  that  fell  beneath  the  hunter's  gun. 
From  such  homes  as  these  have  come  men  and 
women  of  self-reliance,  fortitude  and  courage, 
and  the  traits  noticeable  in  the  character  of  Wil- 
liam W.  Wigley  are  in  part  due  to  his  brave 
battling  against  early  privations.  The  second 
among  eleven  children,  he  was  born  April  13, 
1859,  and  at  an  early  age  began  to  assist  his 
father  in  the  support  of  the  younger  children.  It 
was  not  possible  for  him  to  attend  school  regu- 
larly,, yet  he  managed  to  gain  a  common  school 
education  and  by  subsequent  reading  became  a 
well-informed  man.  Ecared  to  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  farm  work  and  possessing  a  fondness,  for 
the  same,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  chose  agri- 
culture for  his  occupation  and  always  has  fol- 
lowed such  pursuits,  having  remained  on  his 
present  farm  at  Lake  Crystal  for  about  twenty 
years. 

While  devoting  his  attention  closely  to  the 
care  of  his ,  land  and  the  raising  of  stock,  Mr. 
Wigley  has  not  neglected  his  duties  as  a  citi- 
zen, but  always  has  been  found  ready  to  give 
aid  to  measures  for  the  benefit  of  the  community. 
For  several  terms  he  served  as  a  member  of  the 
town  board,  in  which  capacity  he  gave  his  support 
to  movements  calculated  to  enhance  the  local 
prosperity  ^ilthout  unduly  assessing  the  tax- 
payers. The  public  highways  received  his  care- 
ful supervision  while  he  was  acting  in  the  office 

39 


of  road  commissioner,  and  he  has  always  been 
solicitous  to  secure  the  best  possible  roads  in  the 
township.  Calvinistic  doctrines  express  his  relig- 
ious views,  but  he  displays  no  sectarian  bias 
and  ever  concedes  to  others  that  freedom  of  relig- 
ious opinions  which  he  demands  for  himself. 
His  family  consists  of  two  sons,  born  of  his 
marriage  in  1886  to  Miss  Jane  Jones,  a  native 
of  this  state  and  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  part 
of  the  country.  Both  enjoy  the  esteem  of  ac- 
quaintances and  the  respect  of  all  who  have  come 
within  the  circle  of  their  influence  during  their 
long  residence   in  their   present   neighborhood. 


WILDEE,  EMMETT  P— Agriculture  is  the 
principal  industry  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  no 
portion  thereof  boasts  of  better  farm  land  than 
does  Pleasant  Mound  township,  where  Mr.  Wil- 
der owns  and  occupies  a  homestead  of  one  hund- 
red and  sixty  acres.  The  beauty  of  the  place  is 
enhanced  by  n  grove  of  native  timber  consisting 
of  black  walnut,  oak  and  basswood.  Willow 
creek  runs  through  the  farm  and  affords  abun- 
dant facilities  for  watering  the  stock.  The  resi- 
dence is  neat  in  its  appointments  and  attractive 
in  interior  finishings,  while  the  barns  are  sub- 
stantial and  well  equipped  for  their  purposes. 
Modem  methods  are  utilized  on  the  farm,  proof 
of  which  is  furnished  by  the  presence  of  a  gaso- 
line engine  used  for  pumping.  The  high-grade 
stock  to  be  seen  on  the  place  include  Durham 
cattle,  Poland-Chiga  hogs  and  Hambletonian 
horses. 

The  Wilder  family  comes  of  old  colonial  stock. 
Eiee  Wilder,  a  native  of  Vermont,  went  to  New 
York  in  early  life  and  for  many  years  continued 
in  that  state  as  a  farmer.  Eventually  he  came 
to  Minnesota  and  spent  his  remaining  days  in 
Pleasant  Mound  township,  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  passed  away  in  1878  at  the  age  of 
eighty-seven  years.  John  E.,  son  of  Bice,  was 
born  in  N"ew  York  and  married  Lucy  J.  Clark, 
also  a  native  of  that  state.  During  the  latter  part 
of  the  '50s  he  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  took 
up  a  tract  of  raw  land,  which  he  transformed 
into  a  productive  farm.  The  autumn  of  1866 
found  him  a  pioneer  in  Ceresco  township,  Blue 
Earth   county,   where   he   remained    for   eighteen 


610 


BTOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


months.  From  there  he  came  to  Pleasant  Mound 
tofl-nship  and  settled  on  section  thirteen,  where 
he  passed  the  balance  of  his  life,  dying  June 
27,  1893.  A  man  of  public  spirit,  he  always 
maintained  an  interest  in  local  affairs  and  for 
seven  years  served  as  a  town  officer,  beside  which 
he  held  the  office  of  school  treasurer  for  eighteen 
years.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was 
a  member  of  the   christian  church. 

In  a  family  comprising  three  sons  and  three 
daughters,  Emmett  P.  Wilder  was  the  youngest 
son,  and  his  birth  occurred  in  Green  Lake  county, 
Wisconsin,  April  2,  1863.  In  early  childhood 
he  was  brought  to  Blue  Earth  county,  Minne- 
sota, where  he  acquired  a  common-school  edu- 
cation and  gained  a  practical  knowledge  of  agri- 
cultural pursuits.  As  soon  as  old  enough  he  re- 
lieved his  father  of  much  of  the  manual  work 
connected  with  the  management  of  the  land  and 
gradually  assumed  the  entire  charge,  so  that 
upon  the  death  of  his  father  there  was  no  change 
in  the  cultivation  of  the  estate.  May  20,  1885, 
he  married  Annie  M.  Hewson,  who  was  born  in 
Wisconsin,  and  at  an  early  age  came  to  Minne- 
sota with  her  father,  Joseph  Hewson,  settling  in 
Shelby  township.  Since  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Hewson  from  farming  he  has  made  his  home 
with  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Wilder.  There  are 
three  children  in  the  Wilder  family,  namely : 
Fern,  John  Poland  and  Fay,  all  of  whom  are 
at  home.  The  family  hold  membership  in  the 
Christian  church  and  Mr.  AVilder  has  been  a 
regular  contributor  to  its  maintenance.  For  ten 
years  he  has  held  office  as  town  clerk  and  for 
iifteen  years  he  served  as  school  treasurer,  mean- 
while doing  all  within  his  po^er  to  promote  the 
usefulness  of  the  schools  and  the  general  prosper- 
ity of  the  township. 


WILDES,  MAKK  L.— Travels  through  various 
parts  of  the  country,  prior  to  settling  perman- 
ently in  Minnesota,  gave  Mr.  Wildes  an  insight 
into  conditions  agricultural  and  commercial,  and 
enabled  him  to  form  a  careful  estimate  of  soils, 
prospects  and  environments  such  as  would  have 
been  impossible  to  a  less  experienced  man.  Many 
years  have  come  and  gone  since  he  arrived  in 
Blue    Earth    county.    Towns    have    sprung    into 


existence,  farms  have  been  laid  out  and  developed, 
roads  have  been  opened,  forests  have  been  cut 
down,  and  highways  of  commerce  have  opened 
to  the  people  new  possibilities.  In  all  of  this 
advance  he  has  been  an  interested  witness  and 
to  it  he  has  contributed  of  his  energy,  acumen 
and  intelligence.  Great  credit,  belongs  to  the 
pioneers  of  the  county  for  its  present  high  agri- 
cultural standing  and  the  names  of  the  early 
settlers  are  worthy  of  a  permanent  place  in  the 
annals  of  the  region. 

The  family  records  show  that  the  name  of 
Wildes  has  been  identiiied  with  the  history  of 
Few  England  ever  since  the  colonial  era.  Dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century  the  family  flourished 
in  Maine,  where  in  1799  William  Wildes  was 
born  in  what  is  now  the  county  of  Sagadahoc. 
During  early  manhood  he  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Lincoln  county,  Maine,  where  he  married  Lydia 
Little,  born  in  that  county  in  1797,  and  from  the 
time  of  marriage  until  death  they  remained 
residents  of  Sagadahoc  county.  Of  their  seven 
children  the  sole  survivor  is  Mark  L.  Wildes, 
who  was  born  April  6,  1828,  in  what  is  now  the 
township  of  Phippsburg,  county  of  Sagadahoc, 
Maine.  The  schools  of  his  boyhood  were  far 
inferior  to  those  of  the  present  day,  yet  he 
received  a  fair  education  and  is  a  well-informed 
man.  After  attending  Bath  academy  for  a  time 
he  became  a  student  in  the  Litchfield  Liberal 
Institute,  where  he  availed  himself  of  the  excel- 
lent .  opportunities    for   mental    training. 

A  period  devoted  to  school-teaching  in  Maine 
was  followed  by  a  trip  in  1850  to  what  was  then 
called  the  west.  The  impelling  motive  for  the 
expedition  was  a  desire  to  reach  the  gold-fields 
of  California,  but  by  the  time  he  had  arrived 
in  New  Orleans,  going  then  by  ship,  unsatisfac- 
tory reports  reached  his  parents,  regarding  delays 
and  yellow  fever,  so  after  solicitations  from  home 
tn  return  he  yielded,  but  upon  reaching  Kentucky 
and  learning  their  desire  for  a  northern  teacher  in 
their  public  schools  he  made  application  to  Dr.  E. 
J.  Brcckenridge,  the  superintendent,  who  em- 
ployed him  in  Scott  county  where  he  taught  till 
the  spring  of  1851,  when  he  went  home  to  engage 
in  the  lumber  business  with  his  father  and  broth- 
er. April  of  1860,  found  him  landed  at  Lake  Wash- 
ington, Le  Sueur  county,  where  he  secured  em- 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


611 


ployment.  During  the  spring  of  1863  he  came 
to  Lime,  Blue  Earth  county  and  shortly  after- 
ward enlisted  as  a  sergeant  in  Company  B,  Min- 
nesota Mounted  Rangers,  in  which  he  remained 
until  the  mustering  out  of  the  company.  He 
was  on  duty  at  Mankato  at  the  execution  of  the 
38  Sioux  Indians.  On  his  return  to  Minnesota 
from  the  field  of  service  he  resumed  teaching 
school  and  for  some  years  ranked  among  the 
best  educators  of  his  locality,  but  eventually  he 
relinquished  teaching  in  order  to  devote  him- 
self to  agricultural  pursuits.  In  1865,  he  mar- 
ried Miss  Rebecca  J.  Burke,  who  was  born  in 
Baltimore,  Md.,  and  died  in  1898.  After  his 
marriage  he  made  his  home  near  Lake  Washing- 
ton, but  some  time  during  1880  he  moved  to 
Lime  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  and  since 
then  has  made  his  home  on  section  twenty- 
three.  E'ght  children  were  born  of  his  mar- 
riage, namely :  William  F.,  Hattie  R.,  Anna 
L.  (deceased),  Mark  L.,  Samuel  H.  M.,  Sarah 
B.,  Nettie  L.  and  Grace  M.  Politically  Mr. 
Wildes  gives  his  vote  and  influence  to  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  In  social  circles  he  is  respected  by 
all  and  with  his  family  has  an  assured  position 
among  the  best  people  of  the  township. 

]\[r.  Wildes  was  the  first  County  Superinten- 
dent  of  Schools  in  LeSueur  Count)',  was  also 
County  Commissioner,  and  chairman  of  the 
Board.  He  has  taught  school  at  various  times 
and  places  forty  years,  practiced  Dental  Surgery 
gratuitously,  sixty  years,  was  justice  of  the  peace 
twenty  years,  and  has  held  town  offices  in  both 
Washington    and   Lime   towns. 


WILL,  DAVID.— Five  miles  cast  of  Mapleton 
lies  one  of  the  finely-improved  farms  of  Blue 
Earth  county.  Its  thrifty  appearance  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  industry  of  the  owner,  David  Will, 
to  whose  energy  and  ambition  is  due  the  trans- 
formation of  the  land  from  its  primeval  wilder- 
ness to  its  present  state  of  cultivation.  When 
this  section  of  the  country  was  beginning  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  men  seeking  homes  in  the 
northwest,  he  came  hither  in  1865  and  purchased 
a  homestead  lying  on  section  31,  Medo  township. 
■  However,  it  was  not  until  seven  years  later  that 
he  brought  his  family  to  the  state  and  began  life 


amid  pioneer  conditions.  To  the  original  prop- 
erty he  has  added  until  he  now  owns  a  farm  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  acres,  all  practically 
under  cultivation.  The  Big  Cobb  river  runs 
through  the  farm  and  the  land  being  consider- 
ably above  the  level  of  the  river  the  matter  of 
drainage  finds  a  ready  solution.  The  elevation 
of  the  land  is  such  that  the  higher  buildings  of 
Mapleton  are  visible,  in  spite  of  the  distance  in- 
tervening. A  substantial  two-story  residence  pro- 
vides the  family  with  a  comfortable  home,  while 
they  also  find  enjoyment  in  owning  an  orchard 
of  apples,  plums,  and  other  fruits.  Stock  of  the 
best  grades  are  to  be  seen  grazing  in  the  pastures, 
and  it  is  noticeable  that  the  owner's  favorites  are 
Shorthorn  cattle,  Percheron  horses  and  Poland- 
China  hogs. 

A  glimpse  into  the  genealogy  of  the  Will  fam- 
ily takes  us  back  to  Scotland,  where  years  ago 
David  Will  followed  the  carpenter's  trade.  This 
occupation  he  taught  to  his  son,  David,  who  re- 
mained in  Scotland  until  death  and  always  fol- 
lowed carpentering.  Born  of  his  union  with  Ann 
West  were  six  children,  of  whom  the  third  was 
given  the  name  of  David,  and  was  bom  in 
Dundee,  Scotland,  February  17,  1836.  It  is  of 
this  David  Will  we  write.  When  he  had  reached 
man's  estate  and  sought  a  home  and  means  of 
livelihood,  he  decided  to  come  to  America.  Ac- 
cordingly during  1856  he  became  a  resident  of 
Wisconsin  and  in  due  time  established  a  posi- 
tion among  the  farmers  of  Waukesha  county, 
where  he  remained  until  his  removal  to  Minne- 
sota. 

The  marriage  of  David  Will  and  Elizabeth 
Mehdlle  was  solemnized  October  37,  1859,  in 
Wisconsin.  lyfrs.  Will  was  bom  in  Perthshire, 
Scotland,  and  during  the  '40s  accompanied  her 
father,  Peter  Melville,  to  Wisconsin,  settling  near 
the  town  of  Lisbon,  where  her  father  passed  his 
life  in,  farm  pursuits.  While  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Will 
have  met  with  a  gratifying  degree  of  success 
financially,  they  are  far  more  proud  of  their 
children  than  of  any  financial  success  they  may 
have  achieved.  Their  eldest  son,  James,  is  a 
progressive  farmer  of  Bcauford  township.  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  second  son,  David,  is  also 
a  farmer  and  lives  in  Polk  county,  Minnesota. 
The   only    daughter,    Elizabeth,    married    Charles 


612 


BTOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


Ellis  and  makes  her  home  in  Mapleton.  John 
follows  ranching  in  Idaho.  Edward  settled  in 
Polk  count}',  this  state,  where  he  carries  on  a 
farm.  Charles  remains  at  the  old  homestead  and 
aids  in  its  cultivation.  Peter  went  to  Grant 
count}',  Minnesota,  and  took  up  land,  which  he 
still  operates.  Alexander  lives  at  Grand  Forks, 
Xorth  Dakota,  where  he  is  employed  by  the  fed- 
eral government  in  the  postoffice.  William,  a 
graduate  of  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Minnesota,  has  built  up  a  growing 
practice  at  Bertha,  Todd  county,  Minnesota;  May 
14,  1907,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Ira  Bishop,  of  Mapleton.  Mel- 
ville is  now  a  student  in  the  dental  department  of 
the  Minnesota  State  University,  and  Eobert,  the 
youngest  of  the  large  family,  still  remains  with 
his  parents. 

Loyal  to  the  interests  of  his  adopted  country, 
David  Will  has  taken  an  active  part  in  local  af- 
fairs, has  contributed  to  enterprises  for  the  com- 
mon good,  and  has  proved  himself  to  be  a  law- 
abiding  and  patriotic  citizen.  Especially  has  he 
been  interested  in  educational  work.  Projects 
for  the  upbuilding  of  the  free  schools  and  the 
extension  of  their  usefulness  find  him  to  be  a  co- 
operating friend,  and  for  many  years  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the  school  board.  For  five  years 
he  was  a  member  of  the  township  board  of  trus- 
tees. Personally  he  possesses  a  cheerful,  optimis- 
tic disposition.  The  trials  and  shadows  incident 
to  life  on  the  frontier  did  not  daunt  his  cour- 
age nor  lessen  his  faith  in  the  over-ruling  provi- 
dence of  God  and  the  sympathy  of  his  fellow- 
men.  When  the  Burns  society  was  organized  he 
was  deeply  interested  in  the  movement  and  be- 
came a  regular  attendant  at  its  meetings.  On  the 
occasion  of  its  annual  reunions  it  was  the  cus- 
tom to  call  upon  him  for  the  song,  'Tlantin' 
Eovin'  Eobin,"  which  he  rendered  to  the  delight 
of  all.  This  sturdy  Scotsman  stands  among  the 
most  honored  farmers  of  his  county  and  enjoys 
the  warm  friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  ac- 
quaintances. 


WILL,  JAMES. — Inheriting  the  iron  of  hon- 
esty and  determination  from  worthy  ancestors, 
and   profiting  by  a  capacity  for  hard  work  in- 


telligently directed,  James  Will  has  prospered 
ill  his  affairs,  and  has  advanced  from  a  com- 
paratively poor  country  school  boy  to  a  man 
whose  opinion  carries  unquestioned  weight  in  the 
community  of  Beauford  township,  and  whose 
financial  standing  is  indicated  by  the  possession 
of  ■  a  farm  of  three  hundred  and  ten  acres  one 
and  a  half  miles  north  of  Mapleton.  Mr.  Will 
came  to  his  present  home  in  the  fall  of  1890, 
and  then  as  now  it  was  known,  as  the  James 
Gilmore  farm.  To  the  improvements  of  the 
fc^rmer  owner  he  has  added  very  materially,  and 
not  only  has  become  known  as  a  progressive  and 
successful  general  farmer,  but  he  raises  as  fine 
Percheron  horses.  Shorthorn  cattle,  and  Poland 
Cliina  hogs  as  are  to  be  found  anywhere  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  In  his  specialty  of  stock  raising 
he  wields  a  broad  influence,  and  his  manner  of 
and  facilities  for  caring  for  his  dumb  charges 
represent  the  height  of  consideration  and  hu- 
manity. 

Mr.  Will  was  born  in  Waukesha  county,  Wis- 
consin, July  28,  1860,  and  is  a  son  of  David 
Will,  mention  of  whom  may  be  found  elsewhere 
in  this  work.  He  was  educated  primarily,  in  the 
public  schools  of  Wisconsin,  and  at  the  age  of 
twelve  years,  in  1872,  removed  with  the  family 
to  Blue  Earth  county,  remaining  on  the  place 
purchased  by  his  father  until  1884.  Desiring 
to  identify  his  fortunes  with  another  part  of  the 
state,  he  went  to  the  vicinity  of  Grand  Forks, 
in  the  northern  part,  and  remained  there  en- 
gaged in  general  farming  for  three  years.  In 
the  fall  of  1887  he  returned  to  the  old  place  in 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  in  1890,  as  heretofore 
stated,  purchased  his  present  farm.  Encouraged 
by  the  success  of  two  profitable  years,  Septem- 
ber 28,  1892,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Jean- 
ette  Ellis,  a  native  of  Sterling  township,  Blue 
Earth  county,  and  daughter  of  James  Ellis,  an 
early  settler  of  this  part  of  Minnesota.  To 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Will  have  been  born  four  child- 
ren: Mary,  David,  Euth  and  Lawrence.  Since 
casting  his  first  presidential  vote  Mr.  Will  has 
subscribed  to  Eepublican  principles,  and  he  has 
promoted  the  general  well  being  by  serving  as 
a  member  of  the  board  of  education  and  town 
clerk,  both  of  which  positions  he  is  holding  at 
the  present  time.     He  is  an  energetic,  progreg- 


BIOGfiAPHlCAL  HiSTOfiY. 


613 


sive,  and  well  informed  landsman,  and  his  char- 
acter and  labor  contribute  to  the  substantial  up- 
building of  his  adopted  township. 


WILLARD,  JOHN  A.— Born  near  Holland 
Patent,  Oneida  county,  New  York,  November  9, 
1833,  John  A.  Willard  was  of  English  ancestry, 
and  a  son  of  Daniel  S.  and  Catherine  (Williams) 
Willard.  Studiously  inclined  from  early  youtn, 
possessed  of  fine  intellectual  powers,  and  with 
but  limited  means  with  which  to  acquire  the 
higher  branches,  Mr.  Willard  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  school  teaching  during,  his  later  teens, 
and  thus  was  enabled  also  to  qualify  for  nia 
chosen  profession  of  law  at  Utica,  New  York. 
After  being  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar  of 
New  York  state  in  1855,  he  sought  a  field  of 
endeavor  in  the  less  settled  and  more  promising 
northwest,  arriving  in  Mankato  during  July, 
1856,  and  thereafter  devoting  his  energies  to 
the  practice  of  law  and  the  purchase  and  sale 
of  real  estate.  June  1,  1858,  he  formed  a  part- 
nership with  S.   F.  Barney. 

About  1870  Mr.  Willard  became  interested  in 
railroad  promotion,  and  was  president  of  the 
company  that  built  the  railroad  from  Manlcato 
to  Wells,  now  a  part  of  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee 
&  St.  Paul  system.  Forming  a  partnership  with 
R.  D.  Hubbard  and  James  B.  Hubbell,  in  IBTv! 
he  organized  the  Mankato  Linseed  Oil  Company. 
As-  the  years  passed,  other  enterprises  engaged 
his  attention,  including  the  Mankato  Novelty 
Works,  the  Standard  Fibre  Ware  Company,  the 
Jtankato  Knitting  Mills,  and  the  St.  Paul  White 
Lead  &  Oil  Company.  Notwithstanding  his  va- 
ried interests,  he  continually  sought  new  outlets 
for  his  remarkable  energies,  and  it  was  not 
strange  that,  having  worked  his  way  up  from 
small  beginnings  to  a  foremost  place  among  the 
community's  accumulators  as  well  as  investors 
and  promoters,  he  should  turn  his  attention  to- 
wards the  need  of  local  banking  facilities.  Thus 
he  became  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  which  entered  upon  its  successful 
history  May  4,  1868,  with  a  capitalization  of 
$60,000.  Of  this  institution  Mr.  Willard  was 
president  from  1878  until  1896,  resigning  there- 
from because  of  ill  health.     In  addition,  he  was 


president  of  the  National  Bank  of  Commerce, 
at  Duluth,  president  of  the  Granite  Falls  Bank, 
and  president  and  director  of  many  otlier 
corporations  in  this  part  of  the  state. 

Realizing  that  Duluth  held  great  municipal 
possibilities  by  reason  of  affording  an  outlet  to 
the  lakes  for  the  shipment  of  the  grain  of  the 
northwest,  as  early  as  1885  Mr.  Willard  invested 
heavily  in  that  town,  and  later  years  brought 
him  large  benefit  from  these  wise  and  timely 
investments.  He  was  first  of  all  interested  in 
his  home  town  of  Mankato,  however;  its  wel- 
fare ever  was  dear  to  his  heart,  and  its  growth 
ever  was  a  source  of  pride  and  delight  to  him. 
For  many  years  he  was  president  of  its  board  of 
trade,  and  since  his  passing  on,  it  often  has  been 
said  that  no  one  other  man  did  more  for  the 
permanent  upbuilding  of  the  city  during  his 
forty  years  of  residence  here.  In  recognition  of 
his  local  devotion  he  was  chosen  mayor  by  unani- 
mous vote  in  1891,  all  parties  agreeing  that  nu 
one  was  better  qualified  to  further  home  inter- 
ests than  he.  Had  he  cared  for  such  responsi- 
bility other  and  higher  honors  would  have  been 
conferred  upon  him,  but  his  mind  was  concen- 
trated upon  business  rather  than  politics,  and 
partisan  affairs  held  little  attraction  for  him. 

When,  with  thousands  of  others,  Mr.  Willard 
fell  a  victim  to  the  memorable  panic  of  1893,  hij 
business  obligations  preyed  heavily  upon  his 
mind,  and  ia  the  maelstrom  of  effort  to  discharge 
the  indebtedness  that  keenly  affected  his  high 
sense  of  honor,  he  died  December  15,  1897.  The 
effect  of  his  personal  integrity  and  tireless  en- 
ergy still  is  felt  in  the  business  and  general  his- 
tory of  Mankato,  and  over  its  present  fortunes 
still  broods  somewhat  of  his  zeal,  devotion  and 
faith,  ilr.  Willard  was  the  parent  of  seven 
children,  three  of  whom  survive  him.  His  mar- 
riage with  Anna  M.  Sibley,  of  Oneida  county, 
Xew  York,  occurred  August  23,  1865,  Mrs.  Wil- 
lard being-  a  daughter  of  R.  J.  Sibley,  with 
whom  she  came  to  JIankato  at  an  early  day. 


WILLARD,  MYRON  G.— To  an  unusual  de- 
gree the  city  of  Mankato  has  been  fortunate  in 
having  a  citizenship  composed  of  progressive, 
public-spirited    men,    whose    abilities    have    been 


614 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


enlisted  in  behalf  of  civic  improvements,  whose 
sj^mpathies  are  on  the  side  of  beneficial  enter- 
prises, and  vi^hose  time  has  been  given  unre- 
servedly' to  the  development  of  the  local  v?el- 
fare.  J^umbered  among  these  citizens  may  be 
mentioned  Myron  G.  Willard,  whose  identifica- 
tion with  the  city  as  an  attorney  and  as  a  man 
of  large  commercial  interests  has  been  helpful 
to  the  growth  of  his  adopted  town.  The  date 
of  his  arrival  in  Manliato,  December  1,  18()8, 
marked  his  association  with  the  vital  interests 
of  the  growing  place,  and  from  that  time  to  this 
he  has  been  regarded  as  a  man  .of  talent,  com- 
mercial acumen  and  genial  social  qualities.  While 
life  has  not  been  without  its  misfortunes,  he  has 
weathered  every  financial  storm  and  has  won  an 
important  standing  financially  among  the  people 
with  whom  he  has  had  years  of  association. 

The  ancestry  of  the  Willard  family  is  traced 
to  Captain  Simon  Willard,  a  seafaring  man  who 
settled  in  ISTew  England  in  1664.  Myron  G. 
Willard  was  born  at  Trenton,  Oneida  county, 
New  York,  October  23,  1842,  being  a  son  of 
Daniel  S.  and  Catherine  (Williams)  Willard. 
During  the  uneventful  years  of  boyhood  he  re- 
mained on  the  home  farm  and  attended  coun- 
try schools.  Later  he  became  a  student  in 
Whitestown  seminary  and  still  later  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  taliing  the  regular  classical  course 
in  Hamilton  college,  from  which  institution  he 
v.'as  graduated  with  high  honors  in  1868.  Three 
years  afterward  he  received  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts  from  his  alma  mater. 

During  the  progress  of  his  literary  studies 
Mr.  Willard  had  carried  on  a  special  law  course 
and  after  leaving  college  he  completed  his  stud- 
ies in  the  law  office  of  Senator  Francis  Keman 
at  Utica,  New  York.  During  October  of  the 
same  year  (1868)  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  all  the  courts  of  New  York,  having  passed  a 
successful  examination  at  Syracuse.  The  other 
members  of  the  family  had  preceded  .him  to  the 
northwest  and  during  the  latter  part  of  1868  he 
Joined  them  at  Mankato,  Minnesota,  where  on 
tbe  day  of  his  arrival  he  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  all  the  courts  of  the  state.  Opening  an 
office  he  became  successful  in  corporation  and 
real  estate  law,  in  which  lines  he  was  regarded 
as  an  authority.     For  a  time  he  was  associated 


with  A.  E.  Pfau,  Sr.,  now  District  Judge  of 
Sixth  Judicial  Distiijt,  and  later  had  Thomas 
Hughes   as   a  partner. 

In  the  fall  of  1885  Mr.  Willard  gave  up  his 
law  practice  in  order  to  embark  in  the  manufac- 
turing business.  AYith  his  brother,  John  A. 
Willard,  he  built  and  equipped  a  plant  for  the 
manufacture  of  fiber  ware,  and  became  manager 
of  the  business,  which  was  incorporated  under 
the  title  of  the  Standard  Fiber  Ware  Company. 
During  1892  he  became  associated  with  the  erec- 
tion of  a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  hosiery, 
operated  as  the  Mankato  knitting  mills.  The 
plant  had  scarcely  received  its  equipment  when 
the  financial  depression  began  and  the  infant 
industry  was  ill-fitted  to  withstand  the  storms 
that  brought  bankruptcy  to  many  old  and  sub- 
stantial concerns  throughout  the  entire  country. 
However,  it  weathered  the  storms  until  1897, 
when  the  plant  for  knitting  as  well  as  that  for 
the  manufacture  of  fiber  ware  suffered  the  fate 
incident  to  financial  panics.  However,  within 
one  year  the  mills  had  been  started  again  with 
W.  L.  Hixon  as  president  and  Mr.  Willard  as 
superintendent,  and  from  that  time  the  plant 
enjoyed  a  growing  business  along  the  line  of 
its  specialties.  Mr.  Willard  sold  out  his  inter- 
est and  retired  from  the  business  in  the  fall  of 
1903  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  real  estate,  in- 
surance, loan  and  investraent  business. 

The  first  marriage  of  Mr.  Willard  took  place 
in  1870  and  united  him  with  Miss  Julia  E. 
Knowlton,  of  Holland  Patent,  New  York,  who 
died  in  July  of  1876.  Three  years  later  he  mar- 
ried Mary  W.  Willard,  of  Holland  Patent,  a 
niece  of  the  late  General  H.  W.  Halleck.  Two 
children  were  born  of  his  first  marriage,  both 
of  whom  are  sons,  namely :  Charles  K.,  formerly 
manager  of  the  Mankato  Citizens  Telephone  com- 
pany, but  at  present  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  brick,  tile  and  building  blocks  at  Heron  Lake, 
Minnesota;  and  Elldns  C,  formerly  assistant 
manager  of  the  Mankato  Mills  Company,  is  at 
present  proprietor  of  a  chicken  ranch  near  Man- 
kato, known  as  "West  Lawn  Farm."  A  daugh- 
ter, Clara  E.,  was  born  of  the  second  marriage. 
The  family  hold  membership  with  the  Presby- 
terian church  of  Mankato,  in  which  Mr.  WiUard 
has   officiated  as  a  ruling  elder  for  thirty  years 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HiSTOEY. 


615 


or  more,  and  of  whose  Sunday  school  he  served 
as  superintendent  for  thirteen  years.  It  has  been 
Mr.  Willard's  aim  to  aid  all  movements  for  the 
material,  educational  and  commercial  upbuild- 
ing of  his  home  city,  and  while  serving  as  sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Trade  he  was  able  to  be 
especially  helpful  to  the  town,  although  in  the 
capacity  of  a  pri\ate  citizen  his  work  has  been 
no  less  advantageous  to  local  interests,  and  his 
ambition  constantly  has  been  to  arouse  an  inter- 
est in  securing  for  the  city  more  railroads  and 
more  factories,  for  he  realizes  that  upon  these 
two  depends  the  ultimate  prosperity  and  perma- 
nent growth  of  the  population.  An  everlasting 
monument  to  Mr.  Willard  was  his  beautifying 
the  park  and  boulevard  system  and  giving  to 
the  city  "Willard  Park-Way,"  lying  adjacent  to 
and  abutting  either  side  of  Glenwood  avenue 
lor  about  half  a  mile. 


WILLAED,  WILLIAM  D.— The  second  gen- 
eration of  the  Willard  family  in  Mankato  iu 
forcefully  represented  by  William  D.  Willard, 
cashier  of  the  Pirst  National  Bank,  and  sou 
of  John  A.  Willard,  the  latter  of  whom  arrived 
ill  this  community  during  the  summer  of  185G, 
and  for  forty  years  was  one  of  its  foremost  citi- 
zens and  promoters.  Because  of  the  success  of 
his  father,  the  youth  of  William  D.  Willard  was 
not  characterized  by  the  hardship  which  tested 
the  mettle  of  the  older  man.  His  education  was 
gained  with  less  difficulty,  and  after  finishing 
the  training  in  the  public  schools  he  graduated 
from  the  University  of  Minnesota  in  the  class  of 
1888. 

The  first  important  business  responsibility  of 
Mr.  Willard  was  as  manager  of  the  Mankato 
Linseed  Oil  Company,  which  he  maintained  for 
eight  years.  He  also  helped  to  organize,  and 
for  three  years  assisted  in  the  management  of 
the  Mankato  Mills  Company,  manufacturing  hos- 
iery, and  for  the  past  eight  years  he  has  been 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Mankato  Citizen's 
Telephone  Company.  He  ako  is  secretary  and 
treasurer  of  the  Mankato  Electric  Traction  Com- 
pany, and  as  a  member  of  its  board,  has  been 
instrumental  in  promoting  keen  interest  in,  and 
hearty    co-operation    in    the    upbuilding    of,    the 


local  Public  Library.  His  most  active  respon- 
sibility is  that  of  cashier  of  the  First  Nationa: 
Bank,  which  position  he  has  held  since  1901. 
Mr.  Willard  married  Louise  Bobbins,  daughter 
of  the  late  George  S.  Bobbins,  in  Chester,  Yt., 
June  24,  1890. 


WILLIAMS,  WILLIAM  E.— The  superinten- 
dent of  the  ilinneopa  Falls  state  park  is  one  of 
the  well-known  residents  of  South  Bend  town- 
ship, Blue  Earth  county,  and  has  filled  his  pres- 
ent position  since  May  of  1907,  beside  which  he 
has  served  as  sexton  of  the  Minneopa  Falls 
cemetery  for  a  number  of  years.  The  neat  house 
which  he  occupies  is  situated  about  five  miles 
southwest  of  Mankato,  in  convenient  proximity 
to  the  park.  In  the  midst  of  scenery  alluring  to 
the  eye  of  the  artist  he  passes  his  time  in  the 
care  and  oversight  of  the  grounds  and  in  attend- 
ing to  the  many  details  connected  with  his  two 
positions,  besides  which  he  discharges  the  duties 
of  road  overseer  and  also  is  serving  as  clerk  of 
the  schools. 

As  early  as  the  year  1855,  when  he  was  a 
child  of  five  William  E.  Williams  came  to  Blue 
Earth  county.  Born  in  Oneida  county,  New 
York,  July  15,  1850,  he  is  a  son  of  Eobert  E. 
and  Winifred  (Boberts)  Williams,  natives  of 
Wales.  The  father  was  born  in  March  of  1821, 
and  the  mother  in  June  of  183?,  but  at  an  early 
age  they  crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States, 
where  they  were  married  in  Oneida  county  in 
1844.  A  few  years  later  they  went  still  further 
westward  and  sojourned  for  a  time  in  Cleveland, 
Ohio,  from  which  city  they  removed  to  Water- 
town,  Wisconsin,  and  in  1855  they  moved  with 
a  colony  of  thirteen  families  to  ^linnesota, 
setttling  in  Blue  Earth  county  and  pre-empting 
a  claim  to  government  land.  It  was  their  priv- 
ilege to  be  spared  to  witness  the  development 
of  this  county  and  in  return  for  their  years  of 
pioneer  struggle  they  reaped  a  fair  share  of  suc- 
cess. The  father  died  in  September  of  1900,  and 
the  mother  survived  him  some  years,  dying  in 
ilay  of  1905.  Six  children  comprised  their  fam- 
ily, namely :  Ellen,  who  is  the  wife  of  Senator 
T.  M.  Pugh,  of  Duluth,  Minnesota;  William  B., 
whose    name    introduces    this    article;    Margaret, 


616 


BIOGRAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


deceased;  Jennie,  the  widow  of  L.  D.  Lake,  of 
Madison,  South  Dakota;  Mary,  deceased;  and 
John  E.,  who  makes  liis  home  at  Minneapolis, 
this  state. 

Prom  the  time  of  arriving  in  Blue  Earth 
county  until  he  started  out  in  life  for  himself, 
William  E.  Williams  remained  with  his  parents 
and  alternated  attendance  at  country  schools 
with  work  on  the  home  place.  After  leaving  the 
farm  he  worked  at  various  occupations  and 
gained  a  thorough  knowledge  of  engineering, 
which  trade  he  followed  for  a  time.  His  mar- 
riage took  place  at  Grafton,  North  Dakota, 
October  24,  1883,  and  united  him  with  Miss 
Margaret  Olson,  who  was  born  in  Howard  county, 
Iowa,  August  2,  1861.  Pier  parents,  Ole  and 
Tillie  (Gunderson)  Knudson,  were  natives  of 
Norway,  where  they  were  reared  and  married, 
emigrating  thence  to  the  United  States  about 
1854,  and  settling  in  Iowa  upon  a  farm. 

Subsequent  to  his  marriage  Mr.  Williams  filled 
a  position  as  night  engineer  in  a  flouring  mill 
at  Grand  Porks,  North  Dakota,  but  this  work 
he  soon  relinquished  and  moved  to  Texas.  That 
country  did  not  prove  alk  he  desired  and  he  re- 
moved north  as  far  as  Nebraska,  where  he  se- 
cured employment  in  Omaha.  Soon  afterward 
he  went  to  Polk  county,  Nebraska,  where  he 
worked  for  a  short  time.  Eeturning  to  Blue 
Earth  county  he  settled  at  the  old  homestead 
near  Minneopa  Falls  where  his  boyhood  years  had 
been  passed  and  where  his  parents  had  remained 
throughout  the  most  active  period  of  their  lives. 
Since  returning  to  this  locality  he  has  been  active 
in  township  affairs,  has  stanchly  supported  Eepub- 
lican  principles  and  has  contributed  to  the  local 
work  of  the  party.  In  his  family  there  are  ten 
children.  The  eldest  son,  Clarence  E.,  born  July 
19,  1884,  is  a  telegraph  operator,  but  at  this 
writing  lives  in  North  Dakota  for  the  purpose 
of  securing  title  to  a  homestead  claim.  The 
eldest  daughter,  Dora  E.,  born  July  6,  1886, 
was  educated  in  the  district  schools,  Mankato 
high  school  and  Mankato  State  Normal  school, 
since  which  she  has  engaged  in  teaching.  The 
remaining  members  of  the  family  are  as  follows: 
Arthur  J.,  born  January  39,  1888;  Abbie  J., 
January  23,  1890;  Edward  J.,  October  15,  1892; 
Alta  G.,  July  1,  1894;  Eobert  L.,  September  8, 


1896;  Bernice  I.,  September  6,  1898;  Wallace  I., 
January  1,  1901;  an  J  Eichard  P.,  January  24, 
1903. 


WINGBN,  A.  J.— Three  miles  north  of  the 
village  of  Good  Thunder  lies  one  of  the  finest 
farms  in  Rapidan  township.  Three  hundred 
acres  are  situated  within  the  limits  of  this  town- 
ship, bat  in  addition  there  are  two  hundred  and 
two  and  one-half  acres  under  the  same  title,  thus 
giving  to  Mr.  Wingen  an  aggregate  of  over  five 
hundred  acres,  all  of  which  he  rents  at  this 
writing.  The  family  residence  is  neat  and  com- 
fortable, and  is  equipped  with  the  modern  con- 
veniences, while  the  various  farm  buildings  are 
substantial  and  adapted  to  their  needs.  Poland- 
China  hogs  and  shorthorn  cattle  have  been  spec- 
ialties of  the  owner,  and  have  brought  him  im- 
portant additions  to  his  annual  revenues.  Since 
acquiring  this  property  in  1879  the  owner  has 
remodeled  buildings,  put  up  fences,  improved 
the  place  and  brought  the  land  under  a  high 
state  of  cultivation,  all  of  which  indicates  his 
ability  as  a  farmer. 

Born  in  Clayton  county,  Iowa,  September  13, 
1854,  A.  J.  Wingen  is  descended  from  German 
ancestry.  His  parents,  Jacob  and  Sophia  (Dor- 
weiler)  Wingen,  were  born  and  reared  in  Prus- 
sia, and  on  crossing  the  ocean  to  the  United 
States  proceeded  direct  to  Clayton  county,  Iowa, 
where  the  father  took  up  land  and  improved  a 
farm.  Later  he  removed  to  Minnesota  and  set- 
tled in  McPherson  township.  Blue  Earth  county, 
where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1865.  His 
widow  survived  him  for  many  years,  passing 
away  in  1897.  All  of  their  nine  children  are 
yet  living.  When  the  family  removed  to  Min- 
nesota A.  J.  Wingen  was  a  small  child,  and  af- 
terward he  attended  the  country  schools  near  the 
farm.  Arriving  at  man's  estate,  he  took  up  ag- 
ricultural pursuits  for  himself,  and  remained  on 
the  homestead  in  McPherson  township  until 
1879,  when  he  removed  to  the  farm  he  now  owns 
and  occupies. 

The  marriage  of  A.  J.  Wingen  took  place  in 
1879  and  united  him  with  Minnie  Schutz, 
daughter  of  Prederick  and  Minnie  (Kurth) 
Schutz,    natives    of    Prussia,    Germany,    but    pio. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


6l7 


neers  of  McPherson  township.  Blue  Earth  coun- 
ty, and  owners  of  a  farm  here  until  their  death. 
In  the  family  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wingen  there 
were  four  children,  but  one  son,  Jacob,  died  at 
an  early  age.  Frederick,  the  eldest  son,  married 
Louise  Buscke  and  operates  a  farm  owned  by 
his  father  in  Vernon  Center  township.  The 
second  son,  Edward,  is  employed  as  a  book- 
keeper in  the  Bank  of  Commerce  at  Mankato, 
Jlinnesota.  The  only  daughter,  Leona,  has  fitted 
herself  for  educational  work  and  already  has 
met  with  success  in  the  work,  although  she  has 
taught  only  a  short  time.  In  former  years  Mr. 
Wingen  filled  school  offices  and  he  still  main- 
tains a  deep  interest  in  all  measures  for  the 
development  of  the  schools  of  the  county.  Lodges 
have  not  received  his  support,  nor  has  he  been 
prevailed  upon  to  take  any  but  an  independent 
attitude  in  politics.  Through  unwearied  labors 
he  has  accumulated  a  competency  and  attained 
a  position  among  the  large  land  owners  of  the 
county. 


WISE,  CHAELES  E.— Charles  E.  Wise,  busi- 
ness editor  of  the  Mankato  Daily  Eeview  was 
born  in  Mankato,  Blue  Earth  County,  Minne- 
sota, October  23,  1860,  and  is  a  son  of  John 
Glagget  and  Amanda  (Flory)  Wise,  the  former 
of  whom  was  one  of  the  pioneer  editors  of  Min- 
nesota and  established  the  above  paper  as  a 
weekly  in  1869.  Mr.  Wise  secured  his  educa- 
tion in  the  public  schools  of  his  home  town  and 
while  "attending  school  inaugurated  his  newspaper 
career  as  carrier  boy  for  the  paper  with  which 
he  now  is  connected.  Eventually  he  advanced  to 
the  bottom  round  of  the  ladder  in  the  printing 
office,  and  worked  his  way  up  through  the  var- 
ious stages  of  the  business  to  a  thorough  mastery 
of  the  printer's  trade.  In  1878  he  graduated 
from  the  Mankato  high  school,  and  for  several 
months  thereafter  continued  in  the  printing  office 
where  he  remained  until  accepting  a  clerkship 
in  the  County  Auditor's  office,  under  J.  J. 
Thompson.  When  Mr.  Thompson  went  out  of 
office  January  1,  1881,  Mr.  Wise  was  employed 
as  bookkeeper  for  W.  T.  Mills,  wholesale  produce 
merchant,  and  August  15,  1881,  he  went  to  El 
Paso,   Texas,   where  he   was   connected   with   the 


customs  service  under  Col.  Abner  Tibbetts,  collec- 
tor at  that  port.  Eesigning  this  position,  July  1, 
1883,  he  returned  to  Mankato,  where,  on  August 
1,  1883,  he  was  taken  into  partnership  -wiih  his 
father,  John  C.  Wise,  in  the  publishing  of  the 
Eeview.  Since  the  death  of  the  elder  Wise  in 
1900,  his  two  sons,  Charles  E.  and  John  C. 
Wise,  have  conducte'd  the  daily  and  weekly  Ee- 
view, and  in  connection  therewith  maintain  a 
job  printing  and  book  binding  trade,  under  the 
former  firm  name  of  J.  C.  Wise  &  Sons.  The 
Eeview  holds  its  own  as  one  of  the  reliable  and 
conservative  newspapers  of  the  state,  and  enjoys 
a  reputation  for  the  fairness  of  its  attitude  to- 
wards   political   and    general    issues. 

A  stanch  Democrat  in  his  political  preferences, 
Mr.  Wise  has  no  political  aspirations,  and  never 
has  held  an  elective  office.  Nevertheless,  ho  has 
filled  a  number  of  appointive  positions.  In 
addition  to  thofee  previously  mentioned,  he  was 
assistant  postmaster  under  John  C.  Wise,  his 
father,  during  1885-6,  under  P.  H.  Carney  dur- 
ing 1888-9-90,  under  W.  W.  P.  McConnell  dur- 
ing 1890-1,  under  John  C.  Wise  from  1894  until 
1898.  The  last  named  postmaster  was  the  first 
to  occupy  the  new  federal  building,  April  1,  1896. 
Mr.  Wise  was  a  member  of  the  Library  Board 
for  six  years,  secretary  one  year,  president  two 
years,  and  vice-president  one  year,  appointed  by 
Mayor  Cliarles  T.  Taylor.  He  is  also  a  member 
of  a  commission  appointed  to  frame  a  new  char- 
ter for  his  city. 

Mr.  Wise's  responsibilities  extend  also  to  the 
National  Citizen's  Bank,  of  which  he  is  a  direc- 
tor, and  was  a  member  of  the  building  commit- 
tee which  had  charge  of  the  erection  of  the  new 
bank  building.  In  1908  he  was  made  president 
of  the  North  Star  Daily  Press  Association,  com- 
prising smaller  dailies  in  Minnesota,  North  and 
South  Dakota,  and  he  is  a  member  of  the  Inland 
Daily  Press  Association.  Fraternally  Jlr.  Wise 
is  identified  with  Blue  Earth  Lodge  No.  30, 
A.  0.  IT.  W. ;  Boyal  Arcanum  Council  No.  1520; 
and  Mankato  Lodge  No.  225,  B.  P.  0.  E.  He 
has  held  the  chair  offices  and  that  of  secretary 
in  the  latter  society  and  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Grand  Lodge  at  Denver  in  1906.  He  is  not  a 
member  of  any  church,  but  attends  the  Episcopal 
church. 


618 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


At  Mankato,  Minnesota,  September  26,  1893, 
Mr.  Wise  married  Minnie  Lee,  daugliter  of 
Natlian  P.  Lee,  an  early  settler  of  Sparta,  Wis- 
consin. Of  the  four  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wise,  Charles  Edward  was  born  July  18,  1894; 
Katherinc  was  born  March  21,  1896;  Elizabeth 
was  born  May  30,  1900,  died  July  2,  1901;  and 
Alargaret  was  bom  January  30,  1903.  Mrs.  Wise 
is  identified  with  local  club  and  church  work,  is 
a  charter  member  of  the  Clio  Club,  literary  or- 
ganization, and  president  of  the  Ladies  Aid 
Society.  She  attends  and  is  an  active  worker  in 
the  Episcopal  church. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Wise  has  been  a  pro- 
moter of  the  sportsman's  idea  in  this  part  of  the 
state.  Prom  boyhood  he  has  been  an  enthusi- 
astic follower  of  rod  and  gun,  and  active  in 
field  games  of  all  kinds.  For  many  years  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Mankato  Gun  Club,  serving 
also  as  its  president  and  secretary  for  a  part  of 
that  time.  May  3,  1904,  at  the  Gun  Club 
grounds,  Mr.  Wise  sustained  the  loss  of  his  right 
eye  through  being  struck  with  clay  target  thrown 
from  a  trap,  and  since  then  he  has  been  less 
actively  interested  in  the  affairs  of  the  field  than 
heretofore. 


WISE,  JR.,  JOHN  CLAGGETT.— Not  only  in 
their  home  city  of  Mankato,  but  also  throughout 
this  portion  of  the  state,  the  firm  of  J.  C.  Wise 
&  Sons  is  well  known  and  highly  honored  for 
those  substantial  business  traits  that  mark  a 
long  and  useful  commercial  and  journalistic  ca- 
reer. As  editors  and  publishers  of  the  Mankato 
Daily  Review,  they  have  been  able  to  secure  for 
their  patrons  a  bright,  newsy  and  readable  sheet, 
filled  with  the  latest  local  happenings,  and  pre- 
senting also  a  resume  of  important  national 
events.  The  business  was  built  up  by  the  father, 
John  Claggett  AVise,  and  since  his  death  has 
been  continued  by  the  family,  whose  aim  has 
been  to  achieve  the  Journalistic  ideal  cherished 
by  the  father. 

John  Claggett  Wise,  Jr.,  was  born  at  Man- 
Icato,  Minnesota,  April  14,  1867,  and  is  a  son 
of  J.  C.  and  Amanda  (Flory)  Wise,  deceased. 
Primarily   educated   in   the   local   public   schools. 


he  later  attended  the  high  school  and  the  nor- 
mal, hut  did  not  remain  until  graduation. 
While  attending  school  he  devoted  his  leisure 
hours  to  working  in  the  office  of  the  Review  and 
at  an  early  age  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  journalistic  work  and  the  printing  business. 
After  leaving  school  he  gave  his  entire  time  to 
the  newspaper  business  and  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one he  was  given  an  interest  in  the  company, 
since  which  time  he  has  continued  his  connec- 
tion with  the  paper.  His  native  city  has  been 
his  only  place  of  residence,  and  since  the  death 
of  his  parents  he  has  remained  at  the  old  home- 
stead with  his  sisters.  Misses  Helen  and  Flory 
Wise. 

In  political  views  a  stanch  Democrat,  Mr. 
Wise  has  always  been  steadfast  in  his  allegiance 
to  party  principles.  Under  Mayor  Taylor  he 
received  appointment  as  a  member  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Tourtellotte  hospital  in  Man- 
kato. In  January  of  1905  he  was  appointed  by 
Governor  Johnson  as  resident  director  of  the 
Mankaio  normal  school  and  in  this  capacity  he 
is  serving  at  the  present  time.  For  six  years  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Minnesota  state  militia, 
being  for  three  years  of  this  time  a  member  of 
Company  H,  Second  Regiment,  of  Mankato,  and 
for  three  years  a  member  of  the  second  regiment 
band.  In  religious  identifications  he  is  a  com- 
municant of  St.  John's  Episcopal  church  at  Man- 
kato. Fraternally  he  has  many  associations. 
Among  the  socities  with  which  he  is  connected 
may  be  mentioned  the  following:  Mankato  Lodge 
No.  12,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.;  Blue  Earth  Chapter 
No.  7,  R.  A.  M.;  Mankato  Commandery  No.  4, 
K.  T.;  Zuhrah  Temple,  A.  A.  0.,  Nobles  Mystic 
Shrine,  Minneapolis;  Mankato  Lodge  No.  225, 
Benevolent  Protective  Order  of  Elks;  Mankato 
Lodge  No.  36,  Knights  of  Pythias;  Mankato 
Council  No.  1520,  Royal  Arcanum;  and  Man- 
kato Aerie  of  Eagles.  In  the  orders  of  Elks, 
Knights  of  Pythias  and  Royal  Arcanum  he  has 
passed  through  the  chairs  in  the  local  lodges, 
which  also  he  has  represented  in  the  grand 
lodges.  For  one  year  he  officiated  as  grand  dis- 
trict deputy  exalted  ruler  of  the  Southern  Minne- 
sota jurisdiction  in  the  Order  of  Elks,  and  for 
one  year  also  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  grand 
lodge  committee  on  charters  in  the  same  order. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


619 


WISHAET,  CHAELES  S.— The  genealogy  of 
the  Wishart  family  extends  back  to  the  early  his- 
tory of  Scotland,  in  whose  annals  the  name  ap- 
pears with  a  frequency  indicative  of  the  influence 
and  prominence  of  the  representatives  of  the 
clan.  One  of  the  ancestors  (whether  in  direct 
or  collateral  line  the  records  do  not  clearly  show) 
was  Bishop  Wishart,  a  loyal  and  leading  sup- 
porter of  Sir  William  Wallace.  Another  mem- 
ber of  the  family,  Eev.  George  Wishart,  vras  a 
popular  preacher  of  the  Eeformed  church  during 
the  sixteenth  century.  Unfortunately  he  fell  un- 
der the  suspicion  of  having  plotted  the  murder 
of  Cardinal  Beaton,  for  which  he  was  burned  at 
the  stake,  February  28,  1546.  His  sad  death 
aroused  a  deep  feeling  in  his  large  circle  of  ad- 
mirers and  associates,  by  all  of  whom  he  was  re- 
garded as  an  innocent  man. 

From  the  highlands  of  Scotland  the  Wishart 
family  became  transplanted  in  England,  where 
James  Wishart  w^as  born  in  the  shire  of  York. 
At  an  early  age  he  accompanied  his  father  and 
other  members  of  the  family  across  the  ocean  to 
the  United  States  and  settled  in  New  York. 
From  Oneida  county,  that  state,  in  1844  the 
family  removed  to  Wisconsin  and  settled  about 
forty  miles  west  of  Milwaukee.  By  trade  a  black- 
smith, James  Wishart  followed  that  occupation 
during  early  manhood,  but  later  in  life  he  de- 
voted his  attention  almost  wholly  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  Both  he  and  his  father  died  in  Wis- 
consin when  advanced  in  years.  His  wife  bore 
the  maiden  name  of  Joyce  Taylor  and  was  a  na- 
tive of  Yorkshire,  England,  whence  she  came  to 
America  with  her  father  and  settled  in  New 
York.  Ten  children  were  born  of  their  marriage, 
and  the  sixth  of  these,  Charles  S.,  was  born  in 
Clinton,  Oneida  county,  New  York,  December  17, 
1841.  Almost  from  his  earliest  recollections  he 
lived  on  the  frontier.  At  a  youthful  age  he  be- 
gan to  aid  in  the  development  of  the  land  from 
its  primeval  condition  to  one  of  productiveness 
and  profit. 

Coming  with  other  member  of  the  family  to 
ilinnesota  in  1878,  Charles  S.  Wishart  bought 
the  Mills  place  three  miles  east  of  Mapleton, 
Blue  Earth  county,  and  on  this  farm  he  devoted 
3areful  attention  to  the  details  connected  with 
agriculture,  so  that  little  by  little  he  accumulated 


a  competency  and  became  known  as  a  prosperous, 
progressi\'e  farmer,  as  well  as  a  public  spirited 
citizen,  an  accommodating  neighbor  and  a  help- 
ful friend.  Eventually  he  retired  from  the  heav- 
iest of  his  responsibilities  and  since  then  has 
lived  in  retirement,  enjoying  the  comforts  ren- 
dered possible  by  a  lifetime  of  endeavor.  Shar- 
ing with  him  the  esteem  of  acquaintances  is  his 
wife,  whom  he  married  October  IS,  1870,  and 
who  was  Elizabeth  Taylor,  a  native  of  Yorkshire, 
England.  The  lineage  of  the  Taylor  family 
shows  that  they  are  of  very  ancient  English  an- 
cestry, long  identified  with  Yorkshire,  where  her 
parents,  George  and  Ann  (Grieves)  Taylor,  were 
born,  reared  and  married.  The  grandfather, 
Joseph  Taylor,  was  a  lifelong  resident  of  that 
shire.  Three  children  bless  the  union  of  Mr. 
and  ilrs.  Wishart,  the  second  of  whom,  Horace 
K.,  has  charge  of  the  old  homestead;  his  wife. 
Flora,  who  died  in  August  of  1903,  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Dobie  family,  well  known  in  Blue 
Earth  county.  The  oldest  child,  Etta,  is  the  wife 
of  W.  L.  Dobie,  and  the  youngest,  Nellie,  married 
J.  Eay  Ward,  of  Medo  township. 


WOODS,  WALTEE  A.— From  the  age  of  six 
years  until  his  death  Walter  A.  Woods  was  a 
resident  of  Blue  Earth  county  and  made  his 
home  in  South  Bend  township  upon  the  farm 
now  occupied  by  his  widow.  A  native  of  Ohio, 
he  was  born  at  Bethel,  Jackson  county,  April  20, 
1850,  and  was  a  son  of  Isaac  and  Margaret 
(Evans)  'Woods,  natives  of  Wales.  In  early  life 
they  had  left  their  childhood  homes  and  had 
crossed  the  ocean  to  the  United  States,  settling 
in  Ohio,  where  they  were  married.  During  185G 
tliey  came  to  Minnesota  and  settled  in  Blue 
Earth  county,  where  the  father  secured  a  claim 
from  the  government  and  began  the  difficult 
task  of  clearing  and  improving  a  farm.  By 
dint  of  arduous  exertions  he  transformed  a  raw 
tract  into  an  improved  estate.  Here  he  died 
September  13,  1878,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four 
ye&Ts.  The  mother  passed  away  at  the  old 
homestead  December,  31,  1891,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-one  years.  They  were  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Walter  A.  and  David,  both  of  whom 
are    deceased.      By     a    former    marriage     Isaac 


i20 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTORY. 


roods  was  the  father  of  one  child,  Sarah,  who 
i  the  widow  of  Roland  W.  Price  and  resides  in 
1  inneapolis,    this    state. 

As  previously  stated,  Walter  A.  Woods  was 
!X  years  of  age  when  he  accompanied  his  par- 
nts  to  Blue  Earth  county.  Reared  on  a  farni, 
ic  early  was  trained  to  a  knowledge  of  agricul- 
ure  and  always  followed  that  occupation  until 
[is  death,  which  occurred  June  1,  1903. 
Throughout  life  he  proved  himself  to  be  an 
arnest  Christian,  a  generous  supporter  of  re- 
igious  movements,  a  kind  husband,  devoted 
ather  and  accommodating  neighbor.  In  his 
ieath  the  township  lost  an  honored  citizen  and 
lublic-spirited  man.  His  mariage  took  place  in 
his  county  October  9,  1880,  and  united  him 
sith  Miss  Margaret  E.  Roberts,  who  was  born 
lear  Clayville,  Oneida  countj'.  New  York,  July 
16,  1853),  being  a  daughter  of  Robert  W.  and 
jrace  (Williams)  Roberts.  Her  father  was  born 
n  Wales  in  1816  and  her  mother,  a  native  of 
he  same  country,  was  born  in  1818.  When 
'oung  they  immigrated  to  the  United  States, 
he  mother  coming  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  and 
he  father  crossing  the  ocean  in  1836.  His  first 
lome  was  in  Oneida  county.  New  York,  while 
ler  people  established  a  home  in  Steuben  county, 
hat  state.  His  ancestors  were  prominent  in 
/Vales,  where  his  grandfather.  Rev.  Robert  Rob- 
irts  of  Clynog,  was  a  famous  preacher  and  an 
lonored  leader  in  his  church. 

The  marriage  of  Robert  W.  Roberts  and  Grace 
Villiams  took  place  at  Utica,  Oneida  county, 
\ew  York,  in  1847,  and  in  1854  they  removed 
.s  far  west  as  La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  where  they 
emained  for  four  years.  During  1858  they 
ame  to  Minnesota  and  took  up  a  claim  in  Jud- 
on  township.  Blue  Earth  county,  where  they 
ngaged  in  farming  until  1864.  Removing  from 
his  county  to  Martin  county,  they  engaged  in 
arming  for  ten  years,  and  in  1874  became  resi- 
ients  of  Le  Sueur  county,  Minnesota,  where  the 
ather  died  June  18,  1882.  His'  wife  survived 
j'm  seventeen  years  and  passed  away  February 
,  1899,  at  the  home  of  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
'/oods.  There  were  six  children  in  the  family, 
ohn  M.  resides  in  the  village  of  South  Bend; 
largaret  E.  was  second  in  order  of  birth;  Lewis 
]ed  in  infancy;   Catherine  A.  is  the  widow  of 


John  D.  Evans,  of  Mankato;  Ellen  died  in  in- 
fancy; and  William  B.  makes  his  home  at  Will- 
mar,  Kandiyohi  county,  this  state.  There  were 
six  children  bom  to  the  union  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Woods,  namely:  Isaac,  born  October  7,  1881; 
Lillie,  born  June  20,  1884,  and  deceased  Octo- 
ber 9,  same  year;  Elizabeth  I.,  bom  November 
27,  1885;  Robert  C,  May  16,  1888;  Grace  L., 
January  11,  1891;  and  David  E.,  October  4, 
1893.  The  family  have  a  high  standing  in 
church  circles  and  general  society  and  enjoy  the 
friendship  of  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances. 


WORKS,  SAMUEL  D.— The  family  repre- 
sented by  this  influential  citizen  of  Mankato  has 
been  identified  with  the  history  of  America  since 
a  very  early  period  of  our  national  development. 
Genealogical  records  show  that  James  Wallace 
Works,  who  was  a  native  of  Rhode  Island,  served 
with  conspicuous  gallantry  in  the  war  of  1812 
and  years  afterward  went  to  the  front  as  a  sol- 
dier in  the  struggle  with  Mexico.  While  he 
served  on  many  a  sanguinary  battlefield  in  both 
wars  he  was  wounded  only  once,  that  being  in 
the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  Much  of  his  life 
was  passed  in  the  state  of  New  York,  where  was 
born  and  reared  his  son,  Leonidas,  a  farmer  and 
grain-buyer  by  occupation  and  a  man  of  local 
prominence,  serving  as  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture and  in  other  offices  of  responsibility.  The 
death  of  Leonidas  Works  occurred  in  1884  when 
he  was  fifty-eight  years  of  age,  and  his  wife,  who 
bore  the  maiden  name  of  Miss  Gazleigh,  died  in 
1892  at  sixty-three  years  of  age.  Born  of  their 
union  were  seven  children,  of  whom  four  are  liv- 
ing, viz. :  James  W.,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Arthur, 
a  resident  of  Buffalo,  New  York;  Robert,  now 
living  in  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah;  and  Samuel  D., 
who  was  sixth  in  order  of  birth,  and  was  born 
in  Steuben  county.  New  York,  February  3,  1862. 

On  the  completion  of  a  thorough  academic 
education,  Samuel  D.  Works  matriculated  in  the 
University  of  Chicago  in  1887  and  there  pursued 
the  studies  of  the  classical  course.  Afterward  he 
became  a  student  in  the  Baptist  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  where  he  com- 
pleted the  regular  course  of  study  and  was  then 
ordained  to  the  ministry   of   that   denomination. 


BIOGEAPHICAL  HISTOEY. 


621 


Returning  to  the  east  he  accepted  a  pastorate  at 
Venice,  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  and  from 
there  in  1893  removed  to  North  Dakota  as  a 
home  missionary  of  the  Baptist  denomination. 
During  the  period  of  his  residence  in  that  state 
he  held  for  two  years  the  position  of  president 
of  the  state  convention  of  the  Baptists.  On  re- 
signing from  the  missionary  field  he  went  to 
South  Dakota  as  pastor  of  the  Huron  Baptist 
church  and  during  his  pastorate  in  that  town 
he  officiated  as  editor  of  the  Church  Messenger. 

Coming  to  Minnesota  in  1897  Mr.  Works  has 
since  been  identified  with  the  history  of  this 
place.  For  three  3'ears  he  was  pastor  of  the 
First  Baptist  church,  but  finally  resigned  in  or- 
der to  engage  in  commercial  enterprises.  Since 
then  he  has  acted  as  secretary  and  manager  of 
the  Minnesota  Immigration  Company,  in  which 
he  has  as  associates  G.  M.  Palmer  and  F.  M. 
Currier.  During  1903  the  lumber  and  land 
firm  of  S.  D.  Works  &  Company  was  organized, 
which  since  has  established  an  important  business 
in  the  line  of  its  specialties.  In  October  of  1904 
the  Works-Everts  Lumber  Company  was  organ- 
ized, which  now  carries  on  a  wholesale  lumber 
business  and  has  its  headquarters  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis.  These  various  enterprises  do  not 
represent  the  limit  of  the  activities  of  Mr.  Works, 
whose  interests  are  further  enlarged  through  his 
association  with  C.  N.  Andrews  in  the  Mankato 
Investment  Company,  which  was  organized  Jan- 
uary 1,  190G,  and  of  which  he  is  president.  The 
company  transacts  an  investment  business  and 
engages  in  the  building  of  houses  for  sale,  having 
during  1900  erected  seven  residences  within  ]\Ian- 
kato. 

The  marriage  of  Mr.  A\'orks  took  place  June 
G,  1888,  and  united  him  with  Miss  Agnes  Owens, 
of  Steuben  county,  New  York.  Of  their  union 
two  sons  were  born,  namely:  Donald  Harper, 
April  6,  1896;  and  Phil,  July  28,  1898.  There 
is  also  an  adopted  daughter,  Katherine.  The 
family  are  warmly  interested  in  the  growth  and 
prosperity  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  with 
which  they  are  identified,  .and  in  which  Mr. 
Works  has  been  an  officer  ever  since  retiring 
from  the  ministry.  Politically  he  always  has 
been  a  believer  in  Democratic  principles  and  in 
J906  he  was  his  party's  candidate  for  the  office 


of  state  senator.  His  wise  judgment  and  ripened 
culture  have  been  helpful  in  his  work  as  a  trustee 
of  the  Carnegie  library.  Notwithstanding  the 
many  business  interests  demanding  his  attention, 
he  finds  leisure  for  identification  with  the  fra- 
ternal, social  and  educational  affairs  of  Mankato, 
is  prominent  in  the  blue  lodge  of  ilasonry,  the 
Eoyal  Arcanum,  the  ilankato  Choral  Club  and 
the  ^lankato   Social  Science  club. 


WYSONG,  ALLISON  D.  and  J.  B.— The.  pro- 
prietors of  Mankato's  flourishing  laundry  are  re- 
liable and  capable  business  men,  having  worked 
their  way  from  a  small  and  unpromising  begin- 
ning, to  a  large  and  dependable  trade.  They 
have  been  residents  of  this  city  for  practically 
their  entire  lives,  and  the  general  opinion  of 
those  who  have  watched  their  progress  is  that 
they  are  unquestionably  solid  and  irreproachable 
in  their  business  methods. 

Allison  D.  Wysong,  who  is  about  ten  years 
older  than  his  brother,  was  born  May  5,  1863, 
in  Winchester,  Indiana,  the  son  of  Perry  and 
Caroline  (Seed)  Wysong,  who  came  to  Mankato 
in  1865,  and  engaged  in  the  brick  laying  and 
contracting  business.  Within,  recent  years,  how- 
ever, the  father  has  retired  from  active  trade, 
and  at  the  age  of  seventy-four,  is  enjoying  the 
comforts  and  leisure  earned  by  earlier  applica- 
tion, both  himself  and  wife,  who  now  is  four 
years  his  junior,  being  in  excellent  health  and 
spirits.  Besides  their  wide-awake  and  capable 
sons,  the  couple  had  a  daughter,  Annie,  who  died 
at  the  age  of  eight  years. 

The  Wysong  sons  were  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  and  Jay  E.  was  a  member  of  the  first 
class  to  graduate  from  the  local  high  school. 
Their  earlier  efforts  were  directed  to  brick-laying 
and  clerking  in  stores,  but  they  finally  bought 
their  present  laundry  business  in  1898,  from 
G.  A.  .lost.  They  immediately  began  to  push 
the  enterprise  in  an  energetic  and  systematic 
manner,  employed  good  help  and  modern  meth- 
ods, and  soon  were  obliged  to  enlarge  their  ca- 
pacity and  modernize  their  machinery.  At  the 
present  time  they  employ  twenty-five  hands,  and 
are  the  leading  laundry  purvejors  to  the  public 
in  Mankato. 


BIOGEA.PHICAL  HISTORY. 


Personally  these  energetic  business  men  are  so- 
iable  and  popular,  enjoying  a  broad  identifiea- 
on  with  affairs  in  general,  A.  D.  being  a  mem- 
er  of  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  A.  0.  U.  W.,  Maccabees, 
lagles,  the  Samaritans,  Degree  of  Honor,  and 
le  Commercial  Club,  while  Mr.  Jay  E.  Wysong 
>  identified  with  the  E.  A. 


YAEGEE,  GEOBGE  E.— Eepresentative  of  a 
ioneer  family  of  Blue  Earth  county  and  him- 
ili  a  native-born  son  of  Eapidan  township, 
rcorge  F.  Yaeger  has  spent  his  entire  life  with- 
1  the  limits  of  this  township,  receiving  his  edu- 
ation  in  its  district  schools  and  early  acquir- 
ig  a  thorough  knowledge  of  agricultural  pursuits 
n  the  old  homestead.  When  he  was  ten  years 
f  age  he  was  orphaned  by  the  death  of  his 
ather.  but  his  mother  is  still  living  and  under 
er  wise  training  he  was  prepared  for  the  re- 
ponsibilities  of  a  busy  existence.  Ever  since 
tarting  out  to  earn  his  own  way  in  the  world 
e  has  engaged  in  general  farming  and  now  owns 

small  farm  on  which  he  has  erected  a  neat  cot- 
age,  a  substantial  barn  and  other  buildings 
eeded  for  the  shelter  of  stock  and  machinery 
nd  the  storage  of  grain. 

The  identification  of  the  Yaeger  family  with 
le  agricultural  development  of  Blue  Earth 
Dunty  dates  back  to  the  year  1864.  The  ances- 
)rs  were  of  Teutonic  origin.  Andrew  and 
iouisa  (Mouser)  Yaeger  were  bom  and  reared 
a  Germanv,  whence  they  immigrated  to  the 
'nited  States  and  settled  in  ^N'ew  York  state  a 
lort  time  prior  to  their  marriage.  During  1864 
ley  became  pioneers  of  Minnesota  and  purchased 
md  in  Eapidan  township.   Blue  Earth  county. 


where  he  died  in  1879  and  where  she  still  con- 
tinues to  make  her  home.  The  property  which 
they  first  bought  and  which  remains  her  home 
comprises  two  hundred  acres,  improved  with 
buildings  and  good  fences,  and  maintained  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

The  family  of  Andrew  Yaeger  consisted  of 
twelve  children,  seven  of  whom  are  still  living, 
the  third  oldest  now  living  of  these  being  George 
P.,  who  was  bom  at  the  old  homestead  August 
3,  1869,  and  received  such  advantages  as  the 
township  afforded.  In  1899  he  married  ^liss 
Emma  Preuss,  daughter  of  Ferdinand  and  Au- 
gusta Preuss,  natives  of  Germany,  who  came  to 
the  United  States  when  quite  young  and  settled 
in  Le  Sueur  county,  ilrs.  Yaeger  was  educated 
iu  Blue  Earth  county  and  is  a  woman  of  refine- 
ment and  intelligence,  a  capable  assistant  to  her 
husband,  and  a  wise  coimselor  in  affairs  of  im- 
portance. Their  forty-acre  place  is  improved 
with  a  neat  house  and  substantial  barn  erected 
by  the  present  owner,  who  bought  the  place  about 
1893  and  has  resided  thereon  ever  since  his  mar- 
riage. 

While  not  neglecting  the  care  of  his  land  and 
its  cultivation  Mr.  Yaeger  has  found  leisure  to 
participate  in  township  affairs  and  has  given  his 
eneoiiragement  and  sympathy  to  movements  for 
the  improving  of  the  roads  and  the  upbuilding 
of  the  country  schools,  in  which  he  has  worked 
efficiently  as  a  director.  For  ten  years  he  filled 
the  office  of  assssor  and  always  he  was  spoken  of 
as  fair,  impartial  and  efficient,  an  able  official 
in  that  responsible  post.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Democrat,  but  he  is  independent  in  thought  and 
opinions  and  gives  his  support  to  the  men  and 
measures  he  believes  best  calculated  to  promote 
the  general  good,  irrespective  of  political  ties.